Ever Heard Of The Jena Six?

Well, now you have.

Damn. That's pretty much all I have to say right now. Damn. Damn the system, damn the man, damn me for not being able to do anything more about this than sitting here and telling you that right now, in some tiny town in Louisiana, six people are being treated grossly unfairly. This story borders on an abomination of everything that I stand for as a human being, and what I believe this country should be about.

I had an interesting phrase pop into my head earlier today. It had nothing to do with this, but it seems relevant. "When is the American Dream going to stop being just a dream and actually be America." Or words to that effect. Basically, when is this country going to stop dreaming about the truths our forefathers held to be self evident, and actually live them out.

I need to find a bus to Jena, or just drive there some weekend and... Do what, exactly? Sit under the "White Tree" in protest? I'm too white. It would probably just get me beat up. Sigh. I don't have any money to donate, either. I'm too poor. I dunno, though. I should find a petition or something. I wonder if they'd let me wear a button to work that said "Free the Jena Six." Probably not. ._.

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.

-Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Words this true are not spoken often enough, and are heard even less.

P.S. - Add this to the list of stories they should put on the news: Stories of true injustice. Not "I didn't know the coffee would be hot," or "No one told me to remove my baby from the stroller before closing it." The kind where innocent people are being punished for being born. Being born is never a crime, no matter who you are.

Viva El Presidente

Family Security Matters:

President Bush can fail in his duty to himself, his country, and his God, by becoming “ex-president” Bush or he can become “President-for-Life” Bush: the conqueror of Iraq, who brings sense to the Congress and sanity to the Supreme Court. Then who would be able to stop Bush from emulating Augustus Caesar and becoming ruler of the world? For only an America united under one ruler has the power to save humanity from the threat of a new Dark Age wrought by terrorists armed with nuclear weapons.

Everyone else who thinks this is scary bullshit, please raise your hands.

\o/!

EDIT:

I decided a rebuttal was in order.

Mr Atkinson,

I noticed your article was taken down. Did you guys realize it wouldn't work, too?

Americans, as much as we enjoy not being blown up, have a much deeper love of freedom. Think of such classics as: "Give me Liberty or give me death," "They can take our lives, but they can never take our freedom," and "Those who would sacrifice essential liberty for temporary security deserve neither." I think that Henry and Franklin, and even Mr. Gibson, would be shocked at your proposal. It violates the very freedoms President Bush, and the military men and women at his command, swore an oath to protect.

While the Roman people, by way of their Senate, might have buckled to Caesar's personal army, Bush would have a much harder time controlling the American population with our volunteer-army. Convincing the troops who had just committed genocide in a harsh desert that they must now come home and police their friends and neighbors would be no easy task.

Also, you can't forget how the story of Julius Caesar ends. He is killed, not by an invading enemy, but his own countrymen. Much like those back-stabbing Romans, Americans will not stand for a dictator. If the United States becomes a police state, the terrorists they will have to fight will bear less in common with Osama bin-Laden and more with Timothy McVeigh. The Colorado Rockies, much like bin-Laden's Middle-Eastern series of caves, will be a constant thorn in Bush's side, a nagging pest that you can always feel but never quite find. Freedom-loving Americans would band together and fight back, as much as possible, in very much the same way that the Iraqis are doing now - They wouldn't have to defeat the military outright, just make the operation too costly to continue. Unless Bush decides to nuke the Rockies, but even that would create more disloyalty, more anger at our new dictator, etc....

So, did your article get removed because you decided it wasn't realistic after all? Or, and this is what I truly hope, did you realize what you wrote was an atrocity that shouldn't have been said at all.

By the way, don't think I'm trying to tell you that you shouldn't be allowed to write that Bush should pull a Caesar (or a Hitler, to flip the coin), but when you do write something so insulting to America as a whole, expect to be called on it.

-Greg L

Edit Number 2 - Electric Boogaloo: I just noticed what the post below this one was. I feel a little bit comforted by it.

Psalm 23

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil: For thou art with me;
Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

No News Is Good News

I guess I'm on a writing kick tonight?

