scottyIIhotty's Xanga

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Thu, 14 May 2009 04:00:42 GMT

I leave for boot camp in one month. Ryan leaves in two weeks. He seems ready. I am not. However, it'll be alright. After (a minimum of) eleven weeks, it'll all be over, and I'll be back home with free schooling waiting for me.

The original two-part pilot for Stargate SG-1, "Children of the Gods", is horrible. The writers/producers know it. They've said for years that it could've been fantastic, but the executives at Showtime wanted it to be a certain way, and stepped in and made a lot of bad decisions. So, this summer (while at at death camp), this comes out...

This will be replacing the original pilot. It's not simply a re-edit. They're not using the original two-parter as a source in any respect. They're going back to the original prints, choosing different takes, different scenes, different cameras from the same scenes, and building an entirely new creature from scratch. There will be new music composed by Joel Goldsmith, and new visual effects. And for the first time Richard Dean Anderson will be doing a commentary. Woo! Can't wait. Also coming this summer from Stargate...

*sigh* I can't wait to get this summer over with!

The Little Things

Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:23:22 GMT

Sometimes I slip into a mode where I know I'm changing. It's a bit like watching a kid hit a growth spurt, only fast-forwarded, and not literally physical. Not necessarily "growth" either as much as it is rearranging or redistributing. These modes typically follow a "funk". I'll be normal for a while, slip into a funk where I am somewhat numb to art and awkward socially, recover with a "high mode" in which I make up for lost time with consecutive bursts of inspiration, and then settle back down to my regular self, only a little bit more illuminated than my last period of regularselfness. I suppose it works very similar to a muscle.

Anyway, I feel like I've hit the beginning of a "high mode". I can tell because of certain things, like being able to pet my cat just the way she likes it, have natural conversations that aren't forced, reading Sartre again, having a renewed and deeper feel and appreciation for art and their subtle aesthetics. This shot of giddy will without a doubt mellow out, but the meter will rate slightly higher than it did before last cycle, so it's definitely worth it.

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If you've never listened to this, you must. It's Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells". You'll recognize the beginning; it is usually thought of as "The Exorcist Theme".

More Things I Care About And You Don't!!

Sun, 05 Apr 2009 08:16:11 GMT

Three issues of the upcoming Blackest Night: Tales of the Corps, a Green Lantern tie-in miniseries, combine covers to make this spread...

And also, last issue Hal, Green Lantern of Earth, accidentally had a blue ring handed to him in addition to his green one, and this was the result...

Hal Jordan -- Blue-Green Lantern? It's not permanent, but the art is awesome. I love how the blue/hope symbol is on his chest, but the "badge" radiating from it is the GL emblem.

Cashew chicken is for eating.

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 04:00:31 GMT

Last night was fun.

I was at work. The night went by somewhat slow. I was closing on register with Bethany (who is pregnant, congratulations!). I was getting somewhat annoyed because none of the register duties were getting done since Megan bit off more than she could chew with her own project and handed us part of her job (without asking, might I add). Anyway, we got done and everything was cool. Before we left, my friend and manager Greg ran up to me excited,

"Scott, let's go to a titty-bar!"

Two things: 1) I'm not really a "titty-bar" kind of guy and 2) Greg is gay.

"Uhhhhhhh, who's going?"

"Matlack", says Greg, "and maybe Tommy".

Matlack! Of course. Chris Matlack is a ridiculously kind person, a veritable walking heart... who happens to idolize porn stars. He knows all of their names, and talks about them as if they were celebrities, entertaining us with tales of gossip and scandal. Tommy Hawkins is an Earth-friendly, chill, fun guy who rides a bright green moped. Also, he has a poneytail. He, like me, isn't really the titty-bar type.

"I can't, I'm poor."

"I'll pay your cover!"

Well crap, there went that excuse.

"I dunno Greg..."

"There's going to be cashew chicken wrestling! With a real porn star!"

