Had lunch with Ashley at Vincenzo's today; wisdom teeth aside, marriage seems to be agreeing with her. She showed me the pictures from the wedding, and I think I managed to be blinking in every last one. Oh well. The ones I'm in aren't the important ones anyway. I do believe she and I will be collaborating on a new project, though: keeping her husband from brewing biodiesel in the garage. Anything that requires collecting used oil from restaurants is just a bit too close to a Simpsons episode for his own good.
Looks like I'll spend a good chunk of the weekend hanging out with (among others) my ex's new boyfriend. Surprisingly, I find that I'm fine with that, and have been for some time now. When did I become so, well, mature? And rational? And sane? It's a very Tom Hanks sort of feeling to wake up one day and find that you can be big about things. Best guess: the years have taught me that friends are rarer and more important than lovers. Or as Mick Jagger might have said, You can't always get what you want / But if you try sometimes, you might find / You get what you need...
At some point this weekend, I'm also going to try to see "The Village". I've got a huge fondness for atmospheric horror films, and it seems to fit the bill.
Thursday, July 29, 2004
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Last to know
I've probably mentioned it in person to most of my readers, but I did, in fact, accept a job as a software engineer with Cerner. I'll be starting September 20, which gives me a month after graduation to find an apartment and get moved, not to mention go to a few football games and exchange some tearful (really!) goodbyes with the various Kauffmanites. Come visit me in Kansas City, I'll be lonely...
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Lazari
Tom Rice is back! We, the living, had to suffer through three months of total radio silence that began the moment he got to Arizona, General Dynamics, and Amy. I suppose I can't entirely blame him, but I might gently remind him that he does have other friends. :) Anyway, he says he's going to start keeping up his blog again (link at right), so keep an eye on it.
I do have to raise one bullshit flag, though: Tom claimed that he didn't have Internet at home all this time because he was lazy and didn't get around to it. Please. For a geek of our stature, that's like saying you forgot to eat or drink for a few months. At least come up with a believable excuse...
Justin Bechtel also made his trimphant return to the Internet this week. I'd like to think it's because he missed me, but the truth probably has more to do with his wife's two-week vacation (alone) to go visit her family, and him being bored out of his skull. I wonder what it's like to reach that point in your marriage where you realize that your social lives revolve almost entirely around one another, and that you haven't really been alone in years. It seems scary, yet somehow alluring.
I do have to raise one bullshit flag, though: Tom claimed that he didn't have Internet at home all this time because he was lazy and didn't get around to it. Please. For a geek of our stature, that's like saying you forgot to eat or drink for a few months. At least come up with a believable excuse...
Justin Bechtel also made his trimphant return to the Internet this week. I'd like to think it's because he missed me, but the truth probably has more to do with his wife's two-week vacation (alone) to go visit her family, and him being bored out of his skull. I wonder what it's like to reach that point in your marriage where you realize that your social lives revolve almost entirely around one another, and that you haven't really been alone in years. It seems scary, yet somehow alluring.
In defense of John Kerry
It occurred to me that I haven't said much in here yet that was overtly political. I guess I assumed that most of my friends are pretty familiar with my views already. But with the Democratic National Convention going on, and the silly season winding up, it's started to be on my mind. So here goes nothing...
"For every complex question, there is a simple answer, and it is wrong." -- Oscar Wilde. If anyone from the Kerry campaign is listening, it ought to be one of his slogans. I've seen him get a lot of flak for giving long, complex answers to questions. More power to him, I say. Anything like a honest answer to the sorts of questions we ask our politicians is going to be pretty complicated. I think it's mainly the (any-wing) media itself that comes down on him for this, because it makes their life difficult when you can't be easily reduced to sound bites. The only other possible the explanation is that the electorate is mostly idiots, and doesn't like it when the smart man uses big words, which I don't believe is the case.
I also get pretty testy whenever someone points out that Kerry has been on many sides of various issues during the course of his career. You know what? So have I. It's called learning. Show me a representative who's voted totally consistently, on every bill, on every issue, and I'll show you a representative who's never had a conscious thought in his life. If he can explain to me why he voted the way he did on any given question, then he has my full support. (All of this, of course, presumes that a given bill only encompasses a single goal which, guess what, is rarely the case.)
Is there really someone out there (cheap shot: other than George W. Bush) who believes that the world is a place of black and white and simple solutions? Please, tell me their address, that I might go and smack them over the head with the frying pan of moral complexity. It's sure as hell not the world that I live in. I don't want my president to be a man whose job it is to gloss over the messy details of messy situations. It's not good vs. evil or us vs. them, and it's entirely possible to be both with us and against us. Bring on the ambiguity, I say.
