if...

if you could be awake always, without having to suffer from lack of sleep or other health issues....would you? It's a tough call for me, as my wife can probably attest to, but I like both dreaming and being awake so much that I'm not sure I could make a choice here. However, with our limited time on Earth I might pick part A (staying awake) because I'd hope that death is a long part B (dreaming).

Keep it real

A+ movie....

okay, for all of you that have followed my bizarre route to good movies and have liked my previous recommendations (you know who you are), you have to check out this 1994 Italian winner - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109592/


This is no joke people, if you have an open mind and liked my other recommendations that were a bit off the wall (Wickerman, Meet the Feebles, etc.) - this movie is for you. Actually, the Wickerman and Meet the Feebles, among others, might even be a bit too much for some while this movie has something for everyone. Sure it's a zombie movie, but it is also a bizarre dark comedy and a love story with great cinematography and imagery. The zombie part is actually almost behind the scenes theme-wise - though remaining important to the plot - it is more of an undertone and way of life for the main character(s). Dellamorte Dellamore (aka the Cemetery Man) ranks #38 on my all-time list, just below the Last of the Mohicans and just above the Godfather part I and Deadbeat at Dawn.


I recommend reading the user reviews on the IMDB sight, they are more poetic than I. Still, go rent it already.....

hi there friend

n;>> Hey Mel, how's it going?


Not too bad, but I've been thinking about things that are beyond me, fathoming almost. Not sure how to handle these items.


n;>> Well, like what?


Like intimate noises for instance, and how if you listen harder you hear more and more of what you previously couldn't hear when you weren't listening fully. Stuff like depths also...how big does it go down - the ocean? What's up with the things they found a long time ago that weren't discovered yet? Like that compass navigation astronomical calculator device thingy found on that ship buried deep below sea which was supposed to have been 1,000 years ahead of it's time.

n;>> Oh, you mean the Antikythera mechanism?


Yes, that's what I'm referring to. Those types of things - items that totally warp reality for those that take time to think about it versus the norm....those things make me wonder harder than I've ever wondered.


n;>> Well, I hear what you're saying. I guess I've thought about stuff like that too. I often wonder more about what's up with the pyramids, particular wonderment focuses on what happened.... - what makes them so special and unique? Meaning, if there really is something going on at they pyramids why can't they figure it out for real instead of speculate? What could possibly be going on to have made them and did they have help? If it all were to end tomorrow and the pyramids had a secret about them, how would we ever know? In many years later, new lifers with brains which evolved (after our kind has been destroyed, probably by ourselves with our own advancements), when these new people venture upon the Earth (thanks to single celled organism development and evolution) they'd probably think that it would have been odd that we didn't figure more out about the pyramids. That the risk of ultimate chaos or at least potential chaos, from the items that are known and proven but yet hidden, would have served well to be displayed for all to know and study about the pyramids.


Yeah, I heard that bro

cooler?

what would be cooler? Trent Reznor doing a horror movie soundtrack, having a jet pack that only worked for about 10 minutes and needed 40 days of charging between uses (basically it's cool, but you can only use it sparingly), or having marsupial pouches?

What happened? C-

The Happening sucked. Big time. Sorry Andy for dissing you about it. I now admit you were right. Seriously, could the acting be worse in this movie?


"Oh darn, Rodriguez fell from the building. Holy gosh, so did Bob. What ever can we do? Oh man. Oh man. I feel not good. I are good actor." Even Marky Mark and Leguizamo, and Zooey for that matter were straight horrible. HORRIBLE I say. I guess M. Night told them to act as pedestrian as possible, and by that he meant - just don't act at all, in fact make it bad - really bad. It was so bad it didn't even seem like how people would act in real life. That guy that took them to the green house was odd, which is what I think he was supposed to be, but he couldn't act to save his life either. I honestly don't understand this approach.....at all???


I have loved every other M. Night movie I've seen - even The Village, which many people thwarted. In fact, on my top 161 movies list I have The Village listed at 39, Signs at 55, and Unbreakable at 124. Yeah, I'm not sure where Sixth Sense falls. Sure it was good, but I can't stand the hype on that one. It is on the "pending list" - to be added at a later time.


The ONLY cool thing about this movie was the way peeps were offing themselves. Dammit M. Night, you now have me strayed from your good graces. Damn! The last 4 movies prior to watching this one were WAY better: the Brood (1979), Deadbeat at Dawn, White Boyz, and Eraserhead. (I actually didn't include Boondock Saints - I saw this again and also didn't get the hype. It's my second time watching as I wanted to see if it got better and the answer is no. I also didn't include the 2007 version of April Fool's Day or 21 with Kevin Spacey. Both movies sucked).

who'd and what'd

who'd you rather be (assuming you are a guy): a surfer dude from CA, James Franco, or yourself?

TMBG

honestly, as I stood there last night - mesmerized and in awe - wishing the evening would never end.....I realized the make believe world They Might Be Giants has created.....the happy go lucky fun zone they've poured into all of us.....just makes this world grand - so much so that I got an overwhelming feeling during the night that it is okay to bring kids into this crazy world. THEY, literally, make it a happy world worth raising kids in. If you don't know what I am talking about, you need to get their albums and also some kids.

feelings? y/n

do you think wasted (unused) food has emotional feelings?

