Big storm crashed into the city last night, lots of rain and wild wind. It’s still hitting us hard and Sacramento , being a floodplain, is filling up like a big basin. It happens every year, but still local drivers lose their heads. Collisions, spinouts and backups are the rule of the day.
When it’s like this I trade my regular bike ride to work for a light rail ticket. It keeps me dry and sometimes I find a little bit of god.
This morning I had a rather lengthy “stranger waiting for the train” conversation with a Jehovah’s Witness. I must admit his opening was pretty good.
Him: Going to work?
Me: Yup.
Him: While you’re waiting…
At this point he handed me a small brochure. On the front there is an illustration of a smiling man and woman in an idyllic mountain field. They’re surrounded by plump pumpkins, bright red apples and flowers. Behind them is a two story log cabin and a large moose. Yes, a moose. The moose really draws the eye because he’s right smack dab in the middle and he’s the biggest thing in the picture.
Anyway enough with the moose, the top of the brochure reads “All Suffering SOON TO END!”
Him: What do you think about that?
Me: That be great!
Him: Wouldn’t it be. What do you think causes all the suffering in the world?
Me: Greed.
Him: Funny you should say that, in chapter so and so of so and so…(flips open a well worn bible protected in a spiffy black leather case.)
He goes on to tell me that greed is one of the reasons the world, as we know it, is going to end in the very near future.
Okay…Wait, what? The world is going to end!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
I mean come on, the end of the world is a scary thing. It seems odd to sell a religion like you would sell a fallout shelter.
Salesman: Nuclear war is right around the corner my friend.
Me: Really? Wow, umm…how can you be so sure?
Salesman: You don’t want your family to die an agonizingly painful irradiated death, cooked flesh hanging from their bleached white bones, do you?
Me: HOLY CRAP! Give me 10 of those shelters and throw in a couple of those water purification systems.
Great strategy for getting someone to buy something, but it’s dirty pool. I guess that’s another reason I’ve never been turned on to religion, the fearmongering.
Anywho, saw “Zombieland” the other day, fun movie. It doesn’t try to imitate the masterful “Shaun of the Dead” which everyone seemed worried about. Instead it does its own thing and has fun with it.
I leave you with a Paul Krugman essay, a little ditty that illustrates how the GOP is going batshit fucking crazy.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Being dumped sucks, but I’m sure most people already know that.
I’ve been surprised how anxious Lady X not loving me has made me. However, it’s not so much about her, it’s about me. I’m anxious about never being loved. I supposed this is a normal fear after the collapse of a relationship and is ridiculous or is it?
Anyway, I don’t want to make this blog about…Shit, just heard that an earthquake has hit Indonesia, one of the countries Lady X is visiting on her vacation. She focused on Bali which is far to the east of the where the quake actually hit, a place called Pendang. Still, I don’t know her exact itinerary. I’ve tried to contact someone else who knows her to see if they know exactly where she was headed and when.
Just heard back, the mutual friend believes she isn’t in Indonesia yet. Good.
I was going to write about the beginning of this Fall’s Ultimate Frisbee season, but that will have to wait because I just got back from my second day of playing in a week and I need to shower.
I’ve been surprised how anxious Lady X not loving me has made me. However, it’s not so much about her, it’s about me. I’m anxious about never being loved. I supposed this is a normal fear after the collapse of a relationship and is ridiculous or is it?
Anyway, I don’t want to make this blog about…Shit, just heard that an earthquake has hit Indonesia, one of the countries Lady X is visiting on her vacation. She focused on Bali which is far to the east of the where the quake actually hit, a place called Pendang. Still, I don’t know her exact itinerary. I’ve tried to contact someone else who knows her to see if they know exactly where she was headed and when.
Just heard back, the mutual friend believes she isn’t in Indonesia yet. Good.
I was going to write about the beginning of this Fall’s Ultimate Frisbee season, but that will have to wait because I just got back from my second day of playing in a week and I need to shower.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
SUUURRRRPPRRISSEEEE!!!
