Life Rating

So, I've rated my life and it doesn't look good.

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	6.1
Mind:	6.3
Body:	6.3
Spirit:	5.9
Friends/Family:	3.5
Love:	6.9
Finance:	4.2
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

Your Life Analysis:

Life: Your life rating is a score of the sum total of your life, and accounts for how satisfied, successful, balanced, capable, valuable, and happy you are. The quiz attempts to put a number on the summation of all of these things, based on your answers. Your life score leaves room for improvement. You can make changes to improve your trouble areas, and this will bring you greater satisfaction. Focus on your weakest points and set about to change them. Do not delay your happiness and success. (Read more on improving your life)

Mind: Your mind rating is a score of your mind's clarity, ability, and health. Higher scores indicate an advancement in knowledge, clear and capable thinking, high mental health, and pure thought free of interference. Your mind score is not bad, but could be improved upon. Your mental health is not weak, but you are not achieving full mental clarity and function. Learn how to unclutter your mind. Keep learning, keep improving, continue moving forward.

Body: Your body rating measures your body's health, fitness, and general wellness. A healthy body contributes to a happy life, however many of us are lacking in this area. Your body score is fairly average, which means there is room for improvement. Keep a focus on your physical health. Protect your body as it is your most valuable physical asset. Nutrition, stress reduction, and exercise are key.

Spirit: Your spirit rating seeks to capture in a number that elusive quality which is found in your faith, your attitude, and your philosophy on life. A higher score indicates a greater sense of inner peace and balance. Your spirit score leaves room for improvement. Consider making a concerted effort to redefine your attitudes and focus your beliefs. Boosting your spirit will lead to greater life satisfaction.

Friends/Family: Your friends and family rating measures your relationships with those around you, and is based on how large, healthy, and dependable your social network is. Your friends and family score suffers, yet it does not need to be this way. Strengthen your social network by reaffirming old bonds. Seek out new friendships, and they will provide you the reward you need. Try using MeetUp.com to find people near you who share your interests.

Love: Your love rating is a measure of your current romantic situation. Sharing your heart with another person is one of life's most glorious, terrifying, rewarding experiences. Your love score is in good shape, meaning that things are going well. Do all you can to maintain it, and continue to grow and move ahead.

Finance: Your finance rating is a score that rates your current financial health and stability. Your financial score indicates some trouble. Raise your score over time by making changes which will lead to greater prosperity in the future. Be sure to live within your means today.

OMFG ... w00t!

So, I've been on this RPG kick as of late and I loaded up my X-Mas wishlist with awesome games that I really wanna play or re-play. Most of them are of the Final Fantasy series. I've been looking EVERYWHERE for them ... Target, EB, Gamestop, K-Mart ... EVERYWHERE. But I haven't been able to find a SINGLE one ... not even used.

So today, I was about to head home after class and I thought to myself, "What the hell, let's go over to St. Mark's Place." I seemed to recall that there was a tiny (TINY!) game store nestled in there somewhere. And I was right. Not only was I right about that, I had hit the game goldmine! They had EVERY Final Fantasy game there, NEW, and at the reasonable price of the Greatest Hits Collection - $19.99 each.

For the love of me, I have no idea why I'm informing the world of my lucky strike, but I felt that I should tell everyone about this buried treasure hidden on Little St. Mark's. Scratch two games off my X-Mas list.

A Sincere Regret

I was talking (as much as you can talk to a person who uses emotes and net slang in your communications exchange) to my sister tonight. The younger, dopey one. Um, dopier. [Love you, Kate! ;-)]

At any rate, I realized something. In my role as big brother to her, I think I've played the part with woeful inadequacy. I know very little about her, and what I do know I can't really relate to. In all things Kasey, I fail the test of knowledge. What little knowledge of her I do possess is rather ... general (birthdate, middle name, hair color ... um, natural hair color). Or else it's completely out of date (is she still dating Timmy?).

As far as I'm aware, I can't really think of many members of the family with whom I have so little a connection. It's rather upsetting and a bit depressing.

I have no idea whether it's due in part to the difference in our age (we're separated by 10 years, whilst Kate and I are 3 years apart) or if it's simply that, almost since the time we moved to Linthicum, I've been dealing with my own personal issues and haven't taken the time to bond with her.

