Sunday, July 30, 2006

David Thomas is a silly bitch.
Observation: modern presidents have a severe lack of interesting nomenclature. In place of the Abrahams, Grovers, and Ulysseses of yesterday, we've got Georges, Richards, and Johns (not to mention Johnsons instead of van Burens). And the same with facial hair. Many, maybe most, presidents from the 19th century and earlier had thick, untamed beards or needlessly big moustaches. If not that then sideburns at least. But not one president in almost a hundred years has had even a speck of facial hair.

And bringing a degree of intrigue into the mix, none of the Founding Father presidents had any facial hair and they all had terminally boring names. Not until van Buren were these trends halted (and indeed, blown out of the water. Just look at the guy).





...Come on, you know it's intriguing.

---

[C on C tomorrow, perhaps. And look for some album uploads too.]
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Saturday, July 22, 2006

Apparently, it's very likely that we will end up moving. We're definitely not going to be staying with the school, at least, and Dad can't find any decent positions in town. So we're looking at either staying with Chartwells and seeing where they take us next, or going with a new company called Sodexho (man, who comes up with these names?), where one of my dad's old friends has a high position and could get us a job in any number of locations. Personally, I'm rooting for the second option, because I'm pretty damn fed up with Chartwells.

Other news: I talked to Dad a while back, and he said it would be possible for me to buy a Wii on launch, which really threw me for a loop, lol. I fully expected him to say no, or at least "probably not". So yes, even the possiblity makes me happy just for the sake of its existence. If I do get one, then the online play with anyone else around here who buys it will be pretty sweet. =)

---

AJeh: 'Course it did, everyone loves bad puns. :D

Liam: XD;;

Aleia: *HUGS* Tell us where you are and what you're up to, dammit!
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Saturday, July 8, 2006

Punliness
[16:45] no futurist: That bastard Person A can't cheat his way through anything! >:D
[16:46] supalrb: Yeah. god I hate that guy. 8o|
[16:48] no futurist: He's an asshole. Yesterday he was making fun of Person S's lisp.
[16:48] no futurist: Man, fate sure gave that guy the short end of the straw.
[16:49] supalrb: Yeah haha.
[16:49] supalrb: And the other day he made fun of Person 4, calling him an Immgirant.
[16:49] supalrb: Immigrant*
[16:50] no futurist: DX
[16:50] no futurist: XD*
[16:53] no futurist: Didn't that happen when they were on Train X, going towards Train Y's path at a right angle at 50mph, with Train Y going at 30mph?
[16:53] no futurist: They both left at the same time, though, didn't they?
[16:53] supalrb: That's the one.
[16:54] no futurist: And of course, you never want to get Persons X and Y together. Way too much testosterone in one room.
[16:54] supalrb: Yeah haha.
[16:54] supalrb: They once got together...
[16:54] supalrb: That's how Person x and Person y were made.
[16:56] no futurist: Yeah, those two both tend to stick to themselves. Pretty recessive.
[16:56] supalrb: Yup
[16:57] no futurist: And you know >, the telemarketer? Most narcissistic operator I've ever met.

---

Liam: Well, the CD changer is a CD player, so I'm going to use it as that. Wouldn't serve much use if it could carry six CDs and not play them, would it? :P
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Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Six discs of 1990-something fury!
Alright, you had a month without me, no more vacation for you guys. :P

Ennehway, still only a few things have happened in the meantime. I bought a few CDs (Pack Up the Cats by Local H and Building Something Out of Nothing by Modest Mouse) and got an ancient-but-awesome 6-CD changer for $25 at a garage sale. I'm very satisfied with it, if only for one reason.

I've always measured the quality of a CD player by the only feature really representative of its quality: the method of access to the CD tray. If it's got a cheap, spring-loaded lid controlled by a button, you want to avoid it at any cost. Trust me. On the other hand, though, there are the ones, on players with CD changers, that are controlled electronically by button, and make all the individual CD trays fan out. Those are a good example of a player with obviously high-quality sound. (And if you see one with LED lighting around the CD tray or elsewhere, you've got an exceptional find on your hands.)

