Wisdom

So, wisdom.
I was wondering, what happens to truly WISE men/women? I mean, some people might argue that these wise-persons become preists or religous leaders. But seriously, other than a lot of devotion and memorizing you don't really need wisdom to be one.
If you check the dictionary it mentions that wisdom includes (as an accepted definition) the "accumulation of Philosophical or Scientific facts" but again, knowing all about philosophy doesn't make you wise necessarily. And knowing a shitload about science makes you knowledgeable, again not the tipe of WISE that makes people say: That man is a wise-man.
What do wise people do then? You won't get payed for wisdom. If your skill is to be wise, what would you do with your life?

R.I.P.

Goldie

November 1994 - 27th of November, 2008

You were my favorite, you know? I'm glad I was there to send you away.

Forcing food on people...

I don't hate vegetarians. Or even vegans. I don't have much respect for them, but then again, who am I to tell them what to eat or not?
My problem with some of them? They are kind of like the Christian Fanatics that always tell you what to believe (despite not having even read the bible, but I digress). Of course that doesn't mean that ALL vegans (or christians) are like that, but the ones that are always tend to be so annoying you tend to forget not everyone is the same.
I was recently browsing one of the cooking forums I read and I encountered a very, very annoying vegan there that started telling everyone not to eat anything that was not plant. No Crabs, or Shrimp or Lobsters, no pig, mutton, lamb, beef, fish... you get the idea. I am used to these kinds of people, but what was particularly annoying about this one was the constant blabbering and effort to tell everyone how disgusting it was to eat all of those types of meat. He/she used comparisons of disgusting nature to try and dissuade the readers of carrying on with their meat-eating.

Furthermore, this person even tried the classic: Studies show that.. blah blah blah. I have a question for all you people that insist on saying "studies show this or that": Why is it that whenever you "quote" a "study" you never bother to write down the SOURCE or the YEAR the study was made? It's always "recent". Right. What is that? The 70's when Americans in Woodstock discovered the Avocado for the first time? That's fairly recent, compared to the hundreds of years people have been eating meat without much trouble, and in fact have survived decently well.

Newsflash people! Humans are OMNIVORES that means we eat both veggies and meats! Whether you choose to eat one or the other it is your problem but if you don't like people offering you a bite of a hamburger, then don't try to impose your personal belief that eating plants is better than eating meats.
You think eating lettuce is better for your health? Good for you. I don't care. What could you do to share your opinion about it? How about a recipe instead of trying to degrade the food that the rest of us eat? A good salad recipe is something I would try and I might agree with you or not on whether it is healthier but I at least will have the courtesy of telling you that yes, it tastes good.

For all of you diet people, eating only veggies is not the only solution to a healthier body... certainly, a balance of proteins and vitamins is necessary and they don't all come in the necessary quality or quantity in veggies only or in meat only. Don't believe that bullshit that you have to be a veggie to be slim. It's not true. In fact some of the veggies I know are not slim, they are cadaverous. Try maybe, eating less meat and more veggies. BALANCE is the keyword. Find it and exercise. That will shape you up.

And again, if you want to eat veggies only, that's your choice. But don't believe you are better (or less cruel to animals) for it.

Here's something for everyone, my fav salad EVER: Maggianos Salad for you veggie people just get rid of the prosciutto. NOT FOR VEGANS (it has bleu cheese) it might taste ok without it but it takes a LOT of the flavor out.

Times and Change

Well, I am glad to see my vote counted for something.