While I don't believe that there's no hope of making something more meaningful out of our relationship, I honestly fear that there's a lot of opportunity that has been lost in terms of the things we could have done to better know each other. I suppose we should have paid more attention to each other while we still lived under the same roof.

For Those of Random Generosity

I just uncovered a horde of Nobuo Uematsu's music for the Final Fantasy games on iTunes. In case anyone randomly wanted to give me a Christmas gift this year but didn't have a mailing address, you could always send me an iTunes gift certificate. *wink wink*

The e-mail I have registered with iTunes is "xxjokerripperxx AT yahoo DOT com."

I am, of course, not SOLICITING anyone's random donation, but merely suggesting that I would not be adverse to said gifts.

The Problem with Democracy is ...

RoamingJoker: Too many people can be influenced in a democracy. In an Empire, one person does whatever he needs to do to maintain control, which makes him less susceptible to being bought out
mjsenih: yea yea its true, you just face the terrible risk that your empire becomes ruled by someone like GWB
RoamingJoker: Yeah.
RoamingJoker: That's the one problem I guess.
mjsenih: then they'd come kill us
mjsenih: or put us in camps where we'd be forced to do consultations in the arts
RoamingJoker: Arts?
RoamingJoker: What arts?
RoamingJoker: Under GWB?

A Crime Against Humanity

Truly, this is potentially the greatest loss from the hurricane.

As a Follow-Up

Just thought that, following my long rant in the last post, y'all might find this interesting. It's about Granny Gamers. Need I say more?

A Gamer Speaks Out Against Gamer-Haters

A lot of attention has been given lately among videogame news outlets to the current rantings and ravings of the psychotic neo-con lawyer, Jack Thompson. As a fan of videogames and a life-long gamer, I feel compelled to argue a logical case for and against the ideas that this nutcase is presenting to powerful people in the mainstream media and higher circles of government.

When Mr. Thompson isn't yelling at those who oppose his oft-misplaced critiques of the game industry (see Mr. Thompson's comment that "all you gamers ... [are] on drugs"), he does, on occasion, bring up valuable and insightful points about the harm that can come from excessive gaming by young children - particularly in the instance of young gamers playing violent video games. What hinders his argument (and there are many things that do so), though, is the ridiculous conclusion to which he comes at the end of his line of thought on the matter: the dismantling of the ESRB, banning the sale of M- and AO-rated games outright, and, essentially, censorship of the game publishers or developers.

As with any component of the entertainment industry, the video game sector provides a valuable contribution to society and popular culture; in this instance, taking the form of interactive media that can, in many ways, do more than simply give a gamer the opportunity to kill police officers or prostitutes (as Jack Thompson might have you believe is the only thing games provide).

It has been shown, through studies done by doctors and psychologists, that the required skills needed to play games on some of the handheld platforms (the Nintendo Gameboy, in particular) assist in the recovery of hand-eye coordination of stroke victims and those suffering from other injuries affecting those motor skills. Gaming can also help those who require extensive control over hand-eye coordination for life-saving measures. It has also been shown that people who play video games over extended periods of time (what some critics might call "extensive" or "dangerous" amounts of time), are better able to process visual data - faster than non-gamers and more efficiently. Without extensive research, it seems to me that Mediascope has a rather comprehensive list of studies based on the effect that has been shown from various types of gaming.

In support of some (some) of Mr. Thompson's ideas, it's worth noting that, though the conclusions seem to conflict frequently, studies have shown that there is a correlation between the amount of time a younger gamer (mainly children age 15 and under) spends playing video games and their performance in school - an adverse affect, with scores and attention waning among those who spend more time outside of school playing video games. Other studies have shown that violent games seem to evoke a stronger emotional response from younger players. As it stands, this seems to be in line with the notion that some games are meant for everyone, and some are meant solely for adults or older teenagers - a notion, I would point out, that is a defining principle behind the ESRB.

However, deviating from the rather rigid discourse taking place in the mainstream media, I am neither for the dismantling of the industry as a whole nor the wholesale censorship of every game (or any game, for that matter) that is published. What I believe is that if the industry wants to avoid long, lengthy legal battles with the political movers-and-shakers (Sens. Clinton and Lieberman) or conservative zealots (Jack Thompson), the ESRB game ratings system needs to be more stringently applied and enforced.

