One Awkward Silence

Good day to all -5 of my readers! I'm going to be doing a series of posts over the next few days, because finals week is upon us, and I need an excuse to not study. Which was my original reasoning behind doing video game journalism ("But it's my job!"). But seriously...

The end of the semester, for me at least, is always the most fun time of the whole semester. Why? Because finals week is not that horrible. It really isn't. Especially if you like doing things last minute. Which I do. For some reason, doing 5 classes worth of assignments in two days, instead of doing them slowly over the period of time I had to do them, gives me a much greater sense of accomplishment. Thankfully, that's just me.

So, instead of catching up on my work which I should hand in, I don't know, tomorrow, I'm busy checking out new things Google is doing, playing Persona 3 Portable, and still trying to learn how to set up that Google Apps account for The Brick.

I just realized that multiple to-do lists should be condensed. I guess I am doing relevant things...

School rarely comes first for me. I am not a student. I learn, yes, but I'm much more interested in the end result of being in college. Which causes me to not care about Gen-Eds at all. Especially if a Professor fails to get me involved.

However, I love getting things done. But I don't like working on them slowly. I like to sit down and write my entire paper in one sitting. I prefer to do three four page papers in one day than spread them out over three days. I like that feeling of "hell yes I'm getting this done." And I almost always do. With sleep. I love the way I work sometimes.

So I continue to not do anything school related, unless I'm forced to. Hopefully this will change next semester, when I'm taking multiple classes that are relevant to my major. I figure that once I see work that I can actually apply to my future, I'll jump in and get things done.

That's a hope though. I have no idea if this will be the case. I'm still stuck in Gen-Ed hell.

I'm noticing more and more that the things I do in my free time are slowly starting to coincide with the things that I actually need to get done. Maybe this is a sign that I'm doing the right thing.

LIST TIME!

My To-Do list (as far as I know)

-Make my "cheat sheet" for my US History final

-Try to make heads or tails of my horrible math class study guide (bad professor was bad)

-Finish that stupid revision for my Media, Society, and the Arts paper

-Actually do some postings about the news for that horrible math class

-Research different personality archetypes found in video games (more on that in the future)

-Beat a video game before Sunday

-Film a party involving pancakes

-Edit said footage involving pancakes

-Pack

-Get a job over break

-Download as much christmas music as I can

Damnit I hate that list. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

Song in the title:

Yule Shoot Your Eye Out by Fallout Boy

STFU, it's a good christmas song.

I'm really hungry. I've been up since 10 AM. And I haven't eaten yet. Oops.

No This Isn't Some Mistake

The last post I made was incomplete, and posted about nine days after it was written. Why? Because I forgot to post/finish it, and I'm tired of deleting perfectly good updates because I fall asleep writing them and then never actually finish them. So sue me (please do not find a reason to sue me).

I find that I'm writing these posts in one specific class. Gee, I wonder why? Hopefully next semester I don't end up wanting to post so often during class (I'd be much happier posting at 2 AM whilst writing a paper). I don't like the fact that I'm this bored in class, at all. It's not cool.

I had an intention to this post. Let's see if I can remember what I wanted to talk about.

Oh, right. I actually found time to pick up a controller (and my PSP) over Thanksgiving Break. Which would be great, if finals weren't in two weeks. Now I'm addicted to not one RPG, but TWO (Persona 3 Portable and Fable 3 are lovely games by the way). Granted, Fable 3 is not nearly as long as Persona 3 Portable in theory. But I play the f*** out of these games, so odds are when all is said and done, I'll have clocked 60 hours on Fable 3 (and 120+ hours on Persona 3, but that's another story, since it's portable).

I feel like this happened last year (probably because it did). I'll get back into gaming right before finals week begins, and then wake up and realize I'm screwed. I cannot understand why this happens. It makes no sense. I go weeks, literally, without playing anything for more than an hour, and then BAM! I'm hooked on a game again, when it is the least convenient time possible to be addicted. Lovely.

I will never understand why I do this to myself, or why I don't stop myself, since I clearly know this is a bad idea. I guess I'm just horrifically self destructive.

I also have ADD. List time!

Games I Am Currently Attempting to Beat:

N) Mass Effect 1

O) Assassin's Creed 1

F) Fable 3

R) Dragon Age: Origins (Playthrough 2)

E) Halo: Reach (Legendary)

E) Transformers: War for Cybertron

T) Resident Evil 5

I) Half-Life 2

M) Grand Theft Auto IV

E) Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 1

I think I need to stop getting new games and just finish these...

Anyway, the song in the title

I Don't Love You Anymore by Bomb the Music Industry!

Good band. Check them out.

This class sucks.

A Handshake of Carbon Monoxide

No alarms. And no surprises. Please?

This week has been crazy. It's also almost 4 AM, I have another paper due, and yet, here I sit, writing another f***ing blog instead of my paper (hey, I'm getting better, this time I have 3 pages out of 5 done, which is better than normal). Why? Because I want to blog, I have a ton of energy, and I don't plan on sleeping tonight.

Also, I just saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1, and thought it was pretty fantastic. This isn't a review, but go see it.

Back to this week. It was rough. approximately 12 hours spent in the editing room editing two separate news stories that ended up being the same length, even though I had 40 minutes of footage for one and literally 7 minutes of footage for the other. I also liked the one with less footage better. Go figure.

But now the weekend is upon us. And to be honest, I am welcoming this shit with open arms. I may have a ton of work to do this weekend (more video editing, joy of joys!) but I really don't care. Not having to go to class means I can stay out late and sleep in. And there's a party on Saturday. That's nice too, I guess.