At work, we don't get cable. Our breakroom TV only gets over the air signals, so roughly 5 and a half channels. During the daytime, when most of my shifts are, those channels are dominated by Jerry Springer, Divorce Court, and some sort of all knowing paternal expert telling elated vagrants "You are NOT the father!" In short, shit. And even worse, soap operas. But there's one show that I can count on to sort of be at least somewhat helpful to my daily life. The local news, with its local weather and, occasionally, traffic reports.

I remember from my youth, the catch phrase "News You Can Use", a segment during some news (half)hour show. The implication being, I suppose, that the other 25 minutes of news is information that I can't use. So, why am I tuning in? Entertainment? I don't find tales of police drug busts or car accidents from hours ago very useful. Nor do I find the details of a social controversy over in Ohio or whatever very helpful in my day to day life. Studies have shown that, for instance, people who watch Fox News are more likely to be misinformed about the facts, so this moves the problem from a waste of my time (news I can't use) to an actual detriment to my being (news that hurts me).

There is a problem here.

So, why isn't news simply news I can use? Who decided that they needed to fill the other twenty-five minutes after the weather and traffic was done? Just run another program or something. That seems to be the most cost effective route. Granted, knowing these channels its likely to be a paid advertisement for the Spammerator, a knife that slices fake meat AND sends enticing letters penned by fictitious African Kings offering large sums, but at least it'll be, theoretically, something I COULD use, if I wanted. (This way, I'll have something to eat while I wait for help transferring my obscenely huge fortunes.)

Actually, there was one thing on the news today that was helpful. They talked about a recall on several toys. Working in the toy department of Target, I had already been made aware of the risk (by the way, if you or anyone you love has bought the Disney's Cars toys - the ones about the size of Hot Wheels - you should take them back, there's something wrong with them), but for anyone who didn't work for a toy store, this is important information. Old ladies turning 100, a beauty pageant for kittens, and a turtle who got flipped upside down until local neighbors flipped him back; these stories are certainly not news-worthy, and yet they make headlines on my local news.

So, then, back to the question: what, exactly, should be reported. Obviously, weather and traffic are important. The same goes for public service messages like the toy recall, or possible medical alerts (ISSUED BY PROPER AUTHORITIES - I don't need to hear about every sick kid with the sniffles and how it could be an outbreak of Possum/Opossum flu). Political issues and races directly affecting me classify somewhat as news, though not to the extent they are currently covered. I actually saw a piece about whether or not candidates' hair made them appear "gay". That is news I cannot use. I, for one, do not care what my president looks like, as long as he gets the job done and doesn't screw up too badly. I don't need to know every notch in the polls because of every little happening in every nook and cranny of the nation, especially not 14 months before the election. Give me state by state primary results, maybe. Highlight key notes said at each candidates speaking events, but don't over do it. I don't need a 24 hour news channel devoting 72 hours to a botched joke or a weird shirt.

I'm okay with opinions. Believe it or not, I'm fine with The O'Reilly Factor. I tend to lean a little more towards the Kieth Olberman side of the spectrum myself, but to each his own, and I'm sure there's a place out there for all opinions. In fact, opinions are probably more useful to me than facts. Interpretation, even wrong interpretation, can help to get the process moving along. True, it can also lead a bunch of dittoheads to vote off a cliff like lemmings, but that's simply how people will work.

I also think it's interesting to see how the internet will affect all this stuff. With the internet, there's a place I can go to get specialized news. For instance, most people wouldn't care about when the next Transformers toys are due out, but I am very interested in such things. Obviously, while this information is news to me (news I can use, at that!) it's not really relevant to 99% of the population.

Anyway, I need to sleep now. Laters.

To Want And To Be Wanted, And To Want To Be Wanted

I just wanna be loved unconditionally. I yearn for physical contact, someone to hold me at night when I go to sleep, and to lie next to me when I wake up. Someone to talk to me when it's quiet. Someone to watch dumb movies with me, or play video games with. Someone to tell me I'm awesome for being me, to find beauty in my flaws, and to let me know when I'm being an idiot (it happens more often than I think).

I want to be that for someone else, too. I want to love them unconditionally. I want to be their warm pillow, to hold them when they're tired, to wake up with them in the morning. Someone to have a conversation with, whether it's about religion or politics or the Transformers or the religion and politics of the Transformers. I want someone to want to watch dumb movies with me, or play video games with. I want to tell someone they're awesome because they are, to find beauty in ever part of them, and someone who won't hate me if I point out they're being an idiot (you women are so sensitive).