A week or so ago I was in Houston, talking with an old friend of the family. He's a Republican, voted for McCain, I did the early vote for Obama.
While we talked we discussed a bit as to why we chose who we chose. He had some very good points about foreign Oil policies, and McCain's proven record. He didn't think much of Obama's chances at making the changes he promised.
My main issue was clearly my dislike of Bush's and McCains foreign policy. To my eyes, any country in the world needs allies, no matter how great that country is, how proud the people are or how much money they have. As such, disregarding everyone's opinion to pursue your own agenda will not push towards peace, much less understanding.
I truly don't believe that most americans understand how the rest of the world sees the USA. Let me clear their doubts and clarify that the rest of the world is NOT jealous.
Most of americans have never stepped out of the country, met a foreigner in more than passing or even stopped to think that what they do might not be seen as justifiable by the rest of the world, and yet a lot of the believe themselves more than worthy to pass judgment on what a country other than their own has a right to do.
Defending your way of life is not the same as trying to impose your beliefs and system on others.
Bush, pushing policies of fear of foreigners; suppressing freedom of speech and opinion (Patriot Act anybody?) and reckless warmongering condemned the USA to be seen as the "(Bully) Police of the World (Wannabe)." And McCain's approach during the debates reflected this attitude.
That was my main issue with him. Do I think he is capable? Extremely. Smart? Well, he chose Palin, but everyone makes mistakes. A good leader for the country? Eh... no.
Following the lead of a man (Bush) that should be arrested, tried and judged the moment he steps out of office is not a good choice. He might love his country, but he doesn't understand it.
Will Obama be a better choice? I would think and hope so, since he is now the president-to-be.

But what I told my Texan friend I will repeat here: When Barak becomes president of the USA he must forget his political party. He is above that now. He has to reach to the Republicans in Senate and Congress too. He cannot allow something as trivial as that to cloud his judgment in the resolutions that will remake or destroy the USA.
They helped him get there, now he has to become the leader the PEOPLE chose. In the end, the party, the congress, the senate, and the presidency is nothing more than an extention of the will of the people.
And he has to make an extreme effort to make the people of the USA understand that he cannot simply change everything from one day to the other. It will take time, lots of it. Change of this magnitude doesn't happen just by snapping your fingers.
And I hope, he listens to his own words and seeks the help of the world to find a solution. USA is a country, it is not completely alone, but only through hard work will it be again respected instead of scorned, feared or hated.
So, good luck, President Barak Obama.

-

On a sadder note, Juan Camilo Mouriño, Secretary of the Interior (Mexican Vice-President) passed away last night (4th of November).
His airplane crashed, killing all 9 passengers immediately. More is to be revealed about the incident itself later on, but for now, I share my condolences to his family and friends.

R.I.P.

Randolph Frederick Pausch (October 23, 1960 – July 25, 2008) Fighting Cancer from August 2006 to July 2008.

Thanks for doing that Last Lecture that affected and inspired so many of us in the world.

Still ALIVE!

Hello everyone.

Yes, it's me. I'm not dead but I've been without internet access for the last few weeks, and without it there's really not much chance of writing here or chatting with all of you by msn, aim, skype, ect. :p

So where am I right now? The CITY OF WINDS or, as the rest of the world knows it, Chicago. To be more precise, I'm not in Downtown Chicago, I am in Aurora, which is a small satellite city of the big metropolis that Chicago is. The whole area is called "Chicagoland" creatively enough.

It is nice out here. It is a big contrast with the usual city life, the suburbs are so wide and expansive its amazing to see an actual building like the ones we city-folk are so used to. Skyscrapers? Nah. There are admittedly places like Oakbrook, that are like a small sanctuary of buildings and offices... but let's face it, that's it.

Life here is very different from the UK or Mexico, and thankfully I have managed to make good frienships and managed to survive this long ;)

Right now I'm working at a place called VMI. It has amazing teamwork ethics, but sadly cars are a necessity. I've managed to survive so far, but it might be time for a change of scene... or not. We'll see how it works out.

Writing came back a week or so ago, and with that a re-affirmation of my true calling in life. I've been looking at some contests and I think I have the story to send :) I'll let your guys know, so keep checking here from time to time to find news about that. Again, I'll have to re-schedule my blogging. So I'll simply write everything from now on and put long posts online when I get the chance.

Now let's see... the place where I live.

It's a house. I'm renting a room from a couple of friends. They are married, their names are Candece and George and they have two little girls, Angelina and Isabella. I don't know if I've mentioned them before (I haven't re-read my blog as I write this) Anyway, they are nice girls when they are not around. I'm not going to say which, but one of them, despite her name, is as far away from heaven as hell is.

Anyway, I'll write more later on... I've got a library card now, and hopefully I can get a ride there at least once a week. :)

later!

Nya!

Chicago!

