Today I find myself sitting in the courtyard at a table by the flagpole, which itself is situated on the island that we use for the jail whenever we play Jailbreak. It's so beautiful outside I decided I'd sit here for a while, and having no other reason to perpetuate my stay, creation of a blog post seemed a viable option. I don't have much to say today, but it's been far too long since I posted a blog (nearly three weeks now), and I find the lack of other bloggery in this circle slightly less than satisfying, so I figured I might as well at least attempt to end the drought.
Lacking the meal swipes to go to the Rot for dinner (I have already used seven this week and need the other three for the forthcoming meals), I opted to go to the Hangar and pick up some Pizza Hut after our last Media Theory class of the semester, which is why I'm in the courtyard at this particular moment. There's basically no one else here; it was a little more populated when I first got my food, but in the last half hour pretty much everyone has cleared out. Man it's nice out... I've spent a good deal of time outside the last few days as a result, and a lot of that time has been spent wandering aimlessly around campus. I do enjoy walking very much, and with weather this good, I can't pass up the opportunity. Who knows when it's gonna rain again? And when it rains around here, it doesn't stop for days.
It is April 28th, and we are now two years removed from the glorious excursion that took place on the occasion we have dubbed "My Chemical Romance Day." Two years ago right now, myself, Andrew Clark, Ryan Trammell and his brother Kent, and Aaron Goslar were all awaiting the arrival of Muse on the stage at William and Mary, and while their show was certainly excellent, I had a feeling that the best was yet to come, and I was not wrong. My Chemical Romance blew me away, and to this day that has been one of the most exciting and entertaining experiences of my life.
My Pepsi and personal pan cheese pizza are now gone, leaving only the breadsticks and sauce that I am saving for when I get hungry after hall meeting. This will be the "white glove" hall meeting, the last of the year, where we are told (some of us for the 5th time now) the standards to which our rooms must be clean before we leave for the year. I can't believe the year is almost over. I remember the day we had our white glove hall meeting four years ago... a bunch of us went to East Campus to film ourselves doing stupid things on my video camera (a common pastime in those days), and then during our last prayer group, Phil John threw my Yankee hat out the window. Now I live on East Campus. My, how times have changed. Yet in some ways, they haven't. The mouse trap I refer to in the title is a fine example of this. "The best laid plans of mice and men..." As good as we think our ideas are, we're all gonna get caught in God's mouse trap sooner or later. This remains a constant, and it sure is funny. Funnier still is the fact that we never learn. The question is: is that cheese really worth it? If it is, maybe we won't have to skirt a trap to get to it.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
See You In The Funny Papers
I'll start off by mentioning that this post was inspired by an exchange that occurred after convocation on Monday. I, after getting a typical answer to a typical question, decided that, instead of responding like I typically would, I would just let it go and stop trying to knock sense into people, because all it does is make me frustrated when they don't listen. Not long after (in fact, as I was walking up the stairs to leave the Vines Center), it struck me that by not attempting to promote what I believed to be right, instead of influencing other people for the better, I was, in my estimation, myself being influenced for the worse. My efforts up to this point had come and gone without effect, and I realized this. But then I realized on the way out of the Vines Center that not only had all my efforts been in vain, but I had finally been made to shut up. Effectively, I had lost, and with the realization that I would not be able make any kind of impact, I had lost for good.
But was I really the one who lost?
I pondered this as I sat in the 11:25 large lecture section of Coms 101, and when I heard Dr. Mullen say to the class in an example he was using to illustrate a point, "I appreciate the fact that you were brave enough to stand up for what you believe is right," I started tinkering with the idea a little more. Maybe I shouldn't view so many things in life as a battle, maybe my aggressive side and my desire for victory distorts things to beyond a reasonable point. But if you look at everything as though it were a fight, a struggle between the way things are and the way they should be, then maybe you have a better chance of actually making things the way they should be. Plus, it makes life seem a lot less meaningless and a lot more epic.
But then I think of the futility espoused in the fight itself. Just because it's something worth fighting for doesn't mean you can necessarily make a real difference. You can try and try to explain things to people, and sometimes it just won't get through, and that's just a minor, reasonably inconsequential example of the overarching point. When you reach that stage, maybe it is best to just give up, because your efforts are being wasted anyway. The world is a terrible place, and in the end, try as we might, there's really nothing any of us can do to make it any better. Maybe it's best to do what we can, what is necessary, let everyone else hang themselves, and grin and bear it.
If everyone would get over that one sex scene that has essentially branded Watchmen as Evil: The Movie among the Christian crowd, maybe people could realize that not only is Watchmen very deep on a literary and artistic level, but there is also a lot of wisdom to be found within the book (and movie, since the movie was an impeccably faithful adaptation). The two mindsets I described in the previous paragraphs encapsulate bits of the worldviews of Rorschach and The Comedian, respectively. This is something I wonder about frequently, and I can't decide which one is right. Rorschach, though only one man, did everything he could to protect the innocent and impose justice upon wrongdoers; it was essentially his sole purpose in life. I have great respect for him, even though he was a fictional character, because he stuck with his principles until the very end, and did not compromise, "even in the face of Armageddon." Edward Blake, The Comedian, on the other hand, didn't have such a strictly defined view of the way things should be. He was the ultimate realist; he saw things as they are, irreparably terrible, and acted accordingly. He did what was necessary to get whatever job that was at hand done, regardless of the consequences, because ultimately, the world was still the same messed up place it was before, and nothing he could do would change that fact. He saw humanity's savage nature, and knew that any attempt to fix it was just a joke.
As a brief aside, I've heard criticism of The Comedian's character, saying he was a jerk and that he was "not funny." Very true, he did some awful things, but that's part of what makes his character so interesting. His very existence was a play on what it is to be a hero, because he committed some despicable deeds while still being a "good guy." And true, he was not funny, but that's the point. He wasn't The Joker. The point was that he understood the great cosmic joke, he was in on it, he got why everything we do is so funny, and remembering this actually puts a smile on my face even when things seem awful. To an outsider, the futility of many of our daily endeavors would seem hilarious. Consider this: many of the funniest movies involve what we would consider, were we going through them, terrible hardships, or at the very least major inconveniences. Take a movie like National Lampoon's Vacation. It's so funny because it's not happening to us. Edward Blake grasped this, and decided he'd rather be in on the gag: "Once you figure out what a joke everything is, being The Comedian's the only thing makes sense." It helps put things in perspective.
