Thursday, March 10, 2005

I heard about the release of Sin City some time ago. Last night, during the new episode of South Park, I finally caught a trailer. Being a Frank Miller fan I was worried about the look and style of this movie. The trailer, however, looks kick ass. I definitely have high hopes for this film.

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A Little “A” for the “Q” but not for the “T” JJRiddler-”If you had Michelle Branch and Pamela Anderson standing in leather chaps in front of you, who would you play with first?” That is easy, Michelle Branch, though the leather chaps would be history in a matter of seconds. I don’t find the present incarnation of Pamela Anderson very appealing. Besides, sleeping with Pamela Anderson would be like having sex with a bowl of mashed potatoes. Her former husband didn’t have a large penis; he had a freaking elephant trunk growing between his legs. Shinmaru-”If your ego and my ego were to meet in an MMA-style brawl, who would win?” Tough one. I think that my online ego is probably a little bigger than your online ego, though your persona is a bit stronger than mine. Therefore the size difference would probably be minute. However, my real life ego is almost as, if not as, large as my net ego. So you might run into a size conflict there. That said the size of an ego isn’t everything, how you use it is important as well. Because my ego is so large though, I can confidently say I would crush you. Shinmaru-”Also, which ego would have more ladies throwing panties in its general direction?” I think that you would definitely have more disease free panties thrown in your general direction. Satan665-”Ever had a moustache?” I am a spitting image of Tom Seleck… No, I have never had a moustache (unless those few minutes while I shaved an experimental beard in college) though I think it would be cool to have curly moustache and a van dyke. That way I could curl my moustache and run my other hand on my chin menacingly, resembling a crazy comic book villain. Trenton Noir-its funny to me. i leave comments some times, but they're always a couple of days behind, due to my infrequent internet use. i sometimes doubt that they are seen. the days i do catch a fresh post of yours (like today), they're always "wrestle, wrestle, other stuff...". *sigh* Do I really write about wrestling a lot on this blog. Hmmm. Anyway, I do catch your comments most of the time, hope you are still thrashing out on your guitar. Sarah-”You're always doing things that were popular a couple of weeks ago. I think it's 'cuz you think it makes you cooler to do it when it's not the trend. What do you think?” I think that I end up following trends weeks after they were popular because I am lazy bastard and I cannot think of anything original to do. It is an easy cop-out. Sarah-”Also, could you explain in detail what about me is so irresistible?” Well, maybe it is your ability to manipulate the English language so well. Or maybe it is eclectic musical taste that often time mirrors my own. Perhaps you are irresistible you are the cleanest dirty girl I have ever known. Or perhaps it is vice versa. Maybe I just admire your goals and your struggles. But, I probably find you irresistible because you have a sweet ass :p Yeah, that was an excerpt from my book “The Male Chauvinist or How to be a Pig in One Easy Step”. Sarah-”how big’s you pipi” Depends how cold the bath water is…

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Wednesday, March 9, 2005

It is odd how my moods jump from one extreme to another in such a short span of time. Yesterday I was in quite the black mood. I don’t know why I was so depressed, slow and sluggish; sometimes I just slip into those moods. Today, however, I am quite upbeat and energetic. Can anyone say “manic depressive”? I am absolutely pissed that I missed the first episode of the Contender, everyone said it was great. Unfortunately, WWE Raw was on at the same time. Watching wrestling on Monday nights is so ritualistic for me that it is hard to remember anything else. As a precautionary measure I set my digital recorder to tape the Contender on Thursday and Sunday…just in case. I am not a big fan of reality shows but even I have my guilty pleasures. First off, I love the Real World/Road Rules Challenges (Inferno, Guantlet, Battle of the Sexes). These shows are so great because the people they get have to be the most dysfunctional members of American youth that they could find. As much as I like the Challenges, Ultimate Fighter blows it out of the water. If you haven’t seen this show and you like the UFC, professional wrestling, MMA, or fighting in general, check it out. It is a reality show where the contestants that don’t like each other actually can settle their differences with a fight. Yeah, it is really fucking cool. I have some ideas for posts on here, but I think I’ll hold off on them until my new blog finally launches. It is ninety percent finished, which is actually less finished than it was last weekend. Don’t worry, the site is going to be pretty plain regardless of my hype. As past girlfriend have all agreed, I heavy on the build up low on results. Anyway, I’d like to do one of those Q&As that were popular around here two or so weeks ago. If you ask me a question I guarantee a smart assed answer.