I like mirrors. I wonder, do they like me?

Emergencies And Other Trivialities

Someone's window just crashed in near my house. I'm not sure why. I feel like I should do something, but what? Call 911?

-911, what's your emergency?
-Uh, yeah, I think my neighbor's glass door may be broken.
-So do you want us to send some police over to look at it, or what?
-Yeah, I guess. Texas has emergency carpenter service, right?

God bless the hardworking men and women of Texas' ECS, who give their lives in the never ending battle against termites.

As I was driving around earlier tonight, I realized my Zune doesn't have any lights when it's on after the 15 second wait before the backlight goes off. Same goes for iPods and, I just noticed, my cell phone. I find this somewhat weird. Before this, whenever I had something electronic in my hands, I could tell at a glance if it was on or off. But in fact, as near as I can tell, iPods and Zunes NEVER really turn off, they just go into a standby mode. I wonder how this affects plane traffic. They say they want all your electronic devices shut off. How do I do that with my Zune? Or, for that matter, a wrist watch? I dunno, but whoever figures out a way to make an airplane-safe MP3 player will make a mint. I dunno if it's even possible, though. I'd have to do more research into figuring out why they ask you to turn off electronics in the first place.

Speaking of things I need to figure out, I've decided I need an "Oh Shit" backpack. By that, I mean a backpack I can pick up, put on, and run out the door with. Btw, I just finished watching the Bourne Identity, so that may be playing a big part of that. But I've got a few ideas for what I'm gonna need.

Cash - Probably about $500 in small bills, not too much, but enough that I can get to a motel for a few days till I figure something else out.
Flash Drive - loaded up with it's own little goodies, mostly an instance of Portable Firefox with a homepage set to a fresh and clean Gmail account and a specialized foxmarks account that includes stuff like 10 minute mail and other stuff. Basically, the flash drive is there to serve as a separate digital identity for me aside from my normal one. I'll probably also keep images of important documents and such on there.
Digital Camera - Taking pictures of stuff, obviously. Hopefully something that I can use to take pictures quickly without being noticed.
Pre-Paid Phone - I'll need to check and see if the minutes expire on stuff like this. If not, I'll just activate the phone and leave it there so it's good to go, otherwise I'll have to get to an Internet Cafe and activate it then and there. I'd obviously prefer the first option, though.
Swiss Army Hammer - I've seen these before. It's like a Swiss Army knife (lots of little tools, knives, corkscrews, screwdrivers, etc) but with a hammer on the end. Seems like it could come in handy.
Duct Tape - Oh yeah, I'm going the full MacGuyver here.
Battery-less Flashlight - Target has one of these. You shake it back and fort and a little magnet generates your power. I've seen ones that you pump a handle to go, but those are noisy. Not sure if I'd wanna make so much noise when I'm trying to hide. Unfortunately, the one I saw at Target was sorta broken, and also very cheap looking. I'll have to keep my eyes open for more like this.
Clothes - Whatever I've got on my back, plus a light hoodie, a jacket (I'd wear one or the other out the door), white t-shirt, jeans, socks, underwear, etc. Plain stuff, nothing eye catching. Also a ball cap, plain as well.
Eyewear - I usually wear glasses, so I'd probably want a spare pair in the bag. I'd also wanna pack some contacts and sun glasses.
More - I'm sure I've forgotten something, but I'll get to it later.

My left eye is twitching up a storm; I should probably get to bed.

Also from watching the movie, mostly from the line "...at this altitude, I can run flat out for a half mile before my hands start shaking." This strikes me as a useful talent. The fact that he knew it just instinctively maybe less so, but I need to work on my own personal fitness. I'm not ashamed to admit that Matt Damon is an attractive man, and if I ever wanna be that good looking, an exercise regimen is in order. I'll probably start jogging. I wonder what the local high school would think if I just started jogging around the track every day...

Not tonight, though. Too dark, and I'm too tired.

Moved In

So I moved in finally. Not completely, of course, but enough that I am now living at my new apartment full time. I've got the Internet and a bed. I need no more.

