A Repost: Horror Flicks

This is a repost from The Horror Movie Blog, and I just wanted to plop it down right here, since I know a lot of people don't read that blog. As far as I know, I'm the only person who has read that blog. But it's just for my own gratification, so don't feel pressured. I know the macabre is not for everybody.

***

The one thing that horror movie fans cannot forget is that the movie industry itself is a profit-driven business. Just like any other form of entertainment media, movies are always a step behind the culture and not as creative as they would have you believe.

Take comic book movies, for example. There's a good one now and again - The 300 is a good example - but for the most part, they're all crap. See Ghost Rider. Well, don't see it. I wouldn't wish that on you.

But those of you who are relishing the surge of horror movies in the last several years, take heed:

It's hit the top of the hill. It's only going to start going down from here. It's the sad truth, and I will be the first to admit that I hate seeing it happen this way. But it was a good run and there will be another one someday. Horror movies just aren't pulling in the numbers that they were a few years ago, so it was bound to happen.

I'm sorry.

But I did find a cool panel on the Austin 360 site:

Panel of the Dead: Horror Films of Today: A dissection of how low-budget horror is killing at the box office, and how it might be at the apex of its powers. With father-son team Harry Jay Knowles and Harry Knowles (Ain't It Cool News), Eli Roth ("Hostel"), Scott Weinberg (eFilmCritic Networks), Scott Glosserman ("Behind the Mask"), Lauren Moews ("Borderland"). Roth will show a sneak peek of "Hostel II." (3 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Room 16AB, ACC)

I would love to go to that. But, for those of you who are saddened, I do have some news I'm excited about. I don't know how you will feel about it, but I'm ecstatic.

Kevin Smith is set to make a horror movie. Yep, that's right. Apparently, he's shooting two movies back-to-back - a horror and a romantic comedy - and they will come out whoknowswhen.

I'm happy, even though I think some of you may be groaning.

The comedy is actually a romantic comedy script Smith wrote with Rosario Dawson in mind to star. Smith says the budget for that project will be more than Clerks II ($5 million) but less than Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back ($22 million). So we’re guessing it will be in the safe $15-18 million range. We previously reported that Smith was looking to film part of one of his next movies in Minnesota because he needs snow. This would gel with his New York Comic Con comment.

Say what you will. This will definitely be interesting.

Also, I'm going to be posting this on the Jinx Protocol Blog, as well.

Driving Me Crazy

I like to link to things. I admit it. Hell, I have to; you've seen it.

But now that everything has gotten so cluttered, I want to have a 3-column blog. The only problem is that a lot of the ones alreay out there suck. I like my template; I just want to add another column.

Is that too much to ask?

Okay, so now off my soapbox. I'll be back to post something later.

Some People Really Don't Get Irony

I don't necessarily think I'm the ultimate skeptic - that would be an awfully arrogant thing to say - but I do think that I hold my views very dear and that some of them, most of them, actually, have been borne out of years of questioning society and social norms.

Someone at my workplace told me yesterday that I needed to "question things more." This person barely knows me, and I doubt he really questions things very much himself.

It all started because I got a fact about Rush Limbaugh wrong around him - he is a staunch conservative - and he found the right answer on the internet. Angrily, I might add (He's a lot older than I am. Twice my age, actually).

See, I'd told him that the ACLU had defended Rush in court. In actuality, they had only filed a "friend of the court" document on his behalf, defending his 1st amendment rights. Now, they didn't technically defend him in court - they weren't his lawyers - so I decided to let him have that.

But later in the afternoon, we argued about something else and pulled me into his office (did I mention that he's much higher up in the hierarchy than I am?).

The basic crux of what he said was that I needed to question social policies. Well, that's not it. Basically, he was saying that if I were to question what I believe, then I'd probably come to conservative conclusions.

How hilarious is that? I didn't get angry, but I did have a few hours of self-doubt, until I realized that it was idiotic to let a man's opinion of me make me doubt myself, especially if that man doesn't really know me very well.

Can Bush Really Imagine This?

*A while back, a mix of George Bush "singing" Imagine got passed around the liberal airwaves, and somehow a video version ended up on YouTube.*

I don't know if any of you will like this video, but maybe you should give it a chance. It's pretty chilling.