I wish I were more like Rorschach, but in truth, I think I'm more like The Comedian, and on even more levels than I can address here. But even Rorschach, the most morally convicted and honorable character, who was completely right throughout the entirety of the story, acknowledged that The Comedian saw things the right way:
We do what we have to do. Others bury their heads between the swollen teats of indulgence and gratification, piglets squirming beneath a sow for shelter... but there is no shelter... and the future is bearing down like an express train. Blake understood. Treated it like a joke, but he understood. He saw the cracks in society, saw the little men in masks trying to hold it together... he saw the true face of the twentieth century and chose to become a reflection, a parody of it. No one else saw the joke. That's why he was lonely.
The issue I addressed at the beginning is of little importance, and in truth, was actually of little consequence, but the basic principle remains the same. I know I'm not the only one out there dealing with this kind of thing, whether to fight for what you believe in or just laugh it off and let people screw themselves over, reassured by the fact that you were actually right. Personally, I think the latter option is more practical, not because I've been defeated, but because I've realized the futility of the struggle in the face of an unfixable circumstance, and indeed, even its inherent humor.
And the punchline to the joke is asking, 'Someone save us.'
-My Chemical Romance
But was I really the one who lost?
I pondered this as I sat in the 11:25 large lecture section of Coms 101, and when I heard Dr. Mullen say to the class in an example he was using to illustrate a point, "I appreciate the fact that you were brave enough to stand up for what you believe is right," I started tinkering with the idea a little more. Maybe I shouldn't view so many things in life as a battle, maybe my aggressive side and my desire for victory distorts things to beyond a reasonable point. But if you look at everything as though it were a fight, a struggle between the way things are and the way they should be, then maybe you have a better chance of actually making things the way they should be. Plus, it makes life seem a lot less meaningless and a lot more epic.
But then I think of the futility espoused in the fight itself. Just because it's something worth fighting for doesn't mean you can necessarily make a real difference. You can try and try to explain things to people, and sometimes it just won't get through, and that's just a minor, reasonably inconsequential example of the overarching point. When you reach that stage, maybe it is best to just give up, because your efforts are being wasted anyway. The world is a terrible place, and in the end, try as we might, there's really nothing any of us can do to make it any better. Maybe it's best to do what we can, what is necessary, let everyone else hang themselves, and grin and bear it.
If everyone would get over that one sex scene that has essentially branded Watchmen as Evil: The Movie among the Christian crowd, maybe people could realize that not only is Watchmen very deep on a literary and artistic level, but there is also a lot of wisdom to be found within the book (and movie, since the movie was an impeccably faithful adaptation). The two mindsets I described in the previous paragraphs encapsulate bits of the worldviews of Rorschach and The Comedian, respectively. This is something I wonder about frequently, and I can't decide which one is right. Rorschach, though only one man, did everything he could to protect the innocent and impose justice upon wrongdoers; it was essentially his sole purpose in life. I have great respect for him, even though he was a fictional character, because he stuck with his principles until the very end, and did not compromise, "even in the face of Armageddon." Edward Blake, The Comedian, on the other hand, didn't have such a strictly defined view of the way things should be. He was the ultimate realist; he saw things as they are, irreparably terrible, and acted accordingly. He did what was necessary to get whatever job that was at hand done, regardless of the consequences, because ultimately, the world was still the same messed up place it was before, and nothing he could do would change that fact. He saw humanity's savage nature, and knew that any attempt to fix it was just a joke.
As a brief aside, I've heard criticism of The Comedian's character, saying he was a jerk and that he was "not funny." Very true, he did some awful things, but that's part of what makes his character so interesting. His very existence was a play on what it is to be a hero, because he committed some despicable deeds while still being a "good guy." And true, he was not funny, but that's the point. He wasn't The Joker. The point was that he understood the great cosmic joke, he was in on it, he got why everything we do is so funny, and remembering this actually puts a smile on my face even when things seem awful. To an outsider, the futility of many of our daily endeavors would seem hilarious. Consider this: many of the funniest movies involve what we would consider, were we going through them, terrible hardships, or at the very least major inconveniences. Take a movie like National Lampoon's Vacation. It's so funny because it's not happening to us. Edward Blake grasped this, and decided he'd rather be in on the gag: "Once you figure out what a joke everything is, being The Comedian's the only thing makes sense." It helps put things in perspective.
I wish I were more like Rorschach, but in truth, I think I'm more like The Comedian, and on even more levels than I can address here. But even Rorschach, the most morally convicted and honorable character, who was completely right throughout the entirety of the story, acknowledged that The Comedian saw things the right way:
We do what we have to do. Others bury their heads between the swollen teats of indulgence and gratification, piglets squirming beneath a sow for shelter... but there is no shelter... and the future is bearing down like an express train. Blake understood. Treated it like a joke, but he understood. He saw the cracks in society, saw the little men in masks trying to hold it together... he saw the true face of the twentieth century and chose to become a reflection, a parody of it. No one else saw the joke. That's why he was lonely.
The issue I addressed at the beginning is of little importance, and in truth, was actually of little consequence, but the basic principle remains the same. I know I'm not the only one out there dealing with this kind of thing, whether to fight for what you believe in or just laugh it off and let people screw themselves over, reassured by the fact that you were actually right. Personally, I think the latter option is more practical, not because I've been defeated, but because I've realized the futility of the struggle in the face of an unfixable circumstance, and indeed, even its inherent humor.
And the punchline to the joke is asking, 'Someone save us.'
-My Chemical Romance
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
To Stare Or Wash Away The Blood
I trust that most of my readers are familiar with the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37). If you're not, to recap... well, I'll just transcribe it for you right here, I'm sure Jesus told it better than I ever could:
30Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31"And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.32"Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.33"But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35"On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.'36"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"37And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same (NASB)."