For instance, the creamer I forgot to use today....he got to a point where he got old and I had to throw him away....is he sad because he wasn't used for what he was put on this Earth for? Does that crush him that his purpose wasn't achieved?

Or is it the opposite - that now he is in my waste container and NOT in my intestines.....which I can imagine is quite scary itself.....does he really win this battle?

Lead

I am okay with admitting now that I like Led Zeppelin. You can call me a 20-year-after-bandwagoneer if you like, but I feel now that I've listened for 6 months - it's okay to state that I am their biggest fan.

Take care

somthing fun

inspired by my buddy's blog, let's see what responses we get from this. Take 6 descriptive words to describe YOURSELF and post them to the comments section. I'll start:


pirate, elevatormusak, sports, passion, sarcasm, family


your turn

as I sit here...

I think I am in the mood for one of those obscure rants about life and why we live...and what the heck is going on in the world...for some reason today is one of those days for me. I have 1,000 thoughts popping through my head and I can't control any of them. But, ultimately that is a good thing - right?


Each day I am fathomed by something that is....something that captivates me for even just a second to make me say hmmm, make me feel human, or even make me feel not-human (if you will). Those are the things and thoughts that make me just yearn for the unknown and the unfathomable. In the end of one's existence - what's the ultimate point? To sacrifice for others so they remember you a certain way, so they have a certain life that you left them, so that you did what you wanted to do, so that ultimately you made a difference? I don't know and neither does anyone else. "Paths of life" that people take are funny items for sure. Let's move on shall we:


I find it hard to believe this is all a dream, so let's dismiss that right away. So is this really a life? Really something that I feel daily and go through?? And has this life really become some sort routine that becomes me just getting to the next day so that I can get to the next day and do the same thing over again? Just to push so hard on the things we gotta do so that we can eventually get to the things we WANT to do? Or is that just what it has become for most of us? Overtime, has most of life become this way? Who are the people not living this way?


I think I might hate technology to a degree. It has made me a hermit of sorts. Today I was emailing with some close friends who I'd consider risk takers, enjoyers of life....and such, you know....but we started talking about camping and it came to my attention that these guys hadn't really camped much in their lives, one guy in particular hadn't camped for roughly - jeez, what would it be, like almost close to 20 years now? Seriously? Anyway, this isn't about that....because I know these guys have other ways of touching nature and enjoying the Earth and life for what it is, but rather this is about the "stuff" that sucks from us as people. Side note, looks like this mini-rant is turning into my hopeful new found LUST for life apparently....and I hope that "kick" stays with me. But really when the day is said and done, I am mostly spending my time inside with the AC blaring, watching like 3 or so hours of TV (that is sick), and quote unquote enjoying other such technological luxuries. (*I just reread that last paragraph and wanted to state that life is good, but maybe just not fully served to it's fullest...see below)


Granted, items/technologies like described above are fun and have become necessary and nice. I couldn't exist (listen to me, crazy I sound I say, but funny stuff overall)....where was I...oh yeah...I couldn't exist without email I don't think. It is such a great way of communication. TV, movies, music - all stuff that makes me who I am....and IS my life. But at the end when it is all done, will I be happy that I watched most of the Seinfeld episodes? Will I be happy that I reached level 55 on COD4? Will it matter that I own most of what Built to Spill has produced, such luscious and moderately unknown beauty that is great music? Will any of it matter? Sure I could put anything into these parameters, like "will it matter that I mowed my lawn this year?" or something else silly like "will it matter when I am gone that I wrote this passage for others to see?" Ultimately all of it just makes me say WTF?! WTF, is it worth it? WTF really IS it? WTF is going on? WTF matters? WTF happened over the past few years? WTF was that noise (seriously I am getting scared right now)? WTF is next to happen?


The phrase WTF has ultimately existed for generations and hundreds and hundreds of years. Cavemen likely looked up to the sky - or whatever at the time was their "direction" of looking to say WTF - and indeed say WTF in their own words. None of what I am saying means anything different than what others have said in random rants like this in the past, but still it is good to think about this every once in a while. I just hope that the 2 people reading this think to themselves about how special and unique - or random, crazy and unappreciated - most parts of life are. I would love to challenge myself to make each day...as they say, "lived to the fullest"...that would be my ideal world. But stuff happens, work happens, shit - LIFE happens - and I find it harder and harder to live life by the fullest. How funny is that? Life happens so I can't live life by the fullest. Wow. Intense.


Maybe this all will change when I read this again tomorrow. Maybe someone else will think about stopping their madness that is technology overload. Maybe I'll go on a non-TV binge so that I can experience everything else life has to offer, more fuller and more, well just more (obviously this would not include excluding baseball and reality shows) - you know, go to the extreme by taking away sitcoms basically. Oh man, I don't even know what I am talking about anymore. Rant rant Rrrrr.


Whatever life is - I just had one of those moments and shared it with you. When I stop and think...dare I say it again....WTF?!?! Life is glorious and scary, happy and whacked, perplexing and loony, but ultimately (seriously I hate to ruin the moment but I hear something in the woods again, this time it is walking, and I am getting the hell out of here....l8ter)

Madonna's Cherish hits tops on charts

back on Oct 23, 2006 I saved this beauty via scanner. Essentially, it is the beginnings of the best mapping of rap fueds and friendships ever. I just wish I had more time and patience on Earth to do important things like this mapping. Darn.