A game can be published however the designers want - with tons of sex and extreme amounts of gore and violence - but they need to be fully aware that a game with lots of sex and violence IS COMPLETELY INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN. The equivalent of a rated-R movie. And so the game must be labeled as such (M=rated-R, AO=NC-17 is the current equivalent). But that's not enough - retailers (both brick-and-mortar and online) must be willing to card underage gamers wishing to purchase M- and AO-rated games. The system only works if it's enforced, and it has to be enforced at the retail level.

Accountability for the sale of M/AO games falls upon those who fail to properly adhere to the logical system in place. Hidden content, like the "Hot Coffee" mod for Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was not obviously accessible to the ESRB ratings committee/panel, is something that the game developer must acknowledge responsibility for - they deceived the ESRB and the public. However, upon the game being re-rated to AO, the responsibility for the sale of the game to minors belongs to the retailers - they are the last link and truly the only place in the process where the ratings code can actually be enforced.

Outside of this chain, though, is the most important element - the Parent. Parents can no longer (nor should they have ever) acceded responsibility for their children to the government or unaccountable faceless organizations. The ratings system truly fails if the parents don't know what their children are playing (or watching, or listening to, for that matter). It's impossible to know everything about your child; it's hard enough getting the basics out of them, especially if they are a teenager. But parents have to make the effort - after all, if the child is under 18, you've got a right to go in their bedroom; you've got a right to ask them where they're going; you've got a right to ask them who they're hanging out with, or what they're playing, or how they're doing in school. More than that, parents have a responsibility to ask those questions. Because parents, along with teachers, are the guides for children, leading and following and walking alongside as their children develop into adults themselves.

So what is the solution to Jack Thompson, Hillary Clinton, "Hot Coffee," school shootings and teenage violence? There is no solution - but there are most definitely good ideas and bad ones. A good idea is to promote responsibility and accountability for one's actions. A good idea is to teach the difference between appropriate and inappropriate means of solving conflict. A good idea is to shield younger children from inappropriate content in movies and video games, while making them aware of the reasons for withholding that content. A good idea is to enforce policies mean to protect our youths. A good idea is to be ourselves personally accountable for protecting our youths.

A bad idea is to censor our entertainment industry. A bad idea is to simply cover our children's eyes without explaining why they cannot be exposed to the questionable content. A bad idea is to leave the protection of our children to others. A bad idea is to misdirect public attention with accusations of ill-intent towards the industry. A bad idea is to ignore the issues that have been raised over the broken systems meant to help parents protect their children.

Jack Thompson might be onto something - children are vulnerable. But that doesn't mean that we should forfeit our own right to entertainment. It simply means we have to make sure that the children are exposed to the right entertainment.




For an interesting interview with Jack Thompson, go here to Chatterbox Video Game Radio. Just note that Mr. Thompson is rather mellow here and has been more ... explosive ... elsewhere on the net.

I Laughed SO Hard!

Another Test? No Cool Image, Though

Best Friend 39 Emotional, 48 Social, 20 Annoying, and 49 Tough.

You are the hero's best friend and sidekick (but you're actually a lot cooler than the hero). Paste this content into your LiveJournal or other blog!

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 40% on Emotional You scored higher than 13% on Social You scored higher than 66% on Annoying You scored higher than 46% on Tough

Link: The Which RPG Archetype Are You Test written by shosam on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

More Tests!

Assassin 59% Combativeness, 60% Sneakiness, 47% Intellect, 47% Spirituality

Violent and deceptive: You are an Assassin. Score! You have a prestige class. A prestige class can only be taken after you've fulfilled certain requirements. This may mean that you're an exceptionally talented person, but it probably doesn't. Skulking through the shadows... hunting their prey without remorse... Assassins are some of the most dangerous killers in D&D, and evil bastards to boot. You're not necessarily evil, but you are both violent and sneaky. Chances are you aren't very honorable. Though who knows? You might have some noble goals, even if your methods tend to be... unorthodox. You might just be a Slayer of Domiel or something.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 83% on Combativeness You scored higher than 95% on Sneakiness You scored higher than 4% on Intellect You scored higher than 54% on Spirituality

Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on Ok Cupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

Just One Thing

As I'm pretty sure I expressed here recently, I've been having a lot of trouble with my depression lately. I've been feeling very sorry for myself and quite a bit mopey about my lot in life.

The honest issue seems to be that I'm unhappy with a lot of how I grew up. I don't mean how I was raised or where I lived or how much money I had - I mean, literally, how I grew up. My development as a person.

