I have trouble believing that the average werewolf could stand living in a big city for any extended period of time. Oh, I can do vampires, I’ve always wondered why the nasal passages not only avoided decomposition, but actually got better. Yet for any of the animalistic beasties how could you stand it? Wolfbane nose balm to dull the senses perhaps? Or maybe the urban fantasy homeless wolf man bit works best. Get yourself stinking so badly you can’t smell anything beyond yourself.
To be fair, animals do live in the cities. From pets to birds to rats to the wild things that have nowhere to go but the garbage bins when they are looking for dinner. I suppose if raccoons and coyotes can brave a city out of necessity, so could a loopy garou. Perhaps even the smells that turn a human stomach smell delightful to something on four legs. Still, a city would have to be an assault on the senses. Especially if we are following the cursed mythology, where they start as human and then burst into their new senses. Sounds a great way to end up right in the mental care ward.
Where did todays line of randomness come from? A new and exciting book or movie? No, unfortunately. Although I do hear they are doing a wolf man remake that looks intriguing. You see, today was a rainy day, and a slow, drizzly rain at that. After a few hours the French Quarter starts to smell somewhat like an aquarium with a burnt out filter, right at the point where any sane goldfish would try to evolve wings in a desperate attempt to escape. Between wet mule leavings and drenched trash cans, I felt my nose shut down in whimpering protest and wanted nothing more than to curl up with a bone under the couch.
Hey, I said in the beginning this would be an odd and random blog.
It’s been a random and frustrating week, full of conflicts internal and external. I try to find my joy in simple and strange thoughts and events. There was a lovely trio on Royal St. last night singing Day O with such rhythm that Belafonte would have smiled and joined on in. I stayed, I tipped, I danced a few steps knowing full well I can’t dance and not giving a damn. It did my mood wonders.
That was last night. Today it was rain, and me having to dash through my errands so I could get out of it before nausea overwhelmed me. Most days I can shut out the sounds and smells of the city to protect sanity. Today, not so much, but I can take the miserable experience and twist it into a ramble to amuse myself. Hopefully the same nuttiness will amuse others as well.
Todays question to throw out there, modern adaptation of myth, anyone have any favorites? Not so much the big stories that have been redone, like who is doing the most recent King Arthur. More along the lines of taking small bits of folklore and weaving them into a new setting. One of my favorites was always Poul Anderson’s Operation Chaos, with a witch who used to work marketing pr to convince elementals and spirits to obey modern symbols, and a werewolf who uses a Kodak brand moon flash that lets him transform any day of the week. Any favorite examples or even random ideas from out there in the ether?
Again, end of year ritual…Making Resolution
However, let me review this soon to be passed 2009, have I achieved the end of year 2008 resolution?
I don’t quite remember the resolution I made though… I’m sure I scribbled it down somewhere, but I can’t find it …
Anyhow… let me just write down things that I think I had made resolution on…
I’m sure I made the resolution to move on and make peace to my past. So I’m happy to say that I have achieved it…. Not fully, I would be boastful if I said that I have 100 percent succeeding in that area…The road to peace is rocky. My past came back to life at most unpredictable time, and to make it worse, some new facts were disclosed. I stumbled few times, fell down, but thankfully I regained the strength to stand back up and walk forward. And by the end of this year, I am happy to say that at least I’m over it, by 90 percent or maybe more.. who knows. Thank’s to Him and him.
What else…. Travelling-related resolution, I don’t remember making any resolution on travelling…but I MUST had made travel resolution… I had to be crazy if I didn’t. Well, on this, I must say 2009 was a good year. Although not much travelling this year but I went to some awesome places… I visited Japan, the visit was a WOW…. And then I went to Singapore for the very first time… it’s weird, I mean, having my sister worked there for 2 years plus now, didn’t really encourage me to visit the country. But then, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical show CATS is showing on the esplanade… now, that made Singapore worth to visit. The show was also, off course, a WOW. It was awesome… And I did some domestic travelling… suppose to visit South Korea this last year but it was cancelled. All in all, 2009 was a very good year when it comes to travel…
Job-related resolution, again, I don’t remember for exact what kind of resolution I have made on this area, whether I made one or not…. But things have been smooth sailing, although some small storms did happen, but nothing I couldn’t handle. It’s not at the very best the way I had wished it to be, but it’s not too bad either… although now I’m not so sure on the “smooth sailing” thing… perhaps actually it was and is not smooth sailing after all, even though the surface is smooth and calm, the current down under is viciously brutal, I have began to learn that. I have to take some action of precaution, which would become one of my next year resolutions.
Okay, what else… my money habit. I must say I’m quite happy in this area. No no no, I’m not turning into some super rich freak…. Not yet… I wish I would though…. But I think my money habit is getting better. I’m not so sloppy as I used to, spending money without much thoughts and no regards at all to long term financial planning. I would say, 2009 is the year I started to step in to a wiser plate in the term of financial planning. 2009 is only the starting point, I hope it gets better by this coming year 2010. and ow, the highlight… I invest in property…. (yeah yeah yeah, long term debt sucks, but I hope I can manage). It was a surprise of occurrence. I mean, who would expect that I actually able to manage the cash flow and come to a decision that I’m actually ready for it, owning a house….
Last but not least… on relationship term…. Well… it’s been great, with some ups and downs….. but well…. no meaningful progress… I guess we are now at square 2 or 3 or somewhere around it, while by this time we should have been at square 5 already. Things have just been difficult in some area, we cannot do anything but cope. It’s been going on for so long at some points it feels like walking on a big plateau, where I cannot or have not seen the finish line on the horizon.. Sometimes i feel like walking together, but other times i feel like I’m walking alone… I just hope and pray I walk at the right direction and not get lost or giving up in the middle of the journey… but really… I do hope to see silver lining soon… very soon….
Wow… it’s long….
I better put a stop here…
Reading for too long is not good for one’s health…
“What we’re trying to do now is make art without fear”
Radiohead is one of those bands that you either get or you don’t. To “get” Radiohead is quite a beautiful and rewarding thing. My love affair with this band is ,by far, one of the musical highlights of my decade. In the new Rolling Stone magazine, Radiohead lovers can enjoy a deeper look into the heart and mind of Radiohead. Click here.
It’s Sunday December 27 and the Hallmark Channel has on it remake after remake of “A Christmas Carol”. Each one worst than the one before it. I’m not against remakes of movies but, if your going to do one, make it good. I really like the 1951 Orignal Version with Alastair Sim and the new Disney Animated 3D Version out this year, with Jim Carey as Scrooge. All the others just don’t do it for me.
But i only bought two items beacause people cannot be bothered waiting for me to decide.
And thats why eh i think eh even though you sometimes malas nak layan i eh bi, you’re still the most bestest person to go shopping with lah. i repeat, SOMETIMES LAH. like the times when you still can sabar when i keep asking you “this one ke this one, this one ke that one, i dont knowww, faster la help me chooseeeee, which oneeeeeee, and even if you say this one i still wont listen to youuuu, but still help meee” and youre still beside me smiling, holding the two bajus up for me to choose. Aaaahhh. like those times eh, i cherish you like a thousand times more lah. nyeh nyeh nyeh.
And i have a strong feeling that im going back to cotton on these few days to get more stuff.
And cb, i dont know what to wear on Friday and Saturday.
Like as if its such a big deal la kan what i wear -.-
Girls are pure idiots lah, but what to do.
I love clothes (and bags and shoes and bangles and makeup) more than i love you.
No laaaaaaaaa, i joking only.
You’re like the wings beneath my wings, youre like the sun then shines on me, youre like the nice (cotton on) sweater that keeps me warm, youre like the spirit that keeps me moving, youre like the one that completes me, youre like the one and makes life a reason to continue. REALLY LAH OKAY. NOT THE CLOTHES. YOU BI YOU! -.-
p.s. I want a dress from F21 pretty pleaseeeeeeeeeeee.
Hope you’re all enjoying this holiday weekend (and next). Beck and I have been maxing and relaxing after a month of preparations and craziness. To be honest, that’s the part I enjoy most. Now that it’s partway over, I’m somewhat bummed. But I’ll take this day of non-activity. It’s about 2:30 and I’m still in my pajamas. No complaints here.
The beauty of having WordPress as a host is that they provide a great stat page to fill me in on everything that goes on with the site. With the year winding down, let’s take a look back at the top 3 most viewed posts of 2009. I personally would have thought that the most viewed and linked-to posts would be either event coverage from Nisei, or even Eibach 09. It’s not. And I kinda wish it was because the top two are all hate-crime and vandalism-related, which is really unfortunate. It sucks that we have to see these types of things occur but that’s just the reality of the world we live in. Whether it be cars or normal life, there’s always someone doing some dumb shit and trying to bring other’s down. If it were up to me, I would never have to post this stuff but hey, people need to be informed of these kinds of situations.