Now, then, picture this: a man is similarly beaten and left for dead on the side of a road. Someone walking down the road takes note of this man, and looks at the him, obviously in need of help. This person passing by approaches the man and says to him "It looks like you've been hurt... but just because you've had one bad experience doesn't mean we're all like that."
And then they keep right on walking.
I don't think there are any good Samaritans in this world... and if there are, they certainly aren't female.
30Jesus replied and said, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. 31"And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.32"Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.33"But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion,34and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35"On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you.'36"Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers' hands?"37And he said, "The one who showed mercy toward him." Then Jesus said to him, "Go and do the same (NASB)."
Now, then, picture this: a man is similarly beaten and left for dead on the side of a road. Someone walking down the road takes note of this man, and looks at the him, obviously in need of help. This person passing by approaches the man and says to him "It looks like you've been hurt... but just because you've had one bad experience doesn't mean we're all like that."
And then they keep right on walking.
I don't think there are any good Samaritans in this world... and if there are, they certainly aren't female.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Glorious Day
Dear Life,
Please slow down. I can't think straight anymore.
Love,
Bill
There is way too much going on right now. I was pondering this on Monday afternoon as I lurched down the back hallway of Demoss toward the bus stop after my thrice-weekly lunch with Danny Latin. Between the activities in which I participate, my everyday social experiences, and all the responsibilities I have both with my Coms 101 classes and my own coursework as a grad student, there are information and ideas screaming through my brain at a billion miles an hour, and it's often hard to keep it all straight. Heck, I meant to write this blog two days ago, I'm just now getting to it, and even now the conditions of my current surroundings are less than ideal for writing... it's a wee bit noisy, and I get distracted easily... but anyway, moving on.
What I really need is one day that lasts longer than normal, say 48 hours, with no responsibilities other than to attend class for the normal allotted three hours, and then a period of straight-up nothing in which I can accomplish whatever I want. Class is almost cathartic, especially because when I'm done there is an incredible sense of relief at the freedom that lies ahead. After class, I want to be able to just come back to the dorm and relax... I mean the normal daily activities (barring homework) are great, I love playing softball and volleyball, I enjoy engaging in childhood endeavors that to this day provide great amounts of entertainment (such as playing Pokemon or watching Yugi-Oh), and of course I love hanging out with friends in most any capacity... but I think I need to get away from some of that for a while. I need time to get my head on straight, to escape from the day-to-day routine for a bit, because it's driving me crazy. I want to catch up on 24, I want to clean up my room, I want to arrange all my toys on top of my dresser (I've wanted to do this since the beginning of the semester when I came back from Christmas with a bunch of nifty new items), but I feel like the way things are going, there is no time for most of this. I try to make time, I say to myself "Today I am cleaning up this room," and what ends up happening is we watch 8 episodes of Yugi-Oh in a row.
While I'm at it, it would be helpful if all the females in the world just disappeared; and when I say "disappeared," I don't mean to just remove them from existence, I want them to be completely erased from my knowledge and memory as well. Girls complicate things unnecessarily, cloud your judgment, and send you on pointless excursions for wild relational geese. It would be beneficial to eliminate these distractions from my life, and I think it would help narrow my focus and assuage my spirits for them all to go away.
Obviously this fantastic contrivance won't ever really happen, so in its place I'd like to supply you with an observation that I've made about womankind. There appears to exist within the female psyche a phenomenon which I will call the "Association Quota," or for our younger readers, the "Hangout Limit." The AQ dictates that females allot a certain amount of time to be spent with a given person/group of persons, and it is patently unacceptable to spend any time in excess of this allotment with said people. This is perfectly exemplified when you invite a girl or girls to do things with you and they respond with such classics as "But I just spent all day with you," or "I'm not in the mood for fast food," as if to say that your company would be an intrusive violation of their personal time, or probably more accurately, they're sick of you. Considering the fact that women are the gender that generally values marriage as an institution of love and that sex is just a pleasant by-product of this love rather than an ultimate goal, this perplexes me, because what is marriage but a lifelong defiance of the Association Quota? And we wonder why marriage fails 50% of the time.
On a related note, it always blows me away when people (and I really mean girls) claim that they "don't want to date right now." What? Really? If that's the case, then let me ask you this: do you ever plan on getting married and having a family? Because if you don't want to date now, then when do you plan on starting? We're all in college now, on the brink of the real world, what, exactly, are you waiting for? I've got some advice for those of you who don't want to date at the moment: keep holding your breath, because if you do it long enough, maybe a carbon copy of Jesus himself will drop down from the sky and sweep you off your feet, and you'll have lots of holy babies who never sin.
The weather needs to get better. Rain puts me in a bad mood. At least tonight's volleyball game helped me work out a little frustration, so I guess I am thankful to be busy for a bit.
I just listened to the entirety of Weezer's Green Album (barring "Hash Pipe," which I skipped because, in my efforts to relax and simplify, I wanted to get to the more mellow "Island In The Sun"), and I must say, it occurred to me that Weezer is a great band on two levels: they provide excellent background music if you're just looking for something other than white noise to occupy the local wavelengths, but they also offer solid lyrical content if that's what you're after (and I often am). Just a parting thought; you may not agree, and if you don't, that's fine, just know that you're wrong.
Please slow down. I can't think straight anymore.
Love,
Bill
There is way too much going on right now. I was pondering this on Monday afternoon as I lurched down the back hallway of Demoss toward the bus stop after my thrice-weekly lunch with Danny Latin. Between the activities in which I participate, my everyday social experiences, and all the responsibilities I have both with my Coms 101 classes and my own coursework as a grad student, there are information and ideas screaming through my brain at a billion miles an hour, and it's often hard to keep it all straight. Heck, I meant to write this blog two days ago, I'm just now getting to it, and even now the conditions of my current surroundings are less than ideal for writing... it's a wee bit noisy, and I get distracted easily... but anyway, moving on.
