Eo rus.

On a Tuesday

2011-04-26T22:10:00.000-07:00

It rained most of today. In fact, it was downright fucking dreary. This is what I did: I spent last night at my parents', so I woke up this morning- noted the rain- went home and finished a library book and started a new show (Jericho, which I think I like very much). I also did errands because I am in a wedding this weekend.

In any case, I have no energy to write a long entry, so I'm going to add some stuff that I read from reddit.com to this that Maddawg579 queried:

"Would you still masturbate if, instead of millions of sperm coming out, only one big one came out and you had to kill it before it killed you?

Don't worry about the physics of it, just imagine the scenario. A bulldog-sized sperm comes bursting out and it has teeth, eyes, and everything. You have to somehow kill it, or it's going to kill you.

Personally, I think it would be fucking awesome. Unfortunately, everyone would know when you just finished jerking it."

This was answered on Deadspin by Drew Magary- check out the full answer here but here's a teaser of what he wrote:

"I read this question and immediately pictured a world dotted with numerous glory hole crematoriums designed specifically to address this problem. Imagine with me, if you will. You have to jerk off. There's no stopping the urge. So you hustle over to your local Masturbation Depository. Once there, you find a private booth with a small hole in the wall. You do your jerking and then you skeet into the hole so that the bulldog sperm is ejected into a separate room. Obviously, you'd have to be very mindful of timing in this instance. One premature orgasm and you're fucking toast. You have to KNOW when that nut is coming, and prepare thusly."

I'll let you stew on this little gem of an idea.

Song of the day: Apocalyptica - Farewell [suggested by a friend]

Eastern Europe

2011-04-25T22:23:00.000-07:00

I lived in what is popularly called "Eastern Europe" for four months, did you know that? Well, I did. It's an area that is easily overlooked for some reason (stupid Western Europe with all their fancy 'Westernization'), and I could not recommend it more. If you ever get the chance to go to Europe do not neglect that side of the continent!

Let's check out some interesting stuff from that area then.
One of the many interesting things about this cluster of countries is the abundant ties to socialism, communism, and fascism and the struggle to move towards democracy or not. The first thing to check out is this article about 25 abandoned Soviet sculptures in Yugoslavia. After the Republic fell in the 1990s, these sculptures (which had been commissioned to commemorate sites from WWII) essentially were abandoned by visitors/tourists. The photographs of these statues were taken by Kempenaers, and he questions whether or not these former monuments can continue to exist as pure sculptures? [On the one hand their physical dilapidated condition and institutional neglect reflect a more general social historical fracturing. And on the other hand, they are still of stunning beauty without any symbolic significances.] This article seems to suggest that the creator and the time the sculpture was made is more important than the physicality of the structure- or at least, that it's up for debate.

One of the more depressing things about this cluster of countries is that supposedly the 14 most unhappy countries in the world are in Eastern Europe [U.S. is supposedly #36]. This is interesting if you compare it to surveys for some of the worst things, like that Zambians are most likely to not live to see their 40th birthday or on the probability of not reaching 40 graph, the top 34 countries are all African.

And, lastly, some interesting facts about the Czech Republic- my favorite Eastern European country bar none. According to the 2001 census, 59% of the Czechs are Agnostic, Atheist, or non-believer, 26.8% Roman Catholic and 2.5% Protestant. Only 19% said that they believed in God, meaning that about 11% of the self-declared Christians were only Christian in name (or by tradition). And, this is pretty apparent in that country. This is interesting because they are close to some very religious countries *cough Poland cough.* The Czech people are also the highest consumers of beer in the world- this shouldn't be surprising considering so much of beer's history stems from this wonderful nook of the world Interestingly, the Czech Republic has one of the highest density of castles in the world, with the Prague castle being the largest castle area in the world, spreading to over 18 acres. Bottom line is that this country is fucking awesome. Beer, castles, and spas are overflowing. And, hell, it's not hard to look at either!

Song of the day: Radiohead - All I Need [I only had 4 cds when I lived in the Czech Republic, and Radiohead's In Rainbows is one of them, so this is a dedication to my time there] [[the bass is awesome]]

Tattoos

2011-04-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

I just had a conversation with a friend of mine over the weekend relating to tattoos. She was of the mind that people in our particular profession shouldn't have visible tattoos. Which has made me wonder... is not our profession the one that declares 'everyone is equal,' or as I would say never judge someone you briefly meet because you do not know their story. A profession that has thrown away that hierarchical bullshit about 'bad literature' and who decries the 'librarian stereotype' whole heartedly. If this is the case, why do most librarians still act superior to the patrons and why do most frown down on behavior they don't have in their 'code?'