But seriously, the only reason I've been tired or unhappy this week was because I have to go to class (not every class, just a few, maybe even just one, mind you). If I could just do my video work and go to BrickTV and play videogames, I'd be fine. But no. I have to take time out of my busy life and go to class. Lame.

Why Do You Waste My Time?

I ask myself that question pretty much every time I try to do a homework assignment (which I'm making a valiant attempt to do now). Thanks world, for requiring me to use the biggest f***ing time waster (the internet) to do my homework. Thanks.

This is actually ridiculous. I have a paper to write, but I need to watch a movie on YouTube to do this paper. And the internet here is too slow to watch videos right away on, so I need to wait for them to load. What would YOU do if you had about 10 minutes of free time ON THE INTERNET? The answer is goof off. Facebook. Googling (still can't believe that's a household word) people's names. Blogging (teehee). There are a million ways to waste time on the internet, and it's not cool that I need to do my homework on it. I'm much better off if I unhook my ethernet cord so I can't get online.

Take right now, for example. It's about 3 AM. I have a paper do in 14 hours. I have a large deal of work ahead of me before then. And I want to sleep somewhere in there. What am I doing? Blogging. Researching Google docs (long story). Having to use the internet to do this assignment right now (also, my ADD medication has worn off, so I can not focus for the life of me).

I do not see a cure for this though. I think the internet will always be a huge distraction for literally everyone. Hell, this blog is a blog about being distracted on the internet during class. This is just an issue we (the internet folk) need to learn to deal with. But how? There is no way to unplug parts of the internet, especially in college.

They call this generation the ADD generation. No shit. The internet is this generation. No wonder none of us can focus or get any work done. The internet has just gone into full swing, and it is insanely distracting. Even if you're doing work and trying your hardest not to get distracted, you will (especially if you are using Wikipedia). There's no avoiding it.

And while we learn things, it still becomes a problem. I have a paper to write. I'm sure that half of you (all 4 of my readers) have something else you should be doing, but you're not because it's the internet. But I ramble.

What is really blowing my mind is that while I'm distracted, not a single distraction is counter-productive today (tonight, whatever). If I didn't have to wait for this campus's horrible internet to load this video, I'd probably be getting work done. But since I have to wait, I get sidetracked doing other work. Now even work is a distraction from work. Because it's so easy for me to just make a new tab and start reading about Google (Skynet) and the Google (Skynet) Apps for businesses (working for The Brick makes me feel special).

Again, I ramble.

I don't have a list to write this time. I'm really pressed for time here.

Song:

Sam's Town by The Killers. Probably my favorite song by them.

Now to write that paper...

Damn It All I Am Just Sad

Not really. I'm actually not sad at all. I just fucking love Polar Bear Club. And I have that song stuck in my head. So yeah.

I recently started bringing my computer with me to class again. Why? Because some of my classes require very small amounts of my attention to get the gist of it, and the rest of the time I sit there trying not to fall asleep. Participation means staying awake kids. It doesn't mean you have to pay attention 100% of the time.

I think that's also part of the reason I rebooted this blog. Because I tend to write it during class. Go figure.

Since I have my computer, I found that I've started taking better notes again, because you can easily just type sentences out incredibly quick, and my hand doesn't cramp. Also, my handwriting is illegible, so I should have been doing this all along.

What's surprising, though, is that I am no longer plagued by my giggling fits. Why? Because instead of Googling funny pictures of puppies (shit, I'm thinking about it now, and I'm about to start laughing...), I actually do other work that I could be doing if I wasn't wasting my time in a boring class. I organize my computer. I research things for my weekly segment on BrickTV(I work for the school newspaper now). And I take good notes. I've gotten so much better at multi-tasking, because I actually have things to do now (as opposed to last semester when I was uninvolved and didn't care).

My point is this. While professors hate it when you bring your laptop to class (for obvious reasons), it's not a bad idea if you actually do the right thing. Because you don't need to give them your full attention the entire time (for most classes, know your enemy though). Professors and teachers in general don't like that they don't have your undivided attention, but students have to much to do most of the time, and being able to get some of it done during time you might otherwise be wasting is never a bad thing for your sanity (or your sleep schedule).

This does not mean I don't dick around on my computer too. I'm currently in the middle of a nice winning streak on Shoddy Battle (which is a Pokémon battling game), and I do not intend to give that up.

COMPLETE TOPIC CHANGE:

I went to check out Kinect this weekend. It was incredibly cool. Yes, there are still some glitches. And I do not want this to become the only way I play video games. But I think this is where motion control gaming should be going. Kinect is the fucking future, kids, so stop hating on it before you try it out. Motion controls are a new genre of gaming entirely, and they will never replace controllers (just like controllers still haven't replaced mouse and keyboard gaming). This is a new field, and damn, Microsoft definitely called it right on this one.

Also, don't compare Kinect to the PSMove or the Wii. Apples and oranges.

List!

Crazy Shit That Happend To Me This Weekend:

W)Pushed a drunk girl off a stage

E) Filmed a Syrian popstar in concert

E) Started a ghetto brawl onstage

E) Received a personal apology from Raekwon's manager for said brawl

E) Said manager also requested my footage of the concert

E) He also said he's got my back

E) Played with Kinect

E) Kidnapped one of my friends whom I hadn't seen in a year and brought her back to Purchase

Yeah, I had fun.

The title song:

"Burned Out in A Jar" by Polar Bear Club

Polar Bear Club is amazing. Just saying.

Holy crap I'm hungry, and I have no idea what's going on in class... Oops.

