Dr. Dice's Rants

Bureaucracy: The lethargic death of the modern world.

2010-10-26T03:33:00.010Z

Imploding Detroit: Theatre Bizarre

Recently, I finally got the chance to attend Theatre Bizarre, the Carnival-like themed Halloween Party to end all Carnival-like themed Halloween Parties.
It has been going on for years now, 10 to 11, I believe with an ever increasing number of shows and artists participating.
So far it has provided a history of fun and creativity; a gathering place for artists and performers to do what they do best and let the rest of us mere mortals appreciate their fantastic productions, their unbelievable displays of dexterity, contortion and talent in a setting that takes our minds away from the mundane world into the twisted and unbelievable Halloween experience.
But this year, the City of Detroit took notice of it for the first time, and rather than support its very own, it not only closed it down and made everyone relocate, it also decided to step in and destroy years of work and love. Although it has gathered sympathy as well as increased coverage, the fact remains that the sudden taking action is dubious at best. Not to mention, what kind of self-centered moron reported that Theatre Bizarre didn't have an alcohol license in the first place?
So, what is it that drives Detroit to destroy everything in its path? Is it the questionable ethics of the Detroit City Council? Are racism and inverse-racism so much part of the soul of the City that it corrodes every good thing? Is it the corruption that pumps through its veins that makes everyone that heard the news realize that "they just didn't pay the right people"?
Even a quick glance at the History of Detroit reveals how many things "slipped" under the watchful eye of regulations. Let's not forget either, the convenient Zoning Laws that up until now were as mutable as your average Pokemon (2). The City of Detroit deserves its very own TV Tropes Page. It is also mentioned as a destination in the "Places worse than Death".
Of course Mayor Dave Bing is (incredibly) more lawful-oriented than his predecessor and that tends to shift things a bit... however it is still sad that they would concentrate their collective efforts on messing up a creative and harmless party while things like Devil's Night still go on with nothing but well-wishes to counter it.
Meanwhile, in the Hall of Injustice (California Branch)...

All this talk about dubious reasoning and clerical incompetence brings out another problem that popped out recently. Turns out that the State of California wants to deny Ciaran his MediCAL on the basis of missing documents and we would need to present ourselves to challenge this decision.

Despite the fact that:

The documents in question were presented IN PERSON.
We got a RECEIPT.
We left a voice-mail asking the social worker to let us know that the DOCUMENTS HAD BEEN RECEIVED.
Also, when we went there we changed our address, which, got lost with the rest of the photocopies and documents given, so not only did the letter have no real basis in reality, it ALSO ARRIVED LATE!

One has to wonder what the hell the Governator was thinking when he froze State hiring in California which ended up assigning 400 cases per Social Worker, amongst other problems, such as making life more difficult for everyone looking for jobs or about to get them. Now, over-worked, overwhelmed Social Workers are somehow trying to manage all those cases. I guess in that sense clerical incompetence could be forgiven, but the fact remains, that Ciaran will lose his health coverage on Sunday thanks to moronic governmental decisions and lost paperwork.
Best thing? They don't even have emails. Let's see how the infrastructure of California can function up to date when they're still comparatively medieval with the rest of the world.

Update: Thankfully Ciaran has kept his Health Benefits, and the letter sent was an automatic process initiated when the Social Worker did not enter the information onto their system in time. However, the point remains that the only reason that happened was because of the Hiring Freeze imposed in California. At least it is one thing less to worry about.

Once a fan,,,

2010-07-09T20:46:00.003Z

... Always a fan! This just started airing in Japan! :D

Musings of a first-time dad

2010-06-06T06:18:00.007Z

What to write about parent-hood? Hell I've been at it for less than a week! And with all that's in my head now, this is probably going to end up looking more like a stream of consciousness than anything else.

This time there are so many ramifications to life that I hesitate to even put it in writing. I think the most obvious thing is that I am going to be second-guessing myself all my life from this point on. Oh, sure there are morals and basic guidelines that adapt people to society. You learn them and you can live anywhere where those rules apply, but the deeper teachings, the basic structure is what worries me.