There are some pretty disturbing moments in it, and some bad language as well, so watch with caution. But who would have ever guessed that we'd get our President, George W. Bush, singing a re-mixed version of John Lennon's Imagine?



I'm not a Peacenik, but I do think there's at least some validation in not starting war for little to no reason. I've disagreed with this policy since the very outset of the war, although I, for one, trusted the President in March of 2003 when our war against Iraq started.

PS: I've included another video - which is another version entirely - at the MySpace Blog. Stop by if you get the chance.

A Ban on Paris Hilton? Where do I Sign Up?

The AP has finally tired of Paris Hilton. What took it so damned long, I ask. Apparently, the AP has decided that, unless it is n-e-w-s, the AP wires will no longer cover Paris Hilton. That's a shame. What's even more sickening is that it is now news to report that Paris Hilton is no longer news. How does that make any sense whatsoever?

The wire service's entertainment editor Jesse Washington sent a memo to staffers on Feb. 13 that said, barring any major events, the AP would not run any mention of Paris Hilton on the wire, according to the memo, which was obtained by the New York Observer.

Good riddance. But this is nothing new. Americans have always had a predilection for tawdry gossip. Our celebrities are our Royal Family, so we have to project onto their lives. It sucks, but it's the sort of thing that's always going to happen, I'm afraid, so don't get used to the idea that gossip will somehow go downhill without the airy heiress to keep your tv screen full.

Politics: A Meta-Blog

Hey out there in BloggerLand, how are things?

I tried to not let the blog get into too much political talk - there's so much out there already - but I couldn't help myself.

SO, in the grand spirit of forgiveness, give me a little, please? It just comes out sometimes, without warning, and I am just a conduit for what spews forth. I'm sorry. That's just me.

I at least try to find things that are interesting and haven't been plastered everywhere already, but I'm going to put a little effort into blogging about something else for a change in the future, unless I feel like talking Politics, that is.

Because I do like things other than the big P word. Movies, books, my two puppy dawgs, etc.

So, I guess this blog isn't about anything really but my own self-indulgence, a meta-blog, if you will. I'll be blogging some mo' later. I have something to say about Welfare Reform. Surprisingly enough, I'm for Welfare Reform.

John McCain - Back by Popular Demand

I guess my biggest problem with John McCain has more to do with my own political development than anything else. He's changing his alliances to become a solid candidate, and I guess I've never witnessed someone change so much - and yet, not so much - before my very eyes.

I think John McCain's a good person, but I'm beginning to question whether or not he'll be a good candidate. But, then again, I'm not a conservative, so I don't know that I'm the best barometer when it comes to this stuff. Maybe Mccain's a helluva candidate.

For further reading, vist therealmccain.com

Done!

I'll post something longer later, but I just wanted to say that I'm done with the first draft of my second book! Hurray! God, I could run laps around my house right now, if I weren't sick and it weren't raining.

Why I Could Not Live in Walla Walla, Washington

Fiwa, you may be able to shed some light on this subject that I cannot, because it has to do with inclimate weather. Does it rain a lot in Washington?

See, right now in Athens, GA, it's raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock, and I am about to lose my mind. It's been pouring all day, and I feel the onset of flu-like symptoms coming on.

Which, I might add, do not make me the happiest of campters. But, I suppose if I get a free day from work out of it, then it is worth it, but otherwise it'll just suck to work in crappy weather with a crappy cold. It's not like I haven't done it before.

Other than that, work sucks and I don't want to do anything fun because of the weather, so I will do what I did yesterday, which is invest a lot of time reading. I can't eve go jogging and it's killing me, so bear with me through all of this.

Luckily for you all, I don't even feel like talking about Politics today, although I am curious about the Columbine bomb threat that went down today. That happened EIGHT years ago (which speaks more to my age than anything else). Is every event that happens there newsworthy?

I dunno. Maybe I'm cynical and think that they should leave that poor damn place alone for once. Otherwise, the mouth breathers similar to the ones who committed the atrocity in 1999 will continue to spark controversy.

A Great Big Dose of Free-Floating Hostility. . .