So a lot of people are wondering what's up with my life. Last week I went back to Mexico for just as many days. I tried to make contact with as many friends as I could possibly meet, and I didn't talk to many of them I wanted to, either by being absent minded or not managing time properly. The fact that so many of you dear friends have jobs that keep you until late or at least occupied didn't help either!

If you didn't hear from me, it wasn't lack of interest, I assure you. I had lots of things to do and thus missed many chances to actually call you. I have no excuse, but I do care for all of you. I have always admitted that although in my upbringing my family has been undeniably important, I am who I am today because of all of you. Each of you have taught me things that my family couldn't. Experience and circumstances teach a lot, and I am grateful to all of you. From Mexico to Japan, from "Russia" to to Portugal, the UK to China... all over the world I have met you and although I haven't seen all of you it's because of distance, time and (sadly) money.

Which brings me to Chicago. The last few months I've made new and dear friends here, and I have used this as a chance to actually start a life here (for a while). I don't know how long I'll stay here, but I expect it to be a few years. I've already got a good chance (almost secure) at a job. It's not the best, nor related to what I want to do, but it is a spring-board to better things. I will keep looking for a job that is more adoc to what I want, but in the mean time, I will be making money, which hopefully I can use to visit all of you world-wide.

I'll still be travelling, as you know wanderers never stop doing so. But for now the Digi-lair is located in the outskirts of the City of Winds. I'll be getting a flat (appartment) asap, so you will all be welcome to visit :)

Anyway, I'll catch you all later!

-D

Random Test

I haven't posted any tests in a while, so I stole this one from Elf's blog :p

Your Score: Banishing

You scored 8 Chaos vs Order, 15 Occult Skills, 16 Occult Danger!

You are a balanced individual with some occult skills. You take some risks, so I hope you have at least one banishing memorized. A simple one is the lesser banishing of the pentagram. A license to depart might not be good enough.

Link: The Which form of magickal protection would work best for you? Test written by revdrqat on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test View My Profile(revdrqat)

Roleplaying

This year I will have been roleplaying for 16 years.

It's a long time.

Obviously, there are many more people that have been doing it for longer, but it is an interesting thing to remember all those on-and-off adventures, the several systems, the changes from AD&D to 3.0 to 3.5 and soon enough 4.0; Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf and all the other White-Wolf products that also have changed into Requiem and such. All the house-made games; Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, Megaman; all the adaptations of movies we played under the Alternity setting: Space Above and Beyond, Ronin, etc.

There's been more than I can list off the top of my mind. Now that I'm going to Chicago for who knows how long I have to find new people to Roleplay with. Hopefully something will come up soon.

The Challenge

I went today to Wild Buffalo Wings to try the challenge: 12 chicken wings bathed in their most spicy sauce to be eaten in 6 mins or less, no water or drinks or anything in between...

As most of my friends know, I'm a slow eater. I can eat 12 chicken wings normally in about 20 mins. So, it was a bit of a surprise when I accepted the challenge...

Took a first bite...

and then anotherone...

Until it was all gone.

After being completely surprised by the fact that I had eaten the wings in that time (that was the real problem, the sauce? Spicy but not comparable to the stuff we eat in Mexico.) I decided to take YET another challenge:

So I gave it three tries... And got 2 out of three!


THE SPOILS OF WAR

I got a t-shirt which thankfully was BLACK and not the whiney white cheap t-shirt makers normally use and I got a skunk and a bear from the Toy Chest. Not a bad haul from a simple dinner challenge :)

Meme... sigh.

Bueno, me toca a mi ahora... disculpen la falta de acentos...

1. ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas como blogger?

Creo que desde el 2004 o 2005... alguna vez intente hacer un seguimiento de mis choco-aventuras en el 98 pero... no.

2. ¿Cómo te diste cuenta de la existencia de los blogs?

Fue en el Tec, mientras procesaba a travez de la burocracia para sacar mis papeles y cambiar de universidad. Pako escribio una cronica tipo Conan el Barabaro de lo que ocurrio en su blog.

3. ¿Qué es lo que más te gusta de tu blog?

Que cumple su objetivo de ser un sito para soltar rants de lo que se venga en mente.

4. Recomienda cinco blogs que visites regularmente.

Reviso todos los blogs que tengo en mi lista, pero creo que en contenido el blog de Leone Ross, mi mentor(a) y Kerberos se la llevan, seguido de Djgotga. No tengo el link del de Leone aqui porque no estoy seguro de que quiera que lo ponga... si ven un link es porque ya me dio permiso.