Actually setting up the Internet was relatively easy. I got a random telemarketer calling from AT&T asking if I wanted to get DSL. I did. I was actually trying to apply online, but since the phone line wasn't in my name, it was difficult. On the phone, though, they took my word as the decision maker for the house, which was nice. I'd set up DSL at home, and now this time I'd sprung for the wireless router package (rather, my grandfather did, so thank him very much), which made setting up a network that much easier. The HARD part was reformatting my computers. They both are reformatted now, and working fairly well. Once I get my computer desk moved in to my upstairs study, I'll probably leave my laptop on up there 24 7 as basically a network server for all my files. I hope I can do that, anyway... I haven't gotten it to work yet.

Reformatting my computer allowed me to finally get a working Zune Pass. I wasted the 2 week pass that came with my Zune earlier by trying it at home, then discovering that it wouldn't connect to the marketplace for whatever reason. Anyway, I did that now, but I've discovered that I've got some pretty eccentric tastes in music. Feel free to replace "eccentric" with your own adjective phrase of choice, such as "bad" or "like a 12 year old girl." *Hums Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" to himself...* But anyway, I've got 30 gigs of Zune to fill up over here. I've been peeking at the stuff microsoft recommends, but it's been pretty lackluster so far. My "all you can eat" Zune Pass didn't include anything by Evanescence, or Ace of Bass, or any of a dozen soundtracks... Huzzah music piracy!

Anyway, I'm off to bed. Before the week is out, though, I'd like to post something about the new Transformers Movie, and other media involving transforming robots from Cybertron, as well as the only two customers (excuse me, "guests") I've had at Target that I wish I'd never met. Interesting stories, I'm sure.

Transformers Peeves

So, over the last month, I've been getting around, and so has word about the new Transformers movie. Of course I've heard of it. I've gotta say, I think it's really cool to see a whole bunch of media attention to the tiny robots that defined my childhood and much of my adult life, but just because you first heard about it when you went to see Shrek doesn't mean I haven't known about it since Stephen Speilburg was still fishing around for a director. I've tried to keep myself from any totally major spoilers - the ending, major details, and stuff, but things leak in, especially for someone in my position. Transformers IS my life, or enough of it that I can't avoid hearing about it. So, here now, I will share some of my thoughts about the movie so far.

1. They changed the character designs. This is the most noticeable thing about the film from it's cartoon counterparts. At first, my only thought was that they looked different, and, at first, different was bad. Optimus didn't used to have a flame paint job. Megatron shouldn't be a jet. Etc. But, again, I've been exposed to this stuff for years now. It's old hat. And, looking at them now, I can see Optimus behind the flames. I know what they were trying to accomplish. The designs are more alien than before, and look, to my mind, the way I would expect it to look if we (humanity) actually built a car that turned into a robot, rather than a toy car that turned into a toy robot. There's a slight difference there. Honestly, I would have preferred it if they'd looked somewhat more like the Alternators line, but even those toys were toys. They were hollow, and not really funtionally sound. Bay's bots are, or at least, look it, which is something you need if you're going to have them act alongside real actors.

2. The plot line is going to be a little bit junky. I mean, the emotional plot of Sam discovering that his car turns into Bumblebee, along with Earth finding itself in the middle of an extraterrestrial war, those could be okay, but the reason the Transformers are here in the first place... I still see toys on the shelf at target saying "WE MUST FIND THE ENERGON CUBE!" THE Energon cube, as if there was only one. Someone decided that the reason the Transformers arrived at Earth was because they are looking for something. A McGuffin, I believe the technical term is. The Energon Cube has since been renamed The AllSpark, the source of all Transformer life, but its still a bit cheesy. I realize it's too late now, but I much preferred the Decepticons when they were stealing resources on Earth. The IDW Infiltration storyline is pretty close to what they should be doing right about now. Decepticons hide in their undercover alt forms, causing havoc and eventually subjugating the planet, Autobots fight back, undercover at first, and eventually full scale as the conflict rises. Or, you know, SOMETHING, anything other than "O hay guys, we lost our cube thingy, so we're gonna rip up your planet to find it." Sigh... Just imagining the Havoc that Barricade could play. One police car that starts running down pedestrians in an urban area, that's about all it takes to get a huge sense of distrust towards authorities... man, it would have been great.

3. I REALLY a lot of the new characters, first and foremost being Barricade, the police car I mentioned earlier. I love the idea of an evil police car. It's so delicious. I could watch a whole movie about just him.