Huh. Now, the whole girls-wrestling-in-food thing has always kind of grossed me out. I want to eat food, not watch it go to waste. Jell-O, syrup, I don't really care, food on people is weird. Cashew chicken on people is VERY weird... weird enough that I wanted to see it. Not because it'd be hot, and not because cashew chicken rocks, but as a safety precaution. Someday when I die and have accomplished absolutely nothing in my life, I can at least say that once I saw a porn star wrestle in cashew chicken. So I went.

Me, Greg, and Greg's roommate T.J. went to The Pony Club and met Tommy (he DID come!), Matlack, and Matlack's long-haired best friend. Sitting at the table next to Matlack was the porn star. I forget her name. It was "Kitanala" or something made-up like that. Teej bought me a beer (nice guy, I didn't ask or anything!) and we sat around the table and listened to Matlack talk to this lady about random stuff. Apparently they had been talking for about half an hour. It dawned on me that to Matlack, this was Angelina Jolie. He had seen her movies and um... "idolized" her for years. I felt strangely happy for him.

I joined Greg and Teej at the bar while we were waiting for our drinks, turned around, and started with surprise. Here's something you may not have known: In Missouri, or maybe just Springfield, not sure, strippers have to at least wear pasties in bars or clubs that serve alcohol, or else the bar or club can face fines. These women were not wearing pasties. This fact took me by surprise. Naturally, I studied this concept for a few minutes.

When our drinks arrived, we peeled ourselves away from the bar and went back to our seats. I sat down and joined in the conversation, not really paying attention to much else. Sipping our beers, we were talking about random stuff, and I got so caught up in the conversation I didn't realize that the porn star sitting across from me at the table was absolutely topless. Now, I would've thought that this would be distracting, but it really wasn't, so I continued conversing.

At some point, some drunk guy walked up to Matlack's long-haired friend and told him he looked like Kurt Cobain, which isn't true at all.

A bunch of employees came up to an elevated platform just next to us and started pouring food products into a kiddy pool. Oh crap. They were going to wrestle right above us, and we were going to get very messy. We adjusted our chairs, but it didn't help much. I just sipped on and, as the girls began wrestling, made a game out of dodging slimy bits of chicken as they shot past my head. Before my eyes, Matlack transformed into a box of carry-out from the Great Wall Buffet. Indeed, he was the happiest box of carry-out I had ever seen.

The next batch of girls was getting ready, and since we were right there, they were talking to us. One turned and said, "I'll try not to get you boys too messy."

I decided to try something. I replied, "Hey, as long as it comes off of you, I don't mind one bit."

That got me a free beer, which is exactly what I was going for. Hah hah.

The wrestling was over. Turns out, the porn star wasn't wrestling, just dancing. Matlack seemed disappointed. Until she started dancing.

All the while, an old guy whose mustache was almost handlebarred sat next to us. He said a lot of things and laughed a creepy, three-toothed laugh. It was very uncomfortable. He told Matlack's long-haired friend that he looked like Charles Manson. He then started screaming "HELTER SKELTER!!! HELTER SKELTER!!!!" and laughed for minutes. It was weird.

When the porn star (Shakalitading?) started dancing, Matlack and his friend moved up to the front, and Tommy joined them there. I noticed it was just me and the creepy old guy. He was staring at me and smiling. I moved to join Greg and Teej over by the dance platformy thing. Now, Greg and T.J. are gay, so it was quite hilarious to see them lure the porn star stripper lady from the straight guys with larger bills that they stuffed in various places. I think she new they were gay. It was very funny.