The Emptiness Will Haunt You

Because my current living situation places me with 7 other people (college is awesome), I've been avoiding listening to hardcore music for the most part. When your friends are in your room all the time, you don't want to chase them away by playing music that 60% of the world really can't take. And because of this, I haven't gotten my fill of Alesana, even though I've wanted to listen to their most recent album for some time now.

I finally have a night alone, and this album is incredible.

Why am I sitting alone in my room on the Friday before Halloween, when I could be out partying it up with all my friends?

Because, to be honest, I feel like it. For whatever reason, I'd rather sit in my room playing Fable III than go out and be social. Go figure.

Anyway. It's Halloweekend. WOOHOO! Halloween is one of my two favorite holidays of the year (the other is Christmas, more on that in the months to come). I feel like these days everyone says they absolutely love Halloween. It's a dark, creepy holiday. Dark and creepy is still trendy, right (fuck you, Twilight)? But I have a special love of Halloween. It's the only fun holiday in my favorite month of the year. And the weather is usually pretty nice. It has the coolest theme for a holiday ever. And I love pumpkins. Yeah.

The only downside about living at a college campus on Halloween? No little kids to scare the crap out of. Well, not little. It's fun to scare middle school kids who think they're really tough, and go out and egg houses or pull other lame pranks. Dressing as a cop is one way of going about it. Dressing as a zombie hoard is another. Whatever floats your boat.

If that sounds like fun, also consider dressing like a dolphin, donning a British accent, and waiting in a bush. When a group of them walk by, jump out, and throw a burlap sac over one of their heads, shout "God save the Queen!", and then run away. They'll never know what hit them. And you can't be convicted of a crime because no one will ever believe them ("A dolphin with a British accent attacked me!").

I've been drawing again lately. I'm getting much better. It's torture though. Spending 4 hours drawing your left arm over and over again makes you wonder why you can't just chop the thing off and call at a day.

Back on the note of Halloween. I usually try to have a cool, creative costume. Ironically, now that I'm at a college where everyone will be dressing up as something cool or creative or something like that, I finally decide to go the route of overdone. I'm going as a Ravenclaw student this year (like there's any other house I'd want to associate myself with?). Shut up. I've never done that before. It's still cool. And relevant. Meh.

I forgot a list last time. I'm not doing 2 this time. I'm just acknowledging that I made a mistake.

Why October is the Best Month of the Year

O) It's the peak of Autumn

C) It's not too cold, but not too hot

T) Apple Cider is easy to find, and best served hot

O) Pumpkin picking/Jack-O-Lanterns

B) It's okay to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas every night of the month

E) Everything is black and orange

R) Rocktober

Anyway, the title is a quote from an Alesana song called "Curse of the Virgin Canvas." However, you should not only look up that song. You should, however, look up the whole album. It's called The Emptiness. It's got a great storyline. It's a fantastic album. Listen to it.

That's all folks. It's time for me to go have a social life.

Where Have all the Riots Gone?

Yeah. Green Day. More importantly American Idiot. I trashed this album for years (mostly because from age 15-17 I was a pretentious dick), but you know what? It's amazing. Fantastic. Is it where Green Day should have gone? I have no clue. But it's an incredible rock opera, and it should be appreciated as such.

Also, the broadway show is beautiful. You should try and see it if you haven't already.

Well now. Look at this. It's been over six months and I'm back off of indefinite hiatus (which is good news for all 4 people that actually read this blog). Why am I back? Well, I'm not depressed anymore. Who cares about that. This is supposed to be entertaining.

There are actually a few reasons I decided to start this up again. I have been actually living an active life. I started to enjoy talking about things again. Whatever. I'm sort of rambling. I'm also hungry. I can't focus.

Be right back, I'm going to get a sandwich.

Haven't Slept A Wink For Real

My tongue is tied. Or really my hands (I'm writing). Today is just a dull day. So there's nothing to talk about. Forgive me if I ramble. I said I'd update at least 3 times a week, and it's already Tuesday. I need to post or I'll hate myself.

Weather? Cold and overcast. Mood? Sleepy. I'm not upset, I'm not angry. I'm just too tired and bored to really care. And my pinky really hurts. Lame.

Sigh. Today is just going to be one of those days.

I think a few weeks (more?) ago I said Tuesdays suck. They still do. Nothing cool happens on Tuesday. It's the slowest, lamest day of the week. Things should be planned for Tuesdays just to spite this fact.

I was going to talk about something, but it's just as boring as the day. I really hate days like this, because then you just feel sad on the inside. Lame.

List!

Reasons to Make Lists:

1) They're fun to read out loud

2) They get the point across

3) Easy to read

4) More likely to stick in your head

5) People just love lists

6) You can have fun numbering systems

7) They tend to write themselves

8) They look cool

9) Lists are skinny

10) On paper, they leave room for doodles

Song of the Day:

Consolers of the Lonely by The Raconteurs

It's pretty good. I like that album a lot. Check them out if you want.

That was pretty bland. I feel... really tired. I'm going to go sleep, play Final Fantasy: Crisis Core, and maybe eat. All simultaneously.

It's In the Air You Breathe

And it's also in the water.

It's Friday! Fridays are nice! It's slightly rainy here, but at the same time, it's still pretty cozy outside. I'm content (Whoa, the cynic is happy? What is this!)

Anyhow, I said I'd do a formulaic sort of post on Fridays, and I'm sticking to it. I realize that I skip around about when I post, but that's not exactly on purpose. I took a week off for spring break (can you blame me?), and I went in a downward spiral of downwardness before that.

Onwards!

I use that word quite often, don't I?

I want to touch on another one of my school related issues this week (no, it's not my grades, those are for later). My boredom. And my wandering mind. It ends up making me look like a complete fool sometimes. Thank (insert your diety here, I'm not bringing religion into this) I've perfected having fake coughing fits (that turn real and painful all too often).

