Something, Something...

Crap, I love getting packages. It's better than chocolate, it's better than sex (or so I've heard), it's better than the open ocean on a crisp night, it's better than laughing with your friends, or holding hands with a person you love most in the world, or looking into your child's eyes, or bliss, or immortality, or a perfectly working computer.... It is like God himself opened up the heavens, looked down at you and said, "You are my most wonderous creation." And that's even if you know what's inside. I love getting packages. I dunno what it is. Maybe it's the wonder that lies in that brown packaging, maybe it's the prospect of opening up a sealed package with something wonderful inside. If you try to take it to the next level; who doesn't like surprises? Who doesn't new stuff? Who doesn't like both of them in one wonderful package? Anyway, that brings up a pet peeve of mine. Have you ever heard somebody say there will be packets, and you're expecting, what a pen, maybe some post its, maybe some thing tangible, right? Something you can take home, use later, right? But noooooo! Most of the time, it's just some papers. Some papers and a paper clip. WTF? If it's just going to be a stack of papers, then just say that you're giving us a stack of papers. Geez, you're getting our hopes up with all this packet talk. Anyway, back to the point. Packages. Just thinking about them gets me wanting to head off to my mailbox right away, or go online and order something awesome and just wonder what it is. I should start a website where people can just exchange packages. Like you have no idea what's inside, but they send you something, and you send things something back. Just like a little surprise, that'd be awesome. Don't steal that idea, I'm totally going to do it.

Finally Settling Down

I've noticed a rather disturbing trend in all my contemporaries: A lot of them are getting married. I feel like I'm rather young (24), but now I'm starting to feel like an old maid, and I don't think I should be. Now, don't get me wrong, marriage is a fine institution, and if the right fella came and asked me, I'd definitely go along with it, in 10 or 15 years. But now, for the reason I've cited above, I feel like that would be waiting for too long. However, on one hand, I feel like maybe I should be looking for someone to spend the rest of my life with, I dunno if I want the rest of my life to start when I'm 25, that would totally suck. There's still stuff I want to do and see, and not have to feel like I have to get a real job and buy a house, and get a dog or something. Though, I would like to get a dog sometime soon. Or a pig. Or a ferret. Anyway, yeah. I haven't really found anybody that I'd want to spend the rest of my life with. Most guys that I know are fun to hang around, but if I had to spend every waking moment with them I'd want to slit my wrists. I've never been in love either, and I had a conversation with a couple of friends of mine. I said that relationships when you're younger really don't matter that much, and being in constant contact with your significant other is pointless. They told me that the feelings that they have now are just as intense as they'll ever be, and it's important to have that other person in their lives. I really think that the relationships we have early in life are meaningful, but because the person we are when we're twenty isn't the same person we are when we're 40, it's not going to matter one way or another. I seriously hope I'm not the same person I am now in twenty years. I don't want to get married now because the person that I marry now won't be the same person in twenty years. And what if the person I am hates the person he is? That will totally suck, and since I don't believe in divorce, I'll be in a totally loveless marriage where I hate the person I'm married to. So, as a nonbeliever in marriages before you're at least 30, I hope I'm not setting myself for defeat. And if I meet that person who I think I want to spend the rest of my life with tomorrow? Well, I hope they're willing to wait.

New Soul

So, I'm sure I'm behind the times, as this song has already been featured on a new Apple commercial, but even though I didn't think anything when it came out, I now really like it. And the video is just the cutest thing ever. Yael Naim with 'New Soul'.

Doris Day is Still Alive?!?!?

Like, you know how somebody dies, and you were like, they were still alive? Okay, I just found out that Doris Day is still alive and I wanted to get the word out before she died, and everybody was forced to ask that question. Seriously, I totally thought she had been dead for years, and I guess that's kind of a terrible thing to say, but she was popular in, like, black and white movies, so I kinda assumed that she was pretty old and, well. Anyway, I'm sorry Miss Day. I dunno if I mentioned this, but she's also my cousin. Maybe. Anyway, so, she's really awesome and made tons of great movies and could sing and was pretty kick-ass, and she's still alive. Just so you know. Anyway, she was also just mentioned at the Grammy's for some, like, I dunno, lifetime music achievement or something, I didn't watch it, but the point is: She's not only still alive, she's making moves. So, this is kind of like a public service announcement. Doris Day is still alive, aaaaand she's probably right behind you, right now. So, don't turn around.

Bit of Wisdom

"There's no predicting what people have or haven't been taught." -- Dr. Rebecca Wall

Thomas Edison is F-ing HAWT!

Look at that steely glare, that strong chin, that gorgeous honky soul patch. I'd shake that like a Polaroid picture.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

After my recent post, I decided to post some pictures from some of my fave animes. The first is from Yakitate!! Japan. In the pic, Kuroyanagi a judge in the bread baking competition (don't ask, interesting, fun, and worth the watch, but really, don't ask), has threatened Kawachi and Kanmuri (the two pictured) that he will shave all the hair off their bodies if they speak once more while he is speaking. Kuro-chan is sensitive like that. The pale one, while he looks like a girl, is most certainly a boy, (but I don't know why he's covering up his chest. Is there something you want to tell us Kanmuri-kun?) and even though they are naked, it shouldn't bother you. The funniest thing to me is the expression on their faces.