But a lot of the returning characters, I'm not so sure about. I don't like the fact that Starscream is as wide as he is tall. That strikes me as wrong. Scorponok used to be a giant battle station with a head that transformed into a smaller robot whose head ALSO transformed into an even smaller robot. Now, he's just a 5 meter long metal scorpion... I don't even see the point in him transforming. At least when the Dinobots did it, they could fly/glide (cept maybe Swoop, he just transformed when he had to land, pretty much). But Scorponok in the movie is pretty much all you need from him. A giant metal scorpion that hides in the sand and kills people. Scary as hell, I'm sure, but not really a "transformer." I really liked the idea that he was something like one of Soundwaves tapes, and instead of turning into a robot, he just turned into a robotic animal, like Ravage. I read somewhere that Blackout, the helicoptor, was supposed to be Soundwave in an earlier draft. I could get behind something like that. Soundwave drops a bomb or something, bomb unravels to reveal Scorponok, and I'm happy. I suppose Blackout/Scorponok still have that same vibe, but I still don't like Scorponoks robot mode.

4. "We are facing war against a technological civilization far superior to our own." This is a line I think is spoken by the President of the USA in the movie, in a speech to the public about why cars and planes and iPods are turning into robots all of a sudden. I don't approve of it. Sure, the Transformers may be cool and all, and they may be far more technologically advance than we are, but their civilization leaves much to be desired.

5. They gave Optimus his fucking ax again. I haven't seen that thing since Sherman Dam. I wonder if Megatron gets his energy mace, too.

Unhappyness

Jay Leno wrote something about how satisfied Americans are with the country. And he's right on a lot of things. We have so much food we are going obese with it, and a steadily rising industry ready to deal with that problem, too. We are a country of excess, and it's terrifyingly wonderful to live here. I suppose that some portion of the 67 unhappy percent are upset because we don't give enough to the rest of the world, but I doubt it.

I'm not angry at Bush for forcing our troops to fight in Iraq. As Leno said, any troops over there chose to enlist and serve the president. I suppose I should rephrase that. I'm not angry at Bush for forcing our troops to fight; I'm angry because he pointed them to Iraq. Something needed to be done after 9/11, that much is true, and Bush did a great job of focusing our power, anguish and rage, and directing it towards one place. Afghanistan was a good start. Other places, though, were not such wise choices, such as the USA PATRIOT ACT, secret prisons for anonymous "enemy combatants," and in general a disdain by the Executive branch for the rule of law in this country. Whenever anything comes up, 9/11 changed everything, we must fight terrorism, etc etc...

I'm glad I live in America, and the general scope of the country, when taken over the last century (let's face it, no matter how bad a job Bush did, he can't remove supermarkets in 8 years) has been good. But Iraq is, as many have described it, a quagmire. Actually, I think it seems much more like a tar baby - we attacked it due to a perceived threat, and the more we fight it, the harder it is to escape. Bush says that, given a chance to do it all over again, he would do it the same way. This is why I am dissatisfied with Bush's presidency. He has demonstrated on seemingly every possible occasion that he is unable to adapt or learn. Something tells me that he learned how to President (v) from his father, who rode the country through generally peaceful times, and invaded Iraq in a 30 day "war". Bush isn't trying to avenge his father. He is trying to mimic him, and he's doing a pretty poor job of it.

We should have stayed in Afghanistan, and that's all I'm going to say about the subject for tonight.

Money Money Money Muh-ney.... MONEY!

I've reached the end of my Spring term at ACC. Yay for that. Also, I'm apparently less than a week away from a promotion to "Electronics Specialist" at Target, which is a step up from my old position: Salesfloor Team-member who specializes in Electronics. Whoo pay raise!

Interestingly enough, I think I've already started spending my pay before I get it. In my head at least. I've decided (deep breath) to finally move out into my own place. It doesn't look like I'm going anywhere big for a while, I've got a steady job (and a shiny new promotion, as I mentioned), gonna probably do another semester or two of ACC until I find something that really grabs me more than the jangle of the games case keys in my pocket. So yeah, I'm gonna move out. And I've got my eyes on a big-ass HD TV set: only $600 for a 32" flat-screen - score! I'm also thinking of getting an X-Box 360 Elite, once the price drops. I'll check out this "HAY-LOW" thing all the kids are talking about, and also use X-Box Live as a sort of DVR for TV programs. That Zune I talked about earlier is still something I'm looking forward to, too...