I guess one would say to that 'But, really, that applies to every profession." And, maybe that's true, but it still really bothers me. Why do tattoos still have bad connotations about them no matter the content or reason behind them? That said, obviously there are terrible tattoos and really bad decisions about some that are inked- I mean, if you had tattoos and piercings like this guy, I would hesitate about hiring you, too.

So, what is it about tattoos that are so contrary? Is it simply what is marked on you? Or is it the whole package? Is my little Latin phrase just as bad as a heart with roses on the lower back typically known as a tramp stamp? I don't know, but I do know that I like mine and I plan on getting more of them at some point along the road of life. Do you have any tattoos? What is your favorite one? Or, what do you want to get?

Saturday song of the day: The 88 - At Least it was Here
Sunday song of the day: Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better

Again with the forgetting

2011-04-22T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well, shit. I'm pretty bad at this, haha. I apologize to Mandy for my lack of dedication. : )

I haven't much to say today. On Thursdays I usually have a set Thursday plan where a couple of my friends come over and we watch some specific show, our first one was Deadwood and now we're on The Wire. Well, those plans were canceled last night, so I decided to go out with some other guys. That was a very good idea on my part, especially since it was with six guys. Easily my favorite "type" of hanging out is when it is with males; I'm very bad at hanging out with girls. That's my excuse for not writing- I went out. Shh, don't remind me about all the other bits of time during the day that I could of done the blog.

Well, I looked at the news today, and of course almost all of it is bad, like I complained about before. It's so god damned depressing reading the news- and I do know several people who don't even care to look anymore. Not sure if that's a valid excuse, but I can appreciate the reason why. Especially after I read the story about Seath Jackson. This young 15 year old was lured to a house where he was beaten and shot several times- he tried to escape but was shot again. His body was then burned and his ashes spread into paint cans and thrown into a garbage bin. This was done to him by a group of six people- 4 being tried as adults, 2 as minors. Supposedly over some girl. There are some aspects to human behavior I don't understand.

I went and searched for a good news story, and came across one from Baraboo, WI. This good samaritan saw a house on fire behind his own residence and he ran over, scaled the porch up to the second floor, knocked out a window and helped a woman escape the flames. The fire department arrived to the scene right after he helped her down- who knows what the difference in time would have made, but it's a great fucking story.

What was the nicest, most good-samaritany thing you've done?

Song of the day (Thursday): Bloc Party - Flux [maybe my favorite BP song and the video is awesome]
Song of the day (Friday): Taproot - Calling [very suited to me for some reason]

Brother's suggestions

2011-04-20T12:59:00.000-07:00

I finally have had someone suggest what I should write! This makes my job a thousand times easier since I don't have to sit here and ponder and ponder. My brother suggested that I give a review on the Decemberists concert and the first episode of Game of Thrones, so here goes!

For the Decemberists' show they performed at the Overture Center for the Arts instead of at the Orpheum, the venue I last saw them at. I'm not sure if the band looked into what the Overture is like, for they seemed very much surprised that the crowd was sitting down and quite orderly. The Overture has a feeling of class, and has seating that goes right up to the stage- not ideal for having a dancing, standing crowd. In fact, the band urged fans to come up to the stage, but after mere minutes, security guards were forcing people back.

Needless to say, I think this reporter got it right when he said "the Decemberists warm up Overture Hall." It certainly was the first rock concert I've gone to where I stayed seated the whole time. Also, I was way up on the third balcony, and while it was still easy to see everything, it's harder to stay pumped enough to stand.

But, aside from that, the show was still very good. I really enjoy their latest CD 'The King is Dead,' which has a slightly different feel for me from their other albums. If you haven't seen them live, I highly encourage it. The band likes to mess around- they mercilessly teases the security guards that were acting like douchebags- but they also sound just as good live as on their albums.

Now, Game of Thrones first episode was also very good, I thought. The creators did a great job of picking a cast that is relatively unknown, not fake-Hollywood gorgeous, and matched to how I imagine the characters in the book. My friends thought they could have picked someone other than Sean Bean, since they think of TLOTR, but that connotation didn't really come to mind for me personally.