What I really need is one day that lasts longer than normal, say 48 hours, with no responsibilities other than to attend class for the normal allotted three hours, and then a period of straight-up nothing in which I can accomplish whatever I want. Class is almost cathartic, especially because when I'm done there is an incredible sense of relief at the freedom that lies ahead. After class, I want to be able to just come back to the dorm and relax... I mean the normal daily activities (barring homework) are great, I love playing softball and volleyball, I enjoy engaging in childhood endeavors that to this day provide great amounts of entertainment (such as playing Pokemon or watching Yugi-Oh), and of course I love hanging out with friends in most any capacity... but I think I need to get away from some of that for a while. I need time to get my head on straight, to escape from the day-to-day routine for a bit, because it's driving me crazy. I want to catch up on 24, I want to clean up my room, I want to arrange all my toys on top of my dresser (I've wanted to do this since the beginning of the semester when I came back from Christmas with a bunch of nifty new items), but I feel like the way things are going, there is no time for most of this. I try to make time, I say to myself "Today I am cleaning up this room," and what ends up happening is we watch 8 episodes of Yugi-Oh in a row.
While I'm at it, it would be helpful if all the females in the world just disappeared; and when I say "disappeared," I don't mean to just remove them from existence, I want them to be completely erased from my knowledge and memory as well. Girls complicate things unnecessarily, cloud your judgment, and send you on pointless excursions for wild relational geese. It would be beneficial to eliminate these distractions from my life, and I think it would help narrow my focus and assuage my spirits for them all to go away.
Obviously this fantastic contrivance won't ever really happen, so in its place I'd like to supply you with an observation that I've made about womankind. There appears to exist within the female psyche a phenomenon which I will call the "Association Quota," or for our younger readers, the "Hangout Limit." The AQ dictates that females allot a certain amount of time to be spent with a given person/group of persons, and it is patently unacceptable to spend any time in excess of this allotment with said people. This is perfectly exemplified when you invite a girl or girls to do things with you and they respond with such classics as "But I just spent all day with you," or "I'm not in the mood for fast food," as if to say that your company would be an intrusive violation of their personal time, or probably more accurately, they're sick of you. Considering the fact that women are the gender that generally values marriage as an institution of love and that sex is just a pleasant by-product of this love rather than an ultimate goal, this perplexes me, because what is marriage but a lifelong defiance of the Association Quota? And we wonder why marriage fails 50% of the time.
On a related note, it always blows me away when people (and I really mean girls) claim that they "don't want to date right now." What? Really? If that's the case, then let me ask you this: do you ever plan on getting married and having a family? Because if you don't want to date now, then when do you plan on starting? We're all in college now, on the brink of the real world, what, exactly, are you waiting for? I've got some advice for those of you who don't want to date at the moment: keep holding your breath, because if you do it long enough, maybe a carbon copy of Jesus himself will drop down from the sky and sweep you off your feet, and you'll have lots of holy babies who never sin.
The weather needs to get better. Rain puts me in a bad mood. At least tonight's volleyball game helped me work out a little frustration, so I guess I am thankful to be busy for a bit.
I just listened to the entirety of Weezer's Green Album (barring "Hash Pipe," which I skipped because, in my efforts to relax and simplify, I wanted to get to the more mellow "Island In The Sun"), and I must say, it occurred to me that Weezer is a great band on two levels: they provide excellent background music if you're just looking for something other than white noise to occupy the local wavelengths, but they also offer solid lyrical content if that's what you're after (and I often am). Just a parting thought; you may not agree, and if you don't, that's fine, just know that you're wrong.
Friday, March 13, 2009
I Smell Like Smoked Cheese
Holy crap, two blogs in a matter of days? Unprecedented! It just so happens to be one of those nights where I'm not quite tired enough to go to bed, but I don't really have much to do, and I've got a decent amount on my mind that I'd like to flush into the sewer of the internet to be processed and refined by the treatment plants of readers' brains. Currently I am in love with Kelly Clarkson's new song, "My Life Would Suck Without You." If you've never heard it before, go listen to it right now. RIGHT NOW. And don't complain to me that you don't have it, look it up on YouTube for cryin out loud, it's there. It's easily her best song ever, and I'm considering elevating to the much-coveted status of Near Perfect Song. There are only two other songs already in this category, and let me tell you, this is no freaking joke. We're talking about the big leagues here, a level of musical enlightenment that is never even approached by most songs in existence. There are, however, some factors that may keep this particular song from achieving the closest thing known to musical Nirvana, namely a lack of significant amounts of awesome harmonization and only a pretty good message (as opposed to a phenomenal one). The jury is still out, but man I really love the song regardless.
Over the course of this break, I've participated in an inordinate number of activities sponsored by my alma mater, Christian Brothers Academy: the annual Phone-a-thon, which is a fundraiser whereby they attempt to suck money from the alumni by calling them and asking for it; the Section II basketball championship, which, as I said in my last post, we won; and the CBA "Cadet Players" production of The Boyfriend, CBA's annual Spring musical. Granted, I was only involved with the play so much as my participation as Bogus Backstage Security/Unnecessary Elevator Operator allowed, but still, I was officially sanctioned by the higher-ups in the organization, and I'm credited in the program book. This, of course, gave me license to go to the cast party tonight at the house of one of the girls in the play. This was my first legit high school party; I did go to one party while in high school, but it was a cast party for the musical we did in my junior year (the show was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I was in the Pit Band) and it was held at the house of the Pit Band director, so I don't put that on the same level as one that is student-run. Note that I just now, as a graduate student, attended a high school party; this is because I was a loser in high school. Whether I still am today is debatable, although I do have more friends now. Anyway, being reasonably disconnected from the high school scene, I was able to stand back a bit and just observe the general goings on of the evening. In truth, it kind of took me back to my days in that social context, and reminded me of how akward it was to be a guy who from an all-guys school who doesn't really know any of the girls and lacks the reasonable means to approach them, while also acknowledging the fact that it would be basically futile to even try to get to know them at all, because in all likelihood I would never see them again after this weekend. Just so you know, I'm not chasing after high school girls or anything like that, I'm just saying, it reminded me of what it was like back then, which was interesting. I do miss those days though, and I do so especially this week after having participated in all these activities. There's something about proximity to familiar experiences that makes you wish you could recapture them somehow... or maybe that's just me and my unwarranted sentimentality.