It's like this; even if I don't have my laptop, it's hard for me to pay attention. One time, I counted the tiles on the ceiling, then cross-referenced my counting by multiplying the grid, and yada yada yada I think there were 84 or something. My mind wanders, because half the classes I've taken in my life are not exactly interesting to me. And even if I'm interested, I have ADD, so it still wanders (it's also interesting to point out that my notes are extremely funny if I'm interested, as I ad-lib everything the teacher says and say it in my own way). There have been times where I even just start writing a play in class, I get so bored.

The problem with this, writing things in class (really, now that I think about it, this problem exists when I write in public in general), is that I make myself laugh. Sometimes I can't help myself. I just make myself chuckle sometimes (if I don't think I'm funny, who will?). I try not to write comic scripts or scenes from plays, but I get ideas and I need to write them down. One of my best plays was written during English. It was hard to not burst out laughing.

So what if I think I'm funny?

This is not the only problem. When your mind wanders, you start thinking about things you've done during the week. Or over the weekend. If you're in a good mood, you think about the stupid things you and your friends have done recently (if you and your friends don't do stupid things, you are not living, go do something stupid). These things are funny. And when you think of funny things, you giggle. It's like remembering something a comedian said (which happens as well); you can't help but laugh at it.

Also, because I have my computer, I really have a hard time. Never Google "Advice Puppy" during class. Just saying.

The result is me starting to giggle, then realizing that all my classes are small and relatively quiet, and that my giggling like a little girl would be bad for several reasons. This in and of itself is embarrassing (not to mention it reminds the professor that I don't pay attention to them). So what do I do? I fake cough, and this turns into a coughing fit because I have an extremely mild case of Asthma. Which is no worse or better than the giggles, but it manages to make things worse (because now everyone is looking at me for distracting them). It's bad. Because I know my professors have figured out it's because I'm giggling. And I look like a complete moron. Go me.

Sometimes I hate myself (not really, I'm okay with me). Damn my wandering, bored mind. I now understand the root of "bored out of my mind." Because sometimes, the only interesting things are inside my head. Overactive imagination go!

I should point out that I'm writing this in one of those classes I have no interest in. And trying not to giggle because I keep thinking about something ridiculous I did with a comic.

At least I don't care about the class. I'll probably talk about it next week.

List! List! List!

I recently started Twittering (Tweeting? I hate that they call it tweeting), and I've been following a few people that I like. I've noticed a few things about Twitter, most of which I like. So:

Things I Like About Twitter:

1) It's alright to update 7 times in 10 minutes (unlike on your Facebook status)

2) If people follow you, it's easy to share a ton of things with a ton of people, really fast

3) It's fun to talk about me

4) Short. Sweet. To the point.

5) Johnen Vasquez's Twitter is amazing

6) I find out about things bands I like are doing (besides eating, I don't care about that)

7) Some of my friends are entertaining

8) I love using DestroyTwitter as my Twitter client.

8) The tagging system is fun, and it's always fun to click on a weird tag I write to see how many other people thought of it

Things I DON'T Like About Twitter:

1) Too many morons (just like the rest of the world)

2) People can't spell

3) Some people are heavily addicted

4) Weird people follow me sometimes. It's weird.

I realize, though, that my issues with Twitter are issues that I have with the Internet as a whole, and, in the case of 1 and 4, real life as well. So they are null and void, because those are just things that bother me in general.

So many subjects today!

Today's song is by Streetlight Manifesto. They are incredible. I don't care if you don't like Ska, you should still listen to Streetlight (if you are wondering, Ska is punk rock with a horn section, very classy).

Anyway, here's the info:

One Foot on the Gas, One Foot in the Grave by Streetlight Manifesto.

LOOK IT UP NOW!

Happy Friday all.

*The picture used in this blog deserves credit where credit is due. Drew from Left Handed Toons (by Right Handed People) created this. You can find it here.

Oh My My, Oh Hell Yes!

You'll be buried in your party dress.

Vanna lyrics. Always incredible. Listen to them (if you like hardcore music).

Today is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, it's decently warm out (instead of 80º in April...), I had an iced coffee. I'm in a fairly decent mood. I don't even have work tonight! Nothingcan ruin this day as of right now (my Grandmother is staying at my house for the next few days starting today, so that could change real fast-like).

I don't have much to be excited for this weekend. It's actually looking pretty dull if you ask me. But whatever, I could use the relaxation I guess.

Onwards!

My post about how much I love Pokémon made me think about it quite a bit. So I'm going back to that subject for a few.

I personally believe Pokémon has the most brilliant marketing I've ever seen. The entire industry is a surefire way to make oodles and oodles of cash (for oodles of noodles, of course). I'm not even talking about in the Japanese market. This is all about Pokémon in America.

On September 8th, 1998, the first episode aired on what was arguably the most heavily watched Saturday Morning Cartoon station, KidsWB. I watched it, and I had no clue what was coming. At the end of the episode, I wanted more of whatever the hell it was (I was SEVEN, still not sure what was going on). And I know my friends watched it too, and some of them are 2 and 3 years younger than me. I'm willing to bet that 50% of the child population between the ages of 5 and 11 caught that. At least 50%.

Fast forward 2 weeks. A huge bomb is about to drop. A bomb we know as Pokémon Red and Blue. 2 weeks after the show had gotten kids all over the country addicted to those cute little monsters, a game comes out. A game where all of these kids can now be Pokémon Masters too, just like Ash. What do you think they all (except for me) got for Christmas? Gameboys and at last one of the Pokémon games (I say at least because many kids got both). So now Nintendo is selling more Gamboys too. Bonus.