The settings are absolutely amazing, oh my god, everything looks so good and beautifully foreign- I especially liked King's Landing and am looking forward to upcoming episodes where it'll be shown more specifically. It's been a few years since I've read Game of Thrones, but it seemed to me that they've done a really good job of following the book as best as they could. Impossible to add in all the details, but still a great job.

Some of my favorite details: the Hound's helm is awesome, the godswood is really neat looking, the girl they picked for Arya is perfect, and that I already hate Sansa and Prince Joff.

Song of the day: Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out

Concert

2011-04-19T15:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight I am going to see The Decemberists with my dad. We're going out to dinner first for pizza and then heading over. My dad is hilarious at concerts; he has a slower clap than anyone else at shows and he says the most ordinary words as praise. He says things like "okay" and "pretty good," but with the same feeling as someone saying "awesome" or "rock on." It's quite the sight. Love it!

I will have to give an update on how the show goes, but I bet it will be awesome because I've already seen them in concert once. They are one of those rare bands that sound just as good live as they do on their albums, so I'm not too worried. The venue is an interesting choice, so that will be my wildcard.

In other news, I really liked Billy Collins and I'm glad that I decided to go and see him. And, as a bonus, I ran into two other friends so we all got to sit together. Quite a pleasant evening- maybe I'm getting more classy with these outings to poets and whatnot ; )

So, I'm leaving another Decemberists' song as my song of the day since I'm seeing them tonight!
Decemberists - Don't Carry it All

Poetry

2011-04-18T14:12:00.000-07:00

I'm not one for poetry, really. I'm not sure why. I guess out of all types of poetry I am the most receptive to prose that is written in a poetic way, if that makes sense. For example, when I was in undergrad, I took an environmental studies course in which we had to read a book called Shadow Mountain: A Memoir of Wolves, a Woman, and the Wild by Renee Askins. It was the way I felt when I read it that I really enjoyed. Here's an example passage:

"That's how the summer evenings of my early childhood passed, our Volkswagon parked alongside some meadow, with its nose edged into the tall summer grass like a huge Lab sniffing the dirt, with my mama counting the deer. It's also how I learned to count, but for years I would be confused about what numbers really followed others because my mother's voice would drift off at fourteen or thirty-seven, like the sun slipping behind a darkened cloud into some secret shadowed place that concealed the loneliness of a young mother, and then suddenly her voice would reemerge brilliant and warm on twenty-six or forty-three. I doubt that it mattered to her how many deer there were, the numbers were only a mantra to give order to the loneliness, to arrange an eternal evening according to a knowable rhythm. Occassionally she would remark on how large a dawn had gotten, or on the limp od a doe, but mostly she would just count, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty... and the light would fall and her voice would trail off and the deer would slip back into the shadows."

In any case, tonight I am going to be seeing a poet with a friend of mine. His name is Billy Collins, and I don't really know anything about him. But, I did find at least one poem that I liked that I will share with you. It's called "I Go Back To The House For A Book."

"I turn around on the gravel and go back to the house for a book, something to read at the doctor's office, and while I am inside, running the finger of inquisition along a shelf, another me that did not bother to go back to the house for a book heads out on his own, rolls down the driveway, and swings left towards town, a ghost in his ghost car, another knot in the string of time, a good three minutes ahead of me- a spacing that will now continue for the rest of my life."

I hope it will be a good show. What are your opinions on poetry?
Song of the day: Fleetwood Mac - Go Your Own Way

Game of Thrones

2011-04-17T16:03:00.000-07:00

Today is a big day. Today is the airing of the first episode of the HBO series Game of Thrones, which is based off of George R.R. Martin's book series A Song of Ice and Fire. You can check out Martin's website here, although I have to warn, it's not the most impressive website.

But, I will say the series is in my top three favorite series, and I encourage you all to check it out.

So, tonight I am off to watch this with my friends- I hope that you'll find it as captivating as I do!
Song of the day: Delta Spirit - Motivation (watch 'till the end and you'll see my favorite part with them catching chickens, besides the lead singer is hot)

Distractions

2011-04-16T15:42:00.000-07:00

Like everyone else who has the ability to waste time on the internet, there are certain things I use every single day to distract myself from more important, boring adult tasks. One of my favorites is Google Talk, of course, where I can talk with my friends, and of course Grooveshark where I get my music fix no matter what I'm feeling like.