Speaking of money, though... I walked in the door and saw a stack of twenties next on top of my Mom's checkbook. Any sane person would assume that she had simply gone to the ATM and taken out some cash for shopping the week. My mind immediately jumped to the idea that she had passed a large tile marked "Go," possibly at a right angle.

I Am Enjoying Pokemon

...Immensely.

EDIT: This post originally had two images embedded - Trainer cards. But the site I made them on underwent a reset, so they were lost. Hope theres not too much confusion.

Yeah, I picked a female character. (Note: The sprite in that picture is not the one that actually represents me in game, but I wish it did.) Why? Because the default boy looks like a total dork. Admittedly, I AM one, but when I'm playing a game, I want to pretend to be something I'm not. And I want to feel good knowing that I don't look like such a dork. Maybe in the next game Nintendo will let you pick from two or three sprites of each gender.
But I have been enjoying the game, regardless of gender confusion issues. I've even been doodling out a pokemon team to use once I've beaten the game and am ready to step out into the wide wide world of WiFi battling (they're on this second card, if you want a preview.) So yeah, I've got my friend code on there and everything. You should come battle me.

...Please?

How can you say no to that face?

Unhappy Endings

There's an episode of Star Trek: Voyager where the ship starts melting randomly. Also, the equipment, and the crew. All of these are important parts of the mission of Voyager: to get back home. So, naturally, they do everything possible to solve this. They eventually figure out WHY they're melting. They are not the real Voyager, they are a copy made years ago when Voyager landed on a "Demon" class planet, and leaving their home for such a long time has caused them to lose structural integrity. The original planet is too far away, so they scan the surrounding area for something that can match, all the while melting away. So this carries on for like an hour. until they eventually realize they are going to melt before they get there. Captain Janeway records the ships log into a relay beacon for posterity, before she, like the rest of the crew and ship, melt away. The relay beacon also melts away.

What the fuck, man?

My mom commented after watching that episode that it was completely contrary to the spirit of the original series. On Captain Kirk's Enterprise, the good guys always won, the bad guys always lost, and justice was served in nice simple one hour chunks (with room for commercials). The Voyager ep, on the other hand (Course: Oblivion if you're interested). is nothing like that at all. Good people do good things and end up obliterated anyway, and no record of their existence is left at all.

I guess I bring this up because I just watched an episode of House where they diagnose a woman with an auto-immune disease, and decide to irradiate her immune system to cure her. Then, once her immune system is gone, they realize "Oops, it was an infection after all," and with her immune system shot, the patient has nothing left to do but die. They reach this decision a little more than half way through the episode, and the rest is just Foreman (the one who recommended radiation) sitting next to the girl, watching her die. It's all very touching. It literally moved me to tears. But I kept hanging on, hoping against hope that House would find out that the disease that didn't look like an infection at the start really WASN'T an infection... But nothing happened. The girl died, and Foreman's only absolution came from his Alzheimer's suffering Mom, who didn't even recognize him.

Bad things happen to good people. I know this. Good people make mistakes, and hurt or kill people. I'm not going to deny that this kind of thing happens in real life. But when I'm watching television, I want to watch something that doesn't resemble real life that much. I want escapism. I want a hero to swoop in when everything looks its worst and make it better again. Not all of it, necessarily, but... well, more than just "Oh, House kept Wilson's ex's dog because he was guilty."

I'm just a sucker for an unhappy ending, I guess.

;_;

Look! Up In The Sky!

I finally got the video posting thing to work! Yay me! And I coudn't have picked a better movie to link with it. ^_^

PokeyMans!

So, yeah, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl launched today. Rough day at work, though not for the reasons I expected. I was anticipating a huge crowd of kids looking to catch them all, and I figured I'd spend all day running back and forth between the games case and the cash register. Unfortunately, fate had a different hand in store for me. The ad set up was horribly mis-managed, so (long boring technical rant you really don't need to hear - I was basically setting up signs to show what was on sale).