The show was over and everyone had to leave, so we slowly filed out the doors. The toothless guy walked up to us and just kind of smiled when we said hi, so we walked away from him. On the way out, I went to the bar a bit tipsy, handed the bartender girl four bucks, and told her she was the prettiest one there. The other one said, "Hey, what about me?". I regret doing that now, I would like to have four more bucks. In the whole night, that's all the money I spent. Oh well. Greg and T.J. were still inside talking to some lesbians who worked there, so me, Matlack, Matlack's friend, and Tommy were just kind of hanging out outside for a minute. A guy walked up to Matlack's friend and said "Hey, you look like Jesus Christ!". We laughed, because in just one night this guy had been compared to several different celebrities, and now Christ himself. We laughed with the guy, but as he walked off, he said "It's not the fucking eighties!" Uhh, what?

Matlack and his friend shouted a slew of insults back at him and the dude he was with as they left. I'm kind of surprised they didn't turn around and beat them up. It was funny though, because Matlack is from New York, and when he gets angry, it REALLY shows. His accept doubles in thickness, and several times I heard "watchootalkin'bout!" It ended with an "ahh, fugettaboutit".

We parted ways, Greg drove my car back to his and T.J.'s place. We watched "Run, Fatboy, Run" which was pretty good. I was then ready to go home and go to sleep after a night full of chilling with good friends. I drove home, walked up to my back door, pulled out my key... my key? Weren't there once keys on this keychain? Oh yeah, this is a new key. I had forgotten to put my house keys onto my new keychain after having a duplicate made the day before after locking my keys in my car (which is a story unto itself, involving coat hangers, swords, and cat toys).

I went around to the front and tested those doors. Nope, locked. Good job to the roommates though, that house is secure! Jeff's bedroom window goes to the foyer, not outside, so I opened and closed the foyer door a few times to "accidentally" wake him up. Didn't work. I noisely got "angry",

"AWW YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!! ARE YOU SERIOUS!? FUCK!!" ...... nothing.....

"FUCK!! SHIT!!! SONNUVUH CRAP!!! GAWWW!!" .....nothing..... he was still fast asleep.

I ran around back and started to go down the stairs to the basement. I don't think we've ever opened that door, so I'm not sure if it's locked or not. Before I got to the bottom, I decided it would be better to freeze all night than fall victim to the evil spiders of death. I went back to the slightly warmer foyer and read a chapter of a book I luckily had with me. I then tried to get through a window I realized was unlocked. However, it wouldn't budge. I suppose that's why it was unlocked. I gave up, and read several chapters of my book. About an hour and a half passed when I heard Ryan's alarm clock go off. I called him and explained my predicament to his voicemail. Several minutes later, Ryan lets me in. Hooray!

I am beginning to realize that my life is actually kind of fun, and is usually full of this kind of random, unpredictable evening. Sometimes it's like Seinfeld, except without all of the predictable jokes. More like Friends, I'd say.

I went to bed, and fell asleep feeling a bit like Jack Kerouac or any other era beatnik. It was a good night, not because of any "titty-bars" or toothless perverts, but because I had a good time with friends. And also because my jacket now smells like smoke and cashew chicken, a combination only available in Springfield.

Matlack, on the left, staring at a stripper. Tommy, on the right.

funny

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 23:57:25 GMT

This is now my favorite quote from a Star Wars book. Ben Skywalker (Luke's son) is testing his improvosational skills on a mission:

Ben: Do you wax your beard?
Harran: I do not.
Ben: It just seems very shiny. Do you oil it?
Harran: I do not oil it. I condition it. And I brush it.
Ben: Do you brush it with butter?

Hah hah.

"Chance and Inevitability: A Love Story" a.k.a. "The universe walked into a bar..."