It has become increasingly clear to me over the years that a president's greatest influence, and greatest legacy, is the stamp they leave on our nation's culture. They set the tone for us all, for years at a time. I'm a bit of an idealist, I guess, but I need to vote for the candidate whose ideal country seems closest to my own. Because, in no small measure, they will push the country in that direction. In that light, for me, it's an almost laughably easy choice...
More than anything else, though, I fear the results if the popular vote and the electoral college go separate ways again. I think it would be disastrous, undermining the already shaky confidence of an apathetic populace, on both sides of the aisle. Nothing could be more poisonous for a democracy than the impression that your vote doesn't matter.
Random tidbit: rumor has it that the Arab network Aljazeera will be broadcasting more of the DNC than any of the American networks. Good for them. I daresay that the average Middle Eastern citizen has an even more urgent interest in the results of the election than we do. It's not life and death for us, but it might be for them.
He'll slay me for this, but I'm going to link to a few of my friend Derrick's various sketches. I think he's a really, really good artist, and that he should hear that from more people than just me.
"For every complex question, there is a simple answer, and it is wrong." -- Oscar Wilde. If anyone from the Kerry campaign is listening, it ought to be one of his slogans. I've seen him get a lot of flak for giving long, complex answers to questions. More power to him, I say. Anything like a honest answer to the sorts of questions we ask our politicians is going to be pretty complicated. I think it's mainly the (any-wing) media itself that comes down on him for this, because it makes their life difficult when you can't be easily reduced to sound bites. The only other possible the explanation is that the electorate is mostly idiots, and doesn't like it when the smart man uses big words, which I don't believe is the case.
I also get pretty testy whenever someone points out that Kerry has been on many sides of various issues during the course of his career. You know what? So have I. It's called learning. Show me a representative who's voted totally consistently, on every bill, on every issue, and I'll show you a representative who's never had a conscious thought in his life. If he can explain to me why he voted the way he did on any given question, then he has my full support. (All of this, of course, presumes that a given bill only encompasses a single goal which, guess what, is rarely the case.)
Is there really someone out there (cheap shot: other than George W. Bush) who believes that the world is a place of black and white and simple solutions? Please, tell me their address, that I might go and smack them over the head with the frying pan of moral complexity. It's sure as hell not the world that I live in. I don't want my president to be a man whose job it is to gloss over the messy details of messy situations. It's not good vs. evil or us vs. them, and it's entirely possible to be both with us and against us. Bring on the ambiguity, I say.
It has become increasingly clear to me over the years that a president's greatest influence, and greatest legacy, is the stamp they leave on our nation's culture. They set the tone for us all, for years at a time. I'm a bit of an idealist, I guess, but I need to vote for the candidate whose ideal country seems closest to my own. Because, in no small measure, they will push the country in that direction. In that light, for me, it's an almost laughably easy choice...
More than anything else, though, I fear the results if the popular vote and the electoral college go separate ways again. I think it would be disastrous, undermining the already shaky confidence of an apathetic populace, on both sides of the aisle. Nothing could be more poisonous for a democracy than the impression that your vote doesn't matter.
Random tidbit: rumor has it that the Arab network Aljazeera will be broadcasting more of the DNC than any of the American networks. Good for them. I daresay that the average Middle Eastern citizen has an even more urgent interest in the results of the election than we do. It's not life and death for us, but it might be for them.
He'll slay me for this, but I'm going to link to a few of my friend Derrick's various sketches. I think he's a really, really good artist, and that he should hear that from more people than just me.
Sunday, July 25, 2004
In Vino Veritas
Spent the evening at James Arthur Vineyards with Whidden, Holley, and the Elder Holleys. I hadn't been there in a long time, back when it was little more than vines. They've come a long way since. Twenty-one different varieties of wine, sold all over the state, not to mention a very posh store and gorgeously landscaped grounds. Oh, and resident kittens too! If I ever managed to get a date, it would definitely be a place I would go.
Five bucks gets you sample glasses of six different wines; they've also got cheese, bread, chocolate, etc, and live music on the weekends. I think my favorite was the Edelweiss (also their biggest seller), with the Vignoles being a very close second. Both semi-sweets, even though I usually go for semi-dry. We also tried a bottle of the ice wine, which is extremely expensive, extremely sweet, extremely alcoholic, and extremely good.
What else did I do this weekend, anyway? Last night seems like last week. Oh, right: Animal House. I realized that my reaction to it is probably pretty common: if only college had actually been like that, and, college occasionally was like that. I mean, to me, everything that happens in the movie seems perfectly logical and straightforward. Kinda scary. Kinda cool.
Five bucks gets you sample glasses of six different wines; they've also got cheese, bread, chocolate, etc, and live music on the weekends. I think my favorite was the Edelweiss (also their biggest seller), with the Vignoles being a very close second. Both semi-sweets, even though I usually go for semi-dry. We also tried a bottle of the ice wine, which is extremely expensive, extremely sweet, extremely alcoholic, and extremely good.