Now, these young kids aren't the only ones getting this game. Kids older than 12, who probably already have Gameboys, were getting it too. Why? Because these are the people that actually look at new games and get excited. They already know they like video games. Plus, Charizard is badass.

Then comes the trading cards, the stuffed animals, the Pokémon PokéDex (just like the one Ash has!). Pokémon had become a household name, like Kleenex or Band-Aid. Between the games, the show, the cards, and all the adorable merchandise, all of the kids in the country (for the most part) were all Pokémon, all the time. And this is before Nintendo realized that at least 50% of these PokéFanatics would be fans for life.

Here we are, 12 years later. There's more Pokémon than ever now, they got more badass and more adorable. There are baby Pokémon now. What little girl doesn't love Pichu? He's adorable. And come on, what 11 year old boy did not think Tyranitar was the coolest Pokémon ever? We're up to the 4th generation of Pokémon in the main game series (don't forget the two remakes; FireRed/LeafGreen and the newly released HeartGold/SoulSilver). There are a ton of spin off games, 12 movies (13th on the way), and the show is up to over 450 episodes. 12 years of cash. Nintendo is brilliant. Pikachu might just be the greatest thing to come out of Nintendo since Mario (this coming from a huge Zelda fan, I admit Pikachu is cooler than Link).

What I'm saying is this; every cartoon, video game, or comic book company wishes they had thought of Pokémon. It's an incredible game (yes, it is, shut up), a fun show. There's a card game. There's a comic book (that is actually really good, and I only started reading recently). Not many other games can reach out to a demographic so large (we're talking 5/6 to mid-to-late 20's). Nothing but, well, Mario.

Call Nintendo kiddie. Call them stupid. Call the Wii garbage. Nintendo owns your soul and you know it.

I would list the reasons behind that, but half of my readers wouldn't get them. Just know that if you play video games, Nintendo owns you.

I'll cut back on the nerdiness tomorrow, I swear.

List time! In the spirit of Pokémon, I thought I'd tell you my favorites!

My Top 10 Favorite Pokémon (in no particular order):

1) Celebi

2) Charizard (duh)

3) Treeko

4) Blaziken

5) Espeon

6) Murkrow

7) Mudkip

8) Wobuffet

9) Mew

10) Umbreon (Espeon is cooler, but I loves them both)

I also love Pikachu and Shaymin, but I love the other 10 a little bit more. I really love Mudkips. And that list was incredibly hard to make. I'm such a loser.

Look, I'm a nerd. I get it. I'm done with the Pokémon posts for now.

Today's song is:
We Ate the Horse You Rode in On by Vanna

If hardcore is not your thing, then Vanna probably isn't for you. They're pretty intense.

Bells Ring Waking

The lost sedation always beckoning.

Bonus points if you already know what song that is. I'll tell you when I'm done.

So today's Tuesday, but I feel like it's Monday. But it's not a suckish day, yet (I still have to go to work tonight). Whatever, I feel really good today. For once. Or for the past week and a half. I don't know. I like being happy. I think my right ring finger has a bruise on it. Ow.

I didn't blog last week. I forgot to mention I was taking the week off for spring break. Oops. I really didn't mean to just not do anything, sort of just happened (I'll warn you next time, I swear).

Anywho, I have news! I got into SUNY Purchase, and am transferring there for the Fall 2010 semester.t Woohoo! (I really dislike Hofstra).

Other news: I'm going to finish my sketch project, Obsessed with Myself, very shortly. I'll post it when I'm done. It's just a silly project, nothing amazing. But hell if it isn't fun to do.

I forgot what I wanted to talk about today. This is bad. Whatever. I found a new subject.

Pokémon! (Shut up, I'm cool).

There comes a point where you stop caring how old you are, and just do what you find fun (if you're 30 and think it's fun to date 15 year olds, this does not apply to you). I'm at that point, and I've been there for about a year and a half now.

Ever since I was about 7, Pokémon has been a part of my life. I bought (yes, I BOUGHT) myself a GameBoy Color (with my own money) just to play Pokémon Red and Blue all those years ago. I felt so badass.

I'm 18, I still play Pokémon, and I still feel badass.

No, it's not a guilty pleasure. At all. Pokémon is a great freaking game, probably one of the most consistently good video game franchises out there to date (Legend of Zelda, Mario, and yeah, I'll say it, Kingdom Hearts, are a few others). Pokémon has never failed to make me happy and keep my occupied for (literally) hundreds of hours. You have no idea how much time I've put into these games. I still play Pokémon Crystal. Which was for the GameBoy Color. That's 2.75 console generations ago, mind you. And you know what? I still love it.

What I'm saying is there are some things you never grow out of. Pokémon is one of those things. Yes, I skipped a generation, and I regret it constantly (I really do, because Pokémon Emerald is still $35, and you can only get it used now, stupid capitalists). But I still found my way back. And with the release of Pokémon SoulSilver, I was reminded of why I stuck with the franchise all these years; these games are awesome. SoulSilver (and HeartGold, but I didn't get that, yet) are remakes of Crystal, not Silver and Gold. Crystal, the game I still play 9 years after it's release (I'm surprised the game's internal battery hasn't died yet...). So obviously I'm happy. It's fun to see how much the games have changed in about 10 years.

So yeah, I do what I love. And I'm not ashamed of it. You can laugh at me for playing Pokémon, or for carrying my Pokéwalker (the Pokéball shaped pedometer that came with SoulSilver), but you know what? I'm cooler than you. Because I can be proud enough to play a game that 7 year olds play. And I'm probably having more fun with it than they are.