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:57:25 GMT

I was speaking today with a dear ol' friend o' mine. His cosmological views are the same as mine, yet he hasn't thought too hard about them. While he renounced his religious beliefs, he didn't do any purposeful questioning of his place in the universe. I know that's a strange way to phrase it, but I think you'll see what I mean. This is something I think about a lot, and never even wondered if he, or others, had. He almost had a meltdown because he realized he didn't know how to look at himself or others with any purpose. He's good now, he just had "his moment". Everyone needs to have one. Mine happened in seventh grade. I had a "freakout" (I hesitate to use the world "breakdown" because it seems to have implications of poor mental stability). I cried and cried and cried and cried, not because I was sad, but because I couldn't wrap my mind around the vastness of having feelings and emotions with no apparent purpose or point. I've had plenty of time to mull this over, and having had help from sources I both agreed with (Sartre, Lovecraft, Nietzsche (to a degree)) and disagreed with (Kant, who was on the right track but misguided), I reached not a conclusion, but a path that remains open to interpretation.

My view on "the point of it all" can be summed up by the word "pointless". Let me clarify my usage of the word. I don't mean "pointless" as in "Aw man, life is pointless. I dye my hair black and cry in the mirror because I'm an emo bitch." (Note to people who dye their hair black and are NOT emo bitches: no hard feelings, keep doing your thing.) I mean "pointless" as in exactly what the word means... without point, without purpose, without intention. There is nothing depressing about this, and I don't use it with any negative or dark connotation. It is what it is.

To a naked, neutral, unliving, undead universe, there is no distinction between life and death. If the very essence of reality itself were to somehow become conscious (the perfect observer), our movements would be equal to the movements of rocks rolling down a hill, or one atom bonding to another. Humans created the distinction between life and death. Does that mean that the distinction between life and death is irrelevant and pointless? Would that mean our existence is irrelevant and pointless? Well, yes, it would.

Does that mean we are fated to continue on with no point? No, not at all. We have emotions.

"Well wait a second Scott, wouldn't emotions be pointless as well?" Very good _____, yes it would! Gold star! Emotions are nothing more than a set of chemical reactions in our brains which developed over time as the result of necessary changes in our gene pool to reach specific ends. They are, essentially, pointless.

Shouldn't that settle it? Even though emotions exist, there is no point, right? Wrong. Well, right, but that doesn't mean we can't do anything about that. The thing is, we DO have emotions. Whether sadness is irrelevant or not, you still feel sad when a friend lets you down. Wouldn't you want to avoid that, whether you know it's pointless or not?

There is no difference between life and death, yet due to a random dance between chance and inevitability, we have consciousness. I am no different than the keyboard at my fingertips, yet I feel and the keyboard doesn't. Life and death is irrelevant, but feeling, to the feeler, is not, because they DO feel.

There is no point to emotions, yet due to the same random dance between chance and inevitability, we HAVE emotions. In the grand scheme of existence, my feelings have no bearing on existence's continuance, yet I DO have emotions, and just like the rest of you, some I desire and some I wish to avoid.

You could call this whatever you like, perhaps optimistic, moral or purposeful nihilism (which may seem like a contradiction, yet the singular Gobstopper has multiple flavors).

In summary, there is no point. A point implies intention. There is no intention. The living and the dead are not separate. They are atoms. Some of these atoms make up objects that just happen to generate its own electricity, others make up groups of atoms that used to, while others make up groups of atoms that never did. This being the case, our emotions are pointless, yet because we have them, they are valid. To have emotions and dismiss them because of their irrelevancy is pointless. Why? Because we have them.

Go live your lives and enjoy them. Is there any point? Nope. But that gives you the freedom the create your own point. But why make a point when there IS no point to make a point? Because you can, and it really can't get any simpler than that. Feel because you can feel, do because you can do. Respect others' feelings because they have theirs just like you have yours. Pointlessness is no excuse for apathy. You have every right to sit around because you can sit around, but that's just a waste of the resources pointlessness gave you.

Until next time!

The Reason[S] for the Season

Fri, 12 Dec 2008 07:11:07 GMT

It is possible to be nonreligious without being antireligious. No seriously, trust me, it is. That being said, I feel the need to point something out before it gets too close to Christmas (I don't want to buzzkill anyone's Holiday High!).