From the last year of elementary school, I spent the entirety of my pre-college education struggling to make the grade. I was a hard-line C student, and that's not something of which I am proud. I resent the fact that somewhere along the line, I either stopped paying attention and didn't care, or didn't care to pay attention (with the latter, I mean to imply that I might have had a learning disability that was never diagnosed).

This problem has plagued me through my higher education career, to the point where I fear that I know so little of what I should have learned that I'm almost afraid that college was (extracurricular learning aside) a useless venture. My ability to retain information - or at the very least, my ability to recall information - is atrocious. I feel as though when I read a book or sit through a lecture, my mind operates as a pocket calculator - the memory flushes clean upon shutting down.

My problem is one that goes deeper than simply being an inconvenience - it has become a hindrance in my social development. A great deal of my anxieties and stresses come from my inability to see beyond my own failures - failures of the mind, frequently. A lot of times, I just don't get things. A lot of times, I just can't seem to make an intelligent point - because I can't recall information that would help me in debate. I can't formulate the precise means to achieve goals. And I'm ashamed of my inability to do so. It makes me feel inferior. It makes me feel like a fool.

And it certainly doesn't help that, growing up, I was always treated by my friends as the kid who was just a bit dumber than everyone else. Because I certainly wasn't dumb - I just didn't seem to know how to prove I was as smart as they were.

A lot of people nowadays argue that intelligence can't be measured in points or scores. Intelligence reaches across a broad spectrum of abilities and tasks. Some people are smarter when it comes to numbers and statistics. Some are better at rhythm and pattern. Some can understand linguistics like they were born to do it. Some people are great at drawing or painting. Some understand tone and musical composition better than most. And some know how to use language or imagery to tell compelling stories.

Intelligence is more than recalling dates, names or formulas.

I may not be able to explain supply and demand, but I'm good at a few things. The thing I'm most proud of is an ability that I feel I inherited from my family - the ability to make people laugh and cry with my words. I'm a storyteller at my core, and I think I do it better than most.

But that doesn't change the fact that some days, I just wish I were a little bit smarter.

And a New Delight is Discovered

Wow! I just discovered the joy of the iPod/iTunes function that is PODCASTING. I am unbelievably behind the curve in terms of using my iPod, I know. But that's not for want of information - I knew what podcasting was before tonight, I just didn't see why I would care to listen to a podcast. However, I stumbled upon Chatterbox Video Game Radio by virtue of Penny Arcade and happened to DL their interview with Jack Thompson, the guy who is at the head of the public lynchmob attempting to bankrupt the video game industry. I'm now in the process of DLing several more episodes of their show and the entire available season of the Al Franken radio show.

As always, something I don't care for becomes one of my new obsessions thanks simply to blind net-surfing.

Oh My, Nastalgia Strikes

So, as of late my nastalgia has kicked in extremely hardcore, particularly in terms of my love for RPGs. One in particular - Final Fantasy (VIII). I love FF VIII. It's great. Great (FF) Eight. Yes, I know. Dork. Yes, I know. Geek. Yes, I know - Final Fantasy VII is the penultimate RPG and I am wrong for not mentioning how great it is. However, I never got into VII and I happen to think VIII is boss. Totally boss. I don't even know what that means. As a matter of fact, I might have just made that up. At any rate, nastalgia seems to follow depression and happens to be one of my greatest weapons in fighting the disease that is eternal darkness of a lonely mind.

So, to aid in the struggle against depression, I coaxed my sister into letting me borrow her PS2 so I could play my Final Fantasy games. I'm gonna raise my spirits 100 EXP at a time.

Go here. It's cool, I promise.

15 Way to Tell If You're a True Marylander

15 Ways to Tell If You Are a True Marylander

1. you live either inside or outside the "beltway"

2. you think Easton and Salisbury are on the "eastern shooe"

3. Lacrosse is the only sport that matters in your life...period!

4. you call properly pronounce Cumberland, La Plata, Havre de Grace, Towson, Essex, Gaithersburg, and Glen Burnie.

5. your kitchen is permanently stocked with "Old Bay" and its not just for crabs, it goes on everything...i.e. french fries.

6. you have missed a week of school for 10 inches of snow.

7. you use the "foonee" to call "houume"

8. you refer to your city as either " Bal'hmer" or "Warshingtun."