The one I picked up, though, had something I hadn't ever seen before: it has an electronically-controlled button that would make the entire 6-disc holder pop completely out of the front of the system, from which you can similarly pull out all the individual CD trays to load or unload them. It is amazing.

In more important news, though, my dad isn't going to be working at the university this fall, as I just found out last night. I had touched on before, I think, how his company really threw him into a complete shithole of an operation for the second time in a row. In fact, this time it was in even worse condition than it was at Ottawa (some $250,000 dollars in the hole, I think). In short, he took them back up I think about $100,000 in just a year, but not without pissing off the university for not giving away so much stuff for little or nothing, like the director before him had. So the company (Chartwells) probably isn't going to let him go, but the school wants them out. He's applied for a good job at Frito-Lay here in town, where he wouldn't be trying to please two different impossibly demanding entities, but if that doesn't go through, then we're going to have to stay with Chartwells, who will move us to another operation for the third fucking summer in a row. But I'm not going to worry too much about it right now, when there's not enough information to bother.
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Thursday, June 1, 2006

Nothing's quite what it seems in the city of dreams.
Mostly posting just for the sake of posting. I suppose not too much can happen during summer, but I still start feeling guilty whenever I leave this thing alone for more than a week. :P

I've been spending a lot of time over at one of my dad's friends' project house, trying to get the thing completely rebuilt. It's complete and standing, but it's an ancient piece of crap, heh. It's got two stories and a full basement, and I don't even know how many square feet. The thing is enormous, and it'll take years to get it finished so they can live in it. Still, with some help from Dad, me, and sometimes some random guys from around town, we're getting the basement finished so they can go ahead and move into that and sell off the house they're currently living in. The work's a bitch, but at least I'm getting some exercise. :P

And I picked up some delicious Wolfmother CDs recently. The Dimensions EP, and the self-titled debut. I uploaded the EP a while ago, so download it here. Or I make you hurt.

---

Shin: Yep, Watchmen is pretty good so far. this part I'm at with Ozymandias near the end is seeming kinda cheesy so far, but I'll see, hehe. The rest of it is awesome.

Kevin:No, no, the free dental only kicks in after you've had your teeth all kicked out. Always a catch. :/

Aleia: It's worth something now, dear. ;D

Baron: Well if it makes you feel any better, I read half your comment and skipped the rest. >:P

Liam: Haha, yep. I actually got that shirt for free, because my sister is friends with the drummer and the merch guy, and she was hanging out at the merch table talking to him, and he was like, "Here, give this to your little brother. It's a manly shirt." XD
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Tuesday, May 23, 2006

We've even got floaties if you can't swim.
First things first, a quiz, courtesy of Kevin. Obviously, all the questions that are completely insipid or otherwise deserving of hate (such as my favorite childhood bedsheets and describing my fingernails) have been removed. And then some that I just didn't have an answer to (such as favorite anything).


1.) Name the Last Four Things You Have Bought:

1. 1G flash drive
2. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Don't Know How To Party
3. Hmm, school lunch?
4. I forget

2)Name Four Drinks You Regularly Drink:

1. Mountain Dew
2. Dr. Pepper
3. Water
4. Uhm, I don't recall. lol

3)Last time you Cried, and why?
Don't remember

4)What's In Your CD Player?
The CD listed in number one. :)

5)What's Under Your Bed? Nothing, my bed sits on the floor.

6)What Time Did You Wake Up Today? Around 8:15

7)Current Hair? Blonde, semi-not-disheveled

8)What are you wearing?
Anberlin shirt, my favorite jeans, shoesies

9)Current Worry?
Grades. >___<

10)Current Love?
Ska

11)Current Hate?
None

16)How Tall Are You?
6', last I checked.

18)One Person From Your Past You Wish You Could Go Back And Talk To?
Hmm. Elizabeth?

20)Favorite Day(s)?
Cold, cloudy, windy, and with any precipitation that wants to drop by

21)Where Would You Like To Go?
To the kitchen, to get something to drink. *does so*

22)Where Do you want to live?
A small city, with lots of cool businesses

23)Favorite food?
It changes

24)Color of most clothes you own?
My clothes are pretty evenly distributed, color-wise.