When I say, most viewed, I mean that these are by far the most viewed. Like other posts aren’t even close, probably because they were linked every on the net…
#1 Most Viewed (3800+ hits) – “Hate at it’s worst…A truly tragic event…”
For those of you who don’t remember this, long story short, a guy wakes up one morning to go to his S2000 and finds it’s completely vandalized inside and out. Anti-semitic stuff is carved all over the paint and cut into the seats, all hoses and lines in the engine bay were cut, and sugar in the gas tank…just to name a few. There were plenty more terrible things done to it but you can view the original link to see all the gruesome details.
I’m not 100% sure what happened afterwards but last time I checked, the guy ended up getting an MKIV Supra and was a happy camper again. Best of luck to that guy in the future….
#2 Most Viewed (3,400+ hits) - “Do you understand the consequences of your actions?…”
This one jumped up the charts quick…probably because it involved one of our own guys. I don’t really care to talk about the situation anymore and you guys can click on the original link if you want to see it, but this matter is still yet to be resolved and there’s a lot of stuff that I either can’t or would rather not discuss anymore.
Update on our side however, is that Ross’s xB is pretty much fucked. Keyed all over, side to side, front to back, hell even the top of the bumpers and lights were keyed up. Pretty much ruined the car for the guy. He’s been through so much with that car and it’s actually about to be paid off and it’s tainted now. Whenever I talk to him about it, he doesn’t even want to fix it anymore. It’s just collecting dust now and on steelies…what a fucking waste….
Shit like this shows that there is no justice in this world… Kids that have all their shit paid for and never work hard for anything can fuck up another man’s business and livelihood without a second thought. Sad isn’t it?…
I heard some people were rather unhappy with my opinion of the Scion community as a whole. Look, I have plenty of friends in the Scion community and they are the nicest people I will ever meet. Some of my closest friends own Scions. But the community as a whole, and the clubs that exist within that…..ehhh…Nothing to write home about. I can’t say that there are many people out there who think differently than me either. I personally think that it has to do with the foundation of the community. For example, in the Honda community…shit like this would never happen because it would never go unpunished. That and there’s actually a bit of arrogance about the Scion community. I guess it starts with them having corporate backing and a strong base within the aftermarket community. So much so that they don’t have to work for anything. It’s all given to them, there was no “grassroots Scion community” where major players paved the way for the future generations. With Hondas, there were people that made everything possible for the people today, so there’s a bit of mutual respect and history behind it all. You respect the people that came before you. In the Scion community, not so much. Many of these kids come into cars with funding from others (parents) and they have parts readily available to them that they never have to work to get. Along with that, you get the ones that don’t know anything about other makes and models or any knowledge of the import community outside of Scions, so they feel that they are superior to the rest. It’s a very naive way to think about things and ultimately they look down on others because they simply just don’t know. I’ve been around Toyota guys, Honda guys, Nissan guys, and now the VIP crowd…none of them have that train of thought.
Again, I’m not saying that to target every single person that owns a Scion, because that simply wouldn’t be true. But if you guys wonder what people think and why sometimes you feel like the outcast of the community, maybe that might be why… Take it for what it is or call it bullshit. I’m ranting and raving, whatever…I’m just saying, Ross was a big part of the Scion community and I got to see first hand what things were like and how people act and take action against others…it’s fucking ugly out there man…You give people an inch and they take fuckin 10 miles and shit. I
Moving on…
#3 Most Viewed (3100+ hits) – “An indepth look at horrible ideas…Part 6…Fake wheels with authentic stickers…”
This of course, was towards the early part of the year when I was doing the “Indepth look at horrible ideas” series of posts. The whole fake wheels with authentic stickers stuff really caught on and it was posted on a bunch of different sites. It’s just one of my biggest pet peeves that I just can’t stand. I mean, if you have Rotas or have owned them before, it’s all good. Do your thing you know, but don’t try to rock the authentic stickers and try to play them off as being the real shit. That’s some fuckin poser shit. You pay for the cheap stuff rep what you bought. Don’t act like you have something that you don’t, you know? It ain’t hard. It’s like Katt Williams said…”A Chrysler 300 looks like a Phantom…until a Phantom pulls up…”
It definitely was one of my favorites of the year though. I was hoping the other post about stock wheel whoring would have caught on too but damn, tough crowd, I guess people love painting their stock wheels and giving them odd nicknames…haha…”Oh here’s my custom painted starfish 7s aka swirlybirds”…
Now, onto the 3 most clicked on images of the year. This is considered the most viewed because these were the most clicked on when I linked them on my site. It’s hard to say what image was truly the most viewed because it’s not logged from just being posted up. These three are the ones clicked on, and or linked on other websites that were clicked. The first two, though it may not be a surprise, was definitely a bit of a shock to me because they were just random photos taken one day. I didn’t really intend on them being viewed so many times but the internet is a strange place, which leads me to the third image. Why this image was clicked on so many times, is disturbing. I’m honestly worried for my viewing audience because this image was looked at so many times…
#1 Most Clicked/Viewed Image – HBKJon’s purple EG…
Definitely wouldn’t have been my pick if someone had asked me which image was clicked the most. I don’t even know why it is still. Maybe it has to do with Mikeyyyy’s happy ass mug in the picture or the Laker jersey and the Laker purple EG…There were so many other pics of this car that I took that was probably much better so I’m still kinda clueless about it…
It seems like only yesterday when we were promoting FAST Autoworks and helping those guys get their names out in the world. Things change though and we wish them the best of luck in the future. Sometimes business gets in the way of personal relationships….hey, that’s just the way it works…We just didn’t eye to eye on business relationships and friendships. We learned a lot this year when it comes to shit like that. We all live in a world of reciprocal relationships. Enough said.
“2010 you’re on your own, sorry.” as spoken by a certain individual with for “y’s” in his name…
#2 Most Clicked/Viewed Image – HBKJon’s purple EG (Again)…
Now this one I saw coming. I actually thought this would have been the top viewed because whenever I glanced at the stats, this image always popped up. It was even linked to some forums like in Sweden and whatever…crazy. Maybe it has to do with The Fast and The Furious backdrop, I don’t know. I do like this pic however…even though if I knew what I know now, I probably would have shot it differently and it would have came out much better…
Look for this car in an upcoming issue of Import Tuner as well. I think it was slated for an early 2010 release in IT. When I took this, we were actually all standing around waiting for Luke Munnell to shoot it. It was taken out of sheer boredom cuz of the wait, haha…Guess it worked out.
#3 Most Clicked/Viewed Image – Uhh…if you were thinking it was one of the Auntie Love pics…you were correct…
Why people? WHY?! Seriously…haha. It was posted as a joke and I even warned people to click at their own risk. I guess they were so interested in auntie coochie that they actually went and looked at the rest of the images. I’m not even gonna post it up here because it’s pretty nasty. Here’s the link to the random post I did one day about it. I’ve posted some pretty awful stuff from time to time but man, I still get a bit of the chills everytime I see this auntie make her sexy face…Really guys, I know they say all pussy looks the same, but really?….Gross. It was so bad that I wouldn’t even host the image myself. I put it up on imageshack and it’s still up! Haha…WTF….
I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful holiday. I’ve been quite busy with real life stuff myself but I’m definitely gonna be jumping back on here and putting more things up for you guys to read. Peace out for now. Please stop clicking on the auntie love photos…it’s for your own good.
is anyone else so sick of hearing superstitious idiots try and limit my life with their own ignorance people don’t even realize that the Mayan calendar doesn’t match up with the Gregorian Calendar(Modern World Calendar) and they don’t even realize that if we follow the Mayan Calendar we would be well past the years 2010, hell past even the year 4000, for they are an ANCIENT civilization, before the time of “Christ” for which the Gregorian calendar was based on.
Frig, So Ji Sub is hot. I still can’t get over that half nekkid image of him… D: I remember before when M showed me a photo of Lee Hyung Byun since it somehow reminded her of me (he was wet in a bathtub lolol – not sure how that related to me, but it was cute nonetheless) and I said he wasn’t my type because he was too masculine. I LIE D: (thanks to So Ji Sub) MANLY MEN PLEASE. JUICY MUSCLE ALL OVER – I feel like I’m talking about a kebab, or a steak. But then again, kebabs and steak damn manly foods.
Luckily I’m not Nakatsu or else my nose would be bleeding uncontrollably.