. . .Isn't that just fantastic? Because I left my laptop at my girlfriend's house, you all get to hear about the things that are just plain getting on my nerves!

How is it that right-wingers can so inconspicuously wrap themselves in the flag and then turn around and bash anything American when they get the chance, including the troops? The story about troops being held in deplorable conditions at Walter Reed Hospital is gaining some momentum, and apparently it's up to "The Drive-By Media" to report only when soldiers get bad care instead of the type of care that they deserve.

Uber-Conservative swine Sean Hannity begged to wonder why all of the cases where soldiers fully recovered weren't covered in the media, like anything positive is ever reported in situations like these. If people like Sean Hannity really Support the Troops, as if some people don't actually do that, then why wouldn't he be outraged by this? Vermin (i.e. rats) and bugs were crawling around in the same rooms as troops in one section of Walter Reed.

People, especially journalists (I'm sorry, journalists, for lumpin Sean Hannity in with you) love the truth until it contradicts what they "believe."

Belief will be the downfall of this nation. Morons and Politicos with "gut feelings" who put themselves first will be the first to set this nation of ours on fire.

Hey, look over there. I see some puppy dogs and flower petals. I can at least try to take the piss out of my anger, but it doesn't seem to work. Good Day.

Communistic Grievances

Today's debate in Georgia is about the new HPV shot that the state legislature is trying to get passed for sixth-grade girls.

HPV, which is a leading cause for cervical cancer in women, now has a vaccine shot that would be mandatory, unless the parents opted out for religious reasons.

Opponents claim that it will lead to higer numbers of promiscuity in teens. Which makes sense, because anytime I got a tetanus shot growing up, I'd immediately go out and start stomping on nails. Because I was immune. Duh.

I think this boils down to controlling women's sexuality, and, since this is my blog, you better be damn well prepared to hear my opinion!

It's very subtle. Opponents are saying that, once these upcoming SIXTH graders get the shot, they're going to get hopped up on Boone's Farm and head to the nearest barn with a slew of guys. You know, I can't count on my fingers and toes the times that it happened when I was ELEVEN.

Of any profession, the medical one, I would say, has the least amount of influence over young women, especially women reaching adolescence. Unless, of course, the doctor, after giving the shot, points at the girl's crotch and says, "Now you should go test that thing out!"

Gross, but true. Look at it this way. The people who oppose this kind of legislation are the same people who think that video games cause violence in teenagers, which is an inherent fallacy. Video Games don't make kids violent. Violent kids play video games. Girls who are more likely to be promiscuous are going to be that way whether or not they have the shot. Most, I would think, would act in a rational manner about this.

And the opinion of people at my work. "I think it's 'communitic' to force all girls to take a shot," one woman claimed. "If you don't want HPV, don't be a slut," she continued.

I guess I can't argue with that logic. Maybe it's for that very reason that over 1 in 4 women have the disease.

Got the Resume Blues

I've been working on a Resune for the last few weeks - well, off and on - and I finally thought I had a really solid one.

But apparently that is not the case.

I e-mailed it to someone who sees a lot of resumes, and he blasted it! Well, he gave 'constructive criticism' but I still have a lot of work to do on it.

Did I mention that I hate working on resumes. It's one of the most pointless activities on the face of the planet. Employers look at resumes for about, uh, 20 seconds. It's ridiculous.

Okay, now that I'm done bitchin'.

How's the weekend going? Fine, I suppose. They always go by too fast. Hey, but it's Oscar Weekend! I don't watch the Oscars but I can tell you what won't win Best Picture: The Departed. Oscar voters hate Marty Scorsese. He's been gypped for every film he's put out there. And, come on, you can't tell me that Ordinary People was better than Raging Bull. That was a great movie.

Oh well, see why I can't watch the Oscars? It gets me all discombobulated. I hate, hate, hate, hate award shows. I give these morons (actors) hundreds of my dollars a year. That's how I congratulate them. Sorry. There I go again.

I watched Lucky Number Slevin last night. It was pretty good. Also, so was Along Came Polly, but I'd already seen that a dozen times. "Let it RAIN!!!

The Best Kind of Pizza? Free Pizza.