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Monday, March 7, 2005

Well, if you haven’t guessed by my lack of updates, life has been kicking my ass. Actually, “kicking my ass” isn’t the appropriate term, I am my life’s prison bitch. It is cool though, one week until spring break…which is pretty much worthless because I still have to work everyday, but it will be a little break from those long school/work filled days. So, has anything new happened in my life? Probably, but nothing all that note worthy. I did pick up a couple CD’s the other day. I bought The Tipping Point by The Roots, continuing my rekindled interest in hip-hop. It is a good album, but not nearly as tight as their previous release, Phrenology. I have read some reviews that point state the lyrics of The Tipping Point album are not as strong as the lyrics in previous Roots’ albums, but I disagree. I think that beats and the overall musicality of this album just seems lacking for a Roots album, though it still blows 95% of the rest of the Rap world away. I also bought Jack Johnson’s new album, In Between Dreams, which was almost as big a let down as his previous album On and On. The incredible lyrics and funky instrumentals that made Brush Fir Fairytales so good are not absent on this record, they just seem really forced and derivative. There are a few bright spots on the album (Staple it Together, for instance) that Johnson fans will enjoy, but overall I really don’t think this album is a worthwhile purchase.

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Tuesday, March 1, 2005

Yeah, so it is snowing. It has been snowing since noon yesterday and it still hasn’t stopped. I guess snow is just trendy right now. It is today’s black. The inclement weather had it in for a certain Mr. Charlie yesterday evening. I was driving home from the market when I noticed a car stopped in the middle of the road about one hundred yards ahead. So I hit my brakes and nothing happened. No need to panic though, I simply took my foot off of the brake and tapped them again. Nada. Still, I was confident in my ability to halt me car before I smashed into the unsuspecting vehicle. So I pumped my brakes a few more times. Unfortunately I had zero traction. By now I was panicking a little bit. So I was about twenty-five yards from smashing into said car when my brakes found traction on the icy, wet snow. Still, I was running out of room. So I cut my wheel to the left so my passenger side would strike the car and not screw up my engine. At that exact same time the car in front of me made a right hand turn. I slid cleanly past it, spinning three hundred and sixty degrees into the left hand lane towards oncoming traffic. Ramming my foot down on the gas my car leapt back into the correct lane and I sped back to my warm house, where I immediately had a heart attack. I guess God has a special place in his heart for red Saturn sport coupes.

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Monday, February 28, 2005

Yeah, I’m alive. It was my mother’s fiftieth birthday on Thursday so I flew back to North Carolina for a long weekend. It was pretty fun, though my stomach was still a bit unstable (for those of you that don’t know I had a nasty stomach virus early last week) and I was unable to indulge in all the awesome food that was around. On Saturday my parents and I drove a couple hours west to watch my sister play basketball. This was my first time visiting her college and I was really impressed with how gorgeous it was. She attends a smaller private college twenty miles outside of Asheville, North Carolina, and the school’s brick and stone buildings really look regal nestled within the small mountain town. Anyway, it was great watching her play ball and finally visiting the school she attends. That night we went into Asheville to eat dinner and putz around. It was a pretty cool little city, with trendy bars, nifty outdoor shops, and great restaurants. We ate dinner at a wonderful restaurant (by then my stomach was about back to normal), got some ice cream, and walked around a bit. It was a nice trip. Well, that is it for now. I will write something else tomorrow perhaps.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005

As if I needed a reason to visit the Big Apple. click here and be cool I thank the Daily Show with John Stewart for this insanely cool info.