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Apart from the geek moment of realising So Ji Sub played in a drama named MiSa (go figure, since my nickname is Misa ) I then realised it was Mianhada Saranghada, the drama that P told me about that apparently confused him to no end. Thinking he did a cameo role, I clicked on the wiki entry, and he was the MAIN CHARACTER? That shaggy looking dude who stole luggage, spoke in Chinese and Japanese and was in Melbourne?! That sort of explains the BONDS underwear, actually, since he was on our turf. Get that girls, in 1999, SJS was on our turf. Oh. My. God. But for some reason I assumed that Shin Hyun Joon was the guy who played the MiSa dude LOL – I just got incredibly confused. Now I’m tempted to watch MiSa just for So Ji Sub. DAMN IT. I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR THESE THINGS. I guess I can buy that from the DVD store since I saw like 3 copies of it – if only I knew earlier then I would have just bought it! DAMN IT. DAMN IT! DAMN IT THE THINGS I DO FOR SJS. I’m such a NERD. UGH. I’ll watch it. ARGH. DAMN IT.
And as consolation for OTLL-ing at my realisation, my mum just said “well yeah, he is quite good looking“. Thanks, mum T_T
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Cain and Abel is almost unbearable to watch. How such a good man could get such treatment and be surrounded by such douchebags is just beyond me. He is SUCH a good man – he’s kind, he saves people’s lives unconditionally, and he’s a beautiful person, inside and out. Life sucks OTLL I know it’s “just a drama” but things like that happen in real life okay! But just wait until I finish the series, I’ll definitely write up a review on this series… I feel like bawling my eyes out every time I see him on screen… it’s so unfair T_T How can a bunch of people be so heartless and actually smile and be happy when someone who has never harmed them, dies?
On that note I just realised that C&A is translated by 3 different groups, and I think for each different group, they change the names of the characters. FML. But I will persevere because the translations still look good and I’m compelled to see those idiots get what they deserve!
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I was expecting a parcel to arrive today, but I guess not. I was hoping to get it before Christmas, but now I have 2 public holidays and the weekend to wait through. It’ll most likely come on Monday, which is still okay, but ARGH. The parcel left Hong Kong on Sunday, would have arrived on Monday, cleared customs on Tuesday, sent to the appropriate regional parcel sorting headquarters on Wednesday and in my claws on Thursday – that is, TODAY. There are probably a LOT of parcels from Hong Kong at the moment due to the pile up (I’m assuming my parcel was sent with new and old mail) so it’d be hectic. Not to mention it is Christmas so there will be a lot of local mail circulating. I hate mail delays. More so, I hate it when I know I am expecting something, and then it doesn’t come. Usually the things I expect come when I expect them least – too early or a bit late (that I’ve temporarily forgotten about it). Oh well, on Monday I should get it.
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Eurgh I hate pimples. Especially the ones that hurt when you touch them because they are so friggin big.
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SJS <3 Frick. Too much information to handle in one day. It’s still just slowly coming to me. x_x Zomg.
The more firarms there are in general circulation, the more illicit use of firearms there would be. Handing out guns like confetti has no implicit garantee that they would only be used in self-defence situations. I’m glad you manage to deal with crackhead without a firearm, but do you really think you would be better off had you shot and killed him? Besides which, most of the world (as far as I know), do not live in neighbourhoods where crackheads braking into their homes is a likely occurance.
the tap was turned off, but not tight enough. droplets of water were still slowly leaking out. drop after drop, every two seconds. it clung to the inner rim of the tap, accumulating until fat enough and heavy enough to let go and just drop into the bathtub that was half full. there are 12,174.4 drops in a liter. and the tub only had about 15 liters of water. but there are 18,298 drops of water, making it 364 drops of something else, which was not water.
strands of hair are splayed on the surface of the water. not heavy enough to completely submerge as the rest of the hair was hanging over the side of the bathtub. black strands of wet hair that dripped more droplets of water onto the black and white tiled mosaic floor.
the bathroom feels stuffy. condensed steam formed more droplets of water along the transparent shower curtain that was partially covering the perimeter of the bathtub. you see, it does not matter if there were drops of water on the shower curtain or on the mosaic tiles as long as it was kept inside the oval that was meant to be wet. as long as the tiles outside of that invisible line drawn by that thin, and now steamed, transparent shower was dry, it was fine. for the one thing that was more annoying than a steamy bathroom is wet tiles.
steam on the other hand, refused to be contained and instead of just hanging around in the air within the confines of that shower curtain, it rose above and out of its boundaries. up to the pristine white cement ceiling it went before it realized there was no other option unless to spread out along the sides before all the upper air in the bathroom was lightly steamed. and so, the bathroom smelt and tasted and felt quite steamy.
then again, it did not matter to the droplets that were still steadily forming and accumulating and dropping from the tap, nor did the steam irritate the strands of hair floating on the surface of the water in the bathtub. even the hair that was not floating inside the bathtub, but which was hanging over the side of the bathtub did not seem to mind what the steam chose to do.
what mattered was they had a place to themselves. although, it does not appear as if they felt anything at all, for they are only droplets of water and strands of hair. inanimate subjects that had neither the capacity to bother or wonder or feel anything regarding other elements, such as the steam and the way it chose to behave.
perhaps the inability to bother, or wonder or even feel helped. because if something cannot wonder, it would not wonder what those 364 foreign droplets in the tub half full of water was. inanimate objects would not bother to investigate for they had no purpose but to just be what they are. they would not even begin to feel anything if someone told them that those exact 364 droplets were blood.
they would not have the capacity to understand that inside the tub, is a dead person. for all they cared about was doing what they did best.
and so the droplets of water was still leaking, and accumulating every two seconds before it joined the 18,298 droplets of water intermingled with blood in the bathtub. those strands of hair would still float on the surface of the water without the least care in the world. the steam will continue rising upwards before hitting the white cement ceiling before spreading out.
although, the steam will eventually get tired of rising up and solidifying into droplets. then they will just cool down and then perhaps, just perhaps, the bathroom will get less steamy.
well, i have been a lousy blogger. that is the subject of this post. to put it bluntly, i’ve had no desire to “blog” in cyberspace where everyone can read my mess ups and bad mood swings. to put it romantically, life has been busy, emotionally, physically, and well, spiritually too, i guess. we are traveling for christmas. i feel sporadically held together, by gift wrap and scotch tape. my mind wanders terribly and as chupp can attest, i can’t really write on a piece of paper and make sense. “i had an urge to color a picture with markers…so much for doing laundry for lunch.” i am packing tonight (we leave tomorrow) for snow. oh dear me.
i float along like a kite, content to stop tugging at my strings for a while. for a short while.
i love the candids my sister takes of me randomly. this is my favorite; a little glimpse into my world.
“Year One,” written and directed by Harold Ramis, was another one of those movies that looked really funny on the trailers but was actually devoid of laughs in the actual film. Jack Black and Michael Cera star as Zed and Oh, respectively, as they traveled from their village to many different places mentioned on the Bible. It also had other references from the Bible such as the forbidden fruit and popular characters such as Cain, Abel, Isaac and others. As a Bible farce, this was extremely disappointing because there were so many things that the filmmakers could have done to make the story funny and smart. Instead, it degraded itself into slapstick comedy and we literally see the characters urinating on themselves, tasting feces, and other things I won’t mention. Don’t get me wrong–I think Black and Cera are usually very funny comedians but I don’t know what they were thinking when they decided to sign up for this movie. Just the script itself was so bad; it was random, it lacked energy, and it didn’t have a powerful enough story to drive it forward and for us to ultimately root for the characters to succeed on their mission. At times I wondered whether the actors were literally making stuff up as they went along. The constant winking at the camera annoyed me greatly, which was tantamount to that pesky mosquito that kept buzzing at your ear when you’re trying to sleep. The only thing I liked about this movie was Paul Rudd as Abel, but he was in it for barely two minutes. Other actors such as Vinnie Jones, Hank Azaria, David Cross and Olivia Wilde didn’t add much to the picture because their characters were also one-dimensional. I really wanted to like this movie because every time the trailer was shown in theaters, it never failed to bring a smile to my face. Unfortunately, it was just so mindless to the point where I thought the director didn’t care about his movie. If the passion is absent, why then should the audience care? When I say that this movie is bad, consider it an understatement. Save your precious time and watch or do something else. I wish I did.