It's a bummy sort of Saturday night. I don't really plan on doing anything but stuffing my face with pizza and watching mooovies with the gal-pal. But those are good once in a while.

Also, since there seems to be some confusion on the NYC situation, I guess I'll need to clarify: not this year. Hold your boos until I've finished. I know. It's a bummer, but LP and I couldn't get the money 'thing' right. There was no way we'd be able to save the money to move up there anytime soon, so it will have to wait. But it will happen sometime in the near future, I promise.

Phew. It's so hard to say that out loud/not out loud. Oh, and update on my personal accomplishments (Conversely, hold your applause): I hit the 300 page mark on the second novel. In fact, I'm almost 320 pages in now. Awesome!

I ran nearly 4 miles the other day pretty much nonstop. I'm well on my way back to the top.

Oh well, I guess that's it. Not too shabby, though, right? I hope the rest of your collective weekend goes well, Blogosphere. Don't be a stranger. But if you do, be a stranger with candy. I gotta go get a pizza.

Random - DJ, The Celtics, and Gym Dogs

I'm only a casual basketball fan, but I was adamant about NBA in the eighties. Why wouldn't I have been? Larry Bird, "Magic" Johnson, Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Isaiah Thomas, Dominique from down in Atlanta...

But one of the people who got overlooked is Dennis Johnson. Don't know who he is? Well, if you watch the clip below, from one of the top 10 coolest plays ever, Dennis Johnson - or DJ, as he was more commonly known - is the guy who takes the pass from Larry Bird and lays it up for the win against the Pistons.

Dennis Johnson passed away yesterday, the victim of a heart attack, and it is a shame. He should be in the Hall of Fame. Not because he's dead, no no. No, he should be in for a lot of other reasons.



But anyway, so the weekend is coming up, and I'm going to a Gym Dogs meet tonight. Actually, it'll be in about an hour or so. In addition to Tennis and Equestrian, Gymnastics is one of the things that UGA dominates in. Excuse me: dominates. We don't win national titles in football, baseball, or basketball, by God, but if you meet us in a Gym, we're just about positively going to kick your ass!

No, but in all seriousness, the Gym Dogs are great and I hope we stomp Auburn's ass tonight. You see, the great thing is that Gymnastics blends two of my favorite things in the world: Sports and women. What could be better? And with chicks that could probably kick my ass? Priceless.

Absolutely Nothing - The End of a Cat's Balls

The reasons my blogs have been so few and far between over the last week or so is because I don't really have anything exciting going on. Work is going well, just plugging along, and my personal life is just peachy. I hit 60,000 words in the first draft of my newest book. That's cool, I guess, albeit a bit pretensious sounding...

Uh...my roommate got his cat fixed. Bob Barker would be proud about that, I suppose. I would sing a song for the cat's lost, uh, junk but I'm terrible at writing lyrics. It would go something like:

Hey Conan, his name is Conan the Cat
I've watched all your falls
I remember when you couldn't jump up on the couch
And now they've cut off your balls

It's a sad, sad world
where people live in straw huts
I've got a sweet-ass house on Milledge
why can't you find both your nuts

La la la la la
La la la la la lotum
You act kind of weird
when you don't have a scrotum

Anyway, something like that.

Oh, I had to pay in this year on my federal taxes. Yep. $4.00. Isn't that kewl? I have to admit that I was extremely put-off at first - I've never not gotten money back - but this past year was also my first year out of school and I get very little in taxes taken out, so I had to expect it. But I'm not against taxes, so it's all right. Had it been, like, two hundred dollars, I probably would have been royally pissed.

But oh well.

Once something interesting comes up, I'll be sure and tell you. Thanks for stopping by. See ya tomorrow.

Mardi Gras

I've been really slack over the last few days, but I've been trying to crank out the last fifty or so pages of the first draft of my second novel, so...

Sorry. So Sorry.

I hope things have been well in BloggerLand. Mardi Gras is today, and I don't know of any way to celebrate it well in Athens, GA. I'm a half-decade older than most of the people going out tonight, and I just plain don't feel like going through that nonsense. I'm just...so...old now.

Relatively speaking. I'm not old in the, I've got to have my MediLert in case I break my hip, stage, but I definitely have the mid-twenties Blues.