To paraphrase Syun Matsuena, "if you are going to build a castle, you'd better have really strong foundations." So what does that mean? That means that you can teach your kid the ten commandments if you so feel like it, but unless the life you live is an example of how you want them to be interpreted, chances are your child is going to memorize it, but not really understand what you mean.

And I don't want to force a perspective of life on my child, but until he is old enough to make a serious choice of his own, I have to do my best to put things into focus as clearly as possible so that he will understand what his options are. He has to grow up to make up his own mind, and I (we) have the challenging mission of giving him the tools to do so.

Everyone with children wants to teach them certain things.

Some will insist on strong religious beliefs over anything else, while the advocates of reason will procure a way to do things maybe in a more scientific way.

My son will have to deal with "informed" individuals of all sorts. People that claim that salvation (in different guises) will come from their method or system of beliefs, or that he should do this or that to get better results (despite common sense).

He will have to deal with success and disappointment with the same amount of determination, pride and humility.

He will have to learn the diligence and rewards of hard work, both, the type he loves and the type he hates.

Besides basic skills like swimming and whatnot, I have decided that there are at least four things I definitely would want my child to learn if I can inspire some interest in him for it (no point in forcing the issue):

1. I would like him to learn Martial Arts. - Although I won't take him on a 10 year training trip when he hits five, I believe that the discipline and exercise and (obviously) learning to defend himself can only benefit him in the long run.

2. I would like him to love books like I do. - This, mainly because it will open his mind. He doesn't necessarily have to like the type of books that I like, however, IF he lives to be 12 without having read at least 1 book on his own volition I will consider myself an utter failure. I've met waaay too many parents that control what their children read and believe me, I get a bad taste in my mouth (not to mention morally) when I see a mother force a child to "choose" a book that corresponds only with what SHE likes. Way to teach love of literature.

3. I would like him to learn how to act. - He doesn't necessarily need to become an actor per-se, but the skills that you learn in acting make you much more effective at communicating, hell, even selling yourself later on at a job interview!

4. I would like him to learn how to play a musical instrument. - Preferably one he likes (despite the fact that it would be totally awesome to have him play the Ocarina). If I need to explain my reasoning for this, maybe the reader should stop reading at this point.

Chances are, of course, I'll get one or two out of the list, but at least I will have tried! Now I have to think of a way of awakening his interest in those subjects...

Mary Schmich wrote "Don't worry about the future, or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum."

Which is of course one of my favorite quotes ever, but one that know I find myself at a struggle to take to heart. Just like saying "Hakuna Mattata" or "Moumantai" won't sort out feelings of stress every time!

Let's face it, I'm not in the best financial situation as it is. Playing the Lotto is no guarantee of winning and what I want to do is provide for him enough financial stability to make it to his doctorate without having to rely too much on government loans. Heh. Easy right?
Who knows at this point even IF he will want to get a Masters in anything (although with me and his mom being as we are chances are he'll do it) but these are the kind of things that we are facing now.

Him being a boy places him in my playing field, I guess, and I find myself with this apprehension... I'm not afraid to mess up, everyone does at some point, I'm just hoping to do right by him and not mess up too badly.

And yet, when I hold him and look into his eyes, I can't help but feel that there is something that I must do, that I have to be better and wiser and maybe be able to fly like Superman. I'm most likely not the only dad to feel that way, but it is a bit daunting what my mind demands of me in the best interest of a little creature that I helped create. In a way parents are Larger than Life to a newborn, right?

I do wonder what words of wisdom I will have for him as the years go by.

First day of school: "Don't worry kid, it's not as bad as it seems."

First scrapped knee: "No, you are not dying"

First fistfight (hopefully avoided, but if my Martial Arts plan works, I pity the fool that challenges him!): "Now, what DID I tell you about breaking kneecaps?"

First crush, first date... well, it's an endless list, but the point is really about being able to give any advice at all.

Two sources of indirect advise come to mind.

The first being from Tolkien through Gandalf, when he points out that we should "Seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill."

The second source, being again, Mary Schmich: "Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth."

A flippant attitude, a moment of not caring, a piece of bad advice and you've basically f****d up.