Ecofriendly Entry
Originally uploaded by lifebegreen
I have spent my second day at the “Ecofriendly Golden Age” conference where I have been educated more about been environmentally friendly. This has been a good experience indeed. I have met many wonderful friendly faces in this conference and it has been a pleasure indeed. I came home really tired so I took out this film called “In the Cut” Starring Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo… its my first erotic thriller genre which was interesting because sex is often associated with crimes that are committed and it was a bit graphic for me (especially the blood and crime scenes) which was not bad. I also watched “The Last Holiday” starring Queen Latifa and Addicted to Love also starring Meg Ryan… these films are not bad… but a good pass time activity when you’re feeling jetlag and a long way away from home… It’s good to just curl up and watch DVDs to pass the time by. I’m keen to start watching more Erotic Thrillers such as “Poison Ivy” starring Drew Barrymore and a couple more names brought up in Wikipedia. It’s getting kind of boring… I also submitted my “Technical and Professional Writing” Pamphlet for Real Estate Portfolio to Polly this morning and as such I’m keen to be back home in Brunei so I can carry on more with my academic stuff and get me a new phone and laptop… I’m so tired… so exhausted… and my head hurts… I might go take a jacuzzi and maybe a swim… then I’ll take a nice long nap before I head to my third day of conference. Update later
xoxoxo
-Sarah
If you follow me on Twitter, you probably got wind that I graduated from an 18th century Nokia cell phone to an iPhone because I tweeted about it every 5 minutes. As I got familiar with all its features and starting downloading the cool apps, I started to put together a blog post in my head about all the ways an iPhone was going to make my life better.
And then, exactly 14 days later, I was mugged in Uptown walking down Lyndale Ave. Two guys snatched my purse and ran off into the dark with just about all my identification, keys, credit cards…and my iPhone. Thank goodness neither my friend or I were hurt and she was able to call the cops right away.
But as soon as I started to comprehend what all had been stolen, I freaked out about just how much information I had on my iPhone. All my contacts, e-mail, home address, and other personal information could pretty much be found on there with enough digging. Certainly not what I want a couple of thieves to have in their possession.
If it wasn’t for the Passcode lock I had set up on my phone, all that information could have been there for the taking. Thank you to Desarae for encouraging me to set that up just a few days prior to this whole incident. Seriously, what a relief.
So the moral of the story? Protect your phone. Set up the necessary locks, codes, ect. to access all of your information. Sure, it might be annoying to punch it in every time, but in the event it gets lost or stolen you’ll appreciate knowing that all your information is safe.
Also, this was a good reminder for me to be more aware of my surroundings when I’m out and about. Don’t walk alone (we’ve all done it, but just don’t). Don’t keep all your valuables in one spot. DO continue to live your life, but just be smart.
I was lucky enough to be able to get another iPhone thanks to my Dad’s awesome plan and his 20+ years of business with AT&T.
Back from KL. We reached at 9plus just now, but I was too busy catching up with fandom to care about uploading pics, or even unpack my bags. Four days deprived of internet is abit too much. It’s already 3:33AM now, and I’m totally knackered. I shall retire to bed now, instead of rambling abit more.
This was basically a random post. Haha.
Good morning, I’ve missed puge, PEX, echotiners and kfandom. And I look forward to four days worth of fandom and backtracking twitter page. Oh joy. *runs off to get some sleep*
( I suffered strokes, heart failure chronic dysentery, severe blood clots, anaemia, and paralysis, and two life saving operations, But Jesus Saved me).
Dear Saints, I know that these scriptures from the Holy Bible titled, “Jesus Said” below will bless and strengthen you every time that you read them, for I have proved them, for Jesus gave them to me when I was going though seven years of severe pain and sickness.
I suffered strokes, heart failure chronic dysentery, severe blood clots, anaemia, and paralysis, and two life saving operations. Yes, this is what the devil gave me, but praise God, yes, praise God, for God gave me Jesus, and told me to shout the name of Jesus, sing the name of Jesus, cry the name of Jesus, and apply His precious blood, by pleading it’s awesome, redeeming power to my suffering and pain.
Now He, hallelujah has healed and delivered me, and by His grace I am completely healed and 100% healthy, I will forever shout His praise and proclaim His victory, for I know that at the cross of Calvary is where He took all my sin and sickness, and nailed it to the tree, and there freed Himself from that cross and rose again.
Because He won the victory we to have the victory through His triumphant battle over evil, so, take heart dear Christian, for Christ has won.
“For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil”, {1 John 3 v 8}. Now when I preach the gospel I no longer have to stand in pain, and when I pray for the sick I know that Jesus will heal all of them who put their faith in His name and precious blood. He did it for me, hallelujah, praise God, and I know that He will do it for you.
For sin and sickness doth depart, when thou dost reign within my heart, and I from all the curse am free, since Christ my Saviour healeth me.
Jesus Said
If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.
There hath not failed one word of all his good promise.
It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind.
By whose stripes ye were healed.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.
He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.
For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD.
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
John 15:7, Psalms 119:107, Psalms 119:114, 1 Kings 8:56, Luke 4:4, Job 12:10, 1 Peter 2:24, Psalms 34:19, Psalms 107:20, Jeremiah 30:17, Psalms 62:5, Romans 8:11
I’ve been on a Photoshopping spree, making many signatures. I reused an old favorite of mine, my second ever made signature that I received help on. However, I’ve been experimenting further. I just wished I knew what some of the functions were on Photoshop, although I admit that it is kind of sad I don’t know after having it for quite some number of years.
I might upload it, perhaps on a page? Food for thought, I suppose.
When the Puritans hit the shores of the Americas in 1620 they carried with them all the viruses of false guilt and manufactured shame that still contaminate reason to this day. It is noted in Time Frames and Taboo Data—p 327:
By myth and tradition the year 1620 is regarded in the United States as when the “Founding Fathers” or the “Pilgrims” first set foot in the Americas. Although the Mayflower did indeed reach the bleak shores of what is today Massachusetts, the Pilgrims were at that location because of bad weather and poor navigation. Their intended destination had been Jamestown and “The Old Dominion” of Virginia, 500 miles to the south, which had been established in 1607. And tradition has it that the Puritans brought by the Mayflower were fleeing religious persecution in England, but the bulk of them had lived for eleven years in Holland where they were not persecuted. The real reason for the Puritans to strike out for the New World was to bring aid and support to the Puritan element in Virginia, for the Puritan deputy governor, Samuel Argall, had been deposed by the Episcopalians in 1619—a great setback to the Whig/Puritan cause.
Apparently it never occurred to the Puritans that they might have been led astray because their intolerant faith was not much appreciated by god. Their hardened hearts chose instead to establish a new colony of Massachusetts on the tenets of harsh intolerance of any beliefs other than their own. Unfortunately, the bigotry and cruelty of the Puritan “fathers” would for centuries taint even the more tolerant faith systems of the U.S.
A few years later, 1634, Cecilius Calvert, the second Baron Baltimore, after his father’s death, wished to found a colony where coreligionists might worship freely without incurring the persecution they were subjected to in England. Of the little more than 200 colonists to arrive, however, probably over half were Protestants. The settlement they founded was called St. Mary’s. The first statutes of the Providence (Maryland) were passed in 1638 and religious tolerance was the central feature of the project. By this time the Puritans and their coreligionists had regained their hold over the Episcopalians of Virginia (mentioned in 1620), and with assistance of the Massachusetts Puritans actually invaded Maryland! Typical of theocratic mentality, the Puritans quickly dismantled the Maryland Constitution in which the “Act of Toleration” was clearly proclaimed and replaced it with the disgraceful “Act Concerning Religion,” which mandated that the Puritan doctrine and tenets were to be followed by all.
Three years later, December 1641, another example of Christian/Puritan piety was played out in the disgraceful carnage known as the Cos Cob Massacre. The New England settlers had been kindly received by the Indians under Cos Cog at Myanus and Stamford. The Indians had taught the settlers how to make a living from the sea and from the forest. But when the number of settlers had grown and they attained sufficient firearms, they displayed their Christian neighborly love by creeping out on Christmas Eve to the Indian village of Petuquapen. In the spirit of Christ they built a huge fire at each of the village gates and then shot down every man, woman and child that sought to escape. Every inhabitant of the village perished—some 400 “savage” souls.
Then in 1643 a company of Puritans were excluded from Virginia for religious nonconformity. The shunned Puritans then founded a settlement called Providence on the site of present day Annapolis. Interestingly, at the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., cadets had to legally petition the school there in 2008 to abolish mandatory daily prayer at weekday lunch. The practice was/is unconstitutional—but it does remain true to Puritan tradition.
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, a Costco in Salt Lake City took tomatoes off its shelves last week in preparation for Sarah Palin’s “Going Rogue” book-signing appearance at the store. A man was arrested on Dec. 7 at a Palin event at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., for allegedly throwing a tomato at the former Alaska governor, and Costco management was “determined” to avoid a repeat. Helen Rappaport, a Democrat, was happy to browse the nearly empty aisles of the big-box giant while other shoppers clustered around the Palin event area, but she was puzzled as to why she couldn’t seem to find any tomatoes:
No tomatoes? At Costco? As she was leaving, she noticed a man with a store manager’s name tag and asked him why they had no tomatoes. He informed her the store did have tomatoes, but they were taken off the shelves for a few hours. It turns out that Palin had been pelted with a tomato at an earlier stop on her book tour and the management at the Costco was determined it wouldn’t happen here.