...in 2005

...in 2005, March 10th to be exact, I received word back from my application to Waste Management. Here is what they said, nicely put I might add, but I was saddened:


Thank you for your interest in Waste Management. At this time, you are no longer being considered for the position of your choice based on a careful review of your interests and qualifications. However, we will maintain your information for 12 months and notify you if you are selected for future openings better matching your qualifications.


I wonder what exactly it takes? I mean no offence to the profession at all, honestly, it is something I've always wanted to do. I wish I had a Tuesday route only, or something like that. Just to be free of corporate america or the like. I'd love to be flying on the back of the truck, with my hair blowing the way of the wind. I'd get a devil's haircut and rock out for sure. Anyway, still bummed since 2005 and it is one email I'll never forget. I just wonder if in the end, with constant pursuit, I'd land a job? I honestly want this to be my fall back position. Damn it all to heck man.

Company options

What if there were stats that proved/showed an employee could work in a certain scenario or environment thus besting their productivity when compared to the normal setting? What I am talking about here is virtual cubes. You just hop into your cubicle and can set your desired scene. Some people can probably work best at the beach with those happy and sunny sounds strumming their eardrums all day as they respond to emails or type up meeting minutes. For me, I'd work best while at my local pool. What would happen in my virtual cube would be a steady pumping of chlorine and Swedish fish smell coupled with the sounds of background chatter, diving board pops and splashes, and feet running in puddles. Act now and get the added sound of the snack shop door opening and slamming shut complete with the squeaky/rusty coil-spring bringing the door back to it's home state sound.


In the end, I'd be more productive if this were the case. I'd be listening to the pool rather than the guy behind me talking loudly with his office door wide open, the guy next to me using speaker phone ("hands free") to listen to an entire teleconference or better yet checking his balance on his phone bill, and the people across from me talking about how funny the email was they just got from their Aunt Janice where they needed to respond to a list of categories with answers that start with the first letter from their name. Name something that reminds you of summer and starts with a C.....crows.....LOL, glad you could share that with me out loud. All of this time and pressure and stress could be relieved with new and advanced "virtual surrounding cubicles". Try one out today. Our best seller so far is the virtual beach, picture yourself zoning into your work with gulls pleasantly squalking and the surf slapping. Order now and get a complimentary tan.....The newest option available is the Cafeteria setting, never work again without the background noise that is silverware clinging....New for 2009.


Sorry about that....back to my thought....maybe people work best with the actual office sounds that come with the joys of real cubicle land. Thus forcing companies to offer that as a virtual scene option, actually probably the default option in most systems. Who wouldn't want to work while hearing typing, talking, teleconferences on speaker phones, people clanging their bracelets on their desk, and those special moments when someone decides to cut their nails at the desk next to you. Haha.


An optional item would be the scenery option. Companies can opt to allow the scenery option where the pool or other environments are actually visible. Likely a distraction, this will probably be removed as an option in upcoming years.


There would have to be some things worked out for this model, for instance there would need to be an off switch for when your phone rings or when someone stops by to ask you something.


But could you imagine if they knew that I worked at a 45% higher rate with my pool setting versus when I have it turned off, or the 13% more productivity rate with the laundra-mat sound and smell display activate. That would be soothing and smell nice I suppose, I could probably work with that going down.


Take care

Oreoles

Tonight at dinner my wit lead me to asking my wife who she thinks is in the lead in the AL East. She said JRoll. So then I opted to give her choices. Yankees, Red Sox, Blue Jays, D. Rays, or Orioles. Ai chimed in that he likes the Orioles. Man was I proud. All these years as having the O's as my favorite team, and it had rubbed off on my 1st offspring. I haven't really even pushed them on him yet, I just let him watch and like what he wants. My wife and I looked at each other in amazement and then Ai continued on by saying, "yeah, I like their creamy middles. They are good cookies." Uh oh, someone tricked Daddy and was really talking about Oreos. Somehow, someway, he then said he also likes their (referring to the oreos) red socks. Hehe, interesting.

Hummingbirds

I stopped today with the boys to get some more mealworms for the bluebirds (sidenote: I am going to put them in the fridge this time so they go "dormant" rather than feed them them carrots). Yep, the 500 mealworms from batch #1 is already gone. While at the store, I brushed up on my hummingbird info. We plan to make our own solution this year. Basically here's what I found out and what you need to know about this process and the timing of things - in case you wanted to grab a feeder for yourself:

• mix 4 parts water with 1 part sugar and boil
• store this solution in the refridgerator
• on April 15 start putting the mixture in the hummingbird feeder
• if the temperature is ~ 70 degrees, replace the solution about once every 5 days
• if the temperature is ~ 90 or higher, replace the solution about once every other day

The hummingbirds are due back in the PA area on approximately April 26th.

Birds

This is the second of potentially many snapshots of my saved past writings. click the picture to see it larger.