Returning to the slight rant about the mother that wouldn't let her child choose her own book, that is another thing that worries me. What is too much involvement? What defines the line between guidance and making the choices for someone? I know how I felt when my parents seemed to be more involved than they should have been in my early life... I guess I just need to learn to listen.

All in all I am looking forward to being a dad, but I guess this is my way of admitting to myself that it is not going to be easy, and that my responsibility this time extends way beyond my own person and little universe.

Yahoo Buzz!

2010-04-03T18:24:00.007Z

I HATE Yahoo Buzz.

But, Dice, why do you hate it? You might ask.

Well, it is simple. It has become a breeding ground for morons.

You can't read any news without some Tea-Party activist jumping in to share their "enlightened" opinion on the government.

Throwing around words like "fascism", "socialist", "communist" or even "Marxist" without motive, or understanding of what they mean... using them as synonyms! Synonyms! What the hell people?!

Obama cannot possibly be both a fascist and a socialist! They are mutually exclusive concepts!

But well, let's face it. Talking with big words (correctly) to the average Tea Party Activist is like kicking a puppy. Except that they're not that cute. And it's a bunch of puppies convinced that their whining is righteous justice. And you don't have a foot big enough to kick them all at the same time and shut them up.

But, I digress. Returning to Yahoo Buzz! - It is completely annoying to read any article precisely because some random idiot is going to bring their unrelated government opinions to it.

For example. I once read an article about the ice melting and how it would affect oceanic currents. It was a study done and reported by French Scientists. In France, which is in Europe... just in case some of our Tea-Partying friends need further clarification.

First comment just at the end of the article? "Oh, great MORE government money spent on Democratic leies!" (Yes, he couldn't spell "lies")

I will concede that there were a few interesting comments (much further down) by some individuals arguing the actual topic of the article. But finishing the article and encountering stupidity on that level just ruins it for me.

I mean, granted, I am not reading the article to look at people's opinions on it, but well, people ARE entitled to share their opinions and Yahoo Buzz! is designed to allow them to do that. The problem is that there is NO moderation whatsoever. So you get morons trolling an otherwise interesting article with their misled political propaganda. And beware if someone reports you as "abuse" (justified or not) because then, you can't even share your own opinion until YB decides you can.

So, Yahoo Buzz can go to hell in my opinion and drag with it all of its effing Tea-bagging followers.

A third Decade

2010-03-15T07:45:00.003Z

So finally I have reached my third decade. 30 years old, and not any less opinionated about things. I still haven't grown wings and/or a tail & horns, just if you were wondering, so physically I cannot say I feel much different... perhaps I'm in better condition with all the walking and bicycle riding I've done of late.

I have to say that the last few years have included a lot of change. But this last year is definitely the one that contains the most evident and defining changes.

I've moved to California and now I am starting a family. It is a good way to start into the 30s, after all, a new decade demands change, and flowing into this stream of change is the birth of my son in two months.

Having settled down over here and looking for jobs has also defined my identity in relation to my plans for the future. I am here with the woman I love, we are expecting parents and that does put a few things into perspective. First and foremost what kind of example I can be to this person coming into the world.

There is a lot to think about, this time. It's not a completely care-free birthday occasion, but it certainly is a happy one!

I'm looking forward to see what this year brings to my life.

Thanks for reading, and I'll post some other random rant later!

Tea anyone?

2010-02-16T23:01:00.006Z

First a note:

A dear friend of mine had a brain hemorrhagic episode, otherwise known by some as a stroke. My best wishes go to him and his family, so far away right now that I cannot visit, but still all dear to my heart. I know you'll be fine my friend, but know that all of us that know you will be hoping for your fast recovery!

Captain America and Tea Baggers (belated blog from a few days ago)

This is starting to feel a bit like a political-oriented rant blog... which it isn't. However, the sheer lack of logic of some individuals in the political war-zone that we face today just feeds my annoyance and therefore merits a rant.