Last Thursday was Lady X’s birthday and I was pumped because I had gotten her a really kick ass gift. I had put a lot of thought and hard work into pulling it together and it had turned out even better than I expected.
Well, it turns out the gift was too good. Yes, too good. The day after giving it to her she broke my heart again. It seems that after getting the heartwarming gift she realized, yet again, that she wasn’t as vested in the relationship as me. Yet again, she told me I wasn’t the one and that she had “really tried to love me” but she just couldn’t make it happen.
This time she left little doubt that this was it, the end, the finale, the conclusion, the denouement. Her words and the fact that even as I post this she’s zooming across the Pacific Ocean to spend two weeks in Thailand with an ex-boyfriend lead me to believe that she’s probably right.
In reality I saw it coming. After 5 months of dating she never told me she loved me and she let it be know on numerous occasions that she had always pictured herself marrying rich. Add to that that her past boyfriends include doctors, lawyers, the great looking cop and politicians and her breaking up with a “great guy” like myself no longer seems like such a stretch.
The whole big bag of shit pretty much leaves me with that…shit. At 35, this isn’t a learning experience; I already know that women find good looking, successful men more attractive. It’s also not an invitation to better things, unless better things include alcoholism and Internet pornography.
Speaking of which…
Well, it turns out the gift was too good. Yes, too good. The day after giving it to her she broke my heart again. It seems that after getting the heartwarming gift she realized, yet again, that she wasn’t as vested in the relationship as me. Yet again, she told me I wasn’t the one and that she had “really tried to love me” but she just couldn’t make it happen.
This time she left little doubt that this was it, the end, the finale, the conclusion, the denouement. Her words and the fact that even as I post this she’s zooming across the Pacific Ocean to spend two weeks in Thailand with an ex-boyfriend lead me to believe that she’s probably right.
In reality I saw it coming. After 5 months of dating she never told me she loved me and she let it be know on numerous occasions that she had always pictured herself marrying rich. Add to that that her past boyfriends include doctors, lawyers, the great looking cop and politicians and her breaking up with a “great guy” like myself no longer seems like such a stretch.
The whole big bag of shit pretty much leaves me with that…shit. At 35, this isn’t a learning experience; I already know that women find good looking, successful men more attractive. It’s also not an invitation to better things, unless better things include alcoholism and Internet pornography.
Speaking of which…
Friday, September 18, 2009
Scum
First post in ages, but I swear I really have been busy. I took a business trip to San Diego and it totally put me behind both at work and at home.
Saw “District 9” with my Dad a week or so after it came out. Awesome! Definitely worth seeing on the big screen. Great story, superb acting, exciting, fresh and even moving. Very well done.
In other news, another scumbag politician was outed recently. Appears Republican Mike Duvall of Orange County was sharing the down and dirty of his sexual exploits during a committee hearing while his microphone was on. Oh, and they weren’t with his wife but two lobbyists. Oops! Like the Slick Willy-Monica Lewinsky fiasco there are some who still believe that cheating by elected officials is a private matter to be handled between the husband and the wife. I still disagree.
I’ll attempt to set aside my disgust for lecherous adulterers and their total lack of honor and respect so that I can make a sane argument as to why it’s important actions like this are publicized.
A cheating elected official does not just break trust with his spouse but also with his constituency. To get elected, he (I’ll use the masculine because I’ve yet to hear of a female politician doing this) knowingly presents voters with a fanciful façade of himself. Voters, liking what they see, vote him into office or in other words hire him to represent them in very, very important matters. The job he’s hired to do requires him to be honest, intelligent and honorable.
When he is found to be cheating on his wife it’s revealed that he’s lied on his resume and that he no longer meets the requirements for the job he was hired for. Hence he should be thrown out of office on his ass.
Look, I wouldn’t knowingly hire Bernie Madoff to invest my money, nor Michael Vick to watch my pets. I also wouldn’t hire a liar and a cheat to make political decisions concerning my best interests.