Lucidness

I have books about lucid dreaming, which are easy reads that I can bring in for you if you like. They are roughly 70 pages in total. It is partially necessary to read up on this to teach your mind how to prepare for lucidity and to create the technique that suits you best. It teaches you how to think as you are going to sleep. It teaches you how to focus on the surroundings and the sounds you hear and ask yourself, or rather tell yourself, that these are real and I am not asleep yet. You just keep thinking, “Is that real? Am I asleep yet?” Then you get to the point where you are actually asking yourself that question as you fall asleep and then as you enter the actual dream state. At this time (with practice) you can realize that you are dreaming as you ask these questions and what you are seeing/thinking is not real etc. Once you realize this and get good at this technique, you can perform lucid dreams all the time.


It also teaches you to look for certain things - I forget what they are called right now, but let's call them hotspots. Like for me, if I dream about being back in my old neighborhood or even about Sam, I know it isn't real and thus I tell myself that I am in a dream.


The part I struggle with is when I realize I am in a dream and the dream has officially become “lucid”. I have to tell myself to remain calm and not to get too excited for this excitement wakes me right up and my lucidity only lasts as long as a few flying maneuvers (which is the first thing I do each time I lucid dream). Normally when I fly around a bit I tell myself to spin mid-flight, because I read once that spinning can cause a drastic background or other type of change in a dream while in the lucid state - this is when I normally wake up. Bummer.


There is also a technique where you put a dot on your hand for a few days/weeks in a row. You end up getting used to looking at the dot and each time you look you tell yourself that you are awake. Eventually you will look at your hand in your dream and likely see no dot, thus you can trigger your mind to realize you are asleep. See, it is all about training your brain. Some people are so good that they do it every night. That would be awesome. I have only done it approximately 35 times and to be honest don't think about it enough prior to bedtime or I end up falling asleep with the TV on or something so I am distracted mentally. I keep meaning to get this book off my book shelf and merely place it on my night stand so I see it just before heading to la-la land each night.


Lucidity is by far the most exhilarating event that I have experienced with the exception of the video of Aunt Janice not watching her large nephew on that amusement park ride.


P.S. You don't need to borrow the book now, I just taught you everything you need to know. That'll be $13 please.


P.P.S. I think everyone dreams but only a certain percentage of people can remember them, and only a certain percentage of those people can retain the dream in memory longer than the first few minutes after they have awaken. I used to have a journal of dreams. When I read old entries, I can picture the exact dream as if it was the night I originally dreamt it. They also recommend doing that (journal) to help you remember dreams and experience lucidity better.

what is wrong with me?

As some may know, I have allowed myself to FINALLY listen to music from before I was born. Today I listened to Jethro Tull for the first time that I am aware of. They are coming to MusicFest this year by the way. Maybe I'll go. So here's how it went down: I pushed shuffle on my buddies iPod and the first song was Aqualung (out of 102 possible Tull songs) and apparently this one was really famous. I sat there and said, "wow, this is really good" not recognizing it at all. I listened for a few more minutes and they are now my favorite band. Seriously, life should be interesting going forward. I have so much to catch up on. I got really good at listening to music from "now" but now I have to back track to music from "then" and see what floats to the top. It's like I am listening to the music that influences the music that I already know. Fun. I'm taking recomendations....feel free to let me know of some good albums/groups. So far I have Tull and Zeppelin covered, and I listened to one Cream album the other day that I really liked. And probably the Beatles and some Floyd are covered, but more the famous stuff for the Beatles and odd stuff for Floyd (that's just how it worked out over time when someone said, "hey listen to this"). I'd be up for some "odd" Beatles if anyone knows of any....


What's next you may ask? Well, maybe I'll start watching movies that were out before 1970. We'll see about that. Take care now.

top ten things Randy Jackson says

Is he a robot? Randy Jackson is very annoying this year - maybe even more so than Paula. I challenge all readers to provide more "sayings" that Mr. Jackson says. Here they are:

1. "Okay, okay, listen dawg, it didn't work for me"
2. "Not very good dawg, not very good"
3. "A bit pitchy in spots" - that is the only vocal critique he knows
4. "pretty good overall, but watch the pitchy spots"
5. "good looking out"
6. "YEAH BRINGING IT TONIGHT!!"
7. "the competition IS ON dawg!!"
8. "110% yes!!"
9. "Not a big fan"
10. "THAT WAS HOT DAWG!!"

rather....

would you rather be able to:

A) pause time for 10 seconds or....

B) rewind time for 10 seconds?

Hard - Don Johnson's Comeback Tour

Hi there. FYI, I was trying to email a few people but due to technical difficulties I’ll blog it instead. I’d love to go on about my frustration with hotmail but I’ll refrain. Thanks for asking, but no I’m not ready for g-mail yet, but I sort of wonder if when I say that I sound like someone who still uses a dial-up modem??


1. Life is Funny?:
To me not much in life is funny. I guess I mean the stuff that is supposed to be funny isn’t so funny to me. Yeah, that's it. Overall I laugh a lot and I myself am totally hilarious, but everyone else thinks the stupidest stuff is LOL funny. Case in point that Heder/Ferrell skating movie or a fwd about why a dog is not like a cat. A) Does that mean that my sense of humor has become so refined that it takes this much (I am showing you with my hands) to make me laugh? So if you are a comedian and need someone to bounce material off of - I am your guy. Just bring your stuff over to my house: If I sit there and stare at you blankly you probably will be an instant hit with the general masses, if I laugh my arse off it is not good stand-up. B) Or does it mean that everyone else is right and stuff really IS hilarious and I am wrong? Small silly humors don’t hit my laugh nerve, or my funny-o-meter if you will. Lately when I get sent a non-humorous fwd I call it out as not funny. I guess the rest of the world just lies when they get a not funny email and reply to their buddy, “Good one, LOL!!” No one is stepping up and distinguishing between good and bad humor. I know laughter makes you younger and have good skin, but 98% of the forwards and clever web-sites I view just leave me feeling like I wasted 5 seconds of my life. Is it just me?