List! This one is relevant to today's topic! What?

The Extent of My Pokémon Obsession:

P) My ringtone is the battle theme from Red and Blue

I) My background is usually of Pokémon

K) My text noise? Pikachu

A) I still play Pokémon cards

C) I want a salamander so I can name it Mudkip

H) I got my girlfriend to play

U) I am competitive with the game

Yeah, I love it. So what? I'm happy.

For those of you still wondering, here's today's song info:

Good Morning Night by Bad Astronaut

I love Bad Astronaut. Look them up. Please. They're not that popular, because no one knows them...

I Sure Could Use a Vacation From This

Bullshit three ring circus sideshow of freaks (Hofstra University).

No, I'm not mad. I recently got into Tool and I thought it would only be appropriate being that Fridays are about my life.

Welcome back to Fridays with Feelings!

I figured that, since last time I spoke of blunders that I make that I kick myself in the ass for constantly, I should talk about that again. Consistency? Laziness? Combination of both? Combo #5 with onion rings instead of fries? Where was I?

Right.

It's Friday! Fridays with Feelings are back! This week? Frisbee!

Frisbee is an amazing sport. I love it so much. It's possibly the greatest sport known to mankind. Why, you ask? Because there are no rules! Frisbee is all played under the guidance of the "spirit of the game." This is a set of recommendations, not rules, that could be followed for an organized game. Who likes organization? Not me! Frisbee is what my friends and I do for fun, if we decide to stop fearing sunlight. It's the "ultimate" good time (pun so righteously intended).

Now that the warmth is back upon us, I cannot think of a better way to spend my free time than playing frisbee outside with my friends. Frisbee gets funny, especially when they're not paying attention and you hit them in the ass with the frisbee.

There is something I don't get though; some of my friends still have a hard time throwing a frisbee (like some of them can't yo-yo...). It's not that hard! You use three fingers (just like when you're... never mind). You flick your wrist. You let go. Don't throw it backhand unless you can throw it the normal way. That's all. Oh, and don't throw it in the air. Not rocket science people. It's the simplest thing in the world.

The main reason I love frisbee so much is because it brings out this child/puppy like energy out in me. I make catches that I'm still amazed at. I also love to dive (except on concrete, I'm not stupid). And playing frisbee in the rain on a muddy field is some of the most fun you can have. Damn I want to play now...

Yet here I sit, blogging. And you know what I plan to do when I'm done? Play video games. I suck.

I'm going outside...

Today's title song is by Tool. Here's the info:

Ænima by Tool.

Look it up if you like Prog Rock or have no clue what Prog Rock is.

Holy crap it was hard for me to figure out how to type that stupid Æ....

Happy weekend!

Don't Call It A Comeback!

I been here for years! (I was just looking for a reason to do that. Sorry.)

If you don't know what song that's from, you're probably better off. It's just a funny song that I quote far too often. The song recommendation will resume in the next post.

Yeah. I'm back. The blog is off of indefinite hiatus. What does this mean for you? It means you'll be entertained once more by my wily thoughts and aspirations. At least until I fall into another lapse of "I don't want to be awake anymore" syndrome. Should get that checked out...

Anyway, this isn't only to say I'm back. I'll be briefer than usual because I have another paper to write.

Notice I said another.

The first one is what I'm talking about now.

I feel dirty. I hate fan fiction to no hell (that's not why I feel dirty, if you were dumb enough to wonder). Yet I think I just wrote one, and it's quite possibly the worst fan fiction I've ever seen (that's not saying much, I try to avoid garbage). The basic gist of it is that Sarah Palin is the President, and Steve Jobs is the Vice President. She's awful, gets killed by Bill Gates, and then Steve Jobs takes over (somewhere in California, some Mac dork is... use your imagination). It's really, incredibly stupid.

Why would I do this? That assignment. I had to basically write a fan fiction based off of the French Revolution. No, you can't read it. It's terrible. I don't even want to edit it. I'm just glad it's done, and it's probably going to get a decent grade because I actually followed the criteria. I just feel dirty.

LIST! (Because I always give one)

Things That Make Me Feel Dirty

-Writing fan fiction

-My Twitter (I hate myself sometimes)

-Mud

-The title song

-My best friends

-Shameless self promotion (Ironic?)

-My room

-Cheap jokes (hey, we all make them)

That's all for today. No song for you! If you really want to know what song that is, look up the lyrics. I won't be a vessel of your destruction.

When the Morning Comes

The title song is This Too Shall Pass by OK Go. Look it up on youtube, there are two videos involving it. Both are amazing.

I didn't update on friday. I probably won't update for a while. I'm just not in a spot to be funny. Or even to talk about things that are lighthearted. So I'm going on hiatus for an undetermined amount of time. Sorry about that. I was just starting to get consistent, too.

I'll be back when everything blows over.

A Thousand Different Versions of Yourself

I love that song. And that band. I'll put the info for it at the bottom.

I've noticed something lately. It feels incredibly good to get good grades on papers about things I never plan to read. Or have no idea about (this is happens often). It's not that I'm dumb, it's just that I find no point in reading most books assigned to us in school, especially at the rate I read them for college. It just moves too fast (I pick a few books a semester and actually read them, usually they're on my list of things to read anyway). I guess this is just a little blurb, as it's something everyone realizes but no one actually says. Whatever. I don't condone my strategies, as I could bullshit my way out of any paper, and it's not exactly a widespread skill (yes, I will toot my own horn, thank you). I'm not bragging, I swear, I'm explaining why you shouldn't do what I do.

OTHER THINGS!