Nothing a little beer-drinking can't handle. But nothing big. I can't handle the thought of looking at co-ed boobs right now. Pity me, huh?

Bear with me while I go through this dark period in my life.

Melt Your Cold, Cold Heart

My life is such a paradoxical adventure. For instance, take my geographical situation. All indicators point to the notion that maybe I'm a Northern soul. I grew up in the South, hated Country music (though I don't anymore), never really owned a pair of boots of my own, and I hated stereotypes (!).

Okay, so that's not an accurate description of the South, either. But I've always had this feeling I should be somewhere else. New York, I think, has been calling me my whole life, even though in my childhood New York, especially New York City, was like a foreign planet or something.

But, I've got to tell you, I can't stand cold weather. I just can't. I might as well be in Antartica as Georgia right now, and it's only 26 degrees. Well, that's not too shabby. Way to go, Athens!

But, either way, we're not having record snowfall and cold and such down here, and even the mildness of our winter is crazy to me.

But, someday, I do plan on living in New York City, whether I can stand the cold or not. It's not a matter of choice. It's fate, damnit! Sorry, I just wanted to complain about how cold it is for a little while. I hope you didn't mind.

Happy Heart Day

I probably won't be able to post anything tomorrow, so you get to hear from me tonight instead.

Today I saw a car that actually had a license plate tag that read "FRODO - 1". Can you believe it?

I didn't, so I had to follow that car. I had to find out what a person who has a FRODO 1 tag looks like. It was my first foray into investigative journalism, and I came out looking like a fool.

Turns out, it was an elderly couple gettin out of the car. I felt really pathetic, because I thought, for some reason, that, like, a real-life equivalent of Dilbert would jump out of the car. Alas, no, it was two old people, and I felt like a complete jackass.

But I did get a good kick out of it. Oh, and this post, so I guess it wasn't a complete loss, now was it?

I'll be back to beat idiocy down on Thursday. Until then, you can enjoy all of my previous posts or join MySpace and be a friend.

Because It's Sunday. . .

. . .You get the Scissor Sisters. Why not, eh?



I don't know why I like this song so much, but I do. It puts me in a good mood, and that's always fun. And, just to be honest, I don't actually feel like dancing, even if I had nothin' better to do.

The Scissor Sisters is? are? a guilty pleasure for me, and for most guys, I guess, so it doesn't make it that bad.

Funny story: I bought their second record while shopping for Christmas presents, so I could keep up the illusion that it was a gift for someone else.

But a friend of mine said he had to buy it on iTunes to avoid getting it in public.

Now, don't mistake me; I'm not homophobic or anything. Some of the band members in Scissor Sisters are gay, and some of them are straight. That's not my concern. It's just way too...something. I don't know.

At first, I thought it would be the equivalent of bringing home a neo-disco record - which is what I thought it was - but I was pleasantly surprised. Some of the songs have a lot of depth and musicality to them. The lyrics are also great.

So now I feel embarrassed that I was ever embarrassed to get it. The Scissor Sisters is not just a party band. Egg on my head.

The Black Dahlia

I just got finished watching The Black Dahlia, and it's late so I thought I'd post something to cheer myself up before going to bed.

It freaked me out a little, because that sh*t really happened, cuz! But I thought De Palma's adaptation wasn't bad - it was convoluted, methinks - but it lacked in certain areas.

I watched the documentary about it, and that's what really made me uneasy. Talking about the actual crime sent me into a weird little tailspin. Yeeecck. They showed the pictures from the crime scene and everything. How could anyone do something like that?

Okay, I feel somewhat better now. Goodnight.

An Advocate for NOT Recycling

I don't recycle.

I'm sorry.

In fact, I am a staunch supporter of those who do not recycle.

I am also an advocate for reducing waste in this country, which, I think, is the bigger problem. In another paradoxical statement, I also consider myself an environmentalist. Ha! Isn't that crazy?

Recycling is a bane to the American people's existence, and I just don't see myself doing it in the near future. The truth is, recycling costs taxpayers money and it pollutes the Earth.

What? Yeah, it's true. Well, at least it's true with paper. Paper mills that recycle create more air pollution than mills that just create paper originally.

