But I'm not.
Consider tonight practice for the 31st. I know I'll be up late.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Friday, December 29, 2006
I found this:
50 of life's mysteries which would not be solved if you did not watch TV
1. If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange
noises wearing their most revealing underwear.
2. If being chased through town, you can usually take cover in a
passing St Patrick's Day parade - at any time of the year.
3. All beds have special L-shaped top sheets that reach up to armpit
level on a woman but only waist level on the man lying beside her.
4. All grocery shopping bags contain at least one stick of French bread.
5. It's easy for anyone to land a plane, providing there is someone in the
control tower to talk you down.
6. Once applied, lipstick will never rub off - even while scuba diving.
7. The ventilation system of any building is a perfect hiding place. No
one will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to
any other part of the building without difficulty.
8. You're likely to survive any battle in any war unless you make the mistake
of showing someone a picture of you sweetheart back home.
9. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not
be necessary to speak the language. A German accent will do.
10. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window of any building in Paris.
11. People on TV never finish their drinks.
12. A man will show no pain while taking the most ferocious beating but
will wince when a woman tries to clean his wounds.
13. The chief of police is always black.
14. When paying for a taxi, never look at your wallet as you take out a
note - just grab one at random and hand it over. It will always be
the exact fare.
15. If you lose a hand, it will cause the stump of your arm to grow by
15cm.
16. Kitchens don't have light switches. When entering a kitchen at night,
you should open the fridge door and use that light instead.
17. During all police investigations, it will be necessary to visit a
strip club at least once.
18. Mothers routinely cook eggs, bacon and waffles for their family
every morning, even though the husband and children never have time to
eat them.
19. Cars and trucks that crash will almost always burst into flames.
20. Wearing a singlet or stripping to the waist can make a man
invulnerable to bullets.
21. A single match will be sufficient to light up a room the size of a
football stadium.
22. If a killer is lurking in your house, it's easy to find him. Just
relax and run a bath - even if it's the middle of the afternoon.
23. Medieval peasants had perfect teeth.
24. Although in the 20th century it is possible to fire weapons at an
object out of visual range, people of the 23rd century will have lost
this technology.
25. All single women have a cat.
26. Any person waking from a nightmare will sit bolt upright and pant.
27. Even when driving down a perfectly straight road, it is necessary to
turn the steering wheel vigorously from left to right every few
moments.
28. One man shooting at 20 men has a better chance of killing them all
than 20 men firing at one.
29. Creepy music coming from a graveyard should always be closely
investigated.
30. If a phone line is broken, communication can be restored by
frantically beating the cradle and saying, "Hello?, Hello?"
31. Most people keep a scrapbook of newspaper cutting - especially if
any of their family or friends has died in a strange boating accident.
32. It does not matter if you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involved
martial arts - your enemies will wait patiently to attack you one by
one by dancing around in a threatening manner until you have knocked
out their predecessor.
33. During a very emotional confrontation, instead of facing the person
you are speaking to, it is customary to stand behind them and talk to
their back.
34. When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in your room
will still be clearly visible, just slightly bluish.
35. Dogs always know who's bad and will naturally bark at them.
36. Police departments give their officers personality tests to make sure
they are deliberately assigned a partner who is their total opposite.
37. When they are alone, all foreigners prefer to speak English to each
other.
38. Action heroes never face charges for manslaughter or criminal damage
despite laying entire cities to waste.
39. No matter how badly a spaceship is attacked, its internal gravity
system is never damaged.
40. If there is a deranged killer on the loose, this will coincide with a
thunderstorm that has brought down all the power and phone lines in
the vicinity.
41. You can always find a chainsaw whenever you're likely to need one.
42. Rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their
arch-enemies using complicated machinery involving fuses, pulley
systems, deadly gases, lasers and man eating sharks that will allow
their captives at least 20 minutes to escape.
43. Having a job of any kind will make all fathers forget their son's
eighth birthday.
44. Many musical instruments - especially wind instruments and accordions
can be played without moving the fingers.
45. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red
readouts so you know exactly when they're going to go off.
46. It is always possible to park directly outside the building you are
visiting.
47. Guns are like disposable razers - if you run out of bullets, just
throw the gun away. You can always buy a new one.
48. Make-up can safely be worn to bed without smudging.
49. A detective can only solve a case once he has been suspended from
duty.
50. If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into
will know all the steps.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Christmas
I suppose an update is in store since Christmas was today and all.
But I'm watching Batman, so I really can't type right now.
But I'm watching Batman, so I really can't type right now.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
The Big White
So I just finished watching a movie called The Big White. It has Robin Williams in it and the lady who played Elastigirl in The Incredibles and a bunch of other really talented people.