What else did I do this weekend, anyway? Last night seems like last week. Oh, right: Animal House. I realized that my reaction to it is probably pretty common: if only college had actually been like that, and, college occasionally was like that. I mean, to me, everything that happens in the movie seems perfectly logical and straightforward. Kinda scary. Kinda cool.
Friday, July 23, 2004
Somebody turn off the bubble machine
A nice evening at Ghettowood with Whidden and Holley and the Selleckites (Johnson and Stolee). Pizza, swimming, drinking, and Stargate. What more can a man ask for in life? Also, hot tubs rock. I hadn't been in one in forever and had almost forgotten their orgasmic wonderfulness. Need to find an apartment complex that has one...
I found myself getting into that nice, relaxed, among-friends groove again, as discussed a while back. I know I must come off as recklessly blunt and honest sometimes, the things that come out of my mouth, but really, my guard doesn't go down all that often. Were I to go around saying the things that were really in my heart, there'd be far more compliments than the usual, sarcasm. But it turns out that the vast majority of my friends don't respond well at all to any sort of admiration or praise. A pity. By and large, I think they deserve it.
...and just when my own life is going so well, reviewing other blogs I see that one of my best friends' life has just exploded into a million pieces. Time to go be a friend, I think.
I found myself getting into that nice, relaxed, among-friends groove again, as discussed a while back. I know I must come off as recklessly blunt and honest sometimes, the things that come out of my mouth, but really, my guard doesn't go down all that often. Were I to go around saying the things that were really in my heart, there'd be far more compliments than the usual, sarcasm. But it turns out that the vast majority of my friends don't respond well at all to any sort of admiration or praise. A pity. By and large, I think they deserve it.
...and just when my own life is going so well, reviewing other blogs I see that one of my best friends' life has just exploded into a million pieces. Time to go be a friend, I think.
Wednesday, July 21, 2004
The Tortoise and the Hare
Out of the blue today, got an email from my very first ex, whom I hadn't seen or heard from in at least six years. Stranger still, instead of updates about life (or at least location), the bulk of the email is devoted to anime recommendations. I... well, I don't know what to think, I guess. But I did reply.
Theory: highly competitive people instinctively recognize and focus on their own kind. I won all the board games we played tonight, and it wasn't skill, but it wasn't just dumb luck either. While I largely ignored the other players, they spend a good deal of time and energy on obstructing one another, and ignored me. And all of a sudden, I'd won. Fool you once, shame on me; fool you twice, shame on you.
July Jamm is this weekend, and I'll be volunteering on Friday and Saturday. Come by and see me, why don't you. The food is good, the music is good, and admission is free through the afternoon. Looks like it'll be a little cooler, too. If nothing else, you must try the Jiffy Burger: bacon, monterrey jack... and peanut butter.
Theory: highly competitive people instinctively recognize and focus on their own kind. I won all the board games we played tonight, and it wasn't skill, but it wasn't just dumb luck either. While I largely ignored the other players, they spend a good deal of time and energy on obstructing one another, and ignored me. And all of a sudden, I'd won. Fool you once, shame on me; fool you twice, shame on you.
July Jamm is this weekend, and I'll be volunteering on Friday and Saturday. Come by and see me, why don't you. The food is good, the music is good, and admission is free through the afternoon. Looks like it'll be a little cooler, too. If nothing else, you must try the Jiffy Burger: bacon, monterrey jack... and peanut butter.
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
SPEAK!
OK, so I know that by now there are at least a half-dozen people reading this thing on a regular basis, yet I hardly ever get any comments or feedback from any of you. Am I talking to myself here?
Zero G
How much do your office's elevators suck if you've actually planned out what to do in the event that the cable snaps and you find yourself in free fall?
I've been on a buying spree lately, snapping up quite a bit of merchandise from various favorite movies and television shows, not to mention purchasing a realization of a mathematical joke for a friend's birthday. Don't ask. I must be feeling wealthy, because I really don't need any of this shit. Though, I think it comes with aging, the wish to crystallize certain memories in a physical form. A talisman to recall the things we know we're going to forget.
It was suggested to me today that I shouldn't be friends with a certain someone simply because we happen to disagree on nearly every political and social topic imaginable. What nonsense. Those are the people I most need to be friends with, because that's how opinions are changed and compromises forged. The only way for this country to become a lost cause is if we start to believe that we have nothing in common with those who see the world differently. I firmly believe that I've changed a lot of people's minds simply by being honest and open about who I am, what I am, and what I think is right.
Nor am I the only one. It is my great hope for my generation that we will improve the world simply by having clearer visions of one another.
Unrelatedly, I was called today on my bad habit of asking difficult philosophical questions of my friends that I haven't thought through myself. In the interest of spreading the love: do you want to have children someday? Why or why not?