In this occasion, I've taken offense with the "Teabaggers" otherwise known as the extreme-right ultra-conservatives. Or, according to one entry of the URBAN DICTIONARY defines them:

	teabagger
	A whining fool shouting loudly for liberty but not willing to pay the bill. After most American workers saw more money in their paycheck due to the lower tax rate, the teabaggers at Fox News railed against high taxes, but did not discuss how much Jesus hated hypocrisy. hypocrite mad sheep disease rectocranial inversion sufferer bloviator pretender

(Point of note: the definition above makes a reference to one of the major teabaggers have, which is taxes. Conveniently ignoring that President Obama did indeed lower the taxes, they demand that he do so, as if he never had.)

They are probably the manifestation of what I detest in politics and all roads of life- extremists. Oh, how do I rant and rave about extremists!

Now, to clear things up, I don't think the issues that they have trouble with are stupid... I just think that their understanding of the actual issues and their approach to dealing with them is, well, dubious to put it blandly.

Also, another point of note is that they are not necessarily Republicans! This rant has nothing to do with the GOP, being that a lot of them do NOT condone the actions of Teabaggers in general.

Anyway, by today, you might have heard about the reaction to Captain American #602 where one panel shows a protester with a sign that ties them to the Tea Baggers.

Quoting: "Tea Bag the Libs Before they Tea Bag You!"

According to Joe Quesada there was no intention of putting a direct reference to the Teabaggers in the issue. You can find his exact answer (as well as a very unflattering photograph of the original protester looking like a complete r*****) in THIS INTERVIEW. Of course if we believe FOX NEWS, it was all intentional and a premeditated chastising of the Teabbaggers.
But really... who believes FN?

My problem with Teabaggers is their amazing ability to claim the most dubious and sometimes outrageous things... and protest about them. Never mind that polls by real news networks and news papers have proven that only a dramatically (or should that be ridiculously?) low amount of Teabaggers actually know what the movement is about- seriously, doubting that Global Warming is a real issue?

How much scientific proof do you need?

I mean, George Berkin might disagree that it is a reality because he ended up in a snowstorm in Jersey and well, when someone tells you that snow is an effect of warming (heat)... unless you are unfamiliar with basic physics, possess absolutely no knowledge of weather and how atmospheric pressure and wind work and create climate changes (or possess the ability to blatantly ignore it), well you just might believe the same.

But what could that prove anyway? It's just science... it doesn't feel the people of America and their necessities and "real" problems. Unlike political parties.

But seriously, it's getting out of hand!

It would be hypocritical of me to say: "Shut the hell up about what you dislike!" (given the nature of this blog) but it is about time they realize that deluding themselves, hiding behind their ignorance and advocating for causes that are aimed to destroy rather than build is not going to benefit anyone, including them!

So, I while won't tell Teabaggers to "SHUT THE HELL UP!" I will tell them to "GET REAL!"

Airports and Fanatics

2009-12-29T19:56:00.007Z

On this blog I have mentioned on several occasions how useless and pointless and many other “something-less” airport security measures were up to this point in time.

I spoke to airport security officials about it from time to time, experts on the field, engineers that designed the x-ray machines and such... and now I stand vindicated when it was proven that all of the measures amount to nothing if people don't try to do their jobs with a bit of professionalism and consistency.

So, everyone is aware of the Detroit “terrorist attack” perpetrated by a Nigerian youth that, according to recent news, “felt lonely and ignored." If feeling depressed was a valid excuse to blow people up then fair enough, but it isn't.

It is slightly annoying to find out that the reason this came to be was because some random asshole didn't check that Mr. Farouk was ALREADY in the list of terrorist suspects and let him on the plane.

There are many things wrong with that. First, on a personal level, that kid should have known that when your previously supporting family draws a line and informs the government that you are a terrorist maybe you have some issues.

That does not happen simply because you complained about Christians or decided to become Muslim... it takes a bit more and it requires really worrying attitudes. I mean... your own father reported you. Get a hint.

So, what did he achieve with this foolhardy attitude? Well... being sent to a hospital with the guy that knocked him down and... now people have been banned from reading books on the last hour of the flight... or using a blanket.... or holding a baby.