25)Number of pillows you sleep with?
A big cotton pillow, a smaller feather pillow, and two body pillows

26)What do you wear when you go to sleep?
Boxers and a shirt. Sometimes pajama pants, if it's cold enough.

27)what were you doing 12AM last night?
Sleeping

30)Are you paranoid?
Of course not. Why would you think that? Have people been saying I'm paranoid? Because I'm not. Is that what they're saying? Are people calling me paranoid? Who's saying this?

31)Do you burn or tan?
A bit of both

32)First piercing/tattoo?
Nein.

36)Last person you yelled at? I can't remember the last time I yelled at anyone, heh.

37)Last crush?
Nobody you know. :p

38)Last thing you ate? A delicious ham and cheese sandwich, and some crackers and spinach dip.

40) Last time you had sex?
I dunno, but maybe I'd have more luck if I weren't busy filling out these quizzes.

41) If you could be with anyone right now, who would it be?
Does this question show up on every quiz, or what?

42) Best Sex your Ever Had?
In prison.

Part 2:

1.Your full name?
John Ryan Cook

3. What songs do you sing in the shower?
Nobody sings in the shower but you, man.

6. What's in your pockets right now?
My keys

7. what color are your bedroom walls?
White

9. nicknames your parents CALLED you?
They'd just call me by my first and second name, John Ryan. Weird.

11. favorite childhood pet?
Hmmm, never really had a favorite among our pets, I guess.

12. any pets now?
Un doggie.

15. curly or straight hair?
Straight, then sorta wavy when it gets longer

19. black olives or green olives?
Neither

20. what kind of phone do you own?
None

22. is your music kept in a particular order?
Emphatically. But now I've got an additional new CD case, and it's fucking things up, I tell you.

26. favorite weather?
See "favorite day"

28. worst injury you've ever had?
I r invincible!

32. favorite thing to write or draw with?
Keyboard and mouse

33. Last movie you rented?
I don't want to go find out. :P

34. last movie you went to see?
Poseidon. Do yourself a favor and give it a skip.

35. were you a thumb sucker?
No...

36. how old are you?
XVI

37: What are your dreams like?
I don't dream.

40. best vacation?
Galveston Island

41. what languages can you speak?
English

44. last porno you saw?
Alan's striptease. Oh, sorry for spilling that, Alan.

45. last song you listened to?
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - "Issachar"

48. What will you be doing tomorrow?
No idea

---

My aunt, grandma, eldest sister, and older brother were all in town for my sister's graduation this weekend, so I took the opportunity to use my brother's laptop to download and try FlyFF, something I'd been mildly wanting to try for probably over a year now, and had been meaning to ever since Raina went nuts over it, lol. I wasn't able to play more than a good two hours the whole weekend, but I thoroughly enjoyed what I got out of it. There's really not much of anything spectacular to be seen or done when you only get up to level 4, but it's still a very fun game to look at. Unfortunately, our home computer is too wimpy to run it, so that may be the end of that. =(

Also, yesterday was the last day of school. I am without my iBook now, and that has left me feeling cold and empty, but hey, it's summer, heh. You can't complain about sleeping as late as you want most every day for three months, with no school to worry about. I may even pick up reading again, with all the extra time I'll have on my hands (just today I was going through the library and saw the big yellow letters of The Watchmen in a graphic novel section I didn't even know was there, heh. So I picked that up, and will keep an eye on said section in the future). Yes, time enough at last. All the time I need, all the time in the worldOH SHIT

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Mimmi: You're right, it wouldn't really make a difference to tell him that, but thanks for the encouragement. *huggles* You're the best. ^_^

Kevin: You know, I find it very suspicious that you've got this whole thing planned out already... o.O

Liam: Exactly. My first notion in dealing with stuff like this is to always think logically. It just doesn't help to get worked up, heh. Thanks, Mr. Liam. =)

Aleia: *ker-tackles* You save some of that logic and maturity for yourself too, kiddo. Your circumstance requires it far more than mine.

Baron: Mhm. The only thing I can't stand more than teen rebellion is the fact that I'm slowly giving into it. XP
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Thursday, May 11, 2006

My dad and I had a big falling-out yesterday, in three parts.