Facebook keeps recommending me the strangest things. The other day I was told that, because I am a fan of Barack Obama (whoa, political agenda, easy there!)*, I should be a fan of the following:

W) Starbucks

T) Michelle Obama (this one is just funny, but it makes sense)

F) Michael Jackson

I'm pretty sure Facebook is a stereotyping jerkwad. Just because someone is a Democrat does not mean they drink the awful sewage that is Starbucks. And no, thank you, I don't want to be a fan of Michael Jackson. I have no problem with the guy, but I'm not exactly into all of his music. Just some of it.

I want to say the Michael Jackson thing is racist, but it's probably not. I'm assuming that other liberals (whoa, political agenda, easy there!)* like Jackson, so Facebook assumed I would too? Well I have news for you Facebook; I don't take kindly to you grouping us like that! That's our job, to make groups about being in a group! If we wanted to be told what to like and what to be a fan of, we'd all be scenesters!

And finally, Michelle Obama. She's great and all, but why the hell does she have a freaking fan page? I wonder if there's one for Bo Obama (apparently there are a few, but none of them are widespread, which makes no sense, that dog is so cute!).

And seriously, that could be interesting for friends of Obama.

"So I noticed, on Facebook."

"Yeah?"

"You uh, you didn't become a fan of my wife?"

"Yeah, um, I've been meaning to tell you..."

This can only end badly. On another note I honestly can't see people disliking that woman. She's so sweet (no, I'm not becoming a fan of her, I'm not that hypocritical).

LIST! I love lists so much. I have no idea why. I just think lists have a way of always being funny. Unless they're lists of names. Those usually aren't funny, and can be depressing with the right title.

Fun Things to Do With a Long Piece of String

1) Twirl it around in the air a lot

2) Tie it to your belt loop, run around chasing it

3) Wrap it around your fingers in cool designs

4) Wish that string was more entertaining

5) Okay, now I'm depressed

6) Never mind

OKAY! That's enough. I'm hungry. Again.

The song in the title is Sleeping Lessons by The Shins. Talk about life changing music. Listen to it if you haven't. If you like it (hey, they're not for everyone), it'll probably change you inside at least a little bit.

I need to think of fun facts to put at the end of this...

We Got Bills to Pay

Today's blog is in loving memory of Infinity Ward. May they rest in piece. F*** Activision.*

First order of business: Shameless self promotion (on my own blog).

I've started a series of sketches I'm calling "Obsessed with Myself." Expect to hear about it more as I go along. Right now it's simply me drawing myself once a day for a while, and putting it all together in the end. Should be fun. I like it.

Onto other things. I'm going to attempt to make Fridays a fun day. For the blog. Fridays are always fun for me (it's when I beat me wenches, Argh! (kidding)). I just have absolutely no idea what to talk about that would be different. I could be specific, and actually have something predictable happen on Friday, rather than babble about whatever pops into my head (like I do in real life). So for the next 3 weeks, I'll be chatting about my actual life on Fridays. We'll see how this works out. Trial basis.

I call it : Fridays with Feelings! (Trial basis)

I like to take notes on my computer. At least for a while I did. Then I realized that colleges have internet (wi-fi, actually), everywhere. And then I realized that I could avoid doing anything in class by looking up at the professor periodically and pretending I care.

This is bad, but I do stop doing it most of the time. The internet does make you stupid, after all.

My actual issue with taking nots on a computer is the lack of an open paper to doodle on. I recently realized I wasn't drawing much anymore. When I looked further into it, I realized it was because I don't have a notebook to draw in, and then cause myself to want to draw more.

I now ask myself this: "Is it worth it? Are my notes really better on the computer?" The answer, in short, is no.

Long answer: I don't need any more distractions. If I'm drawing in my notes, I'm still able to consistently listen to what's being said. On the computer, I'm reading, I'm writing, I'm searching. It's a lot of thinking, thinking that takes up my short attention span's entirety. Very bad. While I should be listening to a lecture about Voltaire, I'm reading webcomics and getting angry at Activision. I'd say it's time to stop taking notes on my computer. More doodles!

I've been giving out lists. I'll keep it up. This one is a little bit topical. You'll probably get it.

Games Activision is Most Likely to Make in the Future
F) Guitar Hero 53
U) Call of Duty: Hey Look, I Have a Gun!
C) Kazoo Hero
K) Tony Hawk: Hospitalized Skater
A) Prototype: Empty Promises, Shattered Dreams
C) Bagpipe Hero
T) Guitar Hero: Jonas Brothers (you know it's coming)
I) Bluesgrass Hero: Milkjug Edition
V) Call of Duty: Modern World of Warcraft
I) Call of Duty: Death of Infinity Ward
S) Pan Flute Hero (Why do I feel like that would be cool?)
I) "$100 Peripheral" Hero
O) Call of Duty: Battle of the Bands
N) The last one isn't even a game. It costs $200, and when you put it in your Xbox 360, a picture of Jesus flipping you off pops up.

I really f***ing hate Activision.

The song of the day (if you haven't noticed, it's always in the title):
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage the Elephant

Look it up on grooveshark.com

*Activision is the most evil company in the world

Back To Save The Universe

Remember how I said this blog would update sporadically? I didn't even anticipate this level of sporadic.

Either way, let's get down to business. I didn't update because I've been stressed out (college and transferring will do that to you). That's all I'm going into, because it's boring and such to complain (I hate my life, like, OMG, you have no idea)*. Seriously, no one likes a whiner.

Whatever happened to yo-yo-ing? This is a dead serious question, mind you. I mean, come on. it's an extremely fun hobby, not that expensive, and it's pretty easy to get into. There are yo-yos that automatically come back, so you can't complain that you can't learn how to yo-yo because you can never bring it back. The automatic ones are there so you learn the feel of the yo-yo.