5. ¿Eres lector anónimo de algún blog?

Nope.

6. ¿Algún Blog que te despierte especial simpatía?

A que te refieres por simpatia? Todos tenemos algo que decir... solamente lo decimos de manera distinta. En esa forma me la despiertan todos.

7. ¿Con qué cinco Bloggers te irías de fiesta?

Si solo fueran cinco? Chale. Esa no es fiesta! :p Con todos me he ido de fiesta y asi seguira siendo.

8. Recomienda una herramienta de internet:

XE.COM: La herramienta indispensable para alguien que se la vive de viaje.

9. Recomienda un vídeo de especial interés:

SABRINA ONLINE Simplemente: porque Nickelodeon no abandona a todos esos cretinos que hacen las caricaturas hoy dia y le dan buen dinero a Erick Schwartz para que el lo haga? O_o

10. Elige entre cinco Bloggers para que contesten estas preguntas en sus blogs.

DJgotga, Vilrandir, Elf-chan, Kaput y Nullrand

Something Positive

I thought I would post something positive since lately I've been in a funk.

Last weekend I went to Oaxtepec with some friends, I want to thank Vilrandir for inviting me over since I really needed to get out of my house and actually breathe some fresh air, swim, role-play and play one-too-many strategy games. :) It was a pretty cool stay with friends and killing little things on a board is good therapy to let some frustrations go.

Upon my return I got in contact with Zeff and DJgotga and we abused the hell out of every character in Smash Bros. Brawl. I became proficient in the use of Meta Knight and Peach. Go figure.








This last week was mostly non-eventful, other than lots of talking about. I finally managed to organize a BBQ on Saturday. It was good to see friends talk about completely different subjects than those that plagued my mind (I mean, I translated "Todo a Pulmon" you HAVE to be pretty depressed to do that kind of thing.)

By this point most of the food was already gone!

Lots of food was also good. I'd like to thank Al for handling most of the cooking :P it's not always you have an actual chef minding the BBQ for a small party/reunion. It's kinda sad that some friends were not able to come but, well I did think of them on at least one of the several toasts.

After about 3 hours of food, we decided to start brawling. Agan Super Smash Bros. Brawl took over and the mindless violence and good company was not only cathartic but encouraging. At least I was able to bent my frustrations on just about anything that moved and kick them off the screen so they could either fall into the distance, smash against the screeen, or blown to particles by rays off-screen.

To finish up we watched Hot Fuzz in spanish to see how good the translation was... it was amazing! Some jokes like "Mothers!" in English works infinitely better in Mexican Spanish, because "Madres!" is an expression we use CONSTANTLY. (i.e. Ya valio madres!)

Anyway, it was fun, and although this last week was full of good and bad surprises, having my friend's support and just their presence trully keeps my spirits up.

Nya!

Another one fallen...

Arthur C. Clarke, writer of 2001: Space Odyssey died today (March 19th 2008). There is not much I can say about this. The man was an inspiration to thousands.

As I said earlier, so many are dying these days... soon, the whole world of Fantasy and Science Fiction will fall completely into the hands of the following generation. It is not yet our time, but seing it approaching is at best, bitter-sweet.

Good travels, Arthur, wherever the universe will take you.

Going out of the City

Well, I'll be going out of the city for the weekend, so I hope to post pictures and stuff. I remembered this song
which I think expresses how I feel right now. I'm getting better, slowly and I don't plan to be an annoying
depressive bastard.

I'm finding this at least, to be a creative oportunity to work into stories and such, maybe out of this I'll get the
motivation to start writing proper short stories instead of the really short stuff I've produced lately.
Writing is good, and it's a good way to get rid of feelings that get cramped inside of you; it's an expression, good
or bad, that funnels out the flow of feelings before they drown you in them.

The rest of the post was deleted since it was done in a temporary moment of weakness.

The UK Embassy... Again

So, today I went to the UK Embassy for the 5th time since August in an effort to somehow get leave to enter the UK again.