9. you automatically add an hour on to your trip whenever you plan on drving the beltway between the hours of 3:00 and 7:00.

10. you were using the term The O.C. years before the show to refer to the best place on earth...Ocean City.

11. you never do anything for spring break at high school...its all about senoir week....if i have to describe what senior week is for you then your not from Maryland.

12. if you have had the conversation..."wanna go eat at Batemans" then your from Maryland.

13. your life almost ended when 99.1 turned to El Sol

14. your weekend is planed around shopping at the thrift store.

15. the easiest way to tell if you are a true Marylander is if you have ever ordered a "snowball" and been asked, " would you like Marshmallow on that?"


Found that on thefacebook.com in a Marylander's group at NYU. They're so true. Also found this:

"I'm from MARYLAND. We're not from the South, nor do we have an accent. We're also not New England- we're the Mid-Atlantic. It's soda, not pop with my sub, not a hoagie. I go to the beach, not to the shore. It's DC, not Washington. We know how to use a traffic circle, and how to pump our own gas. We scream "O!" in the national anthem, no matter where we are. We live for crabs, corn and beer. There's no place like Maryland...."

Sometimes I miss home.

For John

JJ,

Every now and then, I forget to do something that you tell me to do. Like
Sometimes I put the shirts that are supposed to line dry in the dryer ... on high.
Sorry about that, but it can only shrink once, right? And
Sometimes I leave dishes in the sink.
I know it's hard to get the stuff off the plates, so I'll rinse them better next time. And
Sometimes I make messes in the kitchen when I'm making dinner.
But dinner was good, right? And
Sometimes I leave the light on in the closet, or
Sometimes I turn off your alarm clock before it wakes you up, or
Sometimes I get lost in thought and don't hear anything you say for five minutes, BUT
I really love you
And though that might not change my habits, I still thought I'd tell you.
Cause it's worth mentioning as often as possible.

I love you (the boy!)

Sincerely,
David

I'm Best Described as a Democrat

You are a Social Liberal (71% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (25% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test

Wet and Toasty

It's wet outside and very cold. It's dry inside and very warm.


What? I'm just making an observation.

Ok, so I've taken two days away from my screenplay. I would like to work on it tonight, but I don't know if I should take another night off just to be certain I've given myself a bit of space from it. I might give it a go, I dunno.

Anyway, if you haven't already checked out David Gray's latest album, Life in Slow Motion, you better go buy it right now! It's one of the better albums of the year, me thinks. Fuck that Coldplay shiznit. DG's got the smooth tracks.

MUSIC: David Gray - "Lately"

Shining (Links Galore!)

So, I have spent the better part of the night looking over websites and magazine articles about a story that I think would make an amazingly fun film (I won't tell you about it now, cause I don't wanna spoil it). And as usual, this has led me to about twenty different sites about forty other subjects. However, I felt that a few things were worth pointing out:

1. Shining - a trailer recut from the film The Shining and made to appear part of a different genre. Found at this site, which explains the full history of the trailer (uh ... i seem to have lost the link - will repost it when i find it - dave).
2. Giantology. To be quite honest, you have to go to the site to get the explanation. However, I will link you directly to a few cool things that the site links you to.
A. The giant skeleton is here.
B. And the other giant skeleton is here.

Just so you know, at the latter site are hosts of posts (sorry about that) that link to articles about, well, large creatures with no explanation. Whether they're true or misleading or complete fabrications, I think they're cool. That's the only reason I'm posting them - I think stuff like this is fun to read about. In the same way that UFOs are cool to read about. Or Michael Jackson. All these things might not be real, but it's fun.

At any rate, it's 4 AM and my head hurts from all the coffee, so I'm gonna hit the hay. Here's something for y'all to wake up to!

A Change in the Way They Do Business

Thought this article was interesting. It's a Hollywood Reporter interview with Jeff Robinov, President of Production for WB:

THR: Is it possible to rethink your approach to making movies so that they're lighter and more nimble, and not so big?

Robinov: I can't tell you. It's not for lack of looking into it. The biggest problem with the cost of pictures, which are getting more expensive, is the cost of selling them -- that is going to put pressure on altering the cost of making them. Every studio and every agency is feeling the pressure. We have a number of co-financing deals now with Legendary Pictures, Village Roadshow and Relativity. That extends our cash and allows us to invest in more pictures. It doesn't change the finances of each picture, but it allows us to make more.