2. Trying too hard/Another’s mishap:
People are just trying too hard to be clever and I guess you could point that finger at me too. I mean there are funny things out there for sure, like Old Gregg, Unforgivable, and the Grape Lady, but in the end some of the funniest things are at another’s expense. Look at youtube and see what the highest ranked videos are, they are likely someone falling over or something, who doesn’t laugh when someone accidentally gets punched and falls over? Hahaha LOL. That is funny. But if you’ve seen one singing cat you’ve seen them all.


3. When is it okay to be odd?:
I need to know this answer. It’s like I have to tiptoe through life and feel out my present company to know which Q is allowed to be presented at that time. The Q that is himself and just says stuff because he feels like it, or the Q that has to “act” a certain way to fit in – or at least so that he doesn’t get scoff looks from people? Why can’t I just be myself all the time? Instead, I need to slowly start dropping my personal oddities/thoughts here and there to see if the reaction is okay and if yes then I know I can be myself. Well that sucks, I want to be me all the time.


4. Just be what society wants:
Maybe that is the answer and maybe this is what everyone else does? I can be myself when I am at home but in society I need to be normal. Is that what it has come too? It sounds funny me even saying this because we are in a time on Earth where all the crazies are allowed to wear their passion out loud to show who they are (crazy hairdos, thoughts, and outfits), showing the world how they really feel or how free they actually are. If this is the case, why do I feel the way I do?


To wrap this up - RAAAAAHHHH!!!! Haha. (insert scary dinosaur with long teeth, looking menacing)

Can we rekindle this conversation?

A) A friend of mine claims that saying "God Bless You" after a sneeze is a pagan ritual of some sort.


B) Don’t you think instead we should say, "May God Bless You" when we first see someone in the morning as more of a spraying of holy words uponst a person to protect them and make them mentally prepared as well as mentally well? And then when someone sneezes we say, "Good Morning" as in I hope you have a good rest of the morning now that you have just sneezed. Basically now that your sneeze is over I hope you - starting just now - have a good morning?


>>> Friend X >>>
I heard that saying God bless you was because your heart temporarily stops when you sneeze, and God will help it start back up when you're done sneezing. So when you see someone sneeze and immediately afterwards they are still alive, you just witnessed a miracle. Understand?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you


I liked this explanation the best:
"Your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze, and saying "bless you" prevents your soul from being stolen by Satan or some evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil."


I had a thought (regard) the other night. Have you ever had deja vu? Well I had it twice last week alone. Deja vu is a concept that always blew my mind, honestly why do you think it happens? Did time fold over on itself and you're re-doing something you've already done and you're remembering the first time as you do it again?


>>> Me >>>
Or is it just a recurrence of a situation that is so similar to a previous situation that it's virtually identical? Yes, I believe it is this.


>>> Friend X >>>
Whatever it is, it only lasts for a few seconds and then the feeling is gone. Anyway, my thought/point is that I am going to start keeping a log of my deja vu experiences inclusive of the day, time and situation (action being performed and the whatever I was thinking about at the time). Then after about a year I will look at my data, graph it and look for patterns. My goal is to figure out an equation for calculating my next deja vu experience, and then you can come over and be there to videotape it when it happens and then we can put it on You Tube, titled "Guy having Deja Vu at XYZ o'clock, date". Get back to me ASAP on this.


>>> Me >>>
Even more powerful is the viewing of an oasis. Wow, that is crazy bro. Ya' ever see that bro?


>>> Friend X >>>
Yeah but what if it's this: when you die you immediately restart your life at the beginning in 1976, and each time you get to make new choices and lead your life into a different direction, but every once in a while you cross over times where you were doing/thinking the same exact thing at the same time in your previous life, causing a temporal rift in the universe that we know as deja vu? Q, this is the answer. Just say yes. In your reply to this, just put yes:


>>> Me >>>
Yes. Why didn’t you talk about the oasis phenomenon? Back to deja vu and your thoughts - seriously that's impossible. Haven't you ever seen Back to the Future? You can't mess with the items or events that occurred in the past or it will change everyone else's life, i.e. don't kiss your mom at the dance. But, I don't want to discredit your thoughts, because I think they are strangely brilliant although likely wrong. However it does give me some other thoughts about stuff like folding time. I just think deja vu is always very stupid for me - like I remember my wife saying something about the same thing in the same tone just a few days ago. It always happens only a few days apart. It isn't like I got deja vu from 19 years ago, just now. Are yours normally relatively close together? I think it probably has something to do with your mind playing tricks on you and likely the first event was close in similarity to the second and your brain, albeit simple, got totally confused.