This time however, since my interest is only for a visit I filled out the internet application forms they provide for this specific purpose. So, the form itself only demands for a passport-sized picture, which I secured easily enough. Then, the only thing it says is the following: "If you feel that you need more documents, please bring them with you to your appointment."

Now... personally, I think that is VAGUE as hell. Especially when one of the "documents" they need is somehow proof that Stacey is just my girlfriend and that she exists. And as an example of a document to prove that, I was told I could bring "emails" to support my relationship and prove that it was true.

Of course, if I do that they will probably say that someone else could have wrote them. These people are not helpful at all. Every turn there is a fucking Catch-22. They simply do not want you there, even just VISITING.

So how did it go? Well once I'd buggered the hell out of my friend DJgotga to print out all of the forms for me, I had to go to sleep early...

I left my house at 7:30 AM. Which, with an appointment at 9:15AM in Mexico city was the equivalent of saying: "I want to travel the world in 80days... walking."

2 hours later I had arrived at the Consulate, which thankfully had started late. So I was still admitted inside.

Since the last time, a lot of the issues of me not getting in were related to the fact that I went in as a Mexican, this time I chose to put the visa on my American passport. This raised a few eyebrows when the girl at the counter asked me why I wanted to put it there. When I told her that there had been suspiction of me being stopped the first time because I was Mexican, her answer was to hold up both passports and say:

"I assure you that a customs officer will see no difference in either of these."

So I answered: "Yes, that is what I'd like to think to."

I asked if it was a problem to put it through the american passport and she said no, so I gave her all the paperwork. All this time, she knew that I only brought that particular set of documents. But she made me go through all the motions of putting my fingers up for scan, etc. Then the only thing she asked was: "Do you want to give me any more documents?"

So I said: "I think that's all I need, do I need anything else?"

She just shrugged and took them. Then they had me wait for a while until everyone else was gone and a guy just came up and told me to get back there at 3PM.

So I had to go back at 3, which, with the prospect of a visa to finally get to see Stacey, didn't sound so bad. So I went there at 3. The passed me into a room to have an interview...

The man walked in, looked me straight in the eye and said. "At this moment, we are refusing your visa."

Their reasoning? The following:

"I have refused your visa application on this occasion because I am not satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that you meet all the requirements of section 41 of the Immigration Rules. This decision was made on the merits of this application. (...)"

Apparently I didn't provide the exact paperwork they were looking for, including the aforementioned email to prove my girlfriend exists. Not only that but, the cost of the visa was roughly 1400 pesos, which is about 130 dollars or about 60 british pounds... and I don't get it back. In fact, if I apply for another visa, it will cost another 1400 pesos just for them to check.

And the best part? They decided that since I hadn't provided the other paperwork, they wouldn't even look at the stuff from the Denial of Entry bit. So, assuming I go through the whole thing again, I still don't know if they'll give it to me.

Anyway. That was my day. Thanks for reading.

Remembering those gone...

Like many other gamers in the world, one of the RPG groups I'm part of decided to honor the passing of Gary Gygax by roleplaying one of his adventures.

In our case the story chosen was "The Tomb of Horrors" a campaign setting dating back to 1978, revised and converted to 3.5 by the people in Wizard and made available to the public in the form of a PDF.

More information on it can be reached at WIKI. Just about any RPGer worth his/her salt would have at some point heard of this adventure.


My character in this case was a dwarf Fighter with a keen flaming greataxe, which was created by the DM. Sometimes it's cool for that to be done; you don't have to worry about your character too much, it's a one time thing. Another thing is that you might end up playing a character class that you normally don't use, like in this instance, since I am more of a Ranger or Spellcaster type.

The really cool thing about today is that I got to see friends I hadn't seen in a while and it's always good to roleplay with the old gang. As most roleplayers know, the right group can make the worst adventure an entertaining event, and a really good adventure turn even more memorable.

It was good although we all ended up dead in the end in a rather silly and frustrating manner. (No way something that has the STARE OF LIFE SUCKING with a saving throw of 23 is properly classified as a CR 12!) Anyway, we did good after all, we managed to get 3 rooms away from the final boss. Guess we can't win them all.

It was great fun and very entertaining. Thanks for everything Gary! All of us gamers will carry on your legacy.

I refuse to go Emo!