THR: The unions are putting a lot of pressure on the studios to get a cut of DVDs.

Robinov: That's never going to happen. For every company, the DVD was bailing them out and now the DVD revenue company by company are coming up so short that there's no way they're giving any of it away.

THR: That's why the dealmaking is going to change?

Robinov: Yes. The economics are getting so difficult, and it's so hard to make a picture, that for movies to be profitable, the studios are capping the backend participation, they're hiatusing participations, they're asking people to take reductions up front. More actors are willing to do that now, depending on the material and the director. You can only spend so much, and each movie has a ceiling of participation.

Frustration

I'm unbelievably frustrated:

1. I'm on my tenth draft of my advanced project and it's not any easier than the first nine drafts.
2. I have no money because I have no job because the place I worked at treated me like shit.
3. I have a ton of free time now but I can't force myself to write during a given "free" afternoon.
4. I've been staying up until 5AM and sleeping until 2PM - I'm wasting some of the better parts of the day.
5. Our apartment is still piled up with unopened boxes and the walls are still unpainted and bare of shelves and decoration.

I just want to fucking leave this place for a weekend and go somewhere that I don't know anybody, with a rinky-dink fucking typewriter, leaving all semblance of modern technology behind so that I can get my mind on the only thing I care about at the moment - my script. If I can get this new draft done, I know I'll have it where I want it - able to be broken down and budgeted out.

People talk about "passion" all the time, as though it were the only thing that can get you to your goal - "You have to have passion," "You have to be passionate about what you write." Fuck that. Passion doesn't pay the bills or ease your troubled mind ... passion simply makes success that much more glorious - to see an idea you love take shape and come to fruition is a fantastic thing. It takes more than passion to do right by your creative mind, and I hope I've got all the other things it takes. My passion doesn't seem to be enough these days.

A History of Violence

Saw A History of Violence tonight. Wow. I didn't know a movie could be so ... bad. Violent, yes, but bad, no. Well, maybe it wasn't so much "bad" as it "wasn't good." The dialogue was horrendous, the scenes were all waaaay too long, the entire film was anti-climactic and the ending was just stupid.

It was a glorified student film, really.

Top 35 Most Played

I've found it kinda funny the songs that are in the highest rotation on iTunes, but the list doesn't lie. I suppose the clincher is that these are the songs that play ALL THE WAY THROUGH, down to the last second.

I dunno why you'd care, but these are the Top Most Played Songs in my iTunes (I was gonna put just the top five, but why not several more?):

Five for Fighting - Superman (It's Not Easy) 16
Five for Fighting - 100 Years 16
----------------------------------------------------------------
Five for Fighting - Something About You 8
Robert Palmer - Bad Case of Loving You 8
----------------------------------------------------------------
David Ball - Riding with Private Malone 7
----------------------------------------------------------------
10,000 Maniacs - These Are the Days 6
Dave Matthews - So Damn Lucky 6
Donna Lewis, Richard Marx - At the Beginning with You 6
John Williams - 1988 Seoul Olympics Theme 6
R.E.M. - Nightswimming 6
----------------------------------------------------------------
Blues Brothers - Soul Man 5
Blues Brothers - Run-Around 5
Booker T and the MG's - Green Onions 5
Dar Williams - Closer to Me 5
Dave Matthews Band - So Right 5
Five for Fighting - Easy Tonight 5
Four Seasons - December 1963 5
Jackie Wilson - Your Love Keeps Lifting Me Higher 5
John Mayer - Your Body is a Wonderland 5
Lifehouse - You and Me 5
Nobuo Uematsu - Ami 5
Nobuo Uematsu - Liberi Fatali 5
Nobuo Uematsu - Julia 5
Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want 5
ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man 5

Like I said, kinda weird. I'd have pegged DMB/Dave Matthews to have been more represented in there - but the kicker for me is that Bela Fleck and the Flecktones aren't represented at all! I'm kind of amazed at that.

I dunno ... what are YOUR top five played songs in iTunes?

Violent Videogames My ASS, MOTHERF*&KER!

I mean, uh ... I was reading this article about video game violence, and this guy said something I thought was an interesting take on the argument over restricting the sale of "violent" videogames:

Others in the video game industry argue that there are no laws restricting the sale of R-rated DVD movies and that the same standard should be true of video games.