Then, there's the entertainment stops that are visited every day. Besides e-mail and facebook, I check Damn You Auto Correct, Cracked.com, and Reddit.

Today I distracted myself with Otomata, which is a generative sequencer. So, go check it out and create your own song of the day!!

What do you check out for distractions?

Let's talk gross

2011-04-15T22:04:00.000-07:00

One particularly unsettling fascination I have is with diseases and parasites. I don't know why this is, I do have a leaning towards the morbid, though, so perhaps that is a good enough reason for the interest.

For example, I once got pretty sick a couple years ago but I only had your standard run of the mill cold symptoms. I didn't go see a doctor for a very long time- probably 4 weeks in to being sick I finally made myself go. So, I sit through the horrible ordeal of being at a freakin' clinic, waiting for the doctor, all that really unfun stuff. The doctor checks me out, contemplates all the little fascinating notes he's made, and then has the audacity to tell me that I am experiencing a "double cold."

Is that not the lamest fucking outcome? I got two colds back to back. If I am going to be sick for a month, I want it to be something like scarlet fever, whooping cough, pneumonia, ebola, west nile... you get the picture. What kind of shit story is that to tell someone? Turns out- double cold! Worst. Story. Ever. I'm pretty sure I'm the odd person here, who else agrees with me?? Anyway, there's so much to talk about with these two very interesting topics that I will only be brushing the surface of talking about them.

Let's start with some real fucking weird diseases. This list as some classics like elephantiasis and pica, but also some really interesting ones like Blaschko's lines and Walking corpse syndrome.

Then, there's parasites. What more can be said? I get hooked on Animal Planet's Monsters Inside Me, and I also don't have a desire to go to Africa, South America, or Asia because of the nasty shit all these places have- including the most horrific parasites on Earth. Here's some parasites in a picture gallery.

Monsters Inside Me - Maggots in My Head
Monsters Inside Me - Worm in My Butt

So, go out and do some more exploring on these two incredibly interesting subjects, and also tell me what you think about them, or what your favorites are. Mmmkay?

Song of the day! Pixies - Where is My Mind?
If I had something nasty, I can imagine myself tweaking like this song encourages.

Cartoons

2011-04-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

So, I have almost no time to write this- I have friends coming over in a matter of minutes and I put this off until the last minute. But, here I can at least write about some of my favorite cartoons.

Right now, my favorite cartoon is Adventure Time on Cartoon Network, which is about a human boy Finn and his magically stretchy best friend, Jake the dog. They are young heroes that are always on a quest to help those who need it. Hilarious. Lots of little aspects that are hilarious. Here is an example episode:

Guardians of Sunshine episode- this is especially good if you like video games/old school video games.

Runner up is going to be Spongebob Squarepants. Too many people judge this cartoon- they are turned off by the ridiculous Spongebob laugh, but, that's part of the humor. The expressions and scenarios are laugh out loud funny to me, and never fails to make my day better.

Hash Slinging Slasher episode- I looked quickly for the full episode but couldn't find it, so here's a five minute clip. Essentially the Krusty Krab has to stay open 24 hours and Squidward and Spongebob are working the graveyard shift, and Squidward tells Spongebob a scary story about the villain The Hash Slinging Slasher.

What are your favorites? Why? Or, why don't you like cartoons? Etc. etc.

Song of the day: The Verve Pipe - Hero

Word of the day- awesome

2011-04-13T14:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some awesome things about the awesome universe we live in!

First, here's an awesome timelapse video of a flight to San Francisco that shows the aurora borealis. Awesome.

Second, on March 28th, astronomers may have witnessed a star torn apart by a black hole. I mean, black holes are pretty fucking awesome, and this one is particularly more bad ass than some of the others out there. Take a look at the story and images here.

Third, NASA has set up a really cool database called GRIN, or Great Images in NASA, that you can browse to check out some of the best photos of significant historical explorations and discoveries.

Here's an example of the Earth, but they also have photos of equipment, people, space shuttles, and space exploration... How awesome is space??

Fourth, there's also the awesome HubbleSite which has some of most unbelievably awesome photos:

Beautifully awesome!

Anyways, I hope you take the time to check out some of this awesome stuff, and I will leave you with an awesome song of the day that has a music video set in space

The Darkness - I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Le sigh, another double whammy

2011-04-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Whoops! I am getting downright awful at posting every day! You'd think I'd learn my lesson after just having to write that big ass entry I did on Sunday. Anyways, I'm feeling fairly unoriginal today, good thing there's lots of interesting and other descriptive words articles in the news today.