I feel the need to give a short history lesson in light of a common saying 'round this time of year.

December 25th roughly lines up with the Winter Solstice (at least in the Northern hemisphere... but that's where Europe is anyway, so that point is moot). The solstices, being a hinge for the changing seasons and the workings of the various crops (Yuletide), have always been a religious time for simple pagan groups.

So there's one (1).

The Roman Empire had official national holidays, much like we do today. One of them was the Feast of Sol Invictus. Sol Invictus was a sun-god created by emperor Aurelian, sort of a culmination of previous sun-deity ideas, but mainly made up ideas taken from the Syrian god Shamash. The creation of the holiday was intended to further unify the Roman peoples under the new empire, which had formerly been a republic.

And there's two (2).

Two holidays during this season. Actually, that is a condensation. (1) may be considered many, since I'm lumping all of the various pagan winter solstice celebrations into one. Please keep reading.

When Rome turned to Christianity, the pagan holidays had to be stamped out. Using the date of the feast of Sol Invictus as the actual day for the replacement holiday, Christmas was born.

Not that there's anything wrong with that... this is history. With this much time having passed, I couldn't possibly point any fingers. It's more of a passive observation. Interesting trivia.

Rome attempted to stamp out the previous holidays, and succeeded with Sol Invictus' feast, however the pagan holidays remained.

Jesus is the reason for Christmas, true. However, there were other holidays there first. Jesus is not the reason for the SEASON, just Chritmas. Just because it rhymes and it's catchy doesn't make it true.

Some may say, "Well, Christianity is more commonplace than paganism is nowadays, so in a sense Jesus is the reason for the season, since all we celebrate is the Christmas aspect of it."

This is also not true. Most of our Christmas habits and rituals come from the previous holidays:

The leaders of pagan tribes would give wrapped gifts to their bloodiest warriors after a battle during the winter Yuletide feasts.

The lit Christmas tree is analogous to Yggdrasil, the World-Tree of Norse mythology.

Mistletoe was used by early druids to celebrate the coming of winter. Also, the mistletoe was the symbol of the Scandinavian love goddess, Frigga, which is likely the origin of the ol' kiss under the mistletoe. The early church banned mistletoe at one point, suggesting holly as a replacement.

The burning of the Yule Log was originally a tribute to various sun gods. The word "yule" means "wheel", which is a pagan symbol for the sun.

The use of the lit tree as a Christmas tree was originally considered blasphemy. The first evergreen, an important pagan holiday tree, was decorated with Christmas ornaments in 1521 in Germany.

And then there's Santa Claus, with hundreds of origin stories all on his own.

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So, there's the history. This time of year attracts the creation of holidays for many peoples due to the winter solstice. Christianity, as one of the first religions based on a deity rather than elements and inanimate objects, didn't require specific points in the year for religions, so it's holidays were placed on other holidays (Christmas is not the only example). Again, not complaining about this, just showing history.

There are still people in the world, even in America, who celebrate Yuletide and various other winter solstice holidays (Hanukkah, anyone?). Therefore, comments like "Jesus is the reason for the season" is inappropriate. Why not say "Jesus is the reason for Christmas"? Now, if history did not provide examples of previous yuletide holidays, and one could believe without evidence to the contrary that theirs was the first, I couldn't hold it against anyone. If you truly believe Christmas was the first winter holiday, go ahead and say Jesus is the reason for the season, because that's a religious belief rather than an historical statement, due to that statement being based on faith.

However, knowing historically that Christmas was not the first, and that others in the country legitimately celebrate other holidays that predate your own, why get angry at the K-Mart employee who says Happy Holidays? It IS plural, after all, and maybe they aren't Christian. Maybe they're Jewish, or Baha'i, or Buddhist.

It is not a sacrifice nor a compromising of your faith to admit history. You can just as easily say what you're trying to say without offending others. Is it really so important to rhyme that you need to willfully ignore history and trample on the toes of practitioners of other religions? This time of the year can be just as Christmas for you as it can be Yuletide for the other guy or Hanukkah for the next.

