Selected Shorts & Interpretations

As with all music references, I feel inclined to link the song, so here you go, from David Bazan's solo album.

How I Remember by David Bazan

I haven't been keeping up with this blog, and I can't promise I will anytime soon... I've had a lot to think about lately, and these thoughts are neither eloquent, nor anything I'm comfortable publishing online.

Instead of getting into what's going on with me now, I'd like to share a memory that will stay with me until the day I die.

I think it was '07 and I was in Value Village shopping for action figures with Stu and my then girlfriend Katja. She gave me a big kiss while I was in the middle of the sentence "Mighty Max is rad!"

It's the little things that make life worth living, and that little thing felt like a milestone for all of nerd-kind.

Entry 8: Great on Paper

I think I need a second opinion on this...

This is one of my favorite songs, and the music and video both evoke strong emotions... the video just stops making sense to me about half way through.

Friend A: So what's the deal with Dan? He seems like a really nice guy, he's funny, decent looking... why is he always single?
Friend B: He's just really fucking shy.

And there you have it. The blueprints for a fully functional human being. It works great in theory, but field tests have proven a complete failure. Maybe this prototype would be best suited to online dating.

It's no nascent realization that I'm better at talking in text than with my own two lips. I have a lot to say, but I'm a social aberration. My longest relationship was with someone of a similar bent, and we'd spend the day together in complete silence, then she'd go home and we'd talk about it over msn. Perhaps that's why I miss it.
Don't get me wrong, prose is no substitute for human interaction, it's just what I'm good at. It seems like a strange incongruence though; if you're good with words, you're good with words. But what if you're bad with people?
I used to go through life adamantly proposing that I didn't give a shit what people thought of me. There was some degree of truth to it, but it only applied to people as a whole. The the nameless crowds of high school jocks and bleached blonde airheads who'd never know me. Once I had a connection to somebody, the whole hypothesis folded, and nobody could care more what others thought of them. I guess that's where all the pressure comes from. I have a lot to say, but my mind is swimming with doubt, and any stream of consciousness I had ends up dammed.
So I write. Even if I do have those same doubts, I have the time to collect my thoughts and put them into words. Every time I write, I get to see the real me. Unencumbered by all those second-guesses. I see the potential for a real social animal.

It remains a mystery to me, but with some people I just click. I have friends that would never describe me as shy. I have friends with whom there is never an awkward silence... and I don't know what element is the cause. Around some people, you can't shut me up, I just love to shoot the shit. I look back at these interactions and ask "how is this me?"
Perhaps an anomaly, perhaps not... I think a contributing factor is probably an excess of X Chromosomes... seems like it wouldn't make that big a difference to somebody of my persuasion, but who knows? Maybe I'm a closet heterosexual.
Even that speculation has it's flaws though... I've had girlfriends who would never describe me as shy.
Sometimes I think it's all a matter of interests... if we like the same bands or movies, that's something to talk about. But there are people I have nothing in common with, and we still manage to have endless discussions.
I'm at a complete loss...

I feel bad, because I'm friends with some really great people that are going to have to patiently wait while I slowly emerge from this cantankerous shell. It's really not fair, and I wish I could just hit the switch that makes me real. Perhaps a drinking problem wouldn't be amiss.
It's funny, I have the perfect personality type for substance abuse... but somehow it just doesn't happen.

But enough about me, how was your day?

Entry 7: Future

I just wanted to put these two things next to each other. For those of you that don't know, Radiohead is kind of a big deal for me, and Paranoid Android is where that all started. As for Apogee, I don't listen to a lot of Jpop, but Apogee I like. I watched this video, and I gotta say, after the first twenty seconds, all I could think was "this is basically Paranoid Android through Japan-o-vision."
Don't think for a second that that's not a compliment.

Haven't posted in a while... I've been pretty ill, but I'm getting back to normal.

Lately I've been putting some serious thought into going back to school... if you know me well, you know that I say this all the time... I get caught up in the daily grind though, and I know it's a shit excuse, but there it is.
Anyways, this time around I'm actually holding myself back because of uncertainty... I've got to do some serious thinking.

I've been listening to the entire Adam Green discography again... I don't know what it is, but I can't stop singing along. I really don't think enough people listen to Adam Green... I know profanity and gibberish aren't for everyone, but I swear to god, there's so much meaning in there somewhere!
As Salvador Dali said, "just because I don't know the meaning of my art, does not mean it has no meaning."
I don't tend to keep up to date with musicians I like... I just found out a month ago that the Flaming Lips put something out after At War With the Mystics... yeah, two albums! So it also took me this long to check out the music videos from Adam Green's Minor Love.


Okay, I can't tell you how happy this video makes me! I just love all the awkward stares. This must have been so fun to make, and I only wish I could've done it.


Lol artz!
There are two or three more from Minor Love, but these are my favorites. I highly recommend checking out his earlier albums too... while I do like the newer albums, the older stuff is still some of my favorite.
If you're gonna start anywhere, you should probably start here:


Well, now I'm just spamming videos, so I should probably end this before I make a top 10 list of youtube poops.
Peace and Love

Entry 6: Stardate 2011

So Christmas was busy and I never managed to post between then and now. A lot more socialization than I'm used to. Definitely a lot of fun though. I wish I had the time and resources to hang out like that all the time.

New Year's Eve... To be truthful, I secretly spend every December 31st in a deep depression, and usually I have to be badgered incessantly to go out. I don't know what it is... at this point it's probably just a self-fulfilling prophecy. I'm sure it also has something to do with the nagging fact that I'm alone every year, and while a new year's kiss isn't the biggest deal in the world, it gets to me.
Nevertheless, I got myself to go out this time, and I was so adamant that I double booked myself too! Unfortunate that I couldn't do both, but I had a really good time at the one. My M.O. lately has been terrible choices, so it was nice to make a good one.