First, this story about a serial killer is alarming. They've found the remains of what could be a human, and additionally another human skull out in Suffolk County- bringing the total up to potentially nine victims. What is up with this casual, taken over time search and whatnot? This better end up like a Criminal Minds episode where everything gets solved.

Second, beyond alarming, beyond frightening is the Japan Nuclear Disaster being moved up to a threat level of 7- the highest level it could be placed at. The only other disaster that was a 7 was Chernobyl, and the Fukushima Daicchi plant could potentially ever eclipse that.

Third, I could go on (Planned Parenthood, anyone) but when the hell are we going to stop getting mainly bad news and get mainly good news? The news of today is so unbelievable.

Monday's song of the day: Kaiser Chiefs - Ruby (you may have to skip an ad, sorry)
Today's song of the day: Clint Mansell - Lux Aeterna (one of the most bad ass instrumental pieces) (additionally, you may recognize this also as Requiem for a Dream)

Double whammy

2011-04-10T21:35:00.000-07:00

Here was my first fail of the month! I didn't write anything on Saturday- I had good intentions, but it completely slipped my mind because I went to Chicago yesterday and today. I had planned on writing the Saturday one before I left, but, I don't really like writing in the mornings, and then I was off and there was no other time to think of it.

I don't like being in cities, but I had two really great reasons to be there. First of all, my best friend lives there, and I would always take an opportunity to go and see her. Second of all, it was another friend's birthday and we decided to surprise him by taking him to Medieval Times- he never went to it as a kid and has always wanted to go (how cute is that?).

That is exactly what we did! Here we are awaiting dinner (consisted of zero silverware- soup, bread, chicken, spare rib, potato, and pastry) and jousting. If you've never been there, well, here's the set up. You just placed in different sections that cheer on particular knights- our knight was the Red and Yellow Knight- hence our beautiful and expensive hats. There are 5 other knights besides ours- one of which (the Green knight) is naughty and must be stopped to save the good prince who is Green Knight's hostage.

Anyways, our knight lost. But, in his defense, he picked the most bad ass weapons like a mace and a long-handled ax on top of a standard shield and sword combo. Anyways, the birthday boy loved it and a good time was had by all. After that we went back to an apartment and played drinking games for the rest of the night, including classics such as 31 and Asshole, but also a new one where a person reads from a smut book until someone laughs and then they have to drink.

Since Saturday was so much fun, here is a fun song for the song of the day!
Neon Trees - Animal

As far as today goes, well. My friends and I decided that it was a good day to go into downtown Chicago, so away we went! We hung out at Millennium Park, which of course include the bean- although it didn't look at cool as it does in this photo up above. It was really nice out, but damn, there had to have been 40 mph winds going on in The Windy City. And now, man, I am completely bushed. So tired. Possibly sunburned, as well.
Song for today- Waka Flocka Flames - No Hands
This song is dedicated to our rousing Saturday evening of heavy drinking

Good day, bad day

2011-04-08T15:17:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday- arguably the best day in the week (except for the days the Packers play). And, this Friday was shaping up to be mega-awesome. I have two different birthday parties to go to tonight, with the ultimate goal of joining those two powers together.

Well, it's still going to be awesome.

But, I interviewed for a fairly sweet job two weeks ago and haven't heard a single peep from them yet. I wasn't concerned- they told me it'd be two weeks. Then, I was talking to a friend of mine who also interviewed there, who works with someone who also interviewed there. My friend told me this other douche got an e-mail from the hirers to be considered for the second round. And, my friend and I haven't heard shit!! Not only is that a shitty thing for a library to do (not notify applicants in a timely fashion) but, they also asked one of the few people who I don't like to come back. I am Angry about this.

So, I'm not going to write much. I will end this with the song of the day- perhaps something a bit more light considering the direction my temper is heading towards.
Tinie Tempah - Written in the Stars

Is the right of free speech always right

2011-04-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

While getting my daily dose of news today I read that Phillip Greaves has pleaded no contest to criminal charges in exchange for two years probation. In case you don't recognize the name, here's the story:

Greaves and his book gained national attention last year after Amazon.com defended selling the book on its website despite angry comments and threats of boycotts from thousands of people. The book was removed from the website in early November.