I've been on a buying spree lately, snapping up quite a bit of merchandise from various favorite movies and television shows, not to mention purchasing a realization of a mathematical joke for a friend's birthday. Don't ask. I must be feeling wealthy, because I really don't need any of this shit. Though, I think it comes with aging, the wish to crystallize certain memories in a physical form. A talisman to recall the things we know we're going to forget.
It was suggested to me today that I shouldn't be friends with a certain someone simply because we happen to disagree on nearly every political and social topic imaginable. What nonsense. Those are the people I most need to be friends with, because that's how opinions are changed and compromises forged. The only way for this country to become a lost cause is if we start to believe that we have nothing in common with those who see the world differently. I firmly believe that I've changed a lot of people's minds simply by being honest and open about who I am, what I am, and what I think is right.
Nor am I the only one. It is my great hope for my generation that we will improve the world simply by having clearer visions of one another.
Unrelatedly, I was called today on my bad habit of asking difficult philosophical questions of my friends that I haven't thought through myself. In the interest of spreading the love: do you want to have children someday? Why or why not?
Monday, July 19, 2004
Dividends
Wow, so it looks like this thing is already paying off. Tonight I received an email that's the nicest thing, written or spoken, that I've ever gotten in my life. Any attempt at a similarly lengthy reply would only belittle, so I'll leave it at: Thanks. And call.
I, Robot
So, I saw I, Robot on Saturday night; somewhat against my will, since the trailers totally turned me off, but I'd sorta promised, so whatever. As expected, it wasn't the best movie, and dragged whenever Will Smith was onscreen. The first half hour or so, particularly. It felt like what might have originally been a thoughtful, philosophical sort of film got action scene after action scene tacked on until it was almost recognizable.
The film does shine, however, whenever the titular robot ("Sonny") is onscreen. He's easily the most interest character in the piece, and when the others interact with him, you can finally hear the words of Isaac Asimov coming through. It says a lot that the humans ultimately, grudgingly, come to respect him as the conscious being he is. I like the occasional hopeful vision of the future mixed in with the usual dystopian fare. But please, if you see this movie and it intrigues you at all, go back and read Asimov's original stories. They'll satisfy you far more.
So, in other news, Russ was up this weekend, so we had the usual gorge-and-guzzle fest. In other words, it was a blast. Converted a couple of new people to the joys of Four Swords, which is rapidly becoming my favorite game of the moment. Rewatched Bourne Identity, which wasn't as awful as I remembered it and actually makes me consider seeing Bourne Supremacy this weekend. And, learned that the Imperial Palace is closed only on Saturday afternoons. How bizarre is that?
The film does shine, however, whenever the titular robot ("Sonny") is onscreen. He's easily the most interest character in the piece, and when the others interact with him, you can finally hear the words of Isaac Asimov coming through. It says a lot that the humans ultimately, grudgingly, come to respect him as the conscious being he is. I like the occasional hopeful vision of the future mixed in with the usual dystopian fare. But please, if you see this movie and it intrigues you at all, go back and read Asimov's original stories. They'll satisfy you far more.
So, in other news, Russ was up this weekend, so we had the usual gorge-and-guzzle fest. In other words, it was a blast. Converted a couple of new people to the joys of Four Swords, which is rapidly becoming my favorite game of the moment. Rewatched Bourne Identity, which wasn't as awful as I remembered it and actually makes me consider seeing Bourne Supremacy this weekend. And, learned that the Imperial Palace is closed only on Saturday afternoons. How bizarre is that?
Friday, July 16, 2004
Stargate: Atlantis
A new series premieres on the SciFi Channel tonight: Stargate Atlantis, a spinoff of the absurdly popular Stargate SG-1. For those of you who've been living under a rock, it's a really, really, really good show. Now in its eighth season, it still pulls in upwards of three million viewers a week. Not to mention it's already been on longer than any Star Trek series ever was. So somebody must like it. :)
Obviously, I haven't seen Atlantis yet, but since it shares the same writers as SG-1, it's almost certain to be excellent. It'll be on at 8:00 and again at 10:00. If you've never tuned in before, give it a shot.
Obviously, I haven't seen Atlantis yet, but since it shares the same writers as SG-1, it's almost certain to be excellent. It'll be on at 8:00 and again at 10:00. If you've never tuned in before, give it a shot.
Thursday, July 15, 2004
You can Philiminate me any time...
Spent last night over at James's house, first watching The Amazing Race, then playing cards with the Selleck boys. It felt good. Really good. I missed it, and them, a bit more than I realized. It's a sobering though that, in the not-too-distant future, I might not get to play for a long while. My only hope (cough, cough) is that I'll be able to do so electronically...
Thought: I wonder if an element of chance is an essential component of a game played among friends. It lets you be competitive and yet shrug off the actual outcome as unimportant. Most card games share this property, but some others do not. If nothing else, I've noticed that purely strategic games (chess comes to mind) don't seem to encourage conversation, and in my opinion, that's the reason you're playing in the first place.