Heavenly Peace (Remix of Sunday’s Sermon – audio at www.firstgrandville.org under Resources and Downloads)
Peace, real peace seems hard to come by these days. Where can it be found?
In the world, in our nation, in our churches, in our communities, in our homes and in our hearts – there is little peace. Everywhere you look, there seems to be strife, turmoil and havoc.
And it shows no signs of stopping.
I don’t know that I have any answers about stopping it. Which really only leaves – how to exist, survive, and maybe even thrive in the midst of the turmoil.
Obviously, there are a lot of choices as to how we try to search for peace in our lives. This peace can be defined as rest, or an escape, or an inner calm.
Usually we seek peace through the things of this world. And we usually seek it on our own power.
Have you ever heard the phrase “Starting off on the wrong foot”? Any search for peace that begins with “I” is like that. It may work for a while, but in the end it will probably make things worse.
For example, when we are stressed and overwhelmed by all this turmoil in our lives and we want to find some peace, some might think, “I need a drink” or “I need another prescription or pill” or “I need to go on the Internet to look at some pictures” or “I need to use (drugs or people)” or “I need to go shopping” or “I just need to control others or situations” or many other things that “take the edge off.” And unfortunately, when we rely on these “sources” of peace too often, well, they can become quite the opposite of peace – they can become prisons and cause more and more chaos in our lives. When we rely on them so much – we can start to worship them. The problem is that they are “gods” that don’t give life or peace – they steal them.
You see, the things of this world cannot produce the peace we actually desire. Seeking peace with anything that begins with “I” won’t work. But there is one thing that can…
“Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life (Philippians 4:6-7 The Message).”
Did you catch that? “A sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.” God’s wholeness – better than anything on earth – check. Everything coming together for good – not worrying about yesterday, today or tomorrow – check. (It) will come and settle you down – received rather than sought after or created – check.
Received from where?
Received from knowing and believing in Jesus as savior and that through Him we are forgiven and free – this is the one true source of peace in this world, but not of this world – from Heaven above.
“None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I am absolutely convinced that nothing – nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us (Romans 8: 38-39 The Message).”
Received how?
Received through prayer. Prayer doesn’t start with “I” – it starts with “Lord” or “God” or “Help!” “Instead of worrying (or seeking peace in the things mentioned above), pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers…” Like using a hammer, we need to use prayer to bang and shape our fretting, worries and strife into requests and cries to God – who will hear them and respond.
Guess what else prayer does? There is a letting go in prayer. Maybe you have heard it as “Giving it over to God.” When we are “doing” something ourselves or just continuing to worry we are keeping it. When we pray, we are giving “it” to God. Each time we pray about something, it is a little less ours and little more in God’s hands. Do you see?
I have heard so many great stories of people, in the middle of disasters and chaos, talk about feeling at peace – facing death even, with peace. Some have described it as feeling like they are being enveloped in a warm blanket. I just know it’s real. I have been blessed to witness it many times. For me personally, I can think of times where things looked pretty bad, but somehow I felt okay – the experience was like God whispering “It’s okay” and I believed it and it was wonderful. I just need to rest in that more!
“It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life (Philippians 4:7).” Focusing on Christ and others instead of ourselves through prayer is a main catalyst of this process of displacing worry and all the ways we have tried to deal with turmoil in our lives.
Speaking of prayer, my prayer for us during this season when we think and sing about “heavenly peace” is this: I pray that God gives each of us the clarity of vision to see and name those places in our lives where we are seeking peace in ways that ultimately make things worse; and that the peace of Jesus Christ will not only knock on the doors or our hearts but will tear them down if necessary and chase away strife, turmoil and havoc and replace it with a peace we have never known.
Amen.
Discussion Questions
Before reading this, how would you describe peace?
Are there some things you are doing to deal or cope with life that may offer peace in the short-term but are actually destructive? Is there someone you can talk to about it?
Are you feeling overwhelmed often? What are the sources of these feelings? Try turning each one into a prayer.
What are some ways you can turn worries into prayers today?
Yes, a lot of lists are published in the last few days (I’m sorry for not posting, I’m pretty ill at the moment). Anyway, an update.
Paste Magazine published a list again. This time, the 25 best albums of 2009, ánd with a very surprising winner (well, the whole list is actually rather unusual)! Other list that their published were ‘the best albums of the decade’ (also in reader’s pick version), best movies of the decade, best tv shows, etc.
Their top 5:
5. David Bazan – Curse Your Branches
4. The Low Anthem – Oh My God, Charlie Darwin
3. Elvis Perkins in Dearland – Elvis Perkins in Dearland
2. Animal Collective – Merriweather Post Pavilion
1. The Avett Brothers – I and Love and You
I’m not sure if I posted this earlier, but Pitchfork chose their top 100 songs of 2009. The whole list can be found here. Their top 5:
5. Grizzly Bear – Two Weeks
4. Bat For Lashes – Daniel
3. Phoenix – 1901
2. Dirty Projectors – Stillness Is the Move
1. Animal Collective – My Girls
Spinner released the ‘top 10 funny music videos of the decade’ and yes their indeed funny! All videos can be found here. This is the winner:
Fatboy Slim – Weapon of Choice
My list of ‘Favourite albums of the Decade’ is still not finished, but I’ll publish it before christmas
I am totally in awe of Crushpad. It’s brand-y new boutique DIY winemaking awesomeness. They say they are democratizing the wine industry. I say f*ck yeah!
In their own words:
Who is Crushpad anyway? Well, we’re a combination of wine industry veterans and technology industry refugees who want to liberate winemaking from the stereotype of the 5th generation wine family living on the chateau with the Golden Retriever. By bringing winemaking to the city, augmenting it with education and support, and taking care of the time-consuming parts, we want to enable anyone with a serious interest in wine to participate in the magic of winemaking.
Basically, you get to design and make your own wine online in collaboration with experts and advisors online. Monitor the growth in the vineyards online, participate in the harvest if you want, choose your barrels, your fermentation techniques, everything. Here’s the very clear easy “how does it work” page. Explains it better than I can.
And what’s even better? I learned about them through a joint twitter and charity initiative. For every bottle you buy of their 2009 “Fledgling” wine, pictured above, they donate $5 to Room to Read, a literacy program that brings books to extremely impoverished children around the world and whose motto is, “world change starts with educated children.” Here’s a link to a video on how this all works.
So, as I’m starting to “get” twitter more and more every day, I am awed at its ability to take on projects like this one. Humanity. The more things change…
There you go. I bought two Fledgling bottles for my parents. So should you!
I woke up at 8.30 this morning because my mum wanted me to do my hair before I go to One Utama, but then she changed her mind at the very last minute -.-
I’m all dressed up now and I have been playing Bejeweled since 10 D: Talk about boredom!
Anyways, at least I’ll be in One Utama in 30 minutes time, walking around aimlessly. The boys are planning to watch Zombieland today which is 18 PL, I think.
I have a bad feeling about this. I don’t think I can pass. If people think I’m 12, apatah lagi 18 . sighh but then again, my sister who is two years younger than me can pass, so maybe there is hope?
Okay nonsense morning talk shall end here cause the beast in my stomach is growling again.
Hey look, a new Waffles. And a new character in there to boot!
This one looks weird because well, I don’t really know how to draw animals or people talking with their mouths open, but whatever, the way I see it Waffles is part of the learning experience when it comes to me trying to Make Comics.
Anyway, there’s some more Mayhem & Cuddles coming up this week, and then that’s it for 2009 from me. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday season so far, I know for once I am.
Who thinks during the fist airing of a TV show when some one on the show tweets there should be a computer set up to send out the tweets from that character, it would make the show more personal and fun and not to mention the network would get more viewers on the premier of new episodes
Ex. How I Met Your Mother SE05 E03 – Robin 101
Ted’s teaching Barnie dating tips about robin, Barnie is being a ADD student and Ted yells “STOP WITH THE PHONE!!!”
Then Barnie Yells “What,?? Im tweeting bout you!!”
I would have loved to get that tweet during the show… If it was as good as teh notes Barnie wrote (released on teh website) i would have prob pissed my self to said tweet
They learned the lesson so well that when Shanghai government officials, alarmed by their city’s low birthrate and aging population, abruptly changed course this summer and began encouraging young couples to have more than one child, their reaction was instant and firm: No way.
“We have already given all our time and energy for just one child. We have none left for a second,” said Wang, 31, a human resources administrator with an 8-month-old son.
More than 30 years after China’s one-child policy was introduced, creating two generations of notoriously chubby, spoiled only children affectionately nicknamed “little emperors,” a population crisis is looming in the country.
The average birthrate has plummeted to 1.8 children per couple as compared with six when the policy went into effect, according to the U.N. Population Division, while the number of residents 60 and older is predicted to explode from 16.7 percent of the population in 2020 to 31.1 percent by 2050. That is far above the global average of about 20 percent.