I suppose tonight's blog is short-form, which is just as well, because I really should get some sleep. I've got more elevator duty tomorrow night, followed by another cast party, and even though I inherently don't fit in due to the differences in age demographics, I'm somewhat proud of the fact that I can enjoy myself even with a younger group of people. Singing along to pop songs played by Chris on accoustic guitar is a real blast. Anyway, I guess that's something to think about, maybe more for me than for you, but whatever. Throwing the contents of my brain onto the web is what I do here.
Oh and for anyone who is wondering, I smell like smoked cheese because they had a fire at the party tonight, around which we were singing the aforementioned songs just like a bunch of neo-private-school hippies with no drugs and better fashion sense, and to say that I simply smell like smoke might imply the scent of cigarettes, which is not the scent I possess. You know what I mean.
Over the course of this break, I've participated in an inordinate number of activities sponsored by my alma mater, Christian Brothers Academy: the annual Phone-a-thon, which is a fundraiser whereby they attempt to suck money from the alumni by calling them and asking for it; the Section II basketball championship, which, as I said in my last post, we won; and the CBA "Cadet Players" production of The Boyfriend, CBA's annual Spring musical. Granted, I was only involved with the play so much as my participation as Bogus Backstage Security/Unnecessary Elevator Operator allowed, but still, I was officially sanctioned by the higher-ups in the organization, and I'm credited in the program book. This, of course, gave me license to go to the cast party tonight at the house of one of the girls in the play. This was my first legit high school party; I did go to one party while in high school, but it was a cast party for the musical we did in my junior year (the show was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and I was in the Pit Band) and it was held at the house of the Pit Band director, so I don't put that on the same level as one that is student-run. Note that I just now, as a graduate student, attended a high school party; this is because I was a loser in high school. Whether I still am today is debatable, although I do have more friends now. Anyway, being reasonably disconnected from the high school scene, I was able to stand back a bit and just observe the general goings on of the evening. In truth, it kind of took me back to my days in that social context, and reminded me of how akward it was to be a guy who from an all-guys school who doesn't really know any of the girls and lacks the reasonable means to approach them, while also acknowledging the fact that it would be basically futile to even try to get to know them at all, because in all likelihood I would never see them again after this weekend. Just so you know, I'm not chasing after high school girls or anything like that, I'm just saying, it reminded me of what it was like back then, which was interesting. I do miss those days though, and I do so especially this week after having participated in all these activities. There's something about proximity to familiar experiences that makes you wish you could recapture them somehow... or maybe that's just me and my unwarranted sentimentality.
I suppose tonight's blog is short-form, which is just as well, because I really should get some sleep. I've got more elevator duty tomorrow night, followed by another cast party, and even though I inherently don't fit in due to the differences in age demographics, I'm somewhat proud of the fact that I can enjoy myself even with a younger group of people. Singing along to pop songs played by Chris on accoustic guitar is a real blast. Anyway, I guess that's something to think about, maybe more for me than for you, but whatever. Throwing the contents of my brain onto the web is what I do here.
Oh and for anyone who is wondering, I smell like smoked cheese because they had a fire at the party tonight, around which we were singing the aforementioned songs just like a bunch of neo-private-school hippies with no drugs and better fashion sense, and to say that I simply smell like smoke might imply the scent of cigarettes, which is not the scent I possess. You know what I mean.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Boingy Boingy!
First things first: I just had an intense desire to listen to "Beautiful Soul" by Jesse McCartney, so of course I had to dial it up on YouTube, and thus I did. The experience satisfied my needs, and now I'm on to bigger and better things, like acquiring his new song, "How Do You Sleep," which I heard on the radio earlier tonight. Pretty good song, and interestingly, it features Ludacris, of whom I was not formerly a huge fan (and I'm still not, mind you), but his involvement in the Blizzard Man skits on Saturday Night Live as well as his turn in Max Payne ("THEM WHITE BOYS BETTER NOT BE STARTIN THE SHOOTIN WITHOUT ME!") have boosted my respect for the fellow. Not to mention, the way he yells "LUDA!" at the end of his little rap segment in the Jesse McCartney song made me chuckle, as did both the SNL skits and his role in Max Payne.
I am currently immersed in all the trappings of a wild spring break, or at least as wild of a spring break as one can have in Colonie, New York. Frankly, I'm not one for epic trips on spring break; every year I've just come home and hung out at my house with my family, doing all the associated things, which mainly involves bumming around the house and relaxing a lot. Generally this is just what I need at this point in the semester, so it works out perfectly. I think if I were to go on one of your typical spring break ventures, say to Florida or some other nonsensical place, that I would be so tired at the end of the journey that I may as well have not had a break at all, and that is no condition in which to enter the home stretch of the school year. The craziest spring break I ever had was last year when one friend from school was staying with another friend from school who lives about 20 minutes from me (I knew neither of these people independent from Liberty), and we all drove home and back in the same car. And do you know what we did on this particularly wild and crazy spring break? We went to Stewart's on St. Patrick's Day and got free ice cream because we were wearing green shirts (an upstate New York tradition), we visited my old high school, and we went to Colonie Center (which, for you out-of-towners, is Colonie's premiere mall). I also spent several days at Chris's dorm, the illustrious BARH, playing Typing of the Dead on Will Lassen's Dreamcast and participating in various other forms of tomfoolery occurring at that establishment, and I wrote a beast of a research paper for Coms 488.
It appears to me that every year around this time, a major motion picture event befalls humanity. Sure, summer is the real season for the blockbusters, but, at least for the last four years, there has been a particularly noteworthy film garnering a respectable amount of hype released roughly around the time I go on spring break; good thing too, because every year the movie has been rated R, and those of us shackled by the Liberty Way are more or less unable to see these kinds of films while at school. Interestingly enough, each year the movie in question has been an adaptation of a comic book: Freshman year it was Constantine; Sophomore year it was V For Vendetta; Junior year it was 300; Senior year it was... okay I can't remember which, if any, movie was the big deal last year, if you do remember don't hesitate to inform me; this year it was Watchmen. I saw all of those movies aside from Constantine, and they were all enjoyable. For me personally, Watchmen was more than just a moviegoing experience, since I had read the book prior to seeing the movie, and it was quite an intellectually stimulating read, but I plan to address that in a later post, so I won't get into it now.