The first occured as he and I were waiting in the lounge section of the student union for my sister to get done with work (we work in the same building that he manages the food service in). He was watching TV and I was chatting. I don't quite remember how I got called over, but it was something irrelevant. I went over, and he told me to sit down, meaning a long "discussion" was going to ensue. Here's the breakdown:

He tells me I'm going to have to go to a church camp my youth group is going to called "Super Summer". I obviously need say no more than the name and the fact that it's with the youth group. I tell him there's a music festival this summer, Cornerstone, that my older sister has told me I could go to with her and a group of her friends, and I'd rather go to that instead.

He tells me that I'm not going to spend the whole summer on the computer and that I need to get involved with the youth group. I tell him that going to the camp just to do something during the summer is not a logical decision, because that something is just a week of me being miserable, and I ask him why I need to get involved with the youth group.

He tells me I need to learn how to communicate with people and build relationships. I tell him that I'm perfectly capable of communicating, and I can do that and build relationships with whomever I choose if I ever feel that I want or need to. He doesn't believe me, and I ask him at what time I've ever actually needed to build a relationship in my life so far. He basically says "never", but in a half-assed, roundabout way, so that he can stick to his guns anyway. Somewhere or other in this, he throws out that the people I talk to online aren't "real" people.

He tells me I need to go out and do other stuff (he's never given me any really valid examples of "other stuff" to do), because it will harm me later in life if I don't. He gives me the example that if I never, for instance, learn to play baseball, when my son wants to go outside and play baseball, I won't be able to show him how. I tell him that both my brother and I have wanted to learn to play guitar, but my dad never learned. I asked him if he felt regretful about this, and of course he didn't, because we're able to learn through other, equally accessible routes. I tell him that this is an exact correlation with my future baseball-playin' son. He agrees, in order to seem like he's looking at both sides of this conversation, and proceeds to forget that he ever did.

It goes on like this, with him going into various issues, me telling him why he's wrong, and him moving on to keep the conversation away from his wrongs. Another hilight is my telling him that the computer is more than just a screen, but where I learn about various things I'd never know about without it, my main method of talking to friends both online and off, how I entertain myself, and where I flex my artistic muscle. He agrees again, but goes on to blatantly contradict himself on this many times and tries to forget anything I've said. So you get the gist.

About an hour later, he finally wraps it up with a "the bottom line is" argument that he knows I'm going down a path that will lead to me being miserable later in life, and that it's his duty as a parent to keep me from it. The debate is through, he turns the TV back on, and I go back to the glowy white screen where I stare hypnotized whiling away a childhood that could be better spent going out and relating to more people than I do at my high school, in which case I could be productively getting slammed on the weekends and date-raping chicks with makeup plastered liberally across their faces. Alas.

Thus ends Part One of the night.

My sister gets off work, and we go home, with my dad following after he runs a few errands. I was in the middle of a conversation with Kevin at the time, and he was in an immeasurably shittier situation than me, so I naturally decided to finish the conversation at home instead of cutting it off at the drop of a hat because it was taking place on the computer. (I was talking to Alan too, but we all know how much he matters. olololol). Dad gets home, sees me on the computer again, and explodes. I tell him I'm having a pretty serious conversation with a friend, and he asks me what it's about. I give him a look of surprise, and tell him I just told him it was serious and would rather keep it between me and Kevin. He explodes bigger-like, accuses me of respecting Kevin more than him (ironically, before this, that wasn't necessarily true). He keeps asking what we're talking about, says he's (Kevin) not a real person, that he doesn't care about me, and that for all I know he might be a "pedophilia" (side note: Kevin, are you a pedophilia? I'll be pretty disappointed if you are, man. >:O). By now I'm furious with him, but I've got enough self-control to not yell or make any smart-ass remarks. He goes on, yelling loudly and animatedly about how I didn't listen to anything he said before, and finally says how it does no good to even talk to me about it (a conclusion I had come to with him months ago). He storms off, I tell everyone I'm talking to that I have to go, and shut the computer just to avoid sending him into further tantrums. I was too pissed to do anything, so I just went into my room and went to bed. Thus, Part Two.