Anyway here’s a little Internet joy, Bat Fight starring Will Ferrell.
Saw “District 9” with my Dad a week or so after it came out. Awesome! Definitely worth seeing on the big screen. Great story, superb acting, exciting, fresh and even moving. Very well done.
In other news, another scumbag politician was outed recently. Appears Republican Mike Duvall of Orange County was sharing the down and dirty of his sexual exploits during a committee hearing while his microphone was on. Oh, and they weren’t with his wife but two lobbyists. Oops! Like the Slick Willy-Monica Lewinsky fiasco there are some who still believe that cheating by elected officials is a private matter to be handled between the husband and the wife. I still disagree.
I’ll attempt to set aside my disgust for lecherous adulterers and their total lack of honor and respect so that I can make a sane argument as to why it’s important actions like this are publicized.
A cheating elected official does not just break trust with his spouse but also with his constituency. To get elected, he (I’ll use the masculine because I’ve yet to hear of a female politician doing this) knowingly presents voters with a fanciful façade of himself. Voters, liking what they see, vote him into office or in other words hire him to represent them in very, very important matters. The job he’s hired to do requires him to be honest, intelligent and honorable.
When he is found to be cheating on his wife it’s revealed that he’s lied on his resume and that he no longer meets the requirements for the job he was hired for. Hence he should be thrown out of office on his ass.
Look, I wouldn’t knowingly hire Bernie Madoff to invest my money, nor Michael Vick to watch my pets. I also wouldn’t hire a liar and a cheat to make political decisions concerning my best interests.
Anyway here’s a little Internet joy, Bat Fight starring Will Ferrell.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
G.I. The Loudest American Hero
I went with my Dad to watch the G.I. Joe movie last Friday. We hit the theatre for the first showing; I had a furlough day and he doesn’t work on Fridays so it was perfect. I forgot that the kids were out of school but the audience, made up of mostly teenagers, was surprisingly well behaved. Dad got a large soda, after all as the lady behind the counter explained it’s only 25 cents more than the medium…he got up twice to use the loo.
What stood out for me most is that the movie was loud…very, very loud. By far it was the loudest movie I have ever seen. Automatic weapons fire, laser pings, crashing cars, exploding bombs, falling buildings, screaming people, clashing swords, breaking glass, it was all there in ear splitting surround sound. Even my Dad, who is an action movie junkie, was bothered by the blare.
Still, it didn’t keep him from thoroughly enjoying himself. After all, it had guns, karate, and big breasted women in tight clothing. I think we were only 10 minutes in before he said something about the female leads needing to take their clothes off. Yeah, he’s “that” guy.
Anyway, I’m rambling today, there is no story, the plot is ridiculous, the acting is crap, the dialogue is worthless and there is not a shred of humanity throughout the entire piece. (There are so many unseen civilian casualties I have no doubt that the whole Joe Team would easily be convicted of war crimes.) However, the explosions the civilians die in are pretty damn cool.
In short, the movie is big, dumb, LOUD but fun. This is mostly due to the excellent pacing. It rumbles from one action scene to the next like Godzilla stomping through Tokyo . You don’t really care who lives or who dies, if the hero gets the girl or if Snake Eyes talks. Instead, you get this kind of blood lust where and the only thing that’s important is seeing what the director will blow up, smash or mangle next.
What stood out for me most is that the movie was loud…very, very loud. By far it was the loudest movie I have ever seen. Automatic weapons fire, laser pings, crashing cars, exploding bombs, falling buildings, screaming people, clashing swords, breaking glass, it was all there in ear splitting surround sound. Even my Dad, who is an action movie junkie, was bothered by the blare.
Still, it didn’t keep him from thoroughly enjoying himself. After all, it had guns, karate, and big breasted women in tight clothing. I think we were only 10 minutes in before he said something about the female leads needing to take their clothes off. Yeah, he’s “that” guy.