You know what annoys me? The "high school" mentality. There are, of course, many facets to this particular mindset, but there is one that I would like to address right here and now. Background: Yesterday I went with my brother Chris and good friend Josh Woodard to watch my high school, CBA, play in the Section II Championship against Albany Academy at the Section II Championship. We won, 62-49. Go Brothers. Anyway, while we were there, we ran into a chap who I used to consider something of a twit back in the day; he was in 7th grade when I was a Senior in high school, making him a Senior now. Apparently, he's still a twit today, and I attribute this largely to the aforementioned high school mentality. Chris and I were discussing the fineries of Pokemon training at one point during the game, and the fellow in question was sitting right in front of us. He incredulously asked us, "You guys still like Pokemon? How old are you?" To which Chris replied that we are in fact both college age individuals and are thus free of the fallacious notions of what is "cool" in high school. Out of everyone I've talked to at Liberty University, not a single soul has looked down upon me for still playing Pokemon; as a matter of fact, virtually everyone agrees that it is quite a fun game, they admit that they used to play it, and some even join in the fun themselves (namely my hallmates). IN FACT, I was playing Pokemon on the big screen in between class periods last week (for those of you who are unaware, I teach Coms 101, and I took the opportunity to play Pokemon on a projector screen by hooking my laptop up to it on the Friday before spring break), and one of my students walked in, noted me playing, and said not a derogatory word. Bear in mind these students are freshmen, not even a year removed from high school, and even they are distanced enough from their former social conventions, or at least the kind that dictate you can't play games like Pokemon once you reach a certain age. To sum this up kids: once you reach college, all the old things that were "uncool" in high school suddenly become fair game once more, and I exploit this to the fullest, because I am a little kid at heart.
I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this post; being on break has caused me to largely shut down most of the more involved processes of my brain, and I feel like I'm kind of just rambling on here, but I do have one more thing to say before I depart. Earlier this evening, we were at Wal-Mart, and I found Clerks 2, one of my favorite movies of all time, in the $5 DVD bin. I snatched that puppy right up, and the sheer glee I experienced after discovering such a bargain got me thinking: in the face of a future that seems to be more and more uncertain, bleak, and generally meaningless, every time you get a chance to experience one of those small moments of joy, you appreciate it that much more. A Hot Wheels Mach 6 on clearance for 75 cents serves to supplement these nuggets of joy nicely. And I found one of those. Freakin A.
Adios Amigos.
I am currently immersed in all the trappings of a wild spring break, or at least as wild of a spring break as one can have in Colonie, New York. Frankly, I'm not one for epic trips on spring break; every year I've just come home and hung out at my house with my family, doing all the associated things, which mainly involves bumming around the house and relaxing a lot. Generally this is just what I need at this point in the semester, so it works out perfectly. I think if I were to go on one of your typical spring break ventures, say to Florida or some other nonsensical place, that I would be so tired at the end of the journey that I may as well have not had a break at all, and that is no condition in which to enter the home stretch of the school year. The craziest spring break I ever had was last year when one friend from school was staying with another friend from school who lives about 20 minutes from me (I knew neither of these people independent from Liberty), and we all drove home and back in the same car. And do you know what we did on this particularly wild and crazy spring break? We went to Stewart's on St. Patrick's Day and got free ice cream because we were wearing green shirts (an upstate New York tradition), we visited my old high school, and we went to Colonie Center (which, for you out-of-towners, is Colonie's premiere mall). I also spent several days at Chris's dorm, the illustrious BARH, playing Typing of the Dead on Will Lassen's Dreamcast and participating in various other forms of tomfoolery occurring at that establishment, and I wrote a beast of a research paper for Coms 488.
It appears to me that every year around this time, a major motion picture event befalls humanity. Sure, summer is the real season for the blockbusters, but, at least for the last four years, there has been a particularly noteworthy film garnering a respectable amount of hype released roughly around the time I go on spring break; good thing too, because every year the movie has been rated R, and those of us shackled by the Liberty Way are more or less unable to see these kinds of films while at school. Interestingly enough, each year the movie in question has been an adaptation of a comic book: Freshman year it was Constantine; Sophomore year it was V For Vendetta; Junior year it was 300; Senior year it was... okay I can't remember which, if any, movie was the big deal last year, if you do remember don't hesitate to inform me; this year it was Watchmen. I saw all of those movies aside from Constantine, and they were all enjoyable. For me personally, Watchmen was more than just a moviegoing experience, since I had read the book prior to seeing the movie, and it was quite an intellectually stimulating read, but I plan to address that in a later post, so I won't get into it now.
You know what annoys me? The "high school" mentality. There are, of course, many facets to this particular mindset, but there is one that I would like to address right here and now. Background: Yesterday I went with my brother Chris and good friend Josh Woodard to watch my high school, CBA, play in the Section II Championship against Albany Academy at the Section II Championship. We won, 62-49. Go Brothers. Anyway, while we were there, we ran into a chap who I used to consider something of a twit back in the day; he was in 7th grade when I was a Senior in high school, making him a Senior now. Apparently, he's still a twit today, and I attribute this largely to the aforementioned high school mentality. Chris and I were discussing the fineries of Pokemon training at one point during the game, and the fellow in question was sitting right in front of us. He incredulously asked us, "You guys still like Pokemon? How old are you?" To which Chris replied that we are in fact both college age individuals and are thus free of the fallacious notions of what is "cool" in high school. Out of everyone I've talked to at Liberty University, not a single soul has looked down upon me for still playing Pokemon; as a matter of fact, virtually everyone agrees that it is quite a fun game, they admit that they used to play it, and some even join in the fun themselves (namely my hallmates). IN FACT, I was playing Pokemon on the big screen in between class periods last week (for those of you who are unaware, I teach Coms 101, and I took the opportunity to play Pokemon on a projector screen by hooking my laptop up to it on the Friday before spring break), and one of my students walked in, noted me playing, and said not a derogatory word. Bear in mind these students are freshmen, not even a year removed from high school, and even they are distanced enough from their former social conventions, or at least the kind that dictate you can't play games like Pokemon once you reach a certain age. To sum this up kids: once you reach college, all the old things that were "uncool" in high school suddenly become fair game once more, and I exploit this to the fullest, because I am a little kid at heart.