The imbalance is worse in wealthy coastal cities with highly educated populations, such as Shanghai. Last year, people 60 and older accounted for almost 22 percent of Shanghai’s registered residents, while the birthrate was less than one child per couple.
Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Municipal Population and Family Planning Commission, has said that fertile couples need to have babies to “help reduce the proportion of the aging population and alleviate a workforce shortage in the future.” Shanghai is about to be “as old — not as rich, though — as developed countries such as Japan and Sweden,” she said.
A gradual easing
Written into the country’s constitution in 1978, China’s one-child policy is arguably the most controversial mandate introduced by the ruling Communist Party to date. Couples who violate the policy face enormous fines — up to three times their annual salary in some areas — and discrimination at work.
Chinese officials have credited the policy with helping the country avoid critical strain on its natural resources, while human rights advocates have denounced abuses in the enforcement of the policy. In rural areas, some officials have forced women pregnant with a second child to undergo abortions. In addition, many couples have had sex-selective abortions, leading to an unnaturally high male-to-female ratio.
In recent years, population officials have gradually softened their stance on the one-child policy. In 2004, they allowed for more exceptions to the rule — including urban residents, members of ethnic minorities and cases in which both husband and wife are only children — and in 2007, they toned down many of their hard-line slogans.
Qiao Xiaochun, a professor at the Institute of Population Research at Peking University, said central government officials have recently been debating even more radical changes, such as allowing couples to have two children if one partner is an only child.
In July, Shanghai became the first Chinese city to launch an aggressive campaign to encourage more births.
The response has been underwhelming, family planning officials say.
Disappointing response
Although officials in one rural town on the outskirts of Shanghai say they saw an uptick in applications from couples wanting a second child after the campaign was launched, the more urban districts report no change. Huinan township, with a population of 115,000, for instance, is still receiving just four to five applications a month.
Disappointed Shanghai officials say that, despite the campaign, the number of births in the city in 2010 is still expected to be only about 165,000 — slightly higher than in 2009 but lower than in 2008.
Feng Juying, head of the family planning committee in Shanghai’s Caolu township, said financial considerations are probably the main reason many people don’t want more children. “They want to give the best to their first,” she said.
Yang Jiawei, 27, and his wife, Liu Juanjuan, 26, said they would love to have two children and are legally allowed to do so. But like many Chinese, they have only the scant medical and life insurance provided by the government. Without a social safety net, they say, the choice would be irresponsible.
my friend alex recently showed me these 2008 clips from spain’s version of “who’s got talent?” this 23-year-old self-taught saxophonist has crafted a unique style of playing, which he has coined ‘ovni.’ these videos show his casting entry, the semi-finale and the finale. the program goes on to show more of pedro’s life and talent, explaining that he started practicing in his parents’ pantry at 10-years-old and eventually started forming his own way of playing the saxophone, mixing in various throat sounds and elements of beatbox. impressive.
Woah. Just let me be the first to say…. it’s been a while, huh? I know, I know. As dear old Professor Slughorn would say, “these are mad times we live in! Mad!”
Oh, yes, I did just quote Harry Potter. Ever heard of it? No? It’s just a little indie film I think is really going to make it into the big time. Soon! Speaking of Harry Potter, I’ve been wondering, doing a little pondering here and there, and I’ve come up with a question. What would Amortentia smell like to you? Don’t have a clue as to what I am talking about? GO WATCH HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE. Seriously though, it is the strongest love potion ever made and the smell changes according to the person doing the smelling. Basically it serves as your own little personal aphrodisiac. FUN RIGHT?
Me, personally…I’m still thinking of my answer. Sure, there are lots of things I like, but I think it would be a really weird mixture of things. Not that freshly cut grass and spearmint are normally grouped together…
Also, these are mad times because I’ve been all busy busy with school. I KNOW! Excuses! But I’ve finished completely with two classes, and the third will be finished just as soon as I submit my paper. That I need to edit. Which I should be doing right now, but instead I’m blogging and that just proves my DEDICATION to you, dear internet.
Also, have you asked me a question on formspring yet? No? DO IT!
And now for story power hour. In my British lit class my professor didn’t really have anything for us to do, so we were forced to play a rousing game of Jeopardy: BRIT LIT EDITION. Not my cup of tea, but I don’t think I’ll forget this game. Ever. So this kid in my class, Alex, came to class and sat by me. Completely intoxicated from the previous night’s partying. I know, I know– totally awesome. He verbally abused the other teams as well as the score keeper (although she was a bit HORRIBLE). Probably the best class of the semester.
Also, you would not believe how many times a day I get called weird! It is uncanny. People should be a bit more careful with throwing it around; it is starting to lose its meaning! I swear this blog has a point. Maybe. Right, weird. I’m not ashamed to be weird; if being cultured and interesting and asking for French films for Christmas instead of Twilight crap, then go ahead! Call me weird! I don’t care! Hmm… I don’t know how I got to this topic. Oh! This blog post is very weird, I know. I have a thousand thoughts running around in my noggin, the majority of which are coming out in thesis statements, or educational terms and French vocabulary. Can you tell it is finals week?
I can’t wait to go home. I should also state that it is officially 20 DAYS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR NEW ZEALAND! I can’t even believe it has crept up on me so quickly! I have so much to do! Aak!
But for now, I’m going to go. I’m way to hyper to sit around at my desk and blog! Not that I don’t love these little meetings we have. OH! I almost forgot my NEWS! I’ve decided next year I may dabble into a little bit of vlogging. No, I won’t leave you, my wonderful little blogging world. But I don’t know; I think it may be fun?! Maybe? No? We shall see. Okay, really leaving now.
where to begin…? whole lot of random things happening here in the damme life. guess i’ll just get typing and see where it goes.
x. ransom is 19 pounds 11 ounces and 26 inches long. he makes for a very big boy. he’s wearing 12 month clothes at 7 months. i’m not ready for my little to be so big… : ( but at least he’s really cute. see:
doesn’t he look so tough in that last one? : ) my mom let us bring home her rubiks revolutions for a while and i think ransom likes it as much as daddy does! in other ransom news, we’ve been getting more used to solid foods, including a pepperoni from donatos last week:
still no teeth, but that doesn’t stop him from gumming food to swallowable size! he rather enjoyed his first taste of pizza toppings. he also likes chunks of cheddar cheese, which makes mom and dad happy because we do, too and we eat some nearly everyday; it’s fun to share with the little man!
he’s also very into crawling all over the house discovering things. it’s kind of fun to watch him wander his way from object to object. i’m not really into babyproofing my house and we’ve been working with ransom on “no” for weeks. we’re finally seeing results and it’s wonderful, especially considering his growing curiousity for things above his reach like the christmas tree and outlets. his fingers are too big to fit in the outlet holes, but we still want him to understand that they are dangerous for when we’re not paying attention and his curiousity gets to him. he responds really well to our “no”’s, but occassionally we just have to grab him and move him, which is fine since that teaches consequence. he’s learning and he’s very smart. it’s fun to watch him grow up (i just wish it was slower!).
x. in other news, we’ve been reading a lot about food lately. well, mostly i’ve been reading and repeating highlights to darin, who is totally riveted, plus we watched food, inc. together, which features a few of the authors whose books are in my hands often. we’re trying our darndest to get back to what our great-grandmothers ate for a number of reasons, health being the main one, and we’re absolutely loving it. the amount of misinformation out there about the components of our foods and the ridiculous amount of industrialized food products being marketed and consumed are literally killing this nation (and other peoples subscribing to our “western diet”). everything down to the milk we drink is endangering our health today, and it’s a really sad reality.
x. along those lines, we started our food journey with acquiring raw milk. there will likely be a handful of people out there reading this who’ve bought the idea that pastuerized and homogenized milk is better for you and will say our raw milk consumption is wrong, unhealthy, dangerous, whatever. but the facts are there. pastuerization and homogenization destroys everything in milk, so much so that they have to fill it full of synthetic chemicals and vitamins just to make it kind of seem nutritious again. in fact, most low-fat milks are just reconstituted powdered milk, which causes cancer because the fats have oxidized. it’s sad. raw milk is alive with good bacteria that fully take care of the bad bacteria, making it a completely safe food, provided that the farmers who draw the milk are using clean and healthful practices (pasturing the cows, ensuring cleanliness of equipment, etc.), and i don’t know of any raw milk farmers out there who aren’t trying to do their best, especially since they are some of the most scrutinized folks in the world (raw milk is the only food that is illegal to sell in certain states, NC included, and the law does everything they can to shut down raw milk farms, despite the truth that raw milk is in every way safe and beneficial). we get our raw milk just across the border in SC, along with literally hundreds of other people, at a milk drop from a farmer who sends a truck up the I-85 corridor weekly with fresh raw milk, cream, and buttermilk. it’s a lovely arrangement and we’re beyond blessed to live this close to a resource of pure milky deliciousness.
x. if you’re interested in changing your life, health, and food happiness, check out these books: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, Real Food by Nina Planck (my favorite so far!), Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, and Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Weston A. Price. totally worth your time. yes. i didn’t get paid to type that out either, for the record. i’ve just been changed by what i read and want to share!
x. in related news, my weight loss kicked into gear after making food changes these past few weeks. it’s been lovely to eat real food and watch myself get and feel healthier. all that mess about low-fat foods helping you lose weight is really a ruse to sell low-fat food industrial foods and it is killing scores of people slowly. but not this people. we like oil on our salads and we like to cook in butter. and our hearts will be healthier for it. really. truly. i made steaks for us earlier this week and cooked them to about mid-rare on the stovetop in my cast iron skillet. they were drenched in garlic herb butter and they were scrumptious. and a day later, i had lost weight, not gained it. take that, modern advice. anyhoo, here are my newest stats:
Weight: 190 lbs.