Does the other person involved, if your deja vu involves another person, ever have it too along with you? Mine never does. They just look at me like, "okay Q, whatever". Normally I yell it too, like this "WOW, DEJA VU - Did you feel that???” What boggles my mind is that we only tap like 30% of our brain's potential. I always wanted to find a way to think really hard and tap into mine more, and get to like 75%. That would mean at that point I could throw things across the room with my brain. I can't wait until I find that way to tap into my brain harder and better. When that happens I could be pouring coffee on your head from way over here, with my brain.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deja_vu


>>> Friend X >>>
In my next life I will watch American Psycho in the theatre on opening night.


>>> Me >>>
Let's talk about exorcisms now. Earlier when I was reading your rant I thought how these were probably faked in the past and then I remembered about the Latin etc. that is spurted out and realized that the devil really does enter certain people through out time. What's up with that friend? Sometimes that scares the crap out of me, possessed people that is. Now they just throw them into a padded room and dose them up and never let anyone know what really goes on.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demonic_possession


>>> Friend X >>>
Agreed, exorcisms are crazy and blow my mind. If I were to have a top 10 list of things that are unexplainable and I want answers to asap, the list would include: nothing in space, where does the universe end and what is on the other side, deja vu, evil possessions, and fire (seriously, what the heck is it, it's not alive and doesn't have mass and isn't made of electricity like lightning, yet it grows and is always pissed and it's sole purpose is to consume and destroy. Is fire a demon?) I'd also like to know more about being inside the inside-out disco ball and what it would look like to shine a flashlight in.


Let me know what would be on your top ten list, I'll get started on my final draft.


>>> Me >>>
1. body overtake/possession
2. aliens (in general I need to know more about this)
3. government secrets etc.; things they hide (aliens, underground lairs, etc.) and certain truths versus what they tell the public
4. space: how far does it go? distance wise and what the heck is out there? is it evil?
5. spontaneous combustion - I know there are specials about this, but I sort of don't buy it. I need the truth
6. alien abduction
7. folding time
8. the afterlife
9. how twins think alike etc.
10. ghosts

Right At Your Door (B-):

Do I recommend this movie? Yes. Is this movie for the faint of heart? Well I suppose it can be, but not for someone who can't handle mass-chaos scenes (however there are only a few instances of mass-chaos in this movie). Basically this brings a "real first person" feel to something that probably could happen to all of us at one point in life, which is both scary and sad. I for one think we (at least my generation or the two generations below mine) will see the demise of Earth thanks to humans. Maybe not the whole Earth, but the human race will see it's demise thanks to humans. Somehow we will screw it up.


Over the past 100 years or so technology has advanced so fast (on a scale of 1 to fast - we are now above fast) that I hope we don't implode ourselves - but for some reason I believe it is bound to happen during our lifetime. Anyway, don't get depressed, these are just my pessimistic thoughts that I probably should have omitted from this rant - however when looking at a bell curve over time it is a possibility. That's all I am saying.


For some reason this Chris Gorak movie from 2006 was just released to DVD (I believe in January 2008 in the US). I guess it was a timing thing considering all of the trouble we've had since 9/11. Movies like this are touchy for sure. I guess now of all times makes the most sense since our terror level is currently low. So, as you can guess this is a movie about a dirty bizombing in Los Angeles (I have to say that so I don't get flagged, remove the "iz" to understand better). It then has a very M. Night Shalamalamadinger feel to it - basically filmed through the eyes of Rory Cochrane, aka Lucas from Empire Records. (Where has he been since 1995?) Mary McCormack is his wife. The plot for this movie gets an A+ however the story gets a bit long mid-movie, which is why I gave this an overall B- as a movie. The twist at the end definitely makes this movie worth watching.


Brad (Rory Cochrane) is an out of work rocker who helps his wife get ready for work and then just sits at home, but on this particular day L.A. is the spot of massive attacks (of which he can see from his window - the L.A. cityline). The rest of the movie is done very well in regards to how a person would react in this situation. He trys to go and get her until he hits a jam and the police won't let him get any farther, steals supplies from a store in which the owner/workers have fled, he runs into some of his neighbors and reacts in an interesting way (I don't want to give anything away), and he also decides that he has to give up on his hope for his wife's return and board himself inside his house.


I realize now to spice this movie up I could have used an Alvaro (Brad's neighbor's gardener) and Brad fist-off during this movie. That is just the action-guy inside of me speaking. There is much frustration between these two characters during the movie and a good yell-fest or fight could have made the middle of the movie more realistic and exciting.


After watching this movie I realized I don't have enough canned soup, jarred nuts, bottled water, plastic sheets, and duct tape. Oh, and a giant adult sized tricycle. I think everyone needs one of these to maneuver should we not have access to gasoline/cars.

The Ocean

Dudes, have you ever hear that song 'The Ocean' by Led Zeppelin? It is pretty groovy. Classic rock sounding for sure. I do actually recognize this one from the radio, however never really listened very hard to it.