Now, I don't usually like dark comedies (odd, seeing as I'm in one...), but this one was really good. It was about this guy (Robin William's character) who finds a dead body and tries to pass it off as his brother in order to collect on the life insurance. The insurance agent is trying to figure all this out because he knows something's fishy. Meanwhile, the guys that killed the body in the first place kidnap his wife until they get the body back. Like every dark comedy, there is a point where everything is bad. Yes, the characters do funny things, but it's still very... dark.
What I liked about the movie was that it had a happy ending. Yes, there were some messed up things, but there was a sense of balance. Everything would be okay. I talk about this for two reasons: 1) The story element, and 2) Life.
1) The story element. I feel like all good stories have to end with a sense of balance, or at least a purposeful imbalance. The best thing I have to contrast The Big White with is American Beauty. That movie, to me, is the epitome of sad endings. (Okay, maybe not, but it is a very sad ending.) Nothing is okay. And nothing is going to be okay. There is no real closure for any of the characters. The Big White ends with all of the characters achieving something. They have met a goal or found contentment.
Now, I'm not saying that stories that end unbalanced are inherently bad. But I do think that there must be purpose in it. Obviously, American Beauty had a purpose behind its purposelessness (What exactly that purpose was is up for debate. I'd need Mike Coon in on that discussion...). This is good. It gets people thinking and wondering and questioning and coming to their own convictions about life. And for a movie, that is okay.
Movies are a great medium. We spend 2 hours or so in the world of the story and then we come out as different people. As a (hopefully, Lord willing,) future game designer, I watch stories for the sake of understanding how better to tell them. So here goes: I think video games should not end unbalanced. Audiences only spend 2 hours in the world of a movie. They develop deep relationships with the characters, building sympathies and apathies for characters depending on their actions (or suggested actions) in that 2 hours. Video games are entirely different (at least, that's the hope...). In video games, the player identifies with the characters in the story over a period of 10 - 40 or possibly more hours, depending on the genre. Though I think video games are slightly less emotively evoking than film (a quality that could change), their sheer length hopefully leaves a stronger connection between player and character.
Here it comes, the point I've been rambling on about: With a stronger connection between audience and story, the storyteller (designer, writer, director, whoever) cannot leave a video game story unfulfilled. The player will feel cheated. They have just spent days of their life (not to mention $50 - 60) playing through this story, allowing themselves to be drawn into a world of your creation. It is betraying that trust to leave them empty after so long. I think it is better to make thought provoking, possible empty, points earlier in the game. Though really, I suppose this could all be my Christianity talking (not a bad thing).
What a smashing transition!
2) I can't stand the thought of the bad guy winning. Mainly because I don't believe he will. In real life, there are times when it seems as if nothing will ever be right. There are times when American Beauty's ending is all we see. But I believe that there will come a time when every ending has balance to it. That's what I see in Revelation 21 (I think that's the reference). Sometimes, it's all I can do to cling to that hope. I listen to some songs and they seem to be pregnant with the future hope of everything being okay, when I'll be sitting in heaven/The New Earth (thank you Michael Wittmer), hanging out with the people that I love (Days, from Turn A Gundam seems to be the only one coming to mind right now. Ask me and I'll play it for you sometime.)
Anyway, I want my life to point to and be a part of the bad guy losing. Whether that be through fighting something bad or bringing light to some place that's dark, I want the good guys to win. And they will, thanks to Jesus. (Insert Sunday School lesson here.)
I don't really want to end on a cliche, but I really do believe that Christ got rid of darkness. The whole "already but not yet" eschatology kind of sucks, but it will be okay.
I can't wait.
Now, I don't usually like dark comedies (odd, seeing as I'm in one...), but this one was really good. It was about this guy (Robin William's character) who finds a dead body and tries to pass it off as his brother in order to collect on the life insurance. The insurance agent is trying to figure all this out because he knows something's fishy. Meanwhile, the guys that killed the body in the first place kidnap his wife until they get the body back. Like every dark comedy, there is a point where everything is bad. Yes, the characters do funny things, but it's still very... dark.
What I liked about the movie was that it had a happy ending. Yes, there were some messed up things, but there was a sense of balance. Everything would be okay. I talk about this for two reasons: 1) The story element, and 2) Life.
1) The story element. I feel like all good stories have to end with a sense of balance, or at least a purposeful imbalance. The best thing I have to contrast The Big White with is American Beauty. That movie, to me, is the epitome of sad endings. (Okay, maybe not, but it is a very sad ending.) Nothing is okay. And nothing is going to be okay. There is no real closure for any of the characters. The Big White ends with all of the characters achieving something. They have met a goal or found contentment.
Now, I'm not saying that stories that end unbalanced are inherently bad. But I do think that there must be purpose in it. Obviously, American Beauty had a purpose behind its purposelessness (What exactly that purpose was is up for debate. I'd need Mike Coon in on that discussion...). This is good. It gets people thinking and wondering and questioning and coming to their own convictions about life. And for a movie, that is okay.