It's the most wonderful time of the year, so let's show a little respect.

Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!

POST SCRIPT: Oh btw, calling Christmas "X-mas" is by no means a secularization of Christmas. In Greek, "Christos" begins with an "X". It's an early abbreviation. There's some Trivial Pursuit fuel for ya!

Salaries and Starships

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 09:01:02 GMT

I've never really sat down and made a list of the things I must pay for every month in relation to what I make every month. I just did that. Turns out, I've been making this whole thing SOOO much harder than it needed to be. I make PLENTY of money to pay all of my bills, and have a substantial amount left over, even with a minimum-wage job... what I need to do is invest in a fucking lunchbag and groceries. I've been too lazy to actually do that, when it's so much quicker and easier to decide to go somewhere random on my lunchbreak.

Lesson of this blog entry: EATING OUT WILL DESTROY YOUR WALLET!!!

I spend hundreds on drive-thru food every month. I cannot believe how much it adds up! Next paycheck, I'm hitting up the grocery store, and I'm going to make good use of the money I make instead of blowing it and picking a bill every month to not pay, and eat healthier in the process. Financial freedom, here I come.

Oh, and here's this:

BAM!!

That is the NCC-1701 Enterprise of the upcoming film, Star Trek. She's a beaute, to be sure. A lot of people are complaining that it's not exactly the same as it was in the original series (which this movie takes place before), and are claiming that the movie has broken canon. Well, let's think about that for a second... the ship was refit and it's appearance was drastically altered between the end of the original series and the beginning of the first movie (Star Trek: The Motion Picture), so who's to say a similar refit does not take place between the events of THIS movie and the original series? Huh? That's right. My geek gland is bigger than years, and I'm not afraid to secrete it's juices all of you. Cretin.

STAR TREk '09

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 07:04:44 GMT

There's been mountains of secrecy surrounding the eleventh Star Trek movie, simply titled "Star Trek", coming out this summer, but two days ago they finally released screenshots.

The U.S.S. Kelvin under fire.

The young versions of the entire main cast of the original series. From left to right, Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scott, Karl Urban as Leonard "Bones" McCoy, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, and Zoe Saldana as Uhura.

Kirk crawling out of an escape pod thingy. Notice the lettering. NCC-1701 is the registry number of the Enterprise.

The first look at the new design for the bridge of the Enterprise.

The U.S.S. Kelvin. It looks like it's upside-down, but the lettering is always on top, but who knows. Interesting, nevertheless.

The U.S.S. Enterprise under construction.

Nero, a Romulan, the film's main villain, portrayed by Eric Bana.

An early meeting between Kirk and Spock, legendary best friends. Hmm!

Another shot of Nero. Now I know what a bald Romulan looks like. Interesting that they removed the brow ridges. I wonder if anyone is ever going to explain why Romulan brow ridges appear and disappear at a whim.

Close-up of McCoy and Kirk. I was hesitant when I heard Karl Urban would be Bones, but his mannerisms are dead-on. Not as much as Zoe Saldana though... I'm convinced she's a clone of Nichelle Nichols. Notice Kirk's blue eyes here... Kirk has brown eyes... contacts would not have been hard... oh well.

There's another one out there of John Cho has Sulu, I'll find it eventually. I cannot wait for this to come out. I'm slightly apprehensive though. The writers Bob Orci and Alex Kurtzman, as well as showrunner J.J. Abrams have sworn that they uphold the strictess canon, and that it takes place in the established Star Trek universe and isn't meant as a literal "reboot" of continuity, however they said the opening scene will make many fans scramble in a panic, believing that canon has been changed. I'm confused by these mixed signals, but we will see what happens I suppose.

Freakin' excited!!!!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:54:00 GMT

I found this...

1) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.