"Why single out games?" said Jason Della Rocca, executive director of the International Game Developer Assn. "No other form of entertainment is regulated in this way."

Part of the problem, Della Rocca said, is that games are seen as children's toys, not as an entertainment medium for a broad range of audiences, including adults.

"If your mental image of a game is that of a toy and you're presented with 'Grand Theft Auto,' it's understandable that you'd be shocked," he said. "It's as if you expected TV to be 'Sesame Street,' and you're shown 'Sex and the City.' But that would be absurd.

"Likewise, no one in the movie industry expects children to watch 'The Godfather' or 'Kill Bill.' It's the same with 'GTA.' It was never created for children."

What was particularly interesting was the woman who took GTA: SA from her 16-year-old son. He's sixteen! He's DRIVING NOW and in two years he'll be VOTING, for fuck's sake! If she doesn't trust her son to make the distinction between real world and fantasy world, perhaps I don't want him fucking DRIVING on the same roads as my family and I, nor do I want him VOTING for the LEADER OF THE FREE-FUCKING-WORLD.

This argument is summed up nicely by the professor from the U. of Il.:

"There are about 30 studies in all that look at this issue," Williams said. "That's really not a lot of studies, and they don't all agree with one another."

He's right. Everyone is going fucking nuts in Congress and all over the country in other political arenas, trying to be the first to shove half-baked arguments harkening back to darker times when comic books and Elvis Prestley were evil influences on "children" (the broad word used to describe both five-year-olds and sixteen-year-olds, apparently) into the eyes and ears of parents who want only to do right by their children.

Parents, if you want to raise your kids right, don't steal away the things that might influence their behavior. Don't just spank them or send them to their room. TEACH THEM that there are CONSEQUENCES to their behavior and that they will PAY THE CONSEQUENCES for doing BAD THINGS. It's not a hard concept - it's one you learn fairly quickly if your parents are willing to make the effort - mine were, and I'd say getting me through high school without my shooting any of the other students is a solid mark of success in defense of that style of parenting.

As with any argument about protecting children, it really comes down to this - PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. You can hide your child from the games or the games from the child, but they're going to find them - at a friend's house, at a cousin's house - and they're going to play them, and they're going to do it BEHIND YOUR BACK, and you will NEVER KNOW. And they'll NEVER KNOW the CONSEQUENCES of their behavior. Because you thought you were "protecting your child."

It's very easy to take something away from your kid. It's even easier to call it "parenting." But it's not parenting - it's policing.

Finally, the Pics Are Here

I finally took some pictures of our living room - with the carpet down and the place semi-clean, no less!

Sometimes It Hurts

Sometimes it just hits you, like a blow to the chest, and painfully the memories (even the good ones) sweep through you ... carrying you to places you had forgotten long ago. I haven't been able to determine what is simply nastalgia and what is depression, but the two seem so closely linked nowadays that I suppose it doesn't matter what the difference might be.

In my infinite nerdiness, I've used a new hobby to supplant the loss of the PS2 suffered when our third roommate left last month - Magic: The Gathering. Yes, I've taken to playing a CCG that truly reframes me in a completely dorky way, squaring me up with "Star Wars" on one side, "Everquest" on another, "Film Student" on a third and "Magic: The Gathering" on the fourth.

However, I have managed to draw in JJ (partially) and Vanessa (hooked).

This, though, is in addition to my other new semi-obsession - POKER. So odd ... I hated the game while we lived with [that other guy], but now I really love playing it. It might have had something to do with [that other guy] wanting to play for money while teaching us (JJ and myself) how to play.

JJ and I cleaned today (JJ did most of the actual work, I did more supervising) and the apartment became immediately more liveable. It will be nice when we finally have some of this stuff cleared away.

And a Free Man is Made ...

I have indeed quit my job as a bartender at Chili's. I won't go into detail here about the nature of the unresolved issues surrounding my early departure, but I will say that I feel confident that I made the right decision.

I am currently pursuing several options for new employment - jobs that don't require me to run through a smoky kitchen carrying trays of oil-splattering foods. Even if the pay is less, I'd rather not be exhausted at the end of my work days. Plus, I prefer to work a place where making money doesn't require me to give up Friday and Saturday nights - the weekend fun time, ya know?

I'll keep you all up to date.