Movies are a great medium. We spend 2 hours or so in the world of the story and then we come out as different people. As a (hopefully, Lord willing,) future game designer, I watch stories for the sake of understanding how better to tell them. So here goes: I think video games should not end unbalanced. Audiences only spend 2 hours in the world of a movie. They develop deep relationships with the characters, building sympathies and apathies for characters depending on their actions (or suggested actions) in that 2 hours. Video games are entirely different (at least, that's the hope...). In video games, the player identifies with the characters in the story over a period of 10 - 40 or possibly more hours, depending on the genre. Though I think video games are slightly less emotively evoking than film (a quality that could change), their sheer length hopefully leaves a stronger connection between player and character.
Here it comes, the point I've been rambling on about: With a stronger connection between audience and story, the storyteller (designer, writer, director, whoever) cannot leave a video game story unfulfilled. The player will feel cheated. They have just spent days of their life (not to mention $50 - 60) playing through this story, allowing themselves to be drawn into a world of your creation. It is betraying that trust to leave them empty after so long. I think it is better to make thought provoking, possible empty, points earlier in the game. Though really, I suppose this could all be my Christianity talking (not a bad thing).
What a smashing transition!
2) I can't stand the thought of the bad guy winning. Mainly because I don't believe he will. In real life, there are times when it seems as if nothing will ever be right. There are times when American Beauty's ending is all we see. But I believe that there will come a time when every ending has balance to it. That's what I see in Revelation 21 (I think that's the reference). Sometimes, it's all I can do to cling to that hope. I listen to some songs and they seem to be pregnant with the future hope of everything being okay, when I'll be sitting in heaven/The New Earth (thank you Michael Wittmer), hanging out with the people that I love (Days, from Turn A Gundam seems to be the only one coming to mind right now. Ask me and I'll play it for you sometime.)
Anyway, I want my life to point to and be a part of the bad guy losing. Whether that be through fighting something bad or bringing light to some place that's dark, I want the good guys to win. And they will, thanks to Jesus. (Insert Sunday School lesson here.)
I don't really want to end on a cliche, but I really do believe that Christ got rid of darkness. The whole "already but not yet" eschatology kind of sucks, but it will be okay.
I can't wait.
Monday, December 18, 2006
Just kidding
Scratch that worrying stuff. God is good.
Too often I forget that God is good and he has a plan. Funny, for a guy that has seen God's plan work out many, many times before...
I think a lot of my irkiness (yes, it's a word) lately is because I have neglected to trust God. Granted, I could be wrong and this could be just another attempt to easily pigeonhole a personal problem, but I really haven't been reminding myself (nor allowing others to remind me) of God's goodness and his plan. You hear Jeremiah 29:11 so much as a graduating senior (a passage that deals with national Israel, not personal lives, though the principle is Biblical), but you eventually forget.
Even though I put myself through some serious crap and I have some tough questions, God's plan is ultimately good and it will prevail.
I hate super happy positive posts. They somehow seem unrealistic. So to those like me: This doesn't mean that I'm gonna stop being cynical (though that would be nice).
My mother can't stand my cynicism. I can't either, truth be told, but I think there's little to change most of it by now (cynical statement). I can't remember what brought it up, but she told me not to be so cynical... I thought it was both amusing and sad. Amusing because my mother can't stand something about me. That thought, while morbid, is still kinda funny in a rebellious teenager kind of way. Sad because my mother can't stand something about me. I can't really stand it either, but by now I've learned to mostly ignore it.
I was just distracted by the thought of looking up the theme song to Cowboy Bebop (an anime show) on Youtube to see if I could find a live performance. I did. It's amazing. Oh, sweet jazz...
That's it for now. I've updated a lot lately. I've been getting into reading others' blogs, thus inspiring my hands... Ick.
Too often I forget that God is good and he has a plan. Funny, for a guy that has seen God's plan work out many, many times before...
I think a lot of my irkiness (yes, it's a word) lately is because I have neglected to trust God. Granted, I could be wrong and this could be just another attempt to easily pigeonhole a personal problem, but I really haven't been reminding myself (nor allowing others to remind me) of God's goodness and his plan. You hear Jeremiah 29:11 so much as a graduating senior (a passage that deals with national Israel, not personal lives, though the principle is Biblical), but you eventually forget.
Even though I put myself through some serious crap and I have some tough questions, God's plan is ultimately good and it will prevail.
I hate super happy positive posts. They somehow seem unrealistic. So to those like me: This doesn't mean that I'm gonna stop being cynical (though that would be nice).