Yes, Mr. Farouk, your attempt at a jihad only ended up bringing really pathetic “security” measures and also makes people laugh in disbelief when they are told about them.

Not that that can be all blamed on Mr. Farouk. He didn't tell them to make up useless rules, in fact he only brought to light that people at the airport where he departed were not doing their jobs and that inspired the quacks at homeland security to emerge from their cubicles laughing manically with new “improvements” for the security of passengers.

I am sure that reading a copy of the “The Secret Garden” is going to be a serious threat to national security and god/goddess/entity/nothing out there forbid a mother holding her child!

How is it that it is illegal to drive around in a car with a child of a certain age without a specialized seat and it is not only legal but now encouraged to put it on a random, adult-sized seat in an airplane about to land? What if the baby gets loose from under the belt and the movement of the plane sends him rolling down the aisle?

And what does the TSA representative has to say about the incongruousness of these “security measures”? According to the Associated Press, it was a verbatim: "It keeps them guessing”

So, in a combination of inadequate performance of duty and a depressed youth that rather than off himself somewhere decided to take others of a different religious inclination with him in the ultimate act of self-serving egoistical whim (which I think is also against the rules written down by the prophet, but well, don't quote me on that) we are all inconvenienced. Well done.

This also brings out something else to rant about... Personally, I don't think having a religion is a bad thing. Be it Christian, or Muslim or Wicca, your religious beliefs are pretty much a choice in life-style that will affect how you interact with people, as such choices do.

However, those same groups have what we call “Fanatics” and to be clear they don't come only in “Main Religious Colors” no, there are Wicca/Pagan fanatics, just the same as there are Atheist Fanatics.

Fanaticism is, after all, not limited to people that pray, it is a blend of absolute, unquestionable, unbending and fastidious belief in an idea... equally encountered in “God exists” and “God doesn't exist”

I am much less afraid of the average Muslim than I am of the average Christian Fanatic. In fact, I am not afraid at all of the average Muslim. But I do feel threatened by the average Christian Fanatic.

And it is not because they are “right” or I am afraid to see the “truth” but rather because they are more likely to invade my personal space with their BS and encourage me to retaliate by introducing my elbow to their kidney.

The danger out there with religion has never been its existence. I have heard some people say “blame it on religion” but that's simply not how it works. You can argue the validity of religion, but you cannot blame the stupidity and single mindedness of fanatics on it.

Both the Bible and the Koran have simple and good advice in their pages. As books, they are also to be taken in context. Things have changed, a fact that the Fanatic does not understand.

Change is part of the stories and in their own time that change was what causes [some] contradictions to pop up in it. It is the blind acceptance of the literal that creates hate towards the different or interpretative.

Take the whole Palestine and Israel thing going on. It has even gotten to the point of not being anything more than a brawl of “I want this to be mine!” and “I won't share!”

Although people make jokes about Scientology, I bet not even half of them are as wild eyed and crazy-looking as Tom Cruise was on that spiel about Psychologists. Nor, for that matter do I believe all “Satanists” are actually sacrificing children as people tend to imagine. The ones that do that are not only mentally unstable, they are also fanatics.

I honestly tire of the “You are one of these: choose a group/hobby/life-style from list A therefore you are automatically this: choose an adjective from list B” approach.

List A	List B
Christian	Crazy
Muslim	Loser
Wicca	Fanatic
Gamer	Terrorist
RPGer	Uneducated
Footballer	Brain-dead
Cheerleader	Dweeb
Mexican	Bimbo

And sadly it is not only fed by the fanatics of the groups that are being “classified," but also socially acceptable to some degree.

It is comfortable and easy to set yourself to an idea and make it your belief because admitting to the fact that you just might be wrong makes you think and generally you tend to find that you are wrong about something. So people feel fit to conform their surroundings into simple black and white.

Because, no matter what everyone says, no matter how much a “law” is written down on stone... there is ALWAYS gray.

A person will simplify another individual's existence by putting them in categories they can make fun of and demoralize to feel superior. What other point is there in criticizing a hobby than to assure yourself on some level that you are not as pathetic as you perceive others that have it to be? What other point is there in dehumanizing a follower of a different religion than to make yourself look wiser or more holly?