But it sometimes hurts a lot to hear people say certain things.

A sad day for RPGers

Today it was announced that Gary Gygax, creator of Dungeons and Dragons died at the age of 69. I started role playing when I was twelve... that makes it roughly 16 years worth of playing a game that was designed by him and a select group of people that inspired the way the Fantasy Genre would take off for the next three decades.

Of course there are other, non-DnD fantasy novels, etc. out there, however, you cannot step into a fantasy section in a library or bookstore where there is no influence whatsoever of DnD based or related books.

Some RPGs might not work under the d20 system, but modern RPGs take their roots in Dungeons and Dragons. All of them. New rules, new settings, nothing-to-do with fantasy products all exist, but all came from the same root, developed by Gygax and his team.

In all my years of RPGing I never got the chance to shake the man's hand. I never emailed, or went to a Gen Con to meet him. Not too long ago, Robert Jordan, another writer who I wanted to meet passed away. I am starting to realize, that the people I looked up to will soon be gone and I will have not met them or even just gotten an autograph.

As such, I'll leave this post with my best wishes and condolences to his friends and family, my regrets at not having met him and join the world of RPGers across continents to mourn his passing.

THEY ARE REAL!!!

Now this is something I would pay to watch... hell they should make it a true live-action TV series!

My biggest weakness...

(not my only weakness) is I think, that I'm lazy. I would rather do something else and relax than just simply do it, and it annoys me later on that I didn't do what I was supposed to. I guess this isn't as much a complaint as it is a statement of facts. Anyway, I should get writing my stories (let's see if I do).

Later!

Emo-sapiens

So, I just remembered some Emo-aquaintances and then I also remembered Bill Bailey's little song that reflects just about every emo I've met perfectly...

Just as a reference to those that do not know what an Emo is, it's basically a Goth wannabe. Most of them have suportive parents or family, yet they feel that no-one understands them. It's not an adolecent thing only, it's a sub-culture now. You might have seen a few; greasy hair, dyed black (if it's not the natural color), combed down to cover just half the face trying to emulate the look from the guys that sang "Iris".
They wear nice black clothes that are simply used over and over again until they radiate more than personality -smells are also prominent in certain cases. They try to be "evil" or at least "menacing" but, simply facing downwards and looking up with your eyes is not enough to seriously count as a glare.
They try to act cool and hurt at the same time, trying their best to exude that "misunderstood" angle that they believe they posses.
Some worthy examples of this subculture also speak badly of others in vain attempts at making themselves look, well... capable of something. They even believe it to be so despite staggering evidence to the contrary, and have been known to simply block it with a vacant smile and a surprised expression.

In any case, I'm not saying names, although they will smile vacantly and act surprised they might, just might know who I'm speaking off. To conclude, I'd like to include a video by Bill Bailey that perfectly describes these people.

You pick me up from school,
You attended all my sporting functions.
You bought me a car,
Gave me use on a credit card.

But how can I feel pain?
How can I feel pain?
How can I feel pain
When you're being so supportive?

CLOVERFIELD....

SUCKS. Big time. It wouldn't have been good even if they had not used that crappy "Blair-witch Proyect" hand-camera take. But at least it would have been more bearable. If you go watch it, be prepared for a long series of non-consequential and overly long moments of insightful "interviews" with a bit of ::Gasp!:: foreshadowing on it... oh. And don't bother going to the restrooms before the movie. You won't miss much if you have to go.

A New Year

The last day at orlando was on the 30th of December, I went back to Mexico to finally rest and have some time to myself...

Which involved playing Xbox a lot. I knew Mass Effect was good... but seriously.

Good things have happened lately;

First I spent New Year's Eve at a good friend's house. What else do you need besides good company and good food? :p

Then I started organizing Stacey's visit to Mexico, and as people know, I can't wait to see her soon. She'll be coming around in March, which is when my B-day is happening, so I'm organizing a big get-together at my place for then...

Also, new Anime is coming out, and interesting bits have come to my attention. I'm especially enjoying "Wolf & Spices", "Tengen Toppa" and of course, "Macross Frontier" ... let's see what else the new year brings about.

As for my New Year resolutions? Well, those are private, but if you really must know... you'll have to ask.

-Nya!