A little later, right as I was about to go to sleep, he comes back into my room and starts talking to me again, as I knew he would. No apologies from him, no, he just says most of the same things, but not so childishly this time, for another hour or so, trying to tack a guilt trip onto me in the process. But by now I'm not even listening. I'm just trying to decide if there's anything I can do to alter his point of view, or if I'm just going to have to wait it out until he changes by himself. If there is, it won't be through talking. I've tried that countless times before. He finally leaves, and I go to sleep. Fin.

I'd love to believe that he knows something I don't, and that I've got any reason, any at all, to change, but hours of conversation have taught me otherwise. My point in posting this, really, is that I'm not sure if it'll be a small turning point in my life or not. He's repeatedly said that he'll either let me choose to change my life, or he'll force it on me (not much of a choice, is it?). Unless he goes with his tendency and doesn't follow up on that once again, there's going to be a lot more friction between us in the coming two years after my sister leaves for college.
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Tuesday, May 9, 2006

Seems you've mistaken me for someone who cares
This post is here purely to plug Brad Sucks. After some bugging from Alan, I downloaded the (free, people) album he's got on his site, and I've since fallen in love with it. Really, it's completely out of my current weekly/monthly musical craving, and I'm still listening the hell out of it, lol. It's really great stuff, and I'm almost surprised that it's just one guy. Probably my favorite artist right now, but we'll see. You just go download it and such.

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Shin: ...Thanks for shattering my innocent perception of reality. I really appreciate it. ;-;

Liam: You know, if art is the expression of emotion, then I think I'm going to make sure my Subway worker isn't angry next time I go for a sandwich there. :p

And yes! AMDP! I just finished rereading the entire archives, and now I eagerly await it. :3
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Thursday, May 4, 2006

I wonder if they have a union?


"Professional condiment squirter" must be a registered occupation.
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Monday, May 1, 2006

You broke my shiny thing! It was so shiny, yet you broke it. Do you hate me?
First things first, Alan, do you have a random image script I could use? Shin, too, I guess, since I've seen you use one at your myO. I need it for the intro here.

The [incomplete] new theme is in tribute to Squidi.net, home to what still remains probably my favorite webcomic ever, A Modest Destiny. It's due to return and finally finish soon, so you all should head over there and read through the archives, as I'm doing once again right now. It was a great comic, and I had forgotten how funny and interesting it was. But, er, excuse the first several comics. It picks up, I promise. >>;;

So, I finally got the first of my birthday presents, from my dad. XD As I said before, we still try to do with the presents, but it's not really enough of an issue for them to not get done until a month later, hah. Anyway, it was a decent set of lower-end Altec Lansing speakers. First time I've ever owned anything with a subwoofer, so I was pretty excited that I was able to listen to Kyuss without losing half the sound, lol.

And speaking of music-type things, I got Audioscrobbler to work on my computer, so now my last.fm account is finally useful. Yay~! *applies to Chromosome Cowboys and feels left out no more*

And because I'm a whore, here's an early stage of the newest Comp Graphics project. Eventually, I'll be animating it in Flash. He's gonna be playing rock paper scissors with a mirror. :p

EDIT: Alan's the man. Reload the page for more cute Hechters, and make clickies on him for the site. Not without a catch, though, I guess:

9:04:58 PM mahalkitaraina: By the way
9:05:05 PM mahalkitaraina: You've signed away your ability to piss me off
9:06:00 PM mahalkitaraina: Look at that URL
9:06:04 PM mahalkitaraina: Look at it closely
9:06:07 PM mahalkitaraina: It's on my server man
9:06:19 PM mahalkitaraina: You say the wrong thing, insult my manhood, explode my dune buggy
9:06:22 PM mahalkitaraina: I edit that file
9:06:25 PM mahalkitaraina: And suddenly
9:06:29 PM mahalkitaraina: It's not a random image script

9:06:39 PM mahalkitaraina: But a grown man holding his anus 8 inches wide
9:06:49 PM mahalkitaraina: That's the tripwire you risk, now.

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The Guess Who - Proper Stranger

Soul Coughing - White Girl
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