Anyway, I’m rambling today, there is no story, the plot is ridiculous, the acting is crap, the dialogue is worthless and there is not a shred of humanity throughout the entire piece. (There are so many unseen civilian casualties I have no doubt that the whole Joe Team would easily be convicted of war crimes.) However, the explosions the civilians die in are pretty damn cool.
In short, the movie is big, dumb, LOUD but fun. This is mostly due to the excellent pacing. It rumbles from one action scene to the next like Godzilla stomping through Tokyo . You don’t really care who lives or who dies, if the hero gets the girl or if Snake Eyes talks. Instead, you get this kind of blood lust where and the only thing that’s important is seeing what the director will blow up, smash or mangle next.
Friday, August 7, 2009
For the love of lady X
Oddly, I was apparently dumped by the girlfriend I never had in the first place this evening. Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds.
So Woman X and I have been together for about the last 2 months. We’ve dated, went on a small vacation together, had a very healthy sex life and I believe seen each other exclusively. In my eyes she’s given the impression that she’s very much enjoyed what we have. She’s been in constant contact, says she worries about me if I don’t wear my bike helmet (a small sample of how she has illustrated that she cares about me) and has had unprotected sex with me numerous times. We’ve shared stories about our families, our pasts and talked about our futures. It has been much more intimate than other girls I’ve seen off and on or that I have enjoyed the friends with benefits situation with. To me, she’s given every impression of us being a couple, as a matter of fact, just the other day in front of a mutual friend I described X as a woman I was “seeing” and the friend insisted that X and I were a couple.
This evening X told me that she didn’t want us, as a couple, to be exclusive. She’s still on…fuck, I can’t remember what Internet dating service it is…but she says she has no plans to leave it but would still like to “date” me. Furthermore, she says that she’s not sure I’m the “one” and that she still needs the freedom to try to discover who the “one” might be.
I’d be cool with that if X was an inexperienced dater, but she’s no wallflower. If I was to judge by her own admissions, I’d say that she’s had a very active dating life. She’s shared stories about how she’s dated doctors, politicians and police officers and a bit about the sexual and emotional relationship she’s had with each. In my opinion, X has had a front row seat to many relationships that haven’t worked out for one reason or another.
Emotionally, I’m at a loss. I really don’t feel that I can make some grandiose Will-like statement on why this happened. Oh, plenty of theories run rampant in my head but…well, I’m just not ready yet to paint X as the bad guy. She may truly be confused or…well, whatever…
So Woman X and I have been together for about the last 2 months. We’ve dated, went on a small vacation together, had a very healthy sex life and I believe seen each other exclusively. In my eyes she’s given the impression that she’s very much enjoyed what we have. She’s been in constant contact, says she worries about me if I don’t wear my bike helmet (a small sample of how she has illustrated that she cares about me) and has had unprotected sex with me numerous times. We’ve shared stories about our families, our pasts and talked about our futures. It has been much more intimate than other girls I’ve seen off and on or that I have enjoyed the friends with benefits situation with. To me, she’s given every impression of us being a couple, as a matter of fact, just the other day in front of a mutual friend I described X as a woman I was “seeing” and the friend insisted that X and I were a couple.
This evening X told me that she didn’t want us, as a couple, to be exclusive. She’s still on…fuck, I can’t remember what Internet dating service it is…but she says she has no plans to leave it but would still like to “date” me. Furthermore, she says that she’s not sure I’m the “one” and that she still needs the freedom to try to discover who the “one” might be.
I’d be cool with that if X was an inexperienced dater, but she’s no wallflower. If I was to judge by her own admissions, I’d say that she’s had a very active dating life. She’s shared stories about how she’s dated doctors, politicians and police officers and a bit about the sexual and emotional relationship she’s had with each. In my opinion, X has had a front row seat to many relationships that haven’t worked out for one reason or another.
Emotionally, I’m at a loss. I really don’t feel that I can make some grandiose Will-like statement on why this happened. Oh, plenty of theories run rampant in my head but…well, I’m just not ready yet to paint X as the bad guy. She may truly be confused or…well, whatever…
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Potter again
I saw the new and extremely underwhelming Harry Potter movie Wednesday evening.