The preliminary designs for the Nebraska state quarter are out; they'll be narrowed down and opened for voting sometime next month. Some pretty cool ones in there, not to mention the hilariously awful.
Not sure why, but I've noticed that I have next to zero libido this summer. (Yeah, yeah, TMI, cope.) I haven't so much as thought about going on a date, much less tried to meet someone. Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep. More likely, I don't feel right about getting involved with someone when my life is in a huge state of flux and I can't even be certain where I'll be in a few months.
But I also have a feeling that if I do go to KC, I'll be so absurdly busy for the first few months (year?...) that I might neglect that part of my life there, too. Not to mention having no clue where the good bars are and that sort of thing. There's the workplace itself, but I've found out the hard way that dating someone you're going to have to see every day regardless isn't exactly the best idea on earth.
Or maybe I just need to take my own advice, given to plenty of others, that love happens only when you've completely given up hope of it ever happening.
Thought: I wonder if an element of chance is an essential component of a game played among friends. It lets you be competitive and yet shrug off the actual outcome as unimportant. Most card games share this property, but some others do not. If nothing else, I've noticed that purely strategic games (chess comes to mind) don't seem to encourage conversation, and in my opinion, that's the reason you're playing in the first place.
The preliminary designs for the Nebraska state quarter are out; they'll be narrowed down and opened for voting sometime next month. Some pretty cool ones in there, not to mention the hilariously awful.
Not sure why, but I've noticed that I have next to zero libido this summer. (Yeah, yeah, TMI, cope.) I haven't so much as thought about going on a date, much less tried to meet someone. Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep. More likely, I don't feel right about getting involved with someone when my life is in a huge state of flux and I can't even be certain where I'll be in a few months.
But I also have a feeling that if I do go to KC, I'll be so absurdly busy for the first few months (year?...) that I might neglect that part of my life there, too. Not to mention having no clue where the good bars are and that sort of thing. There's the workplace itself, but I've found out the hard way that dating someone you're going to have to see every day regardless isn't exactly the best idea on earth.
Or maybe I just need to take my own advice, given to plenty of others, that love happens only when you've completely given up hope of it ever happening.
Monday, July 12, 2004
Travel
First off, welcome back to all the kids over at Selleck. We missed you.
Just got back from Kansas City, after an unexpectedly eventful trip. As we were leaving town, Jesse decided we should take the scenic route - that is, the Kansas side instead of the Missouri side. Sounded good to me. And it was pretty scenic; lots of green rolling countryside. Saw Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for the first time, a monumentally imposing structure that reminded me of nothing so much as the Smithsonian. And we made a lot of unexpected detours onto dirt roads to get past accidents or missing bridges.
Then, as we neared the Nebraska border, we noticed a nasty-looking storm looming dead ahead. Seemed like a good time to pull off, have some dinner, and wait for the storm to pass. And not a moment to soon. As we got out of the car outside a McDonalds in Hiawatha, KS, we realized that the town's tornado sirens were going off. And moments after we walked in the door, all of the power went off and stayed off. And moments after that, lightning struck the gas price sign directly across the street. Then it started raining, horizontally, in 70+ mph winds. Turns out that a tornado was indeed passing only a few miles to the south. We only got sideswiped by the edge of it, but that was nasty enough that I don't want to think about the eye. Between the storm and the detours, by the time we got home, a normally three hour trip had taken over five hours. Now that's pretty damn scenic.
Otherwise, a pretty darn relaxing weekend. We drank a lot, slept a lot, lay around uselessly a lot. Rusty was perhaps a bit more energetic than the rest of us. Jesse and I suspect we enabled him somehow, and we're not sure how we feel about that, but all's well that ends well.
Second session starts tomorrow, which means that I'll be in Advanced Finance, 11:00 - 12:30, Monday through Friday. If your schedule is compatible with mine and you ever want to do lunch, just let me know.
Just got back from Kansas City, after an unexpectedly eventful trip. As we were leaving town, Jesse decided we should take the scenic route - that is, the Kansas side instead of the Missouri side. Sounded good to me. And it was pretty scenic; lots of green rolling countryside. Saw Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary for the first time, a monumentally imposing structure that reminded me of nothing so much as the Smithsonian. And we made a lot of unexpected detours onto dirt roads to get past accidents or missing bridges.
Then, as we neared the Nebraska border, we noticed a nasty-looking storm looming dead ahead. Seemed like a good time to pull off, have some dinner, and wait for the storm to pass. And not a moment to soon. As we got out of the car outside a McDonalds in Hiawatha, KS, we realized that the town's tornado sirens were going off. And moments after we walked in the door, all of the power went off and stayed off. And moments after that, lightning struck the gas price sign directly across the street. Then it started raining, horizontally, in 70+ mph winds. Turns out that a tornado was indeed passing only a few miles to the south. We only got sideswiped by the edge of it, but that was nasty enough that I don't want to think about the eye. Between the storm and the detours, by the time we got home, a normally three hour trip had taken over five hours. Now that's pretty damn scenic.