Officials said the book talks about safe sex and avoiding injury to children, grooming and preparing children for sex and teaching children how to lie to their parents. Judd said last year Greaves' book outlines a "code of ethics" that shows pedophiles how to look for the most vulnerable children.

If interested in the other details, check out the whole story. So, where does the right of saying- and under that umbrella, writing and publishing- whatever you want fall? Should he have the right to create a "how to" for pedophilia? This begs the following questions: What about the other "how to" books we've been taught are fine for people to view, like making bombs, processing drugs, etc.? Should we adopt similar restraints to this right like other countries (i.e. not being able to spread lies about WWII's Final Solution, etc.)?

I can say without regret that I am glad Greaves is facing criminal charges for this book of his. What do you think?

Song of the day time:
Fuel - Million miles

Impasse

2011-04-06T21:28:00.000-07:00

Well. This is right around the time where I begin to find writing every day frustrating. I was never a girly type, not anything close to it. Always with my boys, always doing something like playing video games or shooting fireworks off at things. This also applies to that great stereotype of 'girls keeping journals/diaries.' I never was able to do have one. My grandmother has this thing where every Christmas when she gives out presents mine always end up being nail kits, clutches, and on occasion a diary (one of the worst ones were these pjs that were pink and covered with frogs with crowns saying Crown Princess all over). Anyways, I would never do more than three or four entries and then I would quit.

The problem with diaries, journals, and now blogs is that one becomes stuck somewhere between telling too little and telling too much. The chance that another person can look upon what you've written and form some shade of opinion that is off from what you were feeling when you wrote it down. The chance that another person could find you... your thoughts, feelings, afflictions... through a deliberate search or a casual accident is terrifying. Without it actually happening, if you still think about it, you feel threatened. What would this person think? Is there something they can use against me? Something I cannot even see for myself?

Was I rash that day? Was I in a temper? Was I feeling mushy and writing about how much better my day was because I saw a particular someone? What if all I wrote was trivial nonsense- what category of human being would I be placed in? Is it paranoia or just the plain old truth. You may think you want something found, and then after its discovery, realize that it wasn't what you planned. Do I want that? How quickly can I destroy something that I've written?

So, this blog. On the one hand, people say it helps to write things down. Clears the mind. Focuses you. On the other hand, you cannot do that unless you include your innermost thoughts. Do I really want people to see that? No, I don't think so. Even if it is just one or three people. But, then again... there is such appeal in the idea- hence the popularity- of writing down exactly what I am thinking at that exact moment that I am writing that I end up right on the edge, the precipice between the two.

Perhaps then, a more somber song would be appropriate this day, especially seeing as I have a single half hour before I break my word of writing every day.
A Perfect Circle- 3 Libras
This song I can relate to, and it's a song that creates a response in the listener. Enjoy!

Currently thinking about books

2011-04-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

I am currently reading the tenth and last book in the best fantasy series possibly ever written:
The series is called Malazan Book of the Fallen written by Steven Erikson.
These books are full of everything you could ask for in a story- war, love, treachery, comedy, despair, greed, compassion, etc. I keep experiencing shock at the skill Erikson has at writing- the plot is sensational and so detailed and the writing is more elegant than a lot of classic books. The Malazan world is so detailed and thought-out that it is perfect. Here's a snip-it of how this series started:

The Malazan world was originally created by Steven Erikson and Ian Cameron Esslemont in 1982 as a backdrop for role-playing games using a modified version of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. By 1986, when the GURPS system had been adopted by Erikson and Esslemont, the world had become much larger and more complex, approaching its current scope. It was then developed into a movie script entitled Gardens of the Moon. When this was not successful in finding interest, the two writers agreed to each write a series set in their shared world. Steven Erikson wrote Gardens of the Moon as a novel in the period 1991-92 but it was not published until 1999. In the meantime, he wrote several non-fantasy novels. When he sold Gardens of the Moon, he agreed to a contract for an additional nine volumes in the series. The contract with Bantam UK was worth £675,000, making it "among the largest fees ever paid for a fantasy series"

I will be so depressed that the series is now over- I have already read the whole thing twice over, and each book is about 1,000 whopping pages long. This is my major endorsement of the day! : )

Anyways, I do believe that there are so many books- like those I just praised- that are better than what are largely recognized as 'classics' or 'literary fiction.' A friend of mine sent me a link to David McCandless' Books Everyone Should Read: A Consensus Cloud.