Waist: 32.5″
Hips: 43.5″
Progess: 4 more lbs. lost! .5″ more each waist and hips!
Pounds to Ideal Weight: only 34 left!
it’s become kind of fun to eat again. right now, i’m working on a lovely lunch of herb salad coated in homemade asian salad dressing and a dash or two of crushed red pepper flakes. delish. and we’re having breakfast for dinner with real milk from grass-fed cows, real eggs from pastured chickens, pork sausage, biscuits, and country gravy. i’m excited.
x. in non-food related news, God is good! in addition to the awakening happening at IHOP, we’ve been blessed by God this month with some surprise finances. two days ago, we were more than broke. we got hit with over $170 of extra bills this past month due to end of the year property taxes in two states and a half of a phone bill we are not accustomed to paying. it just wiped us out. we went in the red in our bank account and there was no money coming in from anywhere. we paid some bills with my credit card and stopped paying on my college loan just so we could funnel that money elsewhere. it was a fairly bleak situation. all of a sudden, eight dollars unexpectedly came in from rewards on our debit card and some more money came in from family who learned of our situation. we came out of the red, were able to pay our bills, buy some groceries, and even got on top of what we will owe for this month’s round of medical bills. bless God! and thanks to family with giving hearts to help us in our need!
x. in other news, darin has taken up disc golf. thankfully it is free to play because he plays nearly every day provided it is not raining. ran and i go to watch him sometimes to get out in the sun and enjoy the beautiful parks, which is good because days are shorter now and sun is hard to come by out here. perhaps someday i’ll play, too, and then darin will be happy to have a wife with mad disc golf skills. yes.
x. my friends dan and bethany cox are landing in key west tomorrow! they will have successfully kayaked the entire east coast tomorrow upon landing–how cool is that? i mean, seriously! what an adventure! check out their site and leave them some congratulations for making it all the way! woohoo!
well, i reckon that’s enough news for now. blessings on your head and, as always, thanks for dropping by!
I’m taking today off from blogging to seek divine intervention. See, I’ve been thinking a lot about something and need to make a decision, and I could use guidance about which way to go with this one.
It will be hard to take a day off from blogging because it’s such a good outlet for me—a place where I can get things off my chest—although really, what used to be “on my chest” went south a long time ago.
But I can’t really blog about this potential decision because it affects other people. It’s not a decision I’m being forced to make—it’s one I feel like I want to make. And it’s not HUGE in terms of changing the earth’s rotation. Heck, it’s not even big in the overall scheme of my life. Still, I want to do the right thing for the right reasons.
I guess you can see my dilemma, and you can understand why I’m not going to blog today. Right?
This adventure starts like any adventure would start in my world, in a jungle. With four guys questing through this jungle for the one thing that will make this adventure one of the best adventures ever imaginable. When they arrive to the jungle one of them has to always go to the bathroom before they start any adventure and this time is no different. As the other three are waiting around smoking cigarettes while the other takes his time in the bathroom. They three speculate on what they want to do after they make the journey into the jungle and return in a different state of mind. A state of mind looking for adventure and thrill at every turn and sees things with the biggest open mind. When the one returns from the bathroom they venture down the stairs deep into the jungle to talk to the man known as the inn keeper and browse his wares. We find he is has but one and only one of what we are looking for and it is different from anything they have seen before. Without hesitation we take it and venture to find a seat to sit down and decide what to do next. After smoking and contemplating, we start heading out of the jungle and toward a new magical place know as “The Tunnels of Oz.” In these tunnels anything can happen and you can come out somewhere you never thought possible.
As we start walking down the tunnels, we start to realize that it is like we are in a movie and we are playing the characters of Oz. We found that the navigator being me is the scarecrow, the captain is the tin man, the first mate of our group is the lion and the last being Toto since he is just following us and his girlfriend is Dorothy who was not with us on this adventure. As we ventured down the tunnels they became more and more intricate. We were witnessing something that we never noticed before, the roles we play when we are in our little group. Turning down different alleys and passageways to try and figure out where we are and how to get out. We started to wonder where we could buy an owl, a wand, and a wizard hat. This led us down places we had never thought of going. We took one left and saw the entire ceiling of the tunnel lit up with so many different lights we had to go down it to see what was on the other end. What was at that end was another tunnel leading farther and farther away from where we thought we had just come in. We finally took the scariest of the turns we have taken and ended up outside in a far corner of the city. Not knowing what do to, we found a place to sit down and ponder our next move. As we smoked and talked about what just had happened we just so happened to look up and saw in the center of all the tunnels of oz was an enormous skyscraper. Everyone knew what was going to happen next we just didn’t say it. We finished our cigarettes and prepared ourselves for the journey to the tower.
The journey to the top skyscraper started off going back the way we had thought we came and hopefully shooting to direct ourselves to the center of the tunnels so that we would stumble upon this building. It was a little harder than we had expected seeing how we had no idea where we were or what sort of entrance we were looking for. When we turned down one of these tunnels we found a man holding a big sign with squiggles on it and he was talking and pointing down a hallway. We took the chance that this was the place we were looking for and headed down. We discovered the elevators and took them to the top floor. Where we explored around the top and found the perfect spot to sit down and rest from the long walk we just had trying to find this place. It was a circular stone plant pot with ledges that you could sit on. In the middle was a giant tree that had strings of what looked like vines hanging from it. It had a rope tied around it looking as if it had to be tied down from hurting anyone. As we sat and got our minds blown from talking about quantum physics and tunneling, the captain wanted to get out of here and head to grab a bite to eat. Being the navigator I found the closest place around us and we ate. I happened to not want to eat so as they went inside I stayed out and smoked a cigarette with a really old lady who looked like she was going to die at any second and she was smoking. I was blown away by that dedication and in the distance I heard people shouting. They weren’t shouting like they were mad, it’s like they were singing but they were just speaking Japanese works not whole sentences and it’d go around to each of the three and they’d each say a word to the song or whatever they were singing. I thought I was making it up in my own head and they were just talking really loud. Yet, nonetheless they were honestly doing something of the sorts and it was making me think I wasn’t in a reality that I controlled anymore. I then went back to join the crew and helped finish their meals so that we could depart. We then had to go find something that can only be found by the navigator, we decided to go visit the snake.
The story behind the snake is a great and epic tale of three men not knowing where they were going and one seeing something the thought was a piece of rope but instead it was a snake they would all come to be afraid of and bring newcomers to experience the scare that only the snake can offer. As I led the group around trying to find this creature the only other who knew recognized where we were was the captain who was there the day when we first discovered it. When we got close to our destination the captain and I prepared ourselves to see the snake again. We approached him and led the first mate and crewman toward it. When we got right over top of it we screamed to watch out and I and the captain watched as they jumped in fear at the thought of that rope actually being a snake that was going to hurt them. They had experienced the snake much like how we had that fateful day. Now, that we had gone and found the snake I asked the captain what was next on the agenda and we agreed that finding a place to get some rest was in order. We headed back to our bunks and got some much needed rest, because tomorrows journey was about to be legendary.