I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this post; being on break has caused me to largely shut down most of the more involved processes of my brain, and I feel like I'm kind of just rambling on here, but I do have one more thing to say before I depart. Earlier this evening, we were at Wal-Mart, and I found Clerks 2, one of my favorite movies of all time, in the $5 DVD bin. I snatched that puppy right up, and the sheer glee I experienced after discovering such a bargain got me thinking: in the face of a future that seems to be more and more uncertain, bleak, and generally meaningless, every time you get a chance to experience one of those small moments of joy, you appreciate it that much more. A Hot Wheels Mach 6 on clearance for 75 cents serves to supplement these nuggets of joy nicely. And I found one of those. Freakin A.
Adios Amigos.
Monday, March 2, 2009
A Chair and Some Bodies
Pokemon fever has swept E21 203B. Yesterday at lunch we were discussing the finer points of our old Pokemon gaming days, and someone (I believe it was Danny Latin) resolved that upon our return to our dorm, he would find an emulator and the Pokemon games so we could all play. I had a group meeting at 2:00 for a presentation, so I did not go back with everyone else (as a brief aside, this very project is due tomorrow and I have to work on it, but I, being behind on these blog posts as it is, decided that this should come first. The regular readers of my blog should feel special and loved), but no sooner did I walk in the door after my meeting than I heard Danny Latin say, "Bill, guess what we're doing!" One look at Andrew Milton's computer screen was all the answer I needed: a Pokemon Red-fest was being held right in my very room, perpetrated by Danny Latin, Milton, and Ian. I quickly joined in the fun, copying the emulator off of Ian's duct-taped flash drive and onto my computer. I was not enjoying the experience quite as much as I had hoped, however; it felt more like a chore to wade through the first city or two of Pokemon Red than fun, probably because I've already played through the game a few times. I decided I wanted a deeper, more enriching experience. What better game to play, then, than Pokemon Fire Red, the 3rd generation remake of the original Red version? I booted up the Game Boy Advance Emulator I had gotten from Chris two summers ago, and began playing. Currently I'm aboard the S.S. Anne on my way to acquiring Cut so I can battle Lt. Surge in the Vermillion City Gym, and I've loved every second of it.
Today marked the fourth snow day I have experienced in my five years at Liberty University. The very first occurred four years ago on February 28th, 2005 (if you're super interested, you can read about it here at the blog I had during the second semester of my freshman year). We didn't have another full snow day after that until last year, when we had two, one that was due more to an ice storm than actual snow, and one that was later dubbed the "Phantom Snow Day" because they canceled class at 9:35 the night before in preparation for the impending snowstorm... which never came. Not only did it not snow, but the temperature wasn't even below freezing; it was warm enough outside for physical activity. Yesterday, at roughly 2:00 PM (while I was in the group meeting I mentioned earlier) it began snowing, and it was really coming down. By the evening we already had two inches of snow (which, for Virginia, is a lot), and school was canceled for today officially by 6:45 PM. At that point, we were on our way to the Rot for dinner, and we were notified thanks to a call from one Zac McKee. We had embarked on a perilous wintry trek to obtain nourishment because it was too slippery in the parking lot to even move any cars. When it snows badly, real men aren't forced to remain indoors, they barrel into danger with their heads down and their shoulders out, foraging for the kind of food that can only be had after a death-defying quest across the bridge from East Campus, through our old haunt on the Hill, and down those little stairs that most people seem to hate but I love so dearly. And when we finally stormed triumphantly through the doors of the dining hall, we saw that most of the food was being cleared away, so in my haste to acquire enough food to sustain me while it was still there, I took more than I normally would... and I ate most of it anyway.
Acknowledging the fact that I had essentially no real responsibility today, I spent the rest of last night playing Pokemon Fire Red until the wee hours of the morning, and then hit the sack and got a full 8 hours of sleep. Not having to wake up at 6:30 for staff meeting is a beautiful thing. The Studs of E21 and Sensuous Sisters of E7 had ourselves a grand lunch affair at the rot (again we walked, but this time with more people), and following that headed over to the frontal sector of E7 for a snowball fight/trash bag and bin lid sledding/general snow-related mayhem. I most enjoyed the segment near the end of the affair, where we were all tackling each other down the hill... even the part where Ian drove me into the ground and rode me down the hill like a sled. It was a blast.
Now you're probably asking yourself: what does one do for dinner on a day such as this, when no one (save me) feels like going to the Rot and Doc's Diner, the planned dining establishment for the evening, is closed? Go to Taco Bell, of course! So that's exactly what my cohorts and I (sister chicks included) did, and of course when we got there at 7:15, we found that it was closing at 7:45 due to inclement weather. The door, however, was locked, so we waited for some people to leave and let us in, whereupon we heard the nice employee folk yelling from behind the counter "WE'RE CLOSED!" I told them the sign said they weren't closing for another half hour, but they then informed me that due to staff shortage and the fact that the drive-thru was backed up, they were, in fact, closed. Notably irritated, I left, and we convened in the parking lot to consider our next move. It seemed a trip to Wendy's was in order, so we embarked upon the journey around the corner. No sooner than we had left the Taco Bell parking lot did Ian receive a call from a certain female whose name begins with "F" and ends with "elicia" suggesting we go to IHOP. I said "NO! Absolutely NOT!" because, if you've ever eaten at IHOP, you'll know that their food is nothing to write home about, not to mention overpriced. The idea was met with resounding approval by everyone else, so I was powerless to stop our inevitable venture into the International House.