And so on.

I know it sounds crazy and that I'm really insensitive, but - sadly - it's the truth. I've been researching this issue for quite some time now, and, though it sounds backwards, I'm confident in what I believe.

On January 1, placing more than 10 percent recyclable materials into a garbage bin became illegal in Seattle. An offending bin is tagged with a bright yellow slip that announces, "Recycle. It's not garbage anymore." The un-emptied bin is then left at the curb in hopes that the homeowner will learn the lesson and remove the reusable material by next week's collection. Businesses that offend three times are fined $50.

he truth, though, is that recycling is an expense, not a savings, for a city. "Every community recycling program in America today costs more than the revenue it generates," says Dr. Jay Lehr of the Heartland Institute.

A telling indicator is that cities often try to dump recycling programs when budgets are tight. As Angela Logomasini, director of risk and environmental policy at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, points out in the Wall Street Journal, every New York City mayor has attempted to stop the city's recycling program since it was begun in 1989. Mayor David Dinkins tried, but changed his mind when met with noisy criticism. Rudy Giuliani tried, but was sued by the Natural Resources Defense Council, which won the case. Mayor Bloomberg has proposed temporarily ending the recycling program because, as Logomasini notes, it costs $240 per ton to recycle and only $130 per ton to send the material to a landfill. The numbers for other areas are roughly comparable. The net per-ton cost of recycling exceeds $180 in Rhode Island, while conventional garbage collection and disposal costs $120 to $160 per ton.

You can also read John Tierney's article 'Recycling is Garbage' by clicking here.

Tell me what you think. I'll be blogging about this more later, as it has engulfed me.

It's Already in Wikipedia

Man, the world is moving much faster than it used to. I don't want to be insensitive about the death of Anna Nicole Smith, but I'd like to relate it to something else, if I may.

Wikipedia is offering something that was previously impossible: real-time historical chronicling.

Okay, so it's not totally 'real-time' but it is just about as close as it can get. Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead at 2:49 pm today, and her Wikipedia has already been updated.

I know what you're thinking: So f*cking what. But it's almost eerie just how quickly these things can work themselves into the Historical Lexicon.

It worries me, but it is also comforting in a way. I mean, her death is already in the books, man. That's kind of scary. She's barely even dead and already her story has been completely told (except for the autopsy, of course). It would frighten the hell of out me...if I were Terry Bradshaw.

Think about what happened a few weeks ago in the Terry Bradshaw 'thing.' Someone could have royally screwed up what really happened there.

If you don't know, someone died in a car wreck on the 'Terry Bradshw Passway' and it got reported on the local news that Terry Bradshaw had 'passed away'."

Now, there is no mention of the incident on the Wikipedia page, but I wonder if there ever was. I don't know any record of it, but I'd be willing to bet that something was placed on there at some point and had to be taken out.

Odd, isn't it?

Prince: The New Enemy #1?

Last night, after I returned a book at Borders, I drove to LP's house. That's not important, but what I was listening on the radio is.

I consider myself a Progressive Libertarian - I don't know if that makes any sense - but I have a strange predilection for right-wing talk radio. I can't stand it - I think the hosts are, for the most part, wrong - but I can't help but listen to it anyway. I feel as though I am a fly-on-the-wall at the enemy's meetings.

Anyway, Laura Ingraham, who I dislike, was talking about the Super Bowl. She was outraged that Prince, of all people, had played the Super Bowl. She thought that he was too, I don't know, controversial for the Halftime Show, which I think is odd, because Prince hasn't been controversial in two decades, has he?

Whether you like Prince or not (or whatever you want to call him), you have to admit that he's not controversial, right? He's two decades removed from Eminem and 50 Cent and so on. It's not quite Paul McCartney, but it's not Marilyn Manson, either, you know?

So Laura asked for callers on the subject, and many of them were astonished that more people weren't outraged that Prince was playing the Super Bowl. They were suggesting all sorts of artists and bands who should have been there instead of Prince - one lady actuall said Earth, Wind, and Fire - and it was crazy just how out-of-touch these morons are.