Let me explain this seemingly stupid statement. About 10 months ago I asked my pal if he could burn me copies of some of the Zeppelin stuff, because I haven't really ever gotten into them, nor do I know what they sing when compared to the Doors, Beatles, etc. (they sort of all were in one big pot to me). Anyway as nice of a pal as he is, he bought me the entire box set from Zeppelin. So I added all 85 songs to my iPod and then occasionally on shuffle (iPod) I will get to hear on of their songs (amongst the other 6,300). Today I heard 'The Ocean'. Pretty good. You should check it out sometime.

being a Dad

More and more funny events keep happening as my Dad-time on Earth grows larger. Here are two recent instances:


My 4.5 year old was riding with me in the car on our way to soccer lessons on Saturday and asked me, "Daddy, why don't you have your straight signal on?" It took me a minute but after final absorption of his statement I realized he had a very good point. It's very astute of him to make that correlation actually. If we use signals to go left and right - why not for going straight? I then proceeded to tell him most drivers can't even find the left and right signals because they are lazy and stupid and don't care to let others know their intent while driving a large piece of potentially deadly sharp metal, thus creating 13% more accidents monthly...and by asking them to also put on a straight signal would be just asking too much.


Another event with the same child as noted above occurred on the way home from swimming lessons on Tuesday. He was watching the directional indicator (N, S, E, W and NW, NE etc.) on my car dash as we drove in different directions. It was stuck on W for a long time and he asked me, "Daddy, when is Y going to come?" Funny stuff. Large corporations should hire 4.5 year olds to solve internal problems.

- Do people behave like their true selves in dreams? -

Without having done any prior research on the topic, this thought came up today during a conversion with my pal about Hollywood deaths (don't ask how we jumped from one topic to the other). The thought revolved around the substance of a person's dream when compared to the person who is dreaming it. Basically does someone who takes no risks, has no impure thoughts, and is outright bland in brain thought end up having bland dreams about happy-go-lucky things like tulips, eating cereal, and filing documents at work? Or can/do they have demented dreams that make them feel as if they have sinned when they awake (for a lack of a better description)? And also for the opposite personality: does your typical horror/sci-fi movie watcher who isn't scared to think outside the box end up dreaming more crazy-styled dreams?


I am sure there has been research about topics similar to this...and I need to check into that, but it is a good question to me. Does your normal brain, your normal thoughts, and your normal actions end up directly influencing your daily dreams? Does the person you are when you are awake end up molding your dream state?


My dreams are crazy yet pretty true to what my brain thinks daily. However I don't really know any other way to think because I'm just me - in comparison I don't know what someone with other brain thoughts thinks or dreams either. I guess that is part of the question. I need to research the stats on this pronto. In my dreams I still have a healthy conscience. For example, I will never cheat on my wife in my dreams (stupid conscience won't even let me get away with one freebie while sleeping, haha). Also I won't do harmful things to someone in my dreams, unless they are a burglar - even so it is pretty harmless (and in slow motion). These I believe are an attribute to my normal awake brain functions and thoughts. Whereas overall I feel I am a kind person who means well. Then there is the zany side of my dreams, which I'd like to think everyone gets the luxury of experiencing. For example when I am flying around with Ving Rhames on a surf board in Hummelstown looking for the golden bird of supreme power. I also have many scary dreams which are probably directly linked to the horror movies I watch just prior to going to bed. With all of that said and to regroup to the main point - if I did nothing but focus on goodness and boringness my whole life - would I then dream that way?


Anyways, get back to me on this if you have an opinion or know more about this topic than I. I'll also have to do some research and get back to myself.


Here are two bonus thoughts to think about along these lines...if any of the above holds true in any sense, what's the deal with people who can't dream or rather can't remember their dreams? And, how does lucid dreaming effect the above discussions and also potentially your normal awake life? That's another blog topic altogether.

skinny latte

no I am not having skinny latte's these days - thanks for asking. However, every time I am in line the person in front of me always orders like they are a coffee ordering expert, "I'll have a grande skinny latte hold the cream with two lumps and a twist of thai and cinnamon, half stirred and slightly frozen". Then I get up there and say "regular coffee middle size please". When I order the people behind the counter have like 2-3 questions for me because I guess I don't order specific enough. I am going to work to try to get the lingo down pat in February so by March I am good to go with ordering. Now that I have my new trendy Versace glasses this isn't a "want to eventually do", this is a "requirement for all who wear trendy glasses". I also find it funny that people refer to their drink as "skinny" in relation to their body which they are hoping for when they drink the lower fat version of the drink. I suppose I'll start ordering an "extra fat latte, tall, extra sugar, hold the lowfat".

Today's movie review

I would like to start blogging my review of movies that I see - old or new/good or bad. I'll try not to put in any spoilers during the review. Also keep in mind these are my views and in no way are my affiliations with ROGUE pictures going to influence how I review and rate movies.


As some may know I have a recent fix (well, obsession is more like it) with movies. I have created an ongoing list of how they rank per my brain absorption. This list is coupled with a sister-list of movies focusing on recommended movies never seen. By keeping both lists alive and growing I won't lose track of the ultimate goal of seeing every movie ever created - not including movies done in black and white. So I begin....


