On a Tuesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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