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Tuesday, February 15, 2005

I feel like I should write something here even though I have very little to talk about. Lately life has been pretty ordinary, lots of school work, lots of work work, and lots of me wasting valuable time lying around in front of the television. Oh wait, I lied. Something did happen to me this weekend. On Saturday night I went out to a local bar, a shitty smoke filled hole called Nicky’s, with my friend Melissa (I know some people like using fake names for people they know in real life, but I don’t…after all, what are the chances that you’ll meet my friends?). Immediately upon walking into the dive I noticed Amy sitting at the bar with a few guys. Melissa introduced me to Amy back in August and we went on a couple of dates. We never really hit it off (she just never realized that the world, nay, the universe, revolves around me) but we never had an ugly fall out either. In other words, we are friendly but not friends. Anyway, Melissa and I went and sat at some vacated barstools next to Amy and made amiable chit chat. After few minutes we were introduced to Amy’s boyfriend, Mr. Assface, and his friends, the douche bag posse. The first hour or so went by without a hitch and I was having a good time hanging out with Melissa, as she chilled with her ultra girly fishbowl drink and I gulped down a scotch and water sans scotch. As the night went on I noticed that Mr. Assface was eying me kind of funny. I figured that Amy told him we went out a few times and he just didn’t like me because of that. Whatever, it is a lot more logical than me not liking him for no reason what so ever, he just looked like one of those people I don’t like. I am not quite sure what set him off. If I recall correctly he was attempting to be funny unsuccessfully so I poked a bit of fun at him. Nothing mean, and I can be quite mean if I desire, just a lighthearted slightly insulting comment or two. The next thing I know Mr. Assface is standing nose to nose with me (actually he was standing, I was sitting on a barstool, if I had been standing we would have been nose to forehead…he was kinda short) spouting off all manner of obscenities. Anyway, he was telling me how he was going to kick my ass while his cheerleading section, the douche bag posse, cheered him on. It was actually more funny than it was threatening so I also egged him on a bit, saying “you tell ‘em SteveDave” as I sipped my water. The obvious Mallrat reference eluded him and his henchmen, but Melissa got a good laugh out of it. So, I am getting a little perturbed by this drunken idiot standing two inches in front of my face so I advised him to listen to his girlfriend (Amy was telling him to stop being an ass) and sit back down and have a drink. Oddly enough he and his friends sat back down and ordered a few more rounds. Now I am not deluded enough to think they were at all intimidated by me, there were four of them and one of me. And even if there was just one of them and one of me I doubt they would be intimidated, I wouldn’t be intimidated by me (although I would kick my ass). Midnight rolled around and Melissa and I bid Amy adieu. Unfortunately Mr. Assface also had some parting words for me, none of which were very pleasant. By this point I was more than a little fed up. Melissa calmed me down a little bit, and Amy actually was so angry with her beau that she ended up leaving with us. I’m sure Mr. Assface was more than a little miffed when I waved him goodbye while I was walking out with his girlfriend. Anyway, that was my adventure this weekend. Nothing spectacular really.

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Thursday, February 10, 2005

I watched Troy the other night. It was alright, but it could have been better. Honestly I didn’t expect much from this movie. Taking an epic like the Iliad and converting it into a 2 ½ hour movie is a daunting task. Keeping the storyline on the same page as the epic and convincing a movie studio to produce it is near impossible. The inaccuracies weren’t all unpleasant though. I really enjoyed the idea of the gods being intangible and, more or less, a “myth” in the context of the movie. Hector, obviously the most rationale character in the movie, often had a conflicting view point with that of the soothsayer. It was also a good twist to have Achilles death be a result of Paris’ arrow through his “Achilles” tendon rather than directly caused by it. The bright spots didn’t make up for the background love story, the death of Agamemnon, the brevity of the war, or even the fact that Achilles was in the Trojan horse. I think that some of lack of continuity with the Iliad cost the movie the potential for an Oscar nomination. It was a beautifully filmed movie and well choreographed, however, the plot was much too generic “Hollywood” for it to be taken very seriously. If you haven’t watched Troy and are in the mood for a fun, action packed movie, rent it some time. It is definitely a rental movie and not a must purchase. By the way, if you read that last post you are a sucker...shit, even I didn't read all of Joel Durham's expose...the opening paragraph put me to sleep ;)