My mother can't stand my cynicism. I can't either, truth be told, but I think there's little to change most of it by now (cynical statement). I can't remember what brought it up, but she told me not to be so cynical... I thought it was both amusing and sad. Amusing because my mother can't stand something about me. That thought, while morbid, is still kinda funny in a rebellious teenager kind of way. Sad because my mother can't stand something about me. I can't really stand it either, but by now I've learned to mostly ignore it.
I was just distracted by the thought of looking up the theme song to Cowboy Bebop (an anime show) on Youtube to see if I could find a live performance. I did. It's amazing. Oh, sweet jazz...
That's it for now. I've updated a lot lately. I've been getting into reading others' blogs, thus inspiring my hands... Ick.
Worries
I hate worrying. I have this queasy feeling in my stomach and I don't like it.
I know it's probably nothing, but I'm still worrying. Grr.
That's it.
I know it's probably nothing, but I'm still worrying. Grr.
That's it.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
But then again, we can't choose the lessons we learn, can we?
So I was reading a friend of mine's online journal thing and I thought: "I haven't updated mine in a long while. I might want to do that." Here goes:
I'm a film major now. I'm hopefully going to go to graduate school at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy for their video game production track. So that's that part of life.
The semester was long and short. Looking back, I feel like I kind of wasted it. I can't think of anything really meaningful that I did. I didn't really make any attempts to reach out to other people. I just kind of putzed along, focused on my studies, and tried to get by. I don't really like "getting by." I'd much rather have all kinds of excess to give to other people. But then again, I suppose most people would like that.
I'm going to try to use this break for what it's meant for: rest and rejuvination. One of my friends reminded me that this break should be used for retreating into God again and recharging my relationship with him. It was a good reminder.
Last Christmas break was really rough for me. I was really dark and depressed. I felt far from God. I questioned my salvation. I don't want this break to be like that. On the same token, if it is, how well will I stand under the pressure? Last year I learned that I am a Christian. I am devoted to Yahweh, no matter what. I came to a point where I told him, "You know, God, if I could I would renounce you and live as the world does. I would stop calling myself a Christian. But I can't do it." I know it to be true. I cannot do any other way of life. Even if I tried, I would know the whole time that there is something out there, someone out there who could fill me up. that was a good lesson to learn, but I'd like to learn this break how to pour out into people again.
But then again, we can't choose the lessons we learn, can we?
That was so deep, I had to give it its own paragraph. **insert filler sentence here so I don't give this sentence its own paragraph**
So I'm home now. And that's about it. I don't have many friends here, but I can make some new ones at work. I'm going to spend some time reading and maybe writing and definitely memorizing lines for some play that I'm in...
And I have to stop thinking about certain subjects. Not because these subjects are inherently bad, but because I think I've been glorifying them a bit too much. I've been saying, "Well, things will be better when..." and that kind of scratches contentment with right now off. So I've got to stop thinking about that subject and count on God to work it out instead of me. Man, I'm such a control freak.
I made my deep comment the title of this little entry. I think that's neat.
I'm leaving now.
I'm a film major now. I'm hopefully going to go to graduate school at the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy for their video game production track. So that's that part of life.
The semester was long and short. Looking back, I feel like I kind of wasted it. I can't think of anything really meaningful that I did. I didn't really make any attempts to reach out to other people. I just kind of putzed along, focused on my studies, and tried to get by. I don't really like "getting by." I'd much rather have all kinds of excess to give to other people. But then again, I suppose most people would like that.
I'm going to try to use this break for what it's meant for: rest and rejuvination. One of my friends reminded me that this break should be used for retreating into God again and recharging my relationship with him. It was a good reminder.
Last Christmas break was really rough for me. I was really dark and depressed. I felt far from God. I questioned my salvation. I don't want this break to be like that. On the same token, if it is, how well will I stand under the pressure? Last year I learned that I am a Christian. I am devoted to Yahweh, no matter what. I came to a point where I told him, "You know, God, if I could I would renounce you and live as the world does. I would stop calling myself a Christian. But I can't do it." I know it to be true. I cannot do any other way of life. Even if I tried, I would know the whole time that there is something out there, someone out there who could fill me up. that was a good lesson to learn, but I'd like to learn this break how to pour out into people again.
But then again, we can't choose the lessons we learn, can we?
That was so deep, I had to give it its own paragraph. **insert filler sentence here so I don't give this sentence its own paragraph**
So I'm home now. And that's about it. I don't have many friends here, but I can make some new ones at work. I'm going to spend some time reading and maybe writing and definitely memorizing lines for some play that I'm in...
And I have to stop thinking about certain subjects. Not because these subjects are inherently bad, but because I think I've been glorifying them a bit too much. I've been saying, "Well, things will be better when..." and that kind of scratches contentment with right now off. So I've got to stop thinking about that subject and count on God to work it out instead of me. Man, I'm such a control freak.
I made my deep comment the title of this little entry. I think that's neat.
I'm leaving now.
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