On the way to InterHOP, noting my disapproval, a discussion broke out about the virtues of eating at such an establishment. There were a number of points that had merit, but I would like to focus on the fallacious notion that at a so-called "sit-down" restaurant, you can "actually sit down and talk/socialize/fellowship/whatever other term you may choose." Can't you do the same exact thing in a fast food restaurant? You need two things in order to sit down and socialize: a surface (or surfaces) on which to sit, and human beings, nothing else. Nowhere does it say in the rules of human interaction that in order to sit down and talk with other people during a meal you must go to a place that affords you a server. I can sit down and talk to the people accompanying me just as well at the tables at McDonald's as I can at IHOP, and it will cost me way less money for the meal, not to mention gratuity (but don't get me started on that one, perhaps I'll address it in a later post if I remember). The only reason that "sit-down" restaurants facilitate fellowship so well is because of the requisite period you must endure after ordering your food, and honestly, where is the advantage in waiting longer to eat? Why is it so bad to get your food (for a much lower price), talk while you eat, and sit for a little while longer after eating to stay and hang out? I enjoy the conversation and interaction much more when I'm not hungry anyway, but I'll tell you exactly why this option is not usually taken: social norms. It's the social norm that when you're done eating at a fast food restaurant, you leave. Perhaps the atmosphere attributes to it, the very nature of a fast food restaurant is convenience and speed, and I understand that, but really when it comes down to it, it's just that you "don't do that." Granted, social norms are in place for a reason, but in this case, it's just stupid.
Well, I'm running out of steam now, and I do have a project to take care of, so, considering her contribution to the inspiration for the last paragraph, I'll leave you with these parting words to chew on (food pun!), courtesy of our own Felica Adams:
"I WANT BANANA PUDDING!"
Today marked the fourth snow day I have experienced in my five years at Liberty University. The very first occurred four years ago on February 28th, 2005 (if you're super interested, you can read about it here at the blog I had during the second semester of my freshman year). We didn't have another full snow day after that until last year, when we had two, one that was due more to an ice storm than actual snow, and one that was later dubbed the "Phantom Snow Day" because they canceled class at 9:35 the night before in preparation for the impending snowstorm... which never came. Not only did it not snow, but the temperature wasn't even below freezing; it was warm enough outside for physical activity. Yesterday, at roughly 2:00 PM (while I was in the group meeting I mentioned earlier) it began snowing, and it was really coming down. By the evening we already had two inches of snow (which, for Virginia, is a lot), and school was canceled for today officially by 6:45 PM. At that point, we were on our way to the Rot for dinner, and we were notified thanks to a call from one Zac McKee. We had embarked on a perilous wintry trek to obtain nourishment because it was too slippery in the parking lot to even move any cars. When it snows badly, real men aren't forced to remain indoors, they barrel into danger with their heads down and their shoulders out, foraging for the kind of food that can only be had after a death-defying quest across the bridge from East Campus, through our old haunt on the Hill, and down those little stairs that most people seem to hate but I love so dearly. And when we finally stormed triumphantly through the doors of the dining hall, we saw that most of the food was being cleared away, so in my haste to acquire enough food to sustain me while it was still there, I took more than I normally would... and I ate most of it anyway.
Acknowledging the fact that I had essentially no real responsibility today, I spent the rest of last night playing Pokemon Fire Red until the wee hours of the morning, and then hit the sack and got a full 8 hours of sleep. Not having to wake up at 6:30 for staff meeting is a beautiful thing. The Studs of E21 and Sensuous Sisters of E7 had ourselves a grand lunch affair at the rot (again we walked, but this time with more people), and following that headed over to the frontal sector of E7 for a snowball fight/trash bag and bin lid sledding/general snow-related mayhem. I most enjoyed the segment near the end of the affair, where we were all tackling each other down the hill... even the part where Ian drove me into the ground and rode me down the hill like a sled. It was a blast.
Now you're probably asking yourself: what does one do for dinner on a day such as this, when no one (save me) feels like going to the Rot and Doc's Diner, the planned dining establishment for the evening, is closed? Go to Taco Bell, of course! So that's exactly what my cohorts and I (sister chicks included) did, and of course when we got there at 7:15, we found that it was closing at 7:45 due to inclement weather. The door, however, was locked, so we waited for some people to leave and let us in, whereupon we heard the nice employee folk yelling from behind the counter "WE'RE CLOSED!" I told them the sign said they weren't closing for another half hour, but they then informed me that due to staff shortage and the fact that the drive-thru was backed up, they were, in fact, closed. Notably irritated, I left, and we convened in the parking lot to consider our next move. It seemed a trip to Wendy's was in order, so we embarked upon the journey around the corner. No sooner than we had left the Taco Bell parking lot did Ian receive a call from a certain female whose name begins with "F" and ends with "elicia" suggesting we go to IHOP. I said "NO! Absolutely NOT!" because, if you've ever eaten at IHOP, you'll know that their food is nothing to write home about, not to mention overpriced. The idea was met with resounding approval by everyone else, so I was powerless to stop our inevitable venture into the International House.
On the way to InterHOP, noting my disapproval, a discussion broke out about the virtues of eating at such an establishment. There were a number of points that had merit, but I would like to focus on the fallacious notion that at a so-called "sit-down" restaurant, you can "actually sit down and talk/socialize/fellowship/whatever other term you may choose." Can't you do the same exact thing in a fast food restaurant? You need two things in order to sit down and socialize: a surface (or surfaces) on which to sit, and human beings, nothing else. Nowhere does it say in the rules of human interaction that in order to sit down and talk with other people during a meal you must go to a place that affords you a server. I can sit down and talk to the people accompanying me just as well at the tables at McDonald's as I can at IHOP, and it will cost me way less money for the meal, not to mention gratuity (but don't get me started on that one, perhaps I'll address it in a later post if I remember). The only reason that "sit-down" restaurants facilitate fellowship so well is because of the requisite period you must endure after ordering your food, and honestly, where is the advantage in waiting longer to eat? Why is it so bad to get your food (for a much lower price), talk while you eat, and sit for a little while longer after eating to stay and hang out? I enjoy the conversation and interaction much more when I'm not hungry anyway, but I'll tell you exactly why this option is not usually taken: social norms. It's the social norm that when you're done eating at a fast food restaurant, you leave. Perhaps the atmosphere attributes to it, the very nature of a fast food restaurant is convenience and speed, and I understand that, but really when it comes down to it, it's just that you "don't do that." Granted, social norms are in place for a reason, but in this case, it's just stupid.
Well, I'm running out of steam now, and I do have a project to take care of, so, considering her contribution to the inspiration for the last paragraph, I'll leave you with these parting words to chew on (food pun!), courtesy of our own Felica Adams:
"I WANT BANANA PUDDING!"
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