I yo-yo (obviously). And I feel comfortable enough with my skills to do so in public. Because of this, I've come to realize something: People are FASCINATED by any amount of skill or control with a yo-yo. It is extremely weird, as I've been doing it for so long that bringing the thing back literally is a second nature/reflex. I cannot, and refuse to attempt to, fathom why people cannot bring the thing back. It's LITERALLY a flick of the wrist. LITERALLY! If you can't bring a really good yo-yo back, get the freaking beginner one and learn how! People ask me to show them how to yo-yo, and I do. They're still amazed.

Now, I'm not complaining about the amazement. Having a yo-yo and any small amount of skill with it is an excellent way to make friends and pick up ladies (or gentlemen, whatever you're into, I won't judge). But seriously, why can't you bring it back? It's not that hard to know, you can feel the tension in the string change. It takes practice.

Whoa, that almost became a rant. I'm not Foamy, so I'm not pulling that (if you don't know who Foamy is, he's a (cartoon) squirrel that rants).

One last thing about yo-yos: If they made "Wii Yo-Yo," I bet no one would be able to do it.

OTHER THINGS!

I said last time that lists are fun. Since no one comments right now, I don't know what else to list. So here's a list of things that begin with the letter "A" in no particular order.

A) Aardvark

A) Argyle Sweater Vest

A) Apple

A) Anti-Matter

A) Arbiter

A) Arch-Duke Ferdinand

A) Alligators

A) Anne Boleyn

A) Algebraic

A) Adventure Time

I think that's enough "A" words.

Wait: A) Airbag (the Radiohead song).

That's good. Yeah. That's real nice (creepy).

Anyway, today I'm going to advertise for Radiohead a little. They're my favorite band ever. The Song of the Day, interestingly enough, is "Airbag." I like everything they do.

That's all. If you read this, comment. I need ideas for future lists.

(* = Sarcasm)

Aerodynamic

I never really realized how soothing techno music can be. Daft Punk keeps finding new ways to make me happy, almost daily now. Just saying.

So, it's Saturday night/Sunday morning. Technically, I think it's Sunday. So a Valentine's Day post is in order! Chocolate, romantic evenings, and if you're single and resentful; Anti-Valentine's Day parties are in store! Hooray. Personally, I love the Anti-Valentine's Day parties, because they usually involve frosting when they're done right, and frosting is amazing (please note, I am not single, I just like frosting. A lot.).

Maybe I should make a list of fun things...

Fun Things to Do on Valentine's Day!

1) "Watch" a movie that somehow involves a couple (push this limit as far as you'd like)

2) Go out for a romantic dinner (White Castle is actually taking reservations, I swear)

3) Make fun of your single friends (I like to call mine and sing "Single Ladies")

4) Eat a tub of frosting, together (frosting is so not just for the single people)

5) Go to an Anti-Valentine's Day party, even though you're not single, just to piss everyone else off

Wow, apparently, the only non-conventional activities I can think of involve making single people feel even more lonely. Oops.

On a side note, things to NOT do on Valentine's Day include, but are not limited to; watching the Star Wars Christmas Special, bathing in acid (together), and selling your souls to Satan (together).

So yeah, Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Go make fun of your Lame-O single friends. Today is the best day to do it!

Also, I'm pretty sure Valentine's Day is a myth. St. Valentine wasn't real. The original holiday involved random sex. Draw a name out of a hat and mess around.

Just saying.

Future Future Future Perfect

Yes, that was a reference to a Freezepop. Look them up.

I set out to write a fun post about something, but you know what? Nothing is really coming to mind. Tuesday is possibly the most boring day of the week. What happens on Tuesday? DVD releases. Who the hell gets excited for a DVD release? No one. Odds are, you've already seen the movie in theaters, and if it's straight to DVD, oh dear...

The only fun thing that happens on Tuesday is video game releases. But gamers who are getting the game at release most likely picked it up at midnight. That's in the "Monday-Tuesday" gray area, so you can't say that game releases make Tuesdays that fun. Nor do they make Mondays suck any less. Tuesday is like the really boring uncle you don't see that often. He takes you out to lunch when he comes to visit, but his stories are all about his job at the office, usually involving the copy machine. You just want lunch to be over, because he's boring. I just want Tuesday to be over. It's boring.

Look up "Less Talk More Rokk" by Freezepop. It's a fun song.

New Blog, New (witty word or phrase)

Hi America! (I don't care if you're Canadian, who said anything about being politically correct?)

It's been a while since I last started a blog. Maybe this time I'll actually update this one regularly. Maybe I'll updated daily. Maybe Miley Cyrus is talented. I could go on.

If you're wondering why I'm starting this blog up, and why I dislike Canada, so am I (please note, I don't actually dislike Canada). I have absolutely no clue what I'm going to blog about, I just sort of felt that this was the way for me to go. If no one is reading this, I'm talking to myself. Cool.

I like short paragraphs.

I guess I could talk about something now, and make this post a decent length. Set a precedent, right? That would mean I actually have to do things in the future though...

Who cares. Precedents are for parties and politicians, none of which exist in this small corner of the universe.

Who the hell came up with that phrase, anyway? "Corner of the Universe." Certainly not an astrophysicist, are anyone with a scientific background. The Universe is supposed to be an infinite expanse. Where the hell would it have corners? I suppose every corner on every planet could be considered a corner of the Universe itself, but I really don't think that counts. If it does, that's a lot of corners. Shit I feel small...

I'm going to go eat something spicy.