On the topic of choices, I believe some resolutions are in order... most of them are just feats I'd like to achieve in the next 12 months.
Resolution the first!
Get my Learner's License... I've had to ask too many friends to move my crap, it's time to be more self-sufficient.
Resolution the second!
Go to School! It'll be a lot harder to hate my job when I can afford a house and two cars.
Resolution the third!
Exercise! I've been wanting to try Tai Chi for about 3 years and haven't gotten around to it... also I took up running a month ago and got a cold 'cause it's freezing! Maybe I'll save the running for spring.
Resolution the fourth!
Get my Passport so I can go to this year's Blipfest in NY! ...okay, that one might not happen due to lack of funds, but we'll see!

I'll be honest, I could go on like this all day... there's so much I want to change, but if I want any of it to happen, I've got to focus on what's important... like leaving the country to go listen to chiptunes, apparently.

Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone had a sweet New Year's Eve, and I think you should all post your resolutions in the comments!

Later, Phyrexian Negator.

Entry 5¾: Out of order, sort of unaligned; Powered down for redesign.

If you're missing the song reference, here you go.


Honestly, I'll be the first to admit that my brain is not up to code... there's just something about the way that I think, or perhaps even something aberrant to the very design of the organ I use to think, and it manages to convolute something as simple as sleep. You can't imagine how frustrating it is to have no control over your mind when it comes to something so basic. I know there are worse problems, but this just really gets to me.
Enclosed is a picture of the sweet, sweet drugs I currently have on hand for dealing with insomniAttacks.



Not pictured is an herbal tea that doesn't work.

Some of these seem to work alright, but I hate to be dependent on anything... I think I'm going to learn to meditate so I can just shut my brain off when I need to. It would be good for me to get a little control back.

A friend of mine recently made this, and I think you guys should check it out:




As a fan of both Bleach and Metric... and also as someone who can't get over how rad this song is, I gotta say I think it's fantastic. Obvious biases aside, I'm still impressed.

So I'm ending my routine of early morning webcomics/youtube videos in favor of actually reading the news. I feel I'm pretty uninformed, since as it stands, my greatest source of news is Erin's wall posts. :P
Don't get me wrong, I'm subscribed to several channels on Youtube with a political slant to them, so I have a vague idea of what's going on in the world, and I know a lot of relevant jokes, but that's simply no substitute for actual awareness.

Well, now that I've downplayed quasi-political youtubers so much, here's a video by Cody Weber about what John McCain thinks of immigrants and gay people in the military.



This is the last in a series of videos on the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. I wouldn't say these rants are particularly eye opening or anything, and the whole thing is essentially for the lulz, but the guy can be clever and I find myself entertained. I'll link the other videos here and here.

Alright, I'm gonna call it a night. Here's a funny comic. I don't know why I keep posting these, since I link like, 3 comics in the average post anyway.

Lazy, Patrick Swayze!

Entry 5: Let's break out of this fake ass party

In case you haven't seen it yet...

Didn't make the unofficial Saturday deadline, and if you don't love Yeezy, this will seem like a severely uneventful post, but fuck man, I tried!
Damn, I am a man that can sure use a comma.

,,,,,co,,mi,c,,~

Entry 4: Prty!

Try not to pay too much attention to my last whiny baby post there... I ended up having a pretty rad night and staying up 'til 4 with friends and Vodka.

I'm in a pretty sweet mood... got up this morning and made a big kickass breakfast of beacon, eggs, and toast. I wish I had the time and energy to do that every day.
So earlier this week I went to my staff christmas party, which was a blast!
This is what I wore:

This picture makes me look small and jewish.

We went to Pizzeria Prima Strada and had traditional style Italian pizza straight out of the wood oven! Also free booze! I tried an italian beer, and later tried a drop shot of italian hard liquor (Grappa) in italian beer! It was what I imagine turpentine to taste like. You'll be surprised to learn that it wasn't all my idea... This girl I work with, Gina suggested it, and I was like "there's probably a reason it's never been done before, but yeah! I'm totally in!"
Good times.

Tonight is my sister's 27th Birthday party, and it's Gypsy themed. I don't think I have all the blouses I once did, but I'll pull something together. I'm pretty stoked! I have a lot to celebrate! The official drink is red wine, and I'm on the fence about either doing Edward Wine Hands, or just drinking something I'll actually appreciate, like some good ass winter ale.
I'm required to bring some middle eastern-esque food to the party. I'm making a lentil soup with curry and butternut squash!
I've got a lot of stuff to make in the next little while... gotta mail Christmas cards, but I don't know if I'll make that many, since I don't buy cards... we'll see what kind of free time I'm looking at once I've finished the last of my christmas shopping today...

In other news, I've had some Flaming Lips stuck in my head for a couple of days now.

07 - Are You a Hypnotist by siderola

I'm tempted to start a pop group called A Circular Saw. We'll write the catchiest tunes, and people will say "I've got A Circular Saw stuck in my head!"

Don't worry about it, you don't need to laugh... the main thing is that I know I'm funny.

So as promised, here's the quiz on last week's comic:

1. How many parts were there in this particular story arc? (The Haunted Toaster comic doesn't count)

2. Write a 400 word essay on this comics implications about the origins of life, the universe, and everything.

3. Where did the comic touch you, and how did that make you feel?

Answer in the comments section. You will be graded on spelling and grammar, as well as the accuracy of your statements. This is worth 67% of your grade for the semester.

Man, I can't wait to be a real teacher!

Here's a comic, and I'll see you later, Ralph Nader.