Don’t get your panties in a bunch yet! Before I start bitching, I want to praise what were some very strong aspects of the film.
The acting is great, and I’m not just talking about the secondary players like Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. They’ve always been awesome and could be considered one of the greatest ensembles ever assembled. Instead, it’s the “kids” that blew me away. They’ve matured well, sharpened their acting chops and have truly made the characters their own. For example, in the earlier movies all Rupert Grint had to do to play Ron Weasly was make funny faces and pretend to be scared of everything. Here he shows a full range of emotions, but more importantly he really nails his comedic timing. His scenes are far and away the best in the movie.
The Quiditch scenes are the best yet. It’s like you’re flying along on your own broom, dodging bludgers and trying to avoid cheating Slytherin players. It’s the little things you can see that really make it worthwhile. Players grab at one another, can be seen shifting their balance from one side of their brooms to other and best yet, CRASHING! Very cool and very exciting.
The special effects are fantastic. Not much to say here as it should be what the viewer expects. They’re realistic, tangible, cold when they should be and hot when it’s appropriate. Very well done.
Okay, on to the bad.
Story. Anyone who has read the novel knows that this book is kind of one big set-up for the finale. However, that being said, there are some very important and enlightening scenes that take place that really make the world and the characters realistic for the reader. While they may not come to much in the endgame, they’re why the books are so well loved.
Unfortunately, the movie leaves these scenes out for scenes that amount to even less in the grand scheme of things. They reveal little, add little and are boring, which brings me to my second point…
Pacing. The pacing in this film is awful. It drags with beautiful but pointless scenery, repetitive dialogue and…well basically, it’s filled with long scenes about things the watcher doesn’t really give a crap about. For the record, very uninteresting things that people don’t care about make for a bad cinematic experience.
Last and probably the most grievous mistake takes place in the Finale. Oh wait, what finale? Get it? You won’t get it in the theatre either.
Don’t get your panties in a bunch yet! Before I start bitching, I want to praise what were some very strong aspects of the film.
The acting is great, and I’m not just talking about the secondary players like Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, Maggie Smith and Alan Rickman. They’ve always been awesome and could be considered one of the greatest ensembles ever assembled. Instead, it’s the “kids” that blew me away. They’ve matured well, sharpened their acting chops and have truly made the characters their own. For example, in the earlier movies all Rupert Grint had to do to play Ron Weasly was make funny faces and pretend to be scared of everything. Here he shows a full range of emotions, but more importantly he really nails his comedic timing. His scenes are far and away the best in the movie.
The Quiditch scenes are the best yet. It’s like you’re flying along on your own broom, dodging bludgers and trying to avoid cheating Slytherin players. It’s the little things you can see that really make it worthwhile. Players grab at one another, can be seen shifting their balance from one side of their brooms to other and best yet, CRASHING! Very cool and very exciting.
The special effects are fantastic. Not much to say here as it should be what the viewer expects. They’re realistic, tangible, cold when they should be and hot when it’s appropriate. Very well done.
Okay, on to the bad.
Story. Anyone who has read the novel knows that this book is kind of one big set-up for the finale. However, that being said, there are some very important and enlightening scenes that take place that really make the world and the characters realistic for the reader. While they may not come to much in the endgame, they’re why the books are so well loved.
Unfortunately, the movie leaves these scenes out for scenes that amount to even less in the grand scheme of things. They reveal little, add little and are boring, which brings me to my second point…
Pacing. The pacing in this film is awful. It drags with beautiful but pointless scenery, repetitive dialogue and…well basically, it’s filled with long scenes about things the watcher doesn’t really give a crap about. For the record, very uninteresting things that people don’t care about make for a bad cinematic experience.
Last and probably the most grievous mistake takes place in the Finale. Oh wait, what finale? Get it? You won’t get it in the theatre either.
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