But after that got set up, I managed to spend a couple hours selling games. ^_^ One family in particular stuck out in my memory, partially because I recognized them from one of my mom's old Sunday School classes, though I don't think they recognized me (I was just another faceless adult to them... Sigh). Anyway, the interesting thing about their visit was that, while the older brother (maybe 8-10? I'm bad with names) was getting his hands on Diamond, the little sister (couldn't be older than 6) wasn't getting anything, it seemed. Instead, their mom was telling them that they would share. Now, anyone who's played a Pokemon game knows what a mistake that is. I actually got myself hooked on the game by borrowing James' old Game Boy Red Version and just seeing how far I could get (usually I'd get the 2nd badge before it was time to cut it out), but the point is the games have never supported a second save slot - and for good reason, considering the collectible nature of the game. I pointed this out to them, that they really couldn't share the game, and the little girl started tearing up. I swear, she looked like she was gonna cry right there because she couldn't play with big brother. Being the quick thinker I am, I asked if they wanted to go ahead and grab pearl version for her, and mom said "No, why don't you just watch brother play." That didn't seem like a good option, so I offered another thing. "We've got last years version available for $20." She could try that, and if she liked it, save her money and upgrade to the next one later. This seemed acceptable to everyone, so I grabbed Fire Red and Leaf Green (why on earth are they Players choice, but not Ruby or Sapphire?), little sister chose LG, and we had a happy family. ^_^

I'm good at my job, the way I see it. Target wants me to sell "Red Cards," which are Visa credit cards run by Target. If you get one, you receive a 10% discount on an entire day's shopping at Target, which can be a fair amount if you're buying, say, a big screen TV or a full set of patio furniture. But they're asking me to be sure to ask "EVERY" guest, and honestly, I don't wanna. I think it bothers the customer, because they usually either already have one, or they have enough credit cards and don't need another. So, I drop it when I get a no. I've heard tell that at least one of our "Team Leads" has a great record because, and this is pretty much true, he will not shut up about the "benefits" of the card until the guest gets one. That just seems rude to me, and it's not what I signed on for, I think.

Target feels it's my job to earn money for the company, by selling products, and also by getting those credit cards sold. On the other hand, I feel my job is to aid the guest in making the best decision and getting the best deal possible for them. More often than not, our goals are similar enough that they cross over, but I refuse to simply act as a mouthpiece for the corporation. It is my real and honest belief that if I give good guest service, people will enjoy coming to Target, and want to come back, even if our stuff is 13 cents more expensive than Wal-Mart (seriously, they have stuff for like 13.84 that's 13.99 at Target... And that's their "Low Price" X_X)

Anyway, enough rambling. I'm enjoying Diamond (Pearl is saved so Jackie can do the quest for herself, and we'll probably trade version exclusives and the like), though I'm feeling a little guilty that I'm JUST SHY of beating Emerald - I just got the 8th Gym badge today, and can probably beat the Elite Four soon. I may do that once I've beaten the first gym in Diamond, just so I can say I'm done... There's also the Battle Frontier in Emerald, and Battle towers in Fire Red and Ruby, so I'll have to see what else I can do in those areas. I'll probably need to train up a kick-ass team in 3rd generation, one I WON'T be sending into the 4th gen later on (once I've beaten THAT games Elite Four). So much to do...

In the mean time, here's my friend code: 1590 1166 1789 I've written it down here as much for myself as for all of you. Lemme know if you want me to add you for something. ^_^

Insert Star Trek Fight Music Here

(01:43:22 PM) effervescence: http://www.guardian.co.uk/crime/article/0,,2062486,00.html?=rss
(01:43:29 PM) effervescence: this is the most terrible thing ever
(01:43:33 PM) effervescence: and they didn't even sell any tickets
(01:46:14 PM) Kitty Kyriaki: I know, they should have at least uploaded it to youtube
(01:46:30 PM) effervescence: i'll bet its there somewhere
(01:46:32 PM) effervescence: if not
(01:46:58 PM) effervescence: wanna kidnap some children from a local playground and see what happens when you toss them in a ring with a couple of bat'leths?
(01:47:42 PM) Kitty Kyriaki: sure
(01:47:57 PM) Kitty Kyriaki: get your party van ready
(01:48:19 PM) effervescence: i'll bring the camera if you bring the candy

This chat has been brought to you by the association for making horrible things seem less horrible through comparison.