So if you want to say that religion is what messed up today, maybe you should consider that the real reason the world is messed up today on many levels is because of religious fanaticism in some way or another. Not from a single faith. Not by a single group. And certainly not by the majority.

Just like a small mistake is more easily remembered by your peers than most of your achievements, the few religious fanatics that go ahead and kill others before dying or prove how much they are unbending and say it is a proof of “faith” before dying are even less dangerous than the idiotic religious fanatics that turn them into martyrs or use them as an example.

The problem with some religious fanatics is that their devotion to a single cause makes others look up to them (which is the other side of the problem: gullible idiots) and follow their lead in blind-faith to a certain bloody result.

Contrary to some people's beliefs it is different when people fight a battle for lands because they NEED the lands to grow crops than when people decide to invade another country because their “god” told them so. Which, also translates into attacking and killing innocent people in the name of religion.

The fact that some people don't understand how that is wrong is depressing by itself.

Hell, even if their tactics are pretty much useless and have proven to be not fool-proof at least the “anti-terrorist countries” try to go (or at least they claim to go) for the terrorists and their leaders, rather than shooting civilians to try to get to them.

Whereas what we get from terrorists is how they are going to win by killing all infidels (aka everyone else), which by the way at this points means the same as “heathens” so just because Christian fanatics don't tie bombs to their bodies yet don't think you are too far away from doing it too.

Like with swords and guns, you cannot blame the use of religion on religion itself. It is the people that use it that are to blame and religion gets judged along with them.

It is not the average Christian, Jew or Muslim that accuses Television or Video Games (on TV, no less) of bringing out evil and mayhem in people, or that it causes them to want to kill others.

The average believer of any religion will not feel threatened by change, because their faith evolves with them. It is just the Fanatics that cannot and will not understand that their frame of mind has been left behind.

This is not a world of Fanatic vs Fanatic. It is about the Fanatics vs the Rest of Us. The more we allow fanaticism to grow, the more intolerance and and bigotry is allowed to express itself in violence and we not only stop it or cut it off at the bud, but condone it and cheer it on, then the more this world is going to sink and drag the rest of us down with it.

Mexico

2009-10-26T17:17:00.005Z

Whoever is aware of Mexico's newest Tax proposal (a 3% Tax on IT including INTERNET access) might be reminded of the infamous quote,"We are on the border of the abyss... but today we will take a firm step forward!" (loose translation)

Seriously, as if the place wasn't already seen as a pit technology-wise. Where companies hesitate to even consider sending video games to home owners and a depressing number of children haven't even learned how to type on a keyboard... Now we have a bunch of obviously computer/internet-illiterate politicians who believe that forcing a tax on the internet is going to be beneficial.

Haven't they considered that Mexico already is really expensive already for really low quality services? That by doing that, people that have to go to Internet Cafes will have to pay even more for the short time they use the computers? That some schools might consider passing the chance for a connection to reduce costs? That the INEGI once pointed out that people who earned less than minimum wage were the owners of about half of the computers in the country? What will this tax do to them?

What about people that will hesitate to continue having it, despite the need their children might have of it? Computer Illiteracy in Mexico is pretty wide-spread, and making it more difficult to reach is not going to solve it.

They might as well build a real wall on the borders (both north and south), prohibit interactions with the rest of the world and fester in their own stupidity. But we cannot pretend that this is new, Mexico has previous history of stupidity in Taxes, as I am sure every country in the world does to some level... take the British Tax over owning TVs for example.

Those familiar with Mexican Taxes might also remember the "Tenencia" a "temporary" Tax introduced in 1962 by former President Adolfo Lopez Mateos to pay for the projected costs of the 1968 Olympic Games to be held in Mexico City.

This tax became so convenient that the government completely "forgot" that it was a temporary measure and as such it carried on irritating everyone that owned a vehicle, until recently, when President Calderon finally put down a termination date- by the 1st January in 2012, (which is also the Mayan Year for the "End of the World" as sensationalists like to call it) it will be gone. Supposedly.