When we awoke the next day we had found that we had slept most of it away and it was already two in the afternoon. I then called the captain and started planning out when to meet and what the times were going to be. I then went and told the first mate who immediately started to get ready and we went and carried out the predetermined plan. The plan consisted of us traveling to the captain’s house with a pit stop to grab some much needed supplies for the upcoming journey. We arrived at the captains house just as we had expected and from there we walked up to the overlook where you can see the ocean and we talked about how to get this day started. After talking to our friend sampson he led us to one conclusion we must head to the den. As we took off on our path we decided that we would have to walk this one out no matter the distance. Luckily the den wasn’t too far from us and we would have much time to have our much needed talks. We continued to walk and talk about whatever came across our minds. To only think that we might be able to unlock one of life’s secret if we only put our minds together and thought about it. When we go close to the giant windmill that was used for something we had no idea what. We found a set of stairs leading down into the shore before the ocean. We thought about it and decided we must stop and rest on this journey. We started to explore around trying to find the perfect spot so that we could talk our friend sampson and ask him some questions. We started climbing the sea jacks across and it had felt like we walked three football fields but when we looked back we had only gone about fifteen feet in distance. So we decided to sit and have a little pow wow as we summoned sampson to the circle. After we were rested up we resumed our journey to the village. Before we knew it we had arrived at the village. Just about a couple hundred feet from the den we looked out and saw that our den had been over run by the creatures known as the Japanese and they looked like they were have some ritual to beer gods because they were screaming random words and being loud. We did not dare go to the den and try to retake it, we would only come back to it when they had left. Instead we ventured to another well known place that we have made friends with the crabs that live there.
We set out toward the crab area looking for the sign that would mark the spot where would continue out and eventually end up in the exact spot we always have been going. When we finally see the marker we start the climb to the area and when we get there we realize that the waves hitting the rocks are splashing us and might take us out to sea. We start to adventure deeper into the rocks and it gets darker and darker it’s dusk now and not much light gets through the stone. We think we have found another suitable area for us to set up base camp in but we did not know we were only on level one of the depths. We eventually explored further and further until we stumbled upon the perfect spot away from everything and everyone. We had no other choice but to name this place the catacombs because that’s exactly where we were. Now that we had found the catacombs it was now time to sit and relax and plan what to do next on this adventure and after talking to our old friend Bernard we had still not decided. As we were sitting in the catacombs we could hear the scurries of our fellow inhabitants, the crabs. We would hear them move and now that it was getting darker they could sneak up on us without us ever knowing. This scared the first mate and crewman but the captain and I were not affected by the crabs scare tactics. We had already become friendly with them so we knew we had nothing to fear. Yet, the first mate and crewman wanted to leave our of fear so we had to find out way out of the catacombs to the surface so that we could calm them down before we decided what to do next. When we got to the top after a struggling climb up we rested and figured out what was next on the agenda. We needed to do something crazy and we weren’t about to settle for anything less than that. As we looked behind us a giant wheel was lit up now and we knew our destination, “The Wheel in the Sky.”
During our travel over to the entrance of the wheel we noticed a couple who the captain and I guessed was on their 3rd date judging by the way they were acting and the body language we saw. We have had a lot of experience with this since the area we were in was a prime location for the first through third dates. The crew and I talked as we made our way over to the wheel and we were debating on what it would be like when we got to the top. Little did we know the first mate was planning something in his head that only he knew was going to happen when we got to the top. When we arrived at the entrance to get in the car that would take us to the top we handed the lady our tickets and jumped in. It was a slow ride and it took about seven minutes to get almost to the top. I then stood up and looked out of the car over the village and it looked amazing. I eventually got everyone to stand up in the car so that they could experience this too. Then the first mate’s plan took action he started to rock the car while we were standing and the three of us immediately sat down and held on. Trying to tell him to sit down wasn’t working and pushing him only made the rocking worse. So as the first mate is laughing and the crewman is crying like a little girl, the car is rocking and it is starting to scare the captain and I. We finally get him to sit down after experiencing one of the most horrific events in our lives. We make it to the bottom where we started and it seems that the girl who let us on is now a man and is letting us off. We get off and set forth to grab some grub and continue our journeys.
After the refueling the captain and the first mate wanted seconds while me and the crewman went out to smoke. He explained to me a place that he knows of that is known as “The Forgotten Tower.” This tower is apparently haunted and is a graveyard as well. Knowing that I’m the adventurous type and that if we were to tell the captain and the first mate that it was haunted, the journey would end abruptly. I instead left that part out as we got in our transportation and set off. Around eight thirty is when we arrived at the path that leads to the tower. Not knowing what we were getting ourselves into we headed down the unlit path until we found light. The crewman told everyone the stories about how they use to throw their dead bodies in the river to our left and that there are graves everywhere you look. When we arrived at the foot of the stairs leading up to the tower, we then called Dorothy would we thought would help ease out fear but instead made it worse. She told us of how a girl had hung herself at the tower and her spirit still rests here and that we can’t take anything away from this place, not even a rock. She said that her friend had taken a rock and as they got in the car and pulled out they were hit by a semi and she was the only survivor. This did not sit well with any of us and we almost didn’t want to go up to the tower anymore. Yet, we pushed on and made it to the tower and we were on the first floor right in front of the stairs going to the second. Nobody wanted to go but just as the last person said he wasn’t, the captain set off up the stairs. We all followed close behind and made it to the stop were we stopped and smoked as we prepared for the journey out. The crewman told us another tale of when he and Dorothy and her son came here and that a little farther up the path the kid freaked out crying and said he saw something. When asked what he saw he saw things that we couldn’t see. Right then the crewman said we’re leaving and left. He now returned with us and was about to take us down that same path that little E had freaked out.
After a quick talk with our old friend Bernard again we set off up the trail to hopefully get out of this place as fast as we could. As we were all huddled together like we were keeping warm and trying not to fall behind we headed down the path and looked in horror as we saw shrines and holes in the wall looking as if they go on forever. We finally got to the part where little E had his freighting experience and the crewman stopped and told us this was it. We on the other hand pushed him forward or we were leaving him and we could finally see the road now were we could find out way back home where we all wanted to be at this point. Little did we know we would have to figure a maze of streets out and find out way back to the main road where we could find out where we had began this journey. After a half hour of wandering around hoping to see something familiar in the distance we see the thing we had been looking for, the main road. As we all get closer hoping to find transportation home. We stop by a vendor and browse some wares and buy some drinks to calm our nerves. We finally get a ride back to our headquarters but along the way we had to make a pit stop at the place we like to call “The Temple.”
The Temple is a place where all the bad things inside of you are exorcised out of you without your permission. This is a sacred place to us because it is usually visited often by us to perform our rituals. We ended the night with our old pal Sampson and we ventured off to my home and left and crewman in his rack. We all eventually passed out to tell the tale of our legendary adventure to all that would listen.
I love the look of this camera. It’s definitely a design that can reignite a spark among photographers whether they’re seasoned or just beginners….Then again, I doubt that a beginner would be shelling out big bucks for a DSLR camera. Here’s to hoping this concept turns into reality, looks promising. Source
HOBBIES : drag racing, air soft, flag football, online games
Favorites:
FOOD : Japanese and Filipino food
TV SHOW : action series
ACTOR : Denzel Washington, Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt
ACTRESS : Kate Beckinsale
Background:
Paul Jake belongs to a wealthy family and since childhood he lived a comfortable life. But his parents also taught him all the right values. Paul also doesn’t mind enjoying the simple things in life with his friends. He mingles with employees of their company as if he is not the heir to the family empire.
However, not wanting to rely solely on his family, he put up his own business which eventually became successful. Paul earned enough money to study abroad.
Do you think Paul Jake can use his business skills and get to the big final four? Who is your favorite housemate?
Check out his pictures and profile to see if he can win this reality show.
He’s one of my bet in PBB. I hope he’ll make it to Big4! I like his personality and attitude towards his other housemates. Sad. he’s got a girlfriend. haha. It is fun to team him up with Cathy. I like them both. I’ll support them, also MelaSon.
It’s Sunday December 27 and the Hallmark Channel has on it remake after remake of “A Christmas Carol”. Each one worst than the one before it. I’m not against remakes of movies but, if your going to do one, make it good. I really like the 1951 Orignal Version with Alastair Sim and the new Disney Animated 3D Version out this year, with Jim Carey as Scrooge. All the others just don’t do it for me. 
) I then realised it was Mianhada Saranghada, the drama that P told me about that apparently confused him to no end. Thinking he did a cameo role, I clicked on the wiki entry, and he was the MAIN CHARACTER? That shaggy looking dude who stole luggage, spoke in Chinese and Japanese and was in Melbourne?! That sort of explains the BONDS underwear, actually, since he was on our turf. Get that girls, in 1999, SJS was on our turf. Oh. My. God. But for some reason I assumed that Shin Hyun Joon was the guy who played the MiSa dude LOL – I just got incredibly confused. Now I’m tempted to watch MiSa just for So Ji Sub. DAMN IT. I AM SUCH A SUCKER FOR THESE THINGS. I guess I can buy that from the DVD store since I saw like 3 copies of it – if only I knew earlier then I would have just bought it! DAMN IT. DAMN IT! DAMN IT THE THINGS I DO FOR SJS. I’m such a NERD. UGH. I’ll watch it. ARGH. DAMN IT.
I hope he’ll make it to Big4! 
he’s got a girlfriend. haha.