It is very cool looking, and I like the cloud a lot, and definitely agree with a lot of what's on there. But, it's interesting how people conceive of what ought to be read. Do they say these titles just because everyone else says them? Were they forced to accept they were great by how they were educated? Were these titles selected because they deserve to be in this cloud of books everyone should read? And, why do we always say "everyone should read such and such?" So many questions- what do you think?

Song of the day time! Let's do something oh so very funky!
Here's Daft Punk - Face to Face
Enjoy friends!

No case of the Mondays

2011-04-04T10:55:00.000-07:00

Alright, under typical circumstances, Monday is viewed as the worst day of the week. That needn't be the case. Mondays are great! Mainly because I already have a Monday ritual where I go hang out with my boys, so I suggest you also create a fun thing to do every Monday. But, I am also going to talk about some of my favorite things: men and music.

My friend Mandy posted on her blog her top eight celebrity crushes, so I decided to create a list of 8 of mine (it took work for me to make this list, so I'm making use of this again). Some of them you may find odd, I even find some of them odd, but the majority I think you'll agree are some beautiful male specimens. Here we go!

These men aren't in any order, but we have:
1. Conan O'Brien : I don't know why, but I've always loved this lanky ginger
2. Walton Goggins : you can see him in Justified (only man with a Bible I like) and The Shield
3. Jake Gyllenhaal : particularly in Brothers when he's dirty- prison, tattoos, carpenter
4. Matthew Macfadyen : Pride and Prejudice
5. Ryan Reynolds : doesn't need an explanation
6. Javier Bardem : not No Country for Old Men, more like in Eat, Pray, Love
7. Shemar Moore : beautiful, beautiful man, especially when his head is shaved
8. Justin Timberlake : rare ability to be not only cute and charming, but smokin' hot and sexy
Please share who you like- particularly the odd ones, like my Conan and Walton haha!

Alright, and now for the song of the day!
Gangstagrass - "Long Hard Times to Come"
I first heard this song as the introduction to the FX show Justified (did I mention Walton Goggins? haha) and it's a super slick bluegrass badass song. Enjoy!

The good side of advertising

2011-04-03T13:07:00.000-07:00

So, a couple posts ago I was complaining about ridiculous advertising. I still hate it, but, sometimes ads can be damn funny. I recently saw this video for big whig Re/Max real estate agency. The video post is described as "A discussion between a RE/MAX agent, his client and a competing agent sets the stage for a rap song. Visit www.remax.com to find a professional RE/MAX agent."

While it's definitely not the funniest thing I've ever seen, they actually did a pretty good job at pulling off a convincing and catchy little rap. My current favorite commercial right now, though is the Cheeto's commercial called Site Party. You can tell that construction worker would be a good lay by his dance movies and excellent mustache. What's your favorite current commercial??

In other news, and I mean literally in other news, I saw a most distressing piece of Wisconsin news. I cannot believe this is true. Apparently, women need to be aware that they now can be sexually assaulted with snakes. Thank god they caught that cobra in NY (too soon? just a joke). But, really, what is wrong with some of the men in this world? Why the fuck can't they leave people alone, create a group, and just sexually assault and rape each other? Take a look at the article for the exact story.

Alright, and now, for the song of the day! The Decemberists- Rox in the Box
Best line "We all do what we can- we endure our fellow man." Love it!
The Decemberists will be playing in Madison on April 19th- I will be there. You should be, too!

Song of the day!

2011-04-02T21:59:00.000-07:00

Ahhh!! I only have 4 minutes before it's the next day, and I forgot to throw on a song of the day! (I've decided this is a good way to keep me interested in actually writing each day... and then I forgot, but you know!)

Today's song: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals "Paris (Oh La La)"

Might be turning a new leaf

2011-04-02T17:24:00.000-07:00

I have been told that I am opinionated. Well, who isn't? And, sometimes you declare your opinion and find out later that someone has 'taken offense' simply because they didn't declare their opinion back. Well, that's damn annoying. In any case, I know I used to be worse when I was in high school; if I didn't like it, I damn well said that- a mild example is my avid dislike of country.

Well, I'm not sure if it's because I'm the ripe old age of 25, or if I generally just am becoming more mild, but I've been deliberately trying to expand my experience/run-ins with different genres of books, movies, music, and food. That being said, I've made huge progress. Today is a great example of this. I went to the movies today with six other girls. Six other girls!! Behavior unheard of before this day. Typically I prefer the company of males, so that was new territory. We went to go see the movie Jane Eyre. This is a book I have read, and actually rather disliked/was bored by the book. I thought seeing it visually would make it much more entertaining, and I have to say, I walked away from the movie feeling pretty good about it.