And, for some reason, when they talked about controversial artists, they degraded Janet Jackson over and over, but not once did they mention Justin Timberlake. Was he not the one who pulled her bra-ish-thingy off? Was he not performing that night too? Or is it just because it was her breast that was revealed that these people only remember her?

Or is it because Janet Jackson is black and they are Republicans? Just a thought, people. Get your dander down.

I am apt to think that Republicans are becoming the new whiners in the nation, getting farther ahead than some leftist groups, especially when it comes to social issues. They complain and get so appalled all the time, and they use their children as the lynchpins in these arguments.

"We've got to do this for our children!!!" It's sickening. These people don't care about their children. They just want to hop up and down about something and blame their poor parenting skills on other people. Namely, THE LEFT, which, obviously, is a lot more powerful and clandestine than I first thought. The party that couldn't even beat the most unpopular president since Herbert Hoover, and here It is, using black breasts to subvert the democracy.

Maybe I should be committed. I play Doom 3. I played Doom 2 and Doom when they came out. I even played Castle Wolfenstein, fighting to destroy Hitler's regime. I listened to Marilyn Manson...sometimes. I still listen to bands like Cannibal Corpse and In Flames. I used to watch movies on Cinemax at Midnight on Fridays (Yeah!). I've seen The Exorcist, Seven, Evil Dead, and Halloween over a hundred times in my life, probably. I read books about serial killers (and still do), murderers, heinous crimes, and so on and so forth.

Hell, come to think of it, I amd more controversial than Prince.

In a Dilly of a Pickle

I've been looking at getting a second job lately, mostly because I wanted some extra hours to help pay off my credit card debt. I've been paying monthly minimums for too long, and I don't want to continue doing that. It's just wasting money.

So, jobs that are open in the evening were just about my only options, and, of those places, another bookstore seemed the right direction. It would be like going from one frying pan into the other frying pan, if you get my drift.

I applied at a particular chain establishment a week and a half ago, and I got a callback today, which is a good thing, I guess. I expected a little longer turnaround from application to first call, but that's okay.

The only problem is, the hours for the job are all wrong. I expected to work part-time, evening and weekend shifts, and instead they hit me with an eleven to seven or twelve to eight shift, and I don't know how well I can handle such a thing, especially at a dollar-and-a-half pay cut. It doesn't seem likely that I'll be able to do that, but I'd like the interview experience, since I don't have any "real" interview experience like that.

I go in for an interview tomorrow, so I'm already thinking of the questions they'll ask me. I don't know. I don't know when I should tell them, "Hey, I don't think this is going to work out, because I'll be working odd hours for a pay cut." I can't be rude, I wouldn't be anyway, but I just am not sure when I'm supposed to drop the knowledge on them.

Well, that's good to get off my chest. Thanks.

Yet Another Reason not to Wrestle

No, I'm not talking about the parade of stereotypes that draws in adolescent white males every year to the strange sport of wrestling. I wish it were that simple.

You can read this article by clicking on this sentence, or you can just help yourself to my own humorous musings over this story.

Apparently, high school wrestling in Minnesota has been canceled because of an outbreak of - and I kid you not - a type of herpes called Herpes Gladiatorum" among male wrestlers.

-- commonly known as mat herpes because wrestlers are particularly susceptible -- is caused by contact with the same common herpes simplex virus that produces cold sores.

A rash on the face or upper body is sometimes accompanied by itchiness, fever and sore throat, and it can cause blindness if it reaches the eyes. Some victims suffer recurring bouts throughout their lives.

A spokeswoman for the American College of Sports Medicine said it was putting together a public education campaign about how to spot and contain outbreaks.Herpes gladiatorum -- commonly known as mat herpes because wrestlers are particularly susceptible -- is caused by contact with the same common herpes simplex virus that produces cold sores.

A rash on the face or upper body is sometimes accompanied by itchiness, fever and sore throat, and it can cause blindness if it reaches the eyes. Some victims suffer recurring bouts throughout their lives.

A spokeswoman for the American College of Sports Medicine said it was putting together a public education campaign about how to spot and contain outbreaks.

Okay, so it's not a sexual type of herpes, so I'm partially saddened, but, hey, at least it's a trifle bit more hilarious than the bombs in Boston, eh?