Otherwise, a pretty darn relaxing weekend. We drank a lot, slept a lot, lay around uselessly a lot. Rusty was perhaps a bit more energetic than the rest of us. Jesse and I suspect we enabled him somehow, and we're not sure how we feel about that, but all's well that ends well.
Second session starts tomorrow, which means that I'll be in Advanced Finance, 11:00 - 12:30, Monday through Friday. If your schedule is compatible with mine and you ever want to do lunch, just let me know.
Saturday, July 10, 2004
What is this "sunrise" thing you speak of?
Welcome to what will likely be my earliest blog post ever. Down at Russ's place in KC again; went to the bars and got totally smashed last night. Crashed out on the futon, woke up around 7, and now here I am. Nobody else'll be up for hours. But I did get 5-6 hours of sleep, which is just as much as I get in a normal evening. And this hangover headache won't let me sleep again any time soon. So yeah.
Friday, July 09, 2004
The Mysterious Cities of Gold
Just got back from watching part of The Mysterious Cities of Gold with James. It's by far my favorite cartoon series ever, and possible my favorite television series, period. A joint French-Japanese production, it aired several times on Nickelodeon back in 1985-1987. For people of a certain age, like me, it was our first introduction to the world of anime. And what an introduction.
The show is set in Peru at the time of Pizarro's conquest of the Incas, circa 1532. It follows the adventures of a Spanish boy and an Inca girl searching for El Dorado, the City of Gold, to which they alone carry the key. The plot of the show is pretty fanciful (sometimes echoing Stargate, even) but the settings are very much grounded in reality. All of the historical figures are real, and the backdrops are accurate reproductions of famous lost cities, including Macchu Pichu, Palenque, and Tikal. Each episode ends with a short, live-action documentary about the history and culture of South America.
True, the series was aimed at children, but I find that it's held up remarkably well over the years. The whole genre of "historical-mystery-adventure" is alive and well, and still very much appeals to me. It got me interested, not only in anime, but the musical styles of the Andes that it features prominently. I'd recommend it to you if you dug, say, Castle in the Sky, The Fifth Element, or even Indiana Jones - there's a lot of trapped temple raiding going on here, too.
It has never been released on DVD, but I've got a very high quality set on VCD. If you ever want to borrow, let me know. I'd be more than happy to share.
The show is set in Peru at the time of Pizarro's conquest of the Incas, circa 1532. It follows the adventures of a Spanish boy and an Inca girl searching for El Dorado, the City of Gold, to which they alone carry the key. The plot of the show is pretty fanciful (sometimes echoing Stargate, even) but the settings are very much grounded in reality. All of the historical figures are real, and the backdrops are accurate reproductions of famous lost cities, including Macchu Pichu, Palenque, and Tikal. Each episode ends with a short, live-action documentary about the history and culture of South America.
True, the series was aimed at children, but I find that it's held up remarkably well over the years. The whole genre of "historical-mystery-adventure" is alive and well, and still very much appeals to me. It got me interested, not only in anime, but the musical styles of the Andes that it features prominently. I'd recommend it to you if you dug, say, Castle in the Sky, The Fifth Element, or even Indiana Jones - there's a lot of trapped temple raiding going on here, too.
It has never been released on DVD, but I've got a very high quality set on VCD. If you ever want to borrow, let me know. I'd be more than happy to share.
Thursday, July 08, 2004
Smeagol is free!
I've become fond of using LOTR as a metaphor for my feelings towards a lot of my classes, and truth be told, software projects too. Even when I'm really enjoying myself, there comes a point when it needs to be over with. It's as if you've been lugging the Ring of Doom up a mountain for weeks and you finally toss it into the Crack of Oh Hell With It All Let's Go Have a Beer. An immense weight is lifted from your shoulders.
Or to quote from the new Stepford Wives, "I Love You But Please Die".
Or to quote from the new Stepford Wives, "I Love You But Please Die".
No minute like the last minute
Regardless of what you might think, I don't usually write take-home finals the night before they're due. It's not my preferred way to operate, and it doesn't result in my best work. Still, this one is turning out pretty decent, and I'll probably maintain whatever grade I had in the course anyway.
I've been getting back into BitTorrent again, to catch up on missed episodes of favorite TV series. It works a lot better than I remember it. Either they made some major improvements to the client, or the university was throttling my connection all along.
Things I didn't know: it would appear that the concept of bankruptcy is somewhat peculiar to American law. An article I read on the BBC tonight identified it as such, and explained what it was for the benefit of its British readers. Since I haven't heard of debtors' prisons lately, what exactly do other civilized nations do when people can't pay their bills?