Juno:


My wife and I saw Juno a few weekends ago and loved it. Truthfully, it made me feel as if I forgot who I used to be. Not in a bad way at all, because obvious changes in my life have occurred and I needed to react and adapt to the current situations at hand. However we both looked at each other once we were in the parking lot and said that we miss being hippy-like. The movie portrayed a comfy feeling, reminding us of what it meant to walk out of the house without matching clothes or to proudly wear your heart on your sleeve. To let people know how odd you are and to emphasize how others make you feel. And lastly to be zany. Yes, zany. I don't want to sound too sappy because I have a lot of friends with dark/cynical sides that might be reading this - but this is the truth. I miss this about me. Thanks to Juno I am working to bring it back. I haven't lost it all together and I surely haven't stopped being unique/odd - however I have ceased to be this way in most forums of life. I have adopted the "corporate" look and kept up with most of the corporate work habits and interactions, staying on the curb instead of off the curb. Only a few at my current job know the real me. I suppose that is a good tactic though at work, so let's focus on home life. My neighbors probably think I am more off my rocker than the rest of the Dad's in the neighborhood - but why not let out my real self at all times? Why should only Jana and my close friends experience this? [As a side project I am starting to let my neighbor Jason see me for who I am and was. We'll see how that goes.]


Last night on American Idol the last guy to get a ticket to the big show was just being himself, no "I want to be on TV" act and showing no cares. And as much as I don't like to admit this out loud, Simon is often right-on with his personality observations (although often he judges prior to giving someone a chance). Regardless, it was nice. You go last-guy-on-American-Idol-last-night-to-get-a-golden-ticket. You go. That is just another example of how this movie made me feel. [It is also nice to see someone in Hollywood appreciate uniqueness]


I am way off track. The movie also had a soundtrack that involved the Moldy Peaches primarily. This wasn't the Moldy Peaches that I know and love, but still the same sound and feel that the hardcore Peaches has brought (where they swear and talk about porno). That, coupled with the feel I got was enough in itself to make me like this movie. But add in the tremendous acting by Ellen Page, Michael Cera (who might be one of the greatest new actors out there), and J.K. Simmons and you have a great flick. Bateman and Garner played the roles they were supposed to play, Bateman was okay and could have been better and Garner was annoying but that was expected per her script. Also, why did Rainn Wilson agree to play Clerk #1 in this movie? Odd.


As I always say, if a movie can make me feel a certain way, it is well respected by this guy. Thus, this movie is #31 on my list of all time favorites, just below Last of the Mohicans and just above High Tension.

today's interesting topic of the day (a la 1.29.08)

A close friend sent me the below picture this morning from the summer of 1992. That's me. Doogie Houser and this is my journal. Oh brother. Seriously though. [this next side bar is off my main topic which will be discussed below however I wanted to take a second to state 1992-ish is roughly the time Chris Found Music. The music that still IS me today. The music that eventually molded into 2008 music for Q. Looking down at this picture makes me laugh thinking about that. Because - well - look down. I just can't picture this kid listening to: Polvo's Cor-Crane Secret, The Flaming Lips' Transmissions from the Satellite Heart, They Might Be Giants' Flood, Ween's Pure Guava, Superchunk's Tossing Seeds, and Barbara Streisand's Greatest Hits Vol. 2.]

And back to the picture....it was a nice morning email surprise. Tonight I will be spending a portion of my evening scanning a few pics to send back his way. The whole thing led me to today's interesting topic. That is: remembering back then (aka reminiscing). I don't know how we got onto this tangent but I believe it had something to do with this picture and the others that were initially sent this morning. So we began reminiscing. It was great. We played a game to see who remembered a series of childhood events on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being 'I remember that a lot almost like it was yesterday' and 1 being 'I don't really remember that sorry bro'. I had a wonderful time growing up: fishing every morning, disappearing in our world of newly created mixed-sports, dreaming about hotties from school, and listening to Casey Casum do the damn top 40 countdown. Man I loved Casey Casum's damn top 40 shout outs and countdowns. They should replay those.

So let's wrap this up. A quick show of hands for those that like to reminisce. Do yourself a favor, be like me and try to reconnect with everyone possible from your past and send them an email about how much you miss them and also recap and remember a certain time/event. If you don't email 5 people from your past immediately the Giants will lose on Sunday.

--why--

This is the first of potentially many snapshots of my writings from the past. Who knows if I will keep this up? It might be too scary for some as it will give you a glimpse of that which is my brain. But to most who know me you will understand the thought flow. Those that don't know me well will indeed drool.

.click the picture to see it larger.

funny word Fathom

Things that Fathom the Q (in alphabetic order):

• Aliens
• Britney's Spears' life. Dudes seriously, when she dies (possibly like we felt with Anna Nicole) will you shed a tear? At this point her perfect life has become so messed up thanks to being a celebrity that it even effects her little sis.
• Enemy UAB
• Facilities that store things
• Gary Oldman
• Nutrients. What else can be said, I mean what the F is up with nutrients?
• Out-of-place artifacts
• Politics and the crazy lies
• Porphobilinigen 9
• Richard Marx
• Romeo: in approximately 9th grade there was either a song named Romeo or an artist named Romeo. Well, I need this for my iPod and I can't find it anywhere. Help please...I am asking nicely and yes there is a reward. This has nothing to do with Lil' Romeo, but rather someone that sounded like Richard Marx but looked like Dio.
• Sentinal City and also Colorado City with Warren Jeffs
• Spidey 3 was soooooo terribly bad. NEVER ever see it. No fathoms here except that I as duped.
• Stroszek by Werner H.
• Swear words and how that is bad actually. I could see with minors, but really...seriously...we have all heard them - so let's stop getting up in arms about it.
• Tar Man

.

I wish I was a vampire.


seriously