There are parts that are definitely left out, but I thought they were the boring parts anyway. And, Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender) was much, much better looking than the character in the book. While it's not a 'edge of your seat' type movie, it was still entertaining. And, those 6 girls and I got chocolates afterwards (anymore stereotypes to play off of??), so it was quite enjoyable. So, I must be turning a new leaf. Who knows what I will do next?!

Thoughts for the day

2011-04-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

One of my current favorite quotes comes from Steven Erikson. In his 9th book of his 10 book series, A Tale of the Malazan Book of the Fallen, he has a passage about evil. Here it is:

"Does evil exist? Is it a force, some deadly possession that slips into the unwary? Is it a thing separate and thus subject to accusation and blame, distinct from the one it has used? Does it flit from soul to soul, weaving its diabolical scheme in all the unseen places, snarling into knots tremulous fears and appalling opportunity, stark terrors and brutal self-interest?
Or is the dread word nothing more than a quaint and oh so convenient encapsulation of all those traits distinctly lacking moral context, a sweeping generalization embracing all things depraved and breathtakingly cruel, a word to define that peculiar glint in the eye -- the voyeur to one's own delivery of horror, of pain and anguish and impossible grief?
But really. Evil is nothing but a word, an objectification where no objectification is necessary. Cast aside this notion of some external agency as the source of inconceivable inhumanity -- the sad part is our possession of an innate proclivity towards indifference, towards deliberate denial of mercy, towards disengaging all that is moral within us.
But if that is too dire, let's call it evil. And paint it with fire and venom."

I tend to find it is a convenient encapsulation that can be dropped on any person whose actions cannot be explained or one does not want to understand- therefore, I do agree with Erikson. What are your thoughts??

On a more light heartened topic, today is finally Friday! I've been expecting a rejection letter from an interview I had last week- haven't gotten it yet, don't want to get my hopes up. And, I have a phone interview set up for next week. That's a good place to start a weekend! Now I want to go kick it and just have fun!

Song for the day: Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons- Born Again [my friend Colin suggested this local WI band to me, and I really dig this song. The band is from the Appleton area]
Born Again- Cory Chisel and the Wandering Sons

Arcade Fire's good deed

2011-03-31T09:51:00.000-07:00

Our lives are becoming more and more stuffed with advertisements, and it's annoying me more and more. Whether it's a TV show- like American Idol that runs air time for both Coke and Ford in addition to the long commercial breaks, or a music video from sell-out artists- like Avril Lavigne's music video for "What the Hell." VEVO adds an ad before the video, and then there's 3 brands displayed in the video: Lavigne's perfume, designer Abbey Dawn's clothing line, and Sony cameras.

Not subtle product placement

Anyway, this is something that's very easy to bitch about. And, it's only going to get worse. Then, I got a much needed breath of fresh air this morning when I saw this news article from CNN. Arcade Fire play surprise show in Haiti

With all of the crazy disasters the world has experienced in the recent past, it's easy to forget about how earthquake-battered this country still is. The people of Haiti deserved this great night of entertainment, and Arcade Fire has been able to raise more than 1 million dollars in aid funding for relief projects. This is a much better way to highlight your music. Hurray Arcade Fire! I would call this more than just a 'good deed!'

What are friends for? Blogging, apparently.

2011-03-30T23:58:00.000-07:00

The creation of this blog may be attributed directly to my friend, Mandy.

She had an odd request for a group of her friends; she said, "Well, here's the story: my sister has convinced me to Blog Every Day in April (BEDA). It's something one of my favorite Young Adult authors started, and this year I'm up for the challenge. We're trying to get a team of fun, interesting people to be a part of our BEDA team."

Naturally, this first attempt to get me to blog did not work. So, she threw in a personalized "You are funny and have interesting stuff to talk about. I think you'd be fun to read. Just saying." Almost the same thing as the group message, but for some reason, it changed my mind.

Thus, I am doing this as a favor for a friend. It's the right thing to do. But, I also hope to dash my prejudices against blogging, and perhaps entertain, enlighten, and/or encourage people along the way.
Oh, and I guess I need to add that not all blogs are created equally and there are many shades of quality, content, and value.