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Wednesday, February 9, 2005

It is pretty obvious that I am a computer novice when it comes to maintenance and what not. I was emailed the following by a co-worker and I followed a couple steps to instantaneous results. So give some of these a try if XP is running a bit sluggish for you. Don't you love the feeling of unbridled speed when you start using a new computer, or you drop a fresh, clean installation of Windows onto your PC's hard drive? Wow, you marvel, I didn't know a computer could run this smoothly! It responds so quickly! It boots up in seconds! It's the computer of my dreams! Perhaps you're not quite that passionate, but the fact is, a freshly installed Windows XP (news - web sites) tends to run a lot better than one you've been using heavily for the past year or two. That's because as you install programs, as they add little background applets that start when the system boots, as you download more and more files, and, in general, as you use the computer, the sheer amount of stuff that Windows has to do increases. More files in your folders means Windows has more to sift through when searching for something. Applets running in the background eat up memory and resources. Adding and deleting files and programs causes the data on the hard drive to fragment, making Windows work harder to read them. All is not lost. Windows XP knows the value of efficient performance, so it does some of its own housekeeping to keep itself speedy. It watches which programs you use the most and which files you access frequently, and keeps track of them in an .INI file. It keeps frequently accessed data in a cache, which it reads when you launch an application or when Windows boots up. This process is called prefetching and it's pretty cool--but there's still plenty to do to get an old Windows XP installation running like new. Regular Maintenance The first thing to think about is stepping up your regimen of Windows XP maintenance tasks. Windows, and the computer world at large, change all the time. Software and hardware updates come rolling in as regularly a commuter train. Windows fills up its temp directory and doesn't always clean it out. Shady Web sites try regularly to deposit programs and cookies that pry into your personal computing habits. Viruses are as common as dust. Keep on top of this stuff by doing the following: Keep Windows up to date. Use Automatic Updates, or run Windows Update (Start/All Programs/Windows Update), at least once each week. Download all of the critical updates and any service packs that surface in the future. Keep your system's drivers up to date. Download the latest drivers for your motherboard chip set, your graphics card, your sound card, your network interface device, your modem and anything else you can think of. Head over to the manufacturer's Web site, look for a drivers or downloads link, and be sure to get the proper drivers for your model. Clean House. Every so often, fire up the Add/Remove Programs applet through Control Panel. Surf through the entries, looking for programs that you never use anymore. When you find one, purge your system of it. After uninstalling it, make sure its folder was deleted from the directory tree. Stay safe. Run anti-spyware tools and anti-virus software, and use a firewall, whether it's Windows Firewall (which comes with Service Pack 2) or another firewall product. For the low down, see PC Mag's Firewalls: Software. PC Mag recommends ZoneAlarm Pro 5.5, which offers top-notch protection against a host of nasty intruders attempting to enter your PC. Keep the hard drive tidy. Run Disk Cleanup (Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Cleanup) and Disk Defragmenter (same location) at least once each month. Defragging a large drive can take a few hours, so you might start the process at the end of your day and let the computer defrag itself while you sleep. Reduce the Overhead You can get rid of all kinds of programs that run in the background that you may not need. The easiest way to do this is with the System Configuration Utility, otherwise known as Msconfig. Launch it by clicking the Start button and then Run, typing MSCONFIG into the text box, and hitting Enter. Click on the Startup tab and look at the contents. This is a list of things that start when the computer boots up. All of these little goodies run in the background, eating up memory and resources and slowing your system down. Smite them here. Uncheck everything in the list, reboot and see if any of your programs or hardware devices lose functionality. If they do, run the System Configuration Utility again and recheck entries that you suspect to be the programs your system needs, rebooting between each attempt until you narrow it down. Leave everything that doesn't affect normal use of your system unchecked. This will speed the Windows boot process and clear up system resources. Tame the Paging File When Windows doesn't find enough physical memory in your computer to do something it needs to do, it swaps contents of the memory out to "virtual memory" on the hard drive. The virtual memory is located in a file called a paging file. By default, the paging file resides on your system's C: drive, and its size is dynamic, changing when Windows decides it has to grow or shrink. This leads to performance problems: not only does Windows thrash the hard drive and slow everything down while it's adjusting the paging file size, but if the paging file becomes fragmented it can be a performance nightmare. Ideally, the paging file should reside on a secondary physical hard drive in its own partition. That's not always practical, however, so I suggest you force Windows to use a static paging file and defrag the paging file every month or so. Here's how to set up a static paging file: 1. Right-click My Computer 2. Click Properties 3. Click the Advanced tab. 4. Under the Performance heading, click Settings 5. Click the Advanced tab. 6. Under the Virtual Memory heading, click Change. You're going to set the virtual memory to a custom size by making the initial size the same as the maximum size. How big should it be? There are all kinds of complicated formulas all over the 'Net trying to answer this question. I don't have one. I simply look, at bottom of the Virtual Memory dialog you've just opened, at the "Recommended" size, and roughly double it. For instance, if I encounter a recommended paging file size of 1574 MB, I'll make the static paging file 3000 MB even. Simply enter your ideal paging file size in the Initial Size and Maximum Size boxes, and click OK until you get back to the desktop. You'll probably have to reboot for the new setting to take effect. You should also defrag the paging file every few weeks. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need a third-party disk manager to defrag the paging file. To do it with Windows XP's Disk Defragmenter, simply do this: 1. Open the Virtual Memory dialog following the steps above. 2. Click on the No paging file radio button. 3. Click OK until you get back to the desktop. 4. Reboot. 5. Run Disk Defragmenter. Defrag the drive on which the paging file resides, whether Disk Defragmenter thinks it needs it or not. 6. Reboot. 7. Open the Virtual Memory dialog and set the Initial and Maximum paging file sizes to the same value (double the "recommended" size). 8. Click OK back to the desktop. 9. Reboot. --Joel Durham Jr.

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