This is my fave pic from the whole series, just because of the look on Kazuma-kun's face. It's just sooo adorable, and I love the afro.



The next pic is a series of two. They're both from Bleach. The first is what Ikkaku thinks when someone mentions his superior (Hitsugaya daicho) who looks like he should be in grade school, but certainly is not. The second is the expression Captain Hitsugaya has for Ikkaku when he breaks from his reverie.




I would have been scared too, if I was Ikkaku. And this is just a sexy picture of Simon Tam. Just thought I'd give something back to the community.

Vs: Why Are We All Fighting?

There's only one thing in the world worse than YouTube comments, and that's Digg comments. Usually they just devolve into trolling, and worse, people cursing each other out. But sometimes, they can be a forum for learning and discussion. Not usually though. Someone just posted a story about Jon Stewart talking about Mitt Romney's decision to drop out of the race (more on that later) Anyway, I was reading the Digg comments for the story, and came across this conversation:

Some d-bag: Mitt would have been a great President. He understands the imminent threat of all the Muslims abroad and within our borders. I do not agree with his Mormonism because Christianity is only way to heaven; but we could've used this man for the next 4 years to finish off the biggest threat of our times: Islam

Another d-bag: People will digg you down for this, however, the reality is Islam is the biggest threat to the security of the world, not George W. Bush.

Some smart guy: Islam isn't a threat, people with radical off the wall nonsensical pictures of reality are the threat. Islam, Christianity, whichever one tells you in it's book to kill the non-believers (sometimes with stones!). Some people choose to believe it so far as to carry out obviously evil acts in the name of their god, allah, whatever. Christians were guilty of all the same shit back in the day. It was a Wednesday I believe.

Me: You are so right that it makes my brain hurt. There is nothing wrong with religion in its best forms, it gives people hope, and really does help the world. This is the same for Christians, Muslims, Jews, everybody. It's just when people twist it around and make it 'evil' does it start to suck, and atheists start making sense. We talk about 9/11, but what about all the people that were killed in abortion clinic bombings in the US? What about 'Thank God for IED's'? I like to think of people of all religions as brothers and sisters in faith, and even atheists and agnostics as part of the family, I mean, religion (be it Islam, Christianity, Mormonism, whatever) does not have to be a dirty word. The person that Christian revere the most would never agree with all the crap that's carried out in his name. Jesus believed in love most of all, and if we (Christians) can remember that, then we can rise above all our petty little conflicts. Mohammad preached peace and understanding and some radical factions forget that too. We have our own problems, and people like Mitt Romney are only stirring up the pot, when we need to be working towards a greater understanding.

I don't understand why some people have taken the idea that Islam, as a whole religion, is a terrible thing. More terrible than Christian fanatics, moreso than Jewish fanatics (not sure how many of those there have been), etc. etc. People forget that in Spain, Catholics wiped out so many 'non-believers' that it's estimated that about 3000-5000 people have been killed. This isn't just one instance of Christians gone wrong, we've killed so many people so many ways, we're probably a bigger murderer of people than any plague or conquerer ever to cross the Earth. Remember the Aztecs and Incas that were 'converted' by any means necessary? I can think of dozens of instances where stupid people killed someone because they didn't believe in the same deity. But of course, you don't need a deity to kill another person, and it's been happening for no good reason for just as long. The point is Islam isn't the problem, it's people that can't see past the end of their noses. It's people who have been brainwashed to believe that their religion teaches that there should be no tolerance for anyone else. Christians, Muslims, and Jews believe in the same God, for crying out loud. I mean, the same entity, the same person, being, whatever. It's the same thing! And the fact that we can't come together is frickin' retarded. We're getting wrapped up in whether or not we should wear a burka, or get circumcised or whether or not the Sabbath is Sunday or Saturday. Do you really think God cares about all that? I mean, really? I hope not, because I feel like God knows we're not perfect, and we're human. I mean, we're going to get some of the details mixed up, but the fact that we kill somebody because they don't believe the same way we do is not going to be made up for the fact that we didn't eat fish during the week. I can't believe in a God that would condemn you to the deepest pits of hell because you showed your legs to a guy who wasn't in your family. That's not to say that you can't believe what you want, but understanding love, and forgiveness means understanding that other people have the choice, and THE RIGHT to believe as they want, and you should love them regardless. And that's something that can bring all faiths together. Okay, do I sound like a hippie? Maybe, but if you think about it (and I'd only want to speak for my own religion here) Jesus said the same thing, right? Love everybody, even if they don't think or look like you, or do what you do. And it's true, even today, cause Jesus had it right, I mean, he's who we base everything we believe on. I know for a fact that Islam instructs that Christians and Jews are 'People of the Book', which means they share the same God, and same origins (the Pentateuch, Adam and Eve, uh, I dunno, Allah/Elohim/Jehovah). "And you do not dispute with People of the Book except with means better, unless it be with those of them who inflict wrong: but say, "We believe in the Revelation which has come to us and in that which has come to you; our God and your God is One; it is to Him We bow." (The Qur'an, Surah 29:46, The Spider) Christians have many statements about killing those of different beliefs, and while I don't say throw out the Old Testament, it was created because there was no pathway for people who believe in God to God. Jesus was created as that pathway, because nobody could make it their on their own. Jesus dismissed some of the laws of Old Testament through his own teaching, "You have heard it said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, But I tell you, Love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, To show that you are children of your Father Who is in Heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrongdoers." Matthew 43-45. I think the broader sense of His speech was love everybody, even when you don't see eye to eye. This is something that Christians who can quote the whole Bible to you seem to forget. Anyway, I didn't mean to make this a thesis on religion, but I just don't get how people can take some parts of their religion and follow it to the letter, and forget other parts because it's convenient. There was no religion founded set up to destroy another religion, we all have our goals, and if we can just stop killing each other, we can reach them. Though, I don't expect that to happen anytime soon.

家有儿女

When I was in China, I used to watch this show all the time. I didn't get all the jokes, but sitcoms with funny people really cross all linguistic boundaries. Basically, it's this family, with three kids, and they have all sorts of crazy adventures. Think Full House with one less uncle Joey, one more mom, two boys, and um, Communism. Seriously, it's just a funny show, and while you might not get all the jokes, it's still pretty funny. The title basically translates to Family with Children, or Family that has boys and girls. I just found a treasure trove of eps online, and will be filling my days with 家有儿女 until I'm all caught up.

Back At the Cellar Door

I'm not very good when people give me praise. I tend to think of myself as average in most aspects of life, below average in others. I'm not a good student, because I don't really do my homework, and turn my essays in late, I'm a good student because I'm involved in the conversation, and the essays that I do turn in are better than most. I've come to terms with this. I'm a bad person cause I'm not always too dependable, and I tend to find faults in people, I'm a good person because I'm pretty laid back, and I'm fun to be around (or so I think). Anyway, when it comes to describing me, I don't think there's anything too awesome there. So, when I get praise from people, I never know how to take it. I always feel awkward, and uncomfortable, like somebody's shining a spotlight on me, and the whole world is looking on. Anyway, I just got a recommendation letter from one of my teachers which included glowing praise about my status as a student, and my work and so on. She gave me a copy of it, and I can't bring myself to read it, I just skim through it looking for words that might uncover the real truth about me, but finding none, I'm at a loss. I feel like I'm the only one that gets this giant cosmic joke. I don't me to say that I have this low self esteem, and I sit around feeling sorry for myself. I happen to think I'm awesome. But at the same time, I know in the back of my mind that this personal view might be a little unwarranted. I know that's kind of weird, but I've got low self esteem about my high self esteem. Or something.

Conflict of Interests OR John McCain for President???

I'm just really proud because the subject line actually has something to do with the posts. Anyway, I've got a problem, people. Crap. It's not something I really want to discuss here, but it's a heckuva dilemma. For my American readers, if you've been keeping up with the primaries, you know you can't turn on the TV without some news about one candidate or the other. I've been keeping up with the Democratic side because I'm a Democrat. However, I've planned to vote for Hillary Clinton. I know that alot of people (especially young people) don't agree with that, but what can you do? Anyway, I've come to the realization that if Hillary doesn't win, I might just vote for John McCain for President, should he win the primary. Now, don't get me wrong, I like Barak Obama, but I don't think that he has the experience to run the country, and I don't know if his message of change is really backed up by his platform. Needless to say, while I'd be super excited to have a black president, I think that John McCain has a way to dismantle the polarization that has taken place in American politics. This is something that was fostered by George W. during almost his entire time in office. McCain has even admitted that his own party has some flaws, but that it's in areas like climate change and pork barrel spending, places where there is some foot dragging by the GOP. I think that McCain is more liberal than he's been letting on in his candidacy, and that's a good thing. Conservatives would probably not vote for him if they knew his stance on most things, and what conservatives don't know is that if we have another term of their kind of conservatism, the world will explode. That's not to say the liberals have got it right either, but I've always preached a kind of moderate stance that has served me well on a lot of different occasions. It makes it easier to see when you're in the middle of the aisle where it's clear. And sometimes people get so wrapped up in politics, that they refuse a good idea just because it's from the 'other side'. It's high time we had a President that can unify the country in a way that George W. (and people like him) don't want. Because when you start having real unity, you can affect real change. So, I am thoroughly supporting the McCain primary bid, and will look to the general election and hope for the best. No matter what happens, I have a biiiig decision to make.