So, what is the response to it? Well, in the long history of rather useless shows of solidarity, instead of marching (which would have been just as useless as it always is in Mexico) people decided to Twitter messages of discomfort about the tax.

Now. I don't have a problem with this method of complaint. In fact, I think it is better than messing up the traffic of Mexico City even more for such random causes as, I don't know, still supporting AMLO (classic show of downright stupidity.)

My problem is that they have stopped. Just like the marches, once they have done it, people tend to feel better about themselves and simply forget to check up on it believing that they have said their share and that is enough.

I say put pressure on the bastards and force their hand. They are elected officials -that means that they can be kicked out by the people that elected them.

Thoughts

2009-09-15T05:42:00.006Z

Everyone wants something, be it fame or fortune, or any of the many other things that bother us in life and we have yet to achieve.

Sometimes we have part of it, just in our reach and it goes away, and in those times the choice is either the simple one, walk away... or the hard one, reach for it again.

When you do reach again, and again for it, tension builds. People expect things from you, but worse, you demand from yourself to grasp it, because it is *just* there. And sometimes, you cannot do it, not because you lack the strength or the intelligence or the drive- sometimes things happen that set you back and make you feel like a fool. Sometimes it takes longer than you want, and sometimes it surprises you how quickly it works out.

When you are betting everything on chance; when things are looking like there is no way you will manage to do things in time, when the people you hope would stand by you don't and you only receive accusatory looks or remarks...

What else is there to do but stand up, bear and grin it and march over again to try and get that which eludes you?

There will be some that will judge you. There will be some that will make fun of you. There will be some that will try to diminish everything you try to do... but in the end, you only answer to yourself.

People will always judge and pretend to know what is best for you or even assume that they know you better than you do. If you are afraid to stand up even if you might fall yet again, you have no business trying.

If history has taught us something it is that everyone looks at the same object and sees two different things. I'd rather see hope than despair. I'd rather see chance than stagnation. I'd rather say "I'm getting there" than "I'm quitting."

But that's just me.

MORE Politcal BS from the Extreme GOP and Co.

2009-09-04T22:35:00.011Z

So, now some Reps in the USA are complaining (big surprise) about Obama telling children to make an effort in school and study.

To those guys, and the teachers and principals and government officials that are going to block a non-political statement encouraging children to better themselves, I can only ask this: "Just-how-stupid-can-you-really-get?"

If you don't want your children to get an education or get inspired to go get more, don't send them to school!

Now, about the Health Care...

First of all, for those people (Hard-Core Republican and otherwise) that complain about how Obama has no right to pass the bill without the consent of Congress, read this: George Bush: Commander in Chief

It is annoying to say the least just how much BS is being talked about the current President over nonsense.

First, (unlike his predecessor) he shows respect and an attempt at joint work by going the extra mile to get bi-partisan approval, and what does he get? Attacks and derision, not even on the results of his bill, but mostly on the basis of partisan choice.

So what does that mean? In simpler terms, the reason the Hard-Core Republican politicians complain about it, is not because it is bad for the country; they complain because it comes from the Democrats.

So, what about the masses? Well, let's see. First off, they are easily influenced by whatever some asshole in a suit says. Don't believe me? Just look at the "Pulling the plug on Grandma" quote reactions.

That's just the paranoia of the uninformed being fed to the credulous masses. Where is the truth in that? Have you read the statement of what the plan hopes to accomplish? What the goals are?

Health Care is excessively expensive in the USA. STUPIDLY expensive. Do you think any economy can work if the people that don't have much money have to suffer or even die because they cannot afford Health Care? So, making it cheaper is bad? How?

Let me tell you before you answer... you will say, "well, it needs more money injected to work" and my answer to that is: "What the hell doesn't require money to work?"

You complain about Afganistan. And how things are bad there... for a war that was started by George Bush... and then diverted to "free" Iraq (we can see how well off they are not) and then went back to the "original" purpose.

People, don't forget, with all the BS and excuses he used to divert your minds, that it has been proven that the White House knew about the terrorist attacks that happened in the US. Newspapers around the world published it!