It's an enduringly odd experience to spend most of your life considering yourself a realist at best and cynic at worst; and then, one day, to realize that you're rather more upbeat on humanity than most of the people you know. There's my new bumper sticker for the day: People Don't Suck.
PS: If you're going to comment here, for heaven's sake don't bother doing it anonymously. There's only a handful of people you could be anyway.
I've been getting back into BitTorrent again, to catch up on missed episodes of favorite TV series. It works a lot better than I remember it. Either they made some major improvements to the client, or the university was throttling my connection all along.
Things I didn't know: it would appear that the concept of bankruptcy is somewhat peculiar to American law. An article I read on the BBC tonight identified it as such, and explained what it was for the benefit of its British readers. Since I haven't heard of debtors' prisons lately, what exactly do other civilized nations do when people can't pay their bills?
It's an enduringly odd experience to spend most of your life considering yourself a realist at best and cynic at worst; and then, one day, to realize that you're rather more upbeat on humanity than most of the people you know. There's my new bumper sticker for the day: People Don't Suck.
PS: If you're going to comment here, for heaven's sake don't bother doing it anonymously. There's only a handful of people you could be anyway.
Wednesday, July 07, 2004
Ceci n'est pas un pipe
The following post is about what the following post is not about. If you're not familiar with them already, the history and theory of memes would be a useful prerequisite.
Right, then: anyone who knows me has probably read the book Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, or ought to. To summarize briefly, it revolves around a "metavirus" that is both biological and informational, and can therefore be spread either through sexual contact or by seeing it in digital form. Among its other effects, it exposes some otherwise deeply buried linguistic structures within your brain and, as a result, renders you more vulnerable to infection by memes. Think of it like AIDS for the mind; your natural defense system is slowly stripped away.
This is all a perfectly good description of the Internet; as the linked article above suggests, "the ultimate meme vector". Ideas that are silly, wasteful, misleading, unfunny, or just plain stupid spread across the minds of the world with a speed and scope that would cause the CDC to swoon. Our poor minds, with their prodigious yet limited resources, are forced to spend more and more time filtering this tidal wave until they collapse of exhaustion.
Which brings me back to my original point: I've made it a conscious effort not to use this journal to spread other people's memes, and I wish more would follow suit. No collecting all the links I've read all day, no quizzes, no "which are you?", etc. I think of it as doing my part to boost the Internet's immune system. Otherwise, we get locked into an echo chamber, where the same ideas circulate over and over again. Just ask anyone who relies on (usually only liberal or only conservative) blogs as their sole source of news.
Though, I suppose I might occasionally try to start my own memes, as in the previous post. But that's another matter entirely. :) Regardless of whether you believe any of this is literally true, it can be a useful metaphor. Unfortunately, I've just gone and spread the meme of memes themselves. Recursion joke, old: see recursion joke, old.
Back to more usual mundane matters. Got a final on Thursday, after which only one more class stands between me and a master's degree. I think I'll enjoy being called Master...
Off to Kansas City again this weekend, to visit Russ, go to the Boulevard Brewery, and generally debauch. So yay to that.
I posed this question to a friend the other day without having an answer myself, which is hardly fair: if indeed we are reincarnated, do we keep meeting the same soul mate in lifetime after lifetime? And if so, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Right, then: anyone who knows me has probably read the book Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, or ought to. To summarize briefly, it revolves around a "metavirus" that is both biological and informational, and can therefore be spread either through sexual contact or by seeing it in digital form. Among its other effects, it exposes some otherwise deeply buried linguistic structures within your brain and, as a result, renders you more vulnerable to infection by memes. Think of it like AIDS for the mind; your natural defense system is slowly stripped away.
This is all a perfectly good description of the Internet; as the linked article above suggests, "the ultimate meme vector". Ideas that are silly, wasteful, misleading, unfunny, or just plain stupid spread across the minds of the world with a speed and scope that would cause the CDC to swoon. Our poor minds, with their prodigious yet limited resources, are forced to spend more and more time filtering this tidal wave until they collapse of exhaustion.
Which brings me back to my original point: I've made it a conscious effort not to use this journal to spread other people's memes, and I wish more would follow suit. No collecting all the links I've read all day, no quizzes, no "which
Though, I suppose I might occasionally try to start my own memes, as in the previous post. But that's another matter entirely. :) Regardless of whether you believe any of this is literally true, it can be a useful metaphor. Unfortunately, I've just gone and spread the meme of memes themselves. Recursion joke, old: see recursion joke, old.
Back to more usual mundane matters. Got a final on Thursday, after which only one more class stands between me and a master's degree. I think I'll enjoy being called Master...
Off to Kansas City again this weekend, to visit Russ, go to the Boulevard Brewery, and generally debauch. So yay to that.
I posed this question to a friend the other day without having an answer myself, which is hardly fair: if indeed we are reincarnated, do we keep meeting the same soul mate in lifetime after lifetime? And if so, is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Tuesday, July 06, 2004
The Amazing Race
Everybody should watch the season premiere of The Amazing Race, tonight at 8:30 on CBS. It's easily my favorite television show, and the only reality series that I really get into.
The premise: ten teams race around the world, Phineas Fogg style. There's none of this "voting people off" business; the only thing standing in their way is the usual hazards of travel. People who've traveled the world will recognize many of the problems they face and the places they visit; people who haven't, will want to. It's kinda like the Travel Channel on speed. Entirely awesome. Give the first episode a chance, at least, or you're really missing out.
The premise: ten teams race around the world, Phineas Fogg style. There's none of this "voting people off" business; the only thing standing in their way is the usual hazards of travel. People who've traveled the world will recognize many of the problems they face and the places they visit; people who haven't, will want to. It's kinda like the Travel Channel on speed. Entirely awesome. Give the first episode a chance, at least, or you're really missing out.
Monday, July 05, 2004
Born on the Fourth of July
Spent all day yesterday with several of my fellow JDE alumni: Mark, April, Alan, Matt, and Christy. I found it... relaxing, in a way that's difficult to describe (but I'm obviously about to try).
A cliche: they say that as you grow older, you come to appreciate ever more the people who knew you when you were young. True, I think, because the changes we go through in life matter as much as the person we are at any given moment in time. Or, to put it another way, shared experiences are the foundation of most friendships, and there are few people I've shared more experiences with than these people.
So... yeah. I can unwind around my oldest friends because, well, I feel normal. I don't have to worry about what they might think or say, because I already know perfectly well, and it's nothing to worry about. In fact, I get so laid back that they probably think me downright socially passive - I mostly listen, and rarely talk. When really, I'm just appreciating their company.
On that note: Mark and April are in Minnesota and doing well, apparently settled in to a truly blissful marriage. Alan is still in Lincoln, still erratic, inscrutiable, and brilliant. Matt has a job in Omaha but seems to be looking for a better one. Christy will be graduating with me in August and heading off to a job in England. And Drew, Alan's (and my old) roommate is still either completely without judgement or completely without fear.
In other news, I somehow found time to make it through two of the three papers I needed to finish this week. At this rate, I might actually manage to graduate. Again.
A cliche: they say that as you grow older, you come to appreciate ever more the people who knew you when you were young. True, I think, because the changes we go through in life matter as much as the person we are at any given moment in time. Or, to put it another way, shared experiences are the foundation of most friendships, and there are few people I've shared more experiences with than these people.
So... yeah. I can unwind around my oldest friends because, well, I feel normal. I don't have to worry about what they might think or say, because I already know perfectly well, and it's nothing to worry about. In fact, I get so laid back that they probably think me downright socially passive - I mostly listen, and rarely talk. When really, I'm just appreciating their company.
On that note: Mark and April are in Minnesota and doing well, apparently settled in to a truly blissful marriage. Alan is still in Lincoln, still erratic, inscrutiable, and brilliant. Matt has a job in Omaha but seems to be looking for a better one. Christy will be graduating with me in August and heading off to a job in England. And Drew, Alan's (and my old) roommate is still either completely without judgement or completely without fear.
In other news, I somehow found time to make it through two of the three papers I needed to finish this week. At this rate, I might actually manage to graduate. Again.
Saturday, July 03, 2004
Celebrate the independence of your nation by blowing up a small part of it
I should really stop underestimating my own skills at bullshit. This paper that I have to write for my quantitative methods class is a good example. "Applications of Game Theory to Ad-Hoc Networks". It's not my area of expertise or my best work, but it's clear, coherent, basically accurate, and not plagiarized, which is ahead of a lot of term papers. And it's proving surprisingly easy to write. Now all I have to do is get it done and turned in by Tuesday, so that I can graduate next month...
Got a call from the lady at Cerner yesterday, needing a clarify a few items they need to do their background check. Which is a good sign, I suppose, since they probably wouldn't bother if they weren't interested.
Geek Trivia: the Taco Bell near my house turns out to be store #404.
I'm off in a few to a party at Clay's house (a kegger, even). He wouldn't let me bring food or drink, so instead, I'm bringing fireworks that I bought from James's stand. I know for a fact we're going to have some definite pyros in the crowd, so they should enjoy themselves.
Got a call from the lady at Cerner yesterday, needing a clarify a few items they need to do their background check. Which is a good sign, I suppose, since they probably wouldn't bother if they weren't interested.
Geek Trivia: the Taco Bell near my house turns out to be store #404.
I'm off in a few to a party at Clay's house (a kegger, even). He wouldn't let me bring food or drink, so instead, I'm bringing fireworks that I bought from James's stand. I know for a fact we're going to have some definite pyros in the crowd, so they should enjoy themselves.
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