WTF?!

What the fuck is going on in this video? Its some ninja who makes card float in mid-air. I'm sure, like all magic tricks, theres some sort of chicanery involved, but I am obviously too tired to figure it out.

Random Linking!

Super Columbine Massacre RPG! I've talked about it before, but for whatever reason I never bothered to link it (or for that matter, to download it and try it myself. I'm not sure if I want to (I'm actually not sure if I can on my computer...) but I'll give it a spin over Summer break I bet.

Random Qustions

Question 1: I'm sure you've seen those videos of the Beatles being chased by crowds of screaming fans. Now, don't get me wrong, you want to be heard by the band, and especially during the concert, you need to make a lot of noise (just, please don't drown out the actual music, I wanna kinda hear what I paid to hear, not you asking Paul to marry you). So yeah, scream and yell all you want during the concert, and maybe while they're entering and exiting the building, with you standing behind the velvet rope. But when the guys are FLEEING the scene, do you really need to chase them? I think it's obvious they're trying to go away from the screaming.

And really.. what exactly did they plan on doing when and if they caught them? Sex? Right there on the streets of London? With 2000 other women? As said before, I'm not sure the Beatles were interested in that magnitude of pussy.

Question 2: How long are flags supposed to be kept at half mast? I'm sure it varies from event to event (President dying > Ambassador dying, and such), but isn't there at least a set time for each event? After Gerald Ford died, the flags in Austin were at half mast for like a month or more. I'm beginning to think that there is no set time for raising them. There are definite times for lowering them, but no one wants to be the first guy to say "Okay, who cares about V Tech any more?" and raise it back up. It's a rough job, but someone's gotta do it.

Meh, I thought I had another, but I'm out. Also, to anyone asking, no, my store does not have Pokemon in. Wait till Sunday. I know its hard, but we all have to do it, so suck it up.

Jeez...

Haloid

It's a mashup of Halo and Metriod! Wow, it's well made, though a REAL fan-wank. I love the fact that Master Chief can jump around like Neo. Never mind the fact that half of the choreography in that movie is ripped directly from the Matrix, almost frame for frame (bullet time and everything, synched up to the music even), just the idea that Master Chief could ever preform such an acrobatic maneuver is laughable. Halo is a first person shooter - you look forward, occasionally you jump. You don't do midair cartwheels, or kung fu melee combat, or THROW FRIGGING CARS AROUND. >_< I'll give Samus the benefit of the doubt on her moves - she actually DOES flip around in the games, but the whole time I was just expecting Master Chief to come out on top, simply because the video was obviously made by a huge Halo fan, more-so than a Metroid fan, anyway. I give it an A for effort, as far as the animation goes, but in terms of what you animated... HD Pong is still Pong, and Blu-Ray clarity on the Pokemon movie is still the Pokemon movie. Bleh.

I've also been watching The Power of Nightmares, a documentary on the rise of both NeoConservatives in America and Islamic Terrorists in the Middle East, and how both parties use fear and scare-tactics to attempt to control the masses. I think Grand Moff Tarkin said it best:

Governor Tarkin: The Imperial Senate will no longer be of any concern to us. I have just received word that the Emperor has dissolved the council permanently. The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.
General Tagge: But that's impossible. How will the Emperor maintain control without the bureaucracy?
Governor Tarkin: The regional governors now have direct control over their territories. Fear will keep the local systems in line. Fear of this battle station.

If you're not afraid of something by now, you're not paying attention. The trick is to not be afraid of what they tell you to fear, but rather the ones who use fear to their advantage. Fear them, and do everything in your power to stop them.

I had a weird rant planned out, but the gist is a hypothetical situation. The Union lost the Civil War, and was eventually conquered by the Confederacy. For the next 140 years America was ruled by a tyrannical dictatorship until the European Powers decided to "spread democracy," expecting that freed Americans would all be the same, not noticing the differences between Red- and Blue-Staters, and then violence broke out between the two groups and.. well, anyway, that's what Iraq is like.

Lets do it again! In Iran this time, okay?

300 Pokemon

When I first clicked the link, I thought it was actually a video showing three hundreds of kinds of Pokemon. Instead, I got a trailer spoof. Much more entertaining.

Dammit, Youtube needs to let me embed.