You call Obama a Socialist and compare him to Hitler. Of all things. How much bullshit can you really come up with? Really? If you had ANYONE that could have been compared in certain actions to Hitler, it is not Barak Obama.

Let's face it, little boys and girls: things didn't get this way just because Obama became president... this comes from before...

So, here's a question for you to consider: While Bill Clinton was in office taking the US into the best economic growth in 30 years during his presidency. George Bush came in and left it in the worse shape it has been in 60. DO THE MATH!

If you are going to be blaming the presidents for the Economy, then you have to look to the origin of the problem, not blame it on the current president.

Heat!

2009-08-31T21:48:00.005Z

The last few days in SLO have been burning hot.

I think that heat is much worse than cold. Yes, your nose freezes in the cold, yes, you tremble and yes, it is normally darker and less appealing (at times) to go out. BUT! When it is cold you simply dress up. You choose warm clothes to put on, and you do so. And you heat up, while outside the cold breeze helps you enjoy it. If you are cold, you cover yourself more until you are not.

However, when it is hot, you have to deal with it. Other than activating the air conditioning, or drinking ungodly amounts of water, there is really not much you can do. And if you don't have those, you will start cooking in your own juices soon enough. There is not much you can do... you can take off your shirt, then your pants, then you are naked... and the heat seems to build up. You HAVE to go out, there is no other way around it, or suffer.

When it is cold outside, you grab a book, get covered in something or turn on the fire, heater, whatever. If it gets too warm, you lower the temperature and let the cold do its job. You make hot chocolate, you eat marshmallows, you prepare a nice warm dinner.

When its hot, you never have enough to drink to get results. Cold water doesn't cool you down the way a hot tea warms you up. Cold drinks, while nice, don't really do their jobs. Yeah, you could drink Gatorade and be healthier, and yes, it is definitely good for you to replenish your electrolites, but it is not going to cool you down that effectively.

Now, there is always the vacation spot thoughts: If it is hot, you go to the pool, the beach, the mall, stay out of the sun, cook outside, lie down and get a tan, etc.

But, what if you don't have a pool? And even if you did, how often will you swim? Are you going to spend every day tanning or swimming when you have to work, cook and do other things? Going to the beach, unless you live just on the shore is another thing that is basically only on the weekends, as is the mall. BBQ (and my readers know how much I love doing it) is great, but between the heat from the grill and the sun, you don't want to do it the next day. Let's face it, even Bobby Flay will probably not grill outside every day.

Besides, it is not really affordable!

Staying out of the sun is great in concept, but again, unless you have air conditioning, at 110 it gets very, very uncomfortable. While I will not even go to the point of comparing it to deserts and such (since, well, they are deserts and let's face it, whining about the heat to a desert-dweller is, well, stupid) I will say that I can't wait for winter to freeze my toes.

The Truthiness of the G.O.P.

2009-08-13T22:19:00.010Z

One has to wonder what the hell goes through the minds of Hard-core Republicans these days.

The GOP (which, despite popular belief does not mean "Gathering Of Pretenders") has time and again demonstrated their excessively conservative views in outright stupidity to the point where it is almost not funny anymore.

Yes, democrats like to laugh it off since if taken seriously, it would probably start another civil war! But, there is a limit. Whenever racist attitudes come out, Hard-Core Republicans are fast to remind the rest of the world that good ol' Lincoln was a Republican... but that was back in 1861, when the beliefs of Republicans were the same as Democrats today... imagine that.

We (the world) had become used to the Hard-Core Republican ways under the leadership (snicker) of George W. Bush, where the policy was to answer with variations of the word "terror" to just about any question out there, IF they ever got an answer. "Vague" was the theme, and during those times, things like the Patriot Act and torture under the pretense of "Protecting the USA from Terrorists" made the USA seem more like Nazi Germany than the "Land of the Free".

But now, it seems that the Republican "Machine of Fear" has transformed into a new form... that of senseless and rather childish attitudes.

President Obama has been under constant attack by Republicans who claim that were it McCain in his place, it would have been the same situation... please... don't put the rest of us down with your credulous masses.

Would you have asked McCain for proof of his birