Youtube Today

This is a video Jason made for youtube. I just thought I'd share.

It's coming Along

Before I go to bed, I'm announcing my plans so I don't forget.

The main table needs to be 8 pixels wider, so the images will fit inside the border. Thusly, the right sidebar needs to be 8 pixels more narrow. I may remove one photo from my flickr badge or add another row to it. I'm bringing back the Flashy Last.fm quilt. I need to tune the color scheme a little. The top right and both bottom corners of the rounded table need to be tweaked.

What do you guys think? Any suggestions, problems, or requests?

A New Home?

I know I should be working on my template right now, but something truly more important came up. Heather called me last night on Stephanie's behalf and told me they're thinking of renting an apartment soon.



That's the complex. Gym, tennis courts, pools, spa, plenty of parking. It's only half a mile from the expressway and closer than that to some fine fast food establishments. I definitely think I could live there.

So I've been looking at employment options that I could easily get to without having a car for a while (which I can't afford for a while because I still have my student loan bill). Once the apartment is secured I'm going to mass apply so I can get a head start instead of worrying about it the whole time I'm there. Thanks Google Earth for being so damn useful.

And, of course, posting this picture screwed up my tables or div containers or something.

Still Working on the Design

I now have a clear idea of what I want my blog to look like. I just have to write the code and work out whatever bugs come along.

Now for some feedback: who would be in favor of a pop-up window for the comment page?

Holiday Depression has Begun

Jason's graduation is coming up on the 15th of December. My luck being the way it is, my cousin is getting married at the same time on the same day. I couldn't care less about my cousin. I don't like her and she doesn't like me. But still I have to go "because we're family." This cousin didn't even show up at my graduation party when I needed someone else my age to go, seeing as none of m friends showed up. She's never been there for me, but I'm expected to be there for her despite my previous engagement..

A high school grad party may seem pretty insignificant in comparison with a wedding, but you have to consider the fact that it's not inconceivable that I'll never even have a wedding. Sure, Jason and I want to get married, but with the way this country is going right now, I don't know if we'll ever be able to. And even if we can one day get married, the people who are supposed to care about me and be there (my family) aren't the kind of people who would show up to a gay wedding. So why should I pretend to care now when I'm just going to lose in the long run?

Going to Jason's graduation is so more important to me than a meaningless ceremony. I'm going to miss the only chance to see Jason graduate with his Bachelor's in Communications to watch my cousin get married for the first time. The way this family is, I'm sure it's not going to be the last time. I'm letting Jason down to be lectured about how nice weddings are and how I should get married [to a woman] one day. That's so depressing that still being here for Thanksgiving is starting to look like a minor issue.

I'm missing out on my fucking life to be there for my family who I know would turn around and stab me in the back at the drop of a hat.

Updating

I know I deleted everyone from my friends list. I'll put you all back, I swear. Just hold tight while I play around with my template, okay?




I have a dilema here. I could either add a bunch of pretty Flash apps and have my blog run more slowly than normal, or add HTML apps which aren't as pretty, but tremendously faster. Any thoughts?

Unmotivated Aspirations

I've been kind of avoiding blogging for the past few days because I've felt really shitty and I don't want to talk about it. The important think is that I'm okay and I feel better now since I've been hanging out with my friends a lot. I've been able to get one the Internet and talk to people a bit recently. That always makes me feel like I actually belong somewhere. That's especially nice where I come from.

I've been thinking of redesigning my blog and making it a little more colorful (in the literal sense). I'd like to move all my links to a new left sidebar, changing my last.fm to the CD Cover Quilt, getting a better photo, and a flixster app for the right sidebar. I'd still need to keep the content column 500 pixels wide to accommodate the photos I uploaded for archive's sale. That means my blog has to get wider, which will keep people from viewing it properly at low resolutions, but I don't think I mind it that much. I'm thinking of going with a burnt orange color too. What do you guys think?

I also want to get working on a film. I don't have anything particular in mind. Just anything. I think this time I can do better. The problem is that I still can't seem to get my thoughts onto paper. I guess the first thing I could do is start filming the Little Shop of Horrors series and see where that takes me. I have a few other characters I thought of in the past that I'd like to incorporate too. I just don't have the motivation to do it.

That's all I can really think of to talk about right now that wouldn't bore people to death. Have a great day everyone.

No Internet + No Computer = :(

Hey Everybody,
This is Jason posting at Rich's request. As you know, he's been without the internet for a few months. Well, now his laptop decided to take a poop, as well. So, he hasn't been able to write any new blog posts. He's not abandoning it or anything, just can't update at the moment without a computer.

Oh, and Rich, I love you so very much. Just thought you should know. <3

I Came Up with a Perfectly Emo Blog Title, but Jason Ate It

How do you tell someone you're supposed to look up to (because of silly human social constructs) you don't want to be around them because they're judgmental when they haven't done anything explicitly judgmental, but you know they would if they knew something about you?

My Aunt Julie (who I used to be kind of close to) started calling me recently and I really don't want to get close to her. She's a Christian and I know how she feels about people like me. I know I don't have to tell her and I could just keep it my little secret, but I'm really tired of pretending to live the way people want me to. I feel like I need to shut and lock the door just to give Jason a hug, and it's really not fair to Jason and me.

I'm not asking people to agree with me or watch. I'm simply asking people to not be such assholes about something that's none of their business. If I want to sit next to Jason in my own room, in my own house, I should be able to. It's not like I'm going out assaulting people, sleeping with my cousin's wives, or picking up dirty old hookers like some other members of my family. And no one says a word about them. Why? Because that's much more normal behavior than putting my arm around Jason.

How do I explain the way I feel to my mom when she takes anything I say on the subject as a confession of guilt? If I say I don't want to be around my aunt because she's judgmental my mom will say it's because I'm obviously doing something wrong. If I don't give her a reason at all she'll say I'm just being an asshole. If I just ignore them, I'm afraid I'll hurt my aunt's feelings. I don't know what to do.

I really don't spend enough time with my friends anymore. I don't suppose I ever really did in the first place. I saw Brian the other day and if it hadn't been for his used squad car I don't think I would have recognized him. I don't want to get old and look back on my life and realize I never did anything worth doing and I never really had any friends. I don't know what to do either here though, because I was never really good at making or keeping friends and I never know what to do around people.

Christmas is Coming

Adding to the financial problems I've been having recently, the car I've been using broke down. I was stopped at Range and Yankee, the light turned green, and the car just wouldn't go. The engine didn't actually die, but I tried to restart it anyway, and it just died. Apparently it had been out of oil and coolant for months and none of the previous owners bothered to put any in. But ultimately, it was the timing belt the caused the problem and will cost $300 to fix on top of the $65 we and to come up with the tow it a whopping 5 miles. We had just put gas in the car, less than 2 miles away too, so now we have to keep filling up my mom's guzzler.

I've been feeling pretty lousy for the last week because I feel kind of overwhelmed. That makes me feel selfish because Jason feels the same way, only for more legitimate reasons. I feel bad because I don't have time to hang out with my friends when they're available and he feels bad because he has a great amount of work to do in a short period of time (among otehr things). I'm always miserable and I take it out on other people.

I've also been thinking a lot about how to outdo last year's Christmas and in a perfect world it would go a little something like this:

A relatively inexpensive home theater system for my parents. I've seen some in Best Buy for about $150 that look decent, but I'd have to do some research on that.

A refurbished iPod Nano (about $100 - a possible student discount) for my mom's stocking.

A handful of computer games for my dad's stocking (assuming he's going to start using the computer again.

A [THIS SPACE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK] and a [CENSORED] for Jason.

A new, novel cookbook for my mom's birthday. (I was thinking of buying her her own printer, but I'd have to do more research on the low end Epsons)

A Tracphone (with a year prepay card) for my Aunt.

Then I'd like to buy some things for a few of my friends, but I haven't gotten that far yet. This is assuming I don't spend any money on myself until Christmas. I'd also like to get my dad a notebook computer, but that will have to wait until next year.

On another note, is anyone up for Black Friday?

Shoutout

Look everyone! Jason has a new blog and it's prettier than mine! Go visit it, but don't stay there too long because I really need the attention here. It makes me feel special.

Today We Dine in Space

http://www.snapdrive.net/files/447843/Oath.pdf

Just a little something I did a while ago when I was bored and felt like doing something constructive. Feel free to sign and return a copy to me. Or not. I'm just bored again.

Also: Anyone happen to have a spare cassette adapter?

"Why is your dad in the hospital?"

Complete renal (kidney) failure.

Funny story: It all started when my dad had his second heart attack a few months ago. He survived it and was put on 8 (eight) separate medications. Since then he's been unable to hold down a lot of foods. We kind of knew it was the medication, so we tried to accommodate the situation by cooking bland, spiceless foods. That worked for a while until Thursday night when my dad was so sick he had to be rushed to the hospital.

He wasn't doing all that bad when he went in, but that soon changed. After waiting in the ER for three (3) hours he was finally looked at and diagnosed with renal failure. What's worse was that his blood pressure was dangerously low. He was then put into ICU and transfered to St. John's in Detroit where he was put in ICCU (the second C is for cardiac).

There they discovered that he had a partial aneurysm in his heart. The artery didn't burst, but ballooned out a little, so it didn't kill him. But there was nothing they could do about his heart until they did something about the renal failure, and things didn't look good. So they took him off his eight medications and within 2 hours his kidneys were functioning properly again and he was awake and eating a turkey sandwich.

I visited him the next day and he complained about his lunch being late. He was obviously doing a lot better because I watched him eat (and keep down) the entire lunch and dinner that was brought to him. He was no longer tired, weak, or sickly. They even let him come home today (Sunday). Now all we have to do is keep his blood pressure as low as we can (which is abnormally low in most cases) so that nothing more happens to his heart.

I read that many medications can cause renal failure, which was the cause of the high blood pressure, which was the cause of the aneurism, which almost killed him (along with blood poisoning from the kidney failure). The moral of the story: someone at St. John's River District Hospital in East China, Michigan really fucked up. Anyone fancy a lawsuit?

I Call This One 'Bleh'

I really hate it when it's too hot to sleep and I have to get up in the morning. On the positive side it gives me some time to finish up Final Fantasy XII (after 100+ hours) and listen to 10+ hours of TWiT podcasts that Jason downloaded for me. But on the negative side I'm going to have to wash my sheets again. I've had some time to think about how to fit exercise and relaxation into my day. But I'll be too tired in the morning to actually do it. I get to brush my teeth one extra time per night. But that's only because I have really raunchy breath at night. Bleh.

I hate desktop publishing. My printer is aging and refuses to accurately take the paper, leading to misaligned pages and fraudulent paper jams. It's also hard to tell what something will look like when it's actually printed. I think I prefer digital images that will forever remain on a monitor (unless someone else feels the need to print it, in which case it's their problem). I want to make another poster, but have no inspiration. Bleh.

I like foods with extreme flavors. Swiss cheese, onions, and beer mustard frequently accompany my hamburger patties. On the rare occasion that we have a lemon or two in the house I'll eat them like most people would eat an orange. I like my coffee strong, black, and lukewarm. Whole mild peppers are delicious. I also can't get enough ice cream despite my intolerance to lactose. The foods I won't eat (people call me picky): mushrooms and cooked carrots. Bleh.

I'm addicted to video games. My fire sorceress is level 85, my gang controls 100% of the greater Los Santos area, and my city's streets are bustling. I'm also addicted to music. 121 hours and 8.5 Gigs sit on my local drive. Few genres are unaccounted for in my library (of music, that is). I'm addicted to music based games too. Completing Amplitude on Brutal Mode was no sweat and I do enjoy flailing my arms as I play Dance Dance Revolution in the middle of my bedroom floor. I can't dance. Bleh.

Storytelling is one of my favorite activities. It helps me entertain people, which is another passion of mine. Too bad I'm shy. That's why I like writing. But filmmaking is kind of a drag with the formatting and the filming and whatnot. I've thought of being a stand up comedian, but then there are the jokes and the standing up. I'd rather be an old-fashioned, storytelling bard. With a computer. And the Internet. Bleh.

People don't understand me. It's my fault, really. First for being so weird in a way that no one else can claim to be, and second for not making my words and actions crystal clear. Everyone takes everything literally, yet I post vague references and quotes without explaining myself. If I was more like everyone else people would get me. But then I'd be more like everyone else and I wouldn't get myself. Bleh.

I Have Seen the Light and it is my Mind

the State has decided: who I am to love, to hate
what I'm to do in be, with what and to whom

the State has made a military coup in bed
stop screaming: the world is a better place

we are now going to sing the virtues of mass murder
we will follow our religious leaders

our feelings are stamped: State Property
pornography is practiced by God
who has raped more souls than you can shake a prick at

Jesus Christ is a funny name
for an hallucinogenic drug

all those addicts like Billy Graham and the Pope
will have to account for their expensive habit

from his last words on the cross
I gather Jesus was begging for the ultimate fix

-Harold Norse

So I still don't have the Internet, there are no places in marine City to get good free Internet acces (other than Big Boy, but I don't have the money for coffee), and no one has an open access point. So I'm pretty much cut off from everyone I know. I can't colaborate with peple, I can't share my thoughts and feelings, I can't even recieve a local phone call because we don't have Caller ID and no one bothers taking down a phone number.

I fucking hate my family too. All in all, I'm having a really shtty month. Or have I been saying that since January? I don't even remember now.

Oops

Stephanie thought it would be a good idea to mention that my dad didn't pay the phone bill this month, so I don't really have access to the Internet anymore. It's not like I do anything important on the Internet or anythign though, so it's all okay. But when they threaten to disconnect our cable, all Hell breaks loose.

Gone

Here I am. Overjoyed with my life and all the wonderful things that encompass it. Waking up each morning with a smile on my face knowing that today will be more marvelous than I can even imagine. Glad to be behind these high walls that I’ve spent a lifetime building to block out all the malice that is in the day-to-day life of this cruel world. I let them down a few times before to let people in, but then felt the immense ripping pain of the knife through my heart as they each left and I vow to never feel that pain again, no matter what it takes. There is only spot where it is safe to be without getting cut by the barbed wire, spikes, and sharp thorns that line both sides of all four walls and the roof. The reinforced concrete and thick steel plates that compose my fortress, my castle, my home to insure that I will never have to worry about someone getting in.

There is a camera in the very top corner that points down at me, to allow those I trust to see me. A screen in front of where I eternally sit, allows me to see the world. I have been staring at my toes for a while trying to move each one individually, but unable to do so. I look up at the screen and my breath is taken aback. His beautiful face appears, and happiness pours into my body like a warm rushing river. It doesn’t matter how many times I tell him that I love him and that he means the world to me, I still have to tell him more. It’s as if nothing is ever enough, because he can’t even fathom all the pain and misery that he makes me forget by just being near me, the ecstasy I feel every time I hear even the faintest whisper of his name. He has my soul, the very fiber of my being and I am nothing… nothing but a person behind a wall without him. The times in between our meetings are the cloudy nights that long for the moon and stars that otherwise fill it creating a portrait so beautiful and awe-inspiring words simply fail to describe.

It is raining outside; it’s been raining for days. It is so heavy that it’s hard to see more than a few inches in any direction. I like to watch it from the safety of my dwelling as it cleanses the Earth from the build up of dirt and filth that piles up during the dry cycles. I feel myself smile just seeing it shoot down from the sky as waterfall and I am reminded of happy times. My mind drifts from memory to memory, as I listen to the steady stream hit the ground and I make a wish that the world could always be as joyful as my memories.

Without warning, a roaring sound comes rushing towards me. I open my eyes to see that the massive amount of rain has caused the ground to lift from its bed and dance about. People scream and run for cover, but I am protected, out of harm's way inside these walls that I built. I monitor to make sure that everyone I care about has made it to shelter, and I am pleasantly rewarded with their smiling faces saying ‘hello’ to me by merely looking in my direction and I feel the warm from their love for me as if someone has just turned on a radiator to full blast.

Something cold and moist touches the top of my head and rolls down my ear. It takes me a few seconds to figure out what it is. Several feet above me, there is a crack that the foul smelling ooze from this mudslide is creeping into from. I am upset, but I am unharmed. I can handle getting a little dirty while the storm passes I suppose; besides there is no way I can fix it now. It is far above my head and there is no way to get there without injury because of all the roughness on the walls. For now, I try my best to ignore it. There is no use fretting over something that cannot be changed.

The rain has not slowed down and everyone has sought out for higher ground. They are all still in good health and their only concern is my well-being. The trickle of mud has now from a small pool on the ground below me, but beyond that, I am well. I reassure them that I will be right here waiting for them, when this weather has past. I wonder just how long that will be, while the storm rages on.

The few drips that were coming through have now become a gentle flow into my abode. Only my knees and my chest stick out from the viscous solution of all things outdoors. I know if it continues I’ll have to encounter cuts from the walls as I stand up to keep my head above the swirling bits of twigs, grass, and various other matter that should be outside on the ground not in here parading about as if celebrating their new found freedom.

The valley is filled with this brown muck. Whole houses, trees, and hills have been drown by its massive volume. I built my walls higher than conceivable, and yet somehow it has surpassed the top. The pressure has made the gentle flow become a steady stream and my hands sting from having to press them against the briery sides in order to keep my head such that I can breathe. I feel the iciness chilling me to the core of my body as my waist is slowing being overtaken by this malicious entity.

I struggle to stay afloat as liquid pours in at an alarming rate. It has started pulling at the supports of my siding causing bits of barbed wire and thorns to fly down at me like bombs falling from planes in the sky during another pointless war and I am one of the innocent civilians running for my life, having to zigzag back and forth to avoid being hit. Swimming is a struggle because the mud is so thick, but I know I can endure this, I just need to keep hanging on. I’m about half way up and the crack is still several arms spans above me. Why did I make these walls so high? How did a crack get through all that cement and steel? Questions that I don’t have time to answer right now.

The flow has slowed down now that I have risen above the crack. I no longer have to worry about being struck by falling debris. I’m only a few feet from the top and I pray to whomever it is up there (if there is someone up there) to make this abomination stop once and for all. My muscles ache, as they have never endured such an intense regiment before. Hope that the levels will not rise much more, for I’ll be trapped by the ceiling, is all I think about now.

I know the camera is still on, I wish it wasn’t, but it is. Watching my every move with its unblinking eye, displaying it to the world my epic battle for survival. Who is watching me now, I can only imagine. I don’t want to be shown like this. I don’t want people to pay attention only because I’m dying. If they wanted to get to know or even see me, there was plenty of time before this wrath of the Earth was unleashed upon us. So badly, I want to turn it off or at least turn it away but I can’t. No matter how hard I try, it’s determined to keep monitoring every little thing I do, every breath I take.

My head is scraped and scratched by the prickly ceiling and I begin wondering why I built these walls of damnation in the first place, but I needed them. I needed them to protect me from her, that vile monstrosity that I could not escape despite my best efforts. Why did she have to hurt me so? why couldn’t she just except me for what I am? I could be happy if I wasn’t in this self-made prison that she forced me to build. I could be happy if it wasn’t for her and her damn ‘values’. WHY?!?!!?

My hands and face are bleeding and tears are rolling down my face. My wounds sting from all the dirt and debris that is filling them. This however is one of the last things on my mind. I just want to be left alone. Desperately I try to point the camera away, “DON’T LOOK AT ME WHEN I’M LIKE THIS!!!! JUST LET ME BE!!!” I scream out. It only attracts more people to watch as I fight with every ounce left in me to stay above what is becoming my emanate death. My friends cry out for me, they love me. I know that, but love cannot save me now. Why can’t they just leave me alone? I want them to remember the happy times we had together, not to remember me like this. It wasn’t supposed to be like this!

There is but a few inches of air left. I turn my head to get a quick breath of air before I return to my watery tomb. I don’t know why I’m still hanging on; I won’t be saved. I go to get another breath of air only to find that the air is gone. I fall and my lungs begin to swell with this relentless curse. In my final moments of consciousness, I hear the roof being torn off. Someone has come to save me, but it is too late, I am gone.


By Julie Sunshine Emerick

Strange Species

I, Richard G. Moore, a national of the United States, solemnly swear that I was born at Flat Plains AFB, Oklahoma, United States of America, Planet Earth on February 13, 1986; that I formerly resided in the United States at 765 Broadway, Marine City, Michigan, United States of America, Planet Earth, That I had resided in the United States from February 13, 1986 to July 7, 2007; That I am a national of the United States by virtue of birth;

That I desire to make a formal renunciation of my Earthian Planetarity and Humanship, as provided by section 349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Planetarity Act, and pursuant thereto I hereby absolutely and entirely renounce my Earthian Planetarity and Humanship together with all rights and privileges and all duties of allegiance and fidelity thereunto pertaining.






Sometimes I'm ashamed to be associated with the vile, unintelligent, hate filled inhabitants of this little blue lump of matter hurling through the vacuum of the universe. So I adapted this from an official document, thanks to the U.S government posting everything on the Internet. I really do wish this was a real document and I could get as far away from here as modern propulsion would allow because every day I encounter (not always physically) dozens of people who go through their lives trying to convince everyone around them that their way of living is the one and only right way. People just can't handle anyone who doesn't fit into their nice little definitions of what people should be and continue fighting for what they think is right.

The worst is when people quote the Holy Bible. I'm not disputing the Bible's validity. Even though I don't think it represents what God would want, it might actually be his exact words. No one really knows. What gets me is when people misuse passages in the Bible that could be interpreted a million different ways, but they insist that their way is right because their favorite televangelist said so. These people then continue to throw out passages (especially in Leviticus) that don't work for them, but still insist that if someone violates the very next passage they're going straight to Hell.

People also insist on intruding on others' civil rights, claiming that their rights are violated. A law student fails the BAR exam because he refuses to answer a question about gay marriage. He wasn't asked to agree with the law or homosexuality in general, just to answer a simple question. But it somehow violated his rights, making the words "gay marriage" (and thus the concept) arguably unconstitutional. The parent of a fifth grader sits in on a PTA meeting and insists that a black school teacher should be let go because he makes the daughter of a man she doesn't even know uncomfortable. The kids have a right to learn in a healthy environment, but God forbid the man be able to work in one.

With all the hate that's constantly going around it's hard to believe people ever get anything done. Or do they? What does all the bickering, fighting, and name calling accomplish? Humans are so caught up in their beliefs that they never stop to think if they're right. They just insist. And that leads to a whole lot of hate, violence, war, and death.

I'm proud to no longer be a part of that.

Happy Lousy Holiday

I'm working on a zombie film. No, I don't know why. I just kind of feel like it. I just felt like making a serious movie. Err, well a movie. I really do like where it's going right now, but the more I look at the budget (just over $100) and the number of actors and extras I need the more it just seems like work. Where did all the fun go? I know it takes a lot of effort to get something out of filmmaking, but effort is one thing I just can't do right now. I'll post a script or synopsis here as soon as I get something done though.

[this holiday rant has been removed due to excessive whininness]

Starting Saturday my mom voluenteered me to dog sit for her friend out in the country. They don't have the Internet, but that doesn't really matter because I don't have my power adapter yet. I'm fairly confident it'll come before Friday though, and if it doesn't I'll just have to go a week without a computer at all. Or the phone because can never hear with their lousy connection and people don't talk loud enough. I could use my mom's roll over minutes (that expire every month now since we haven't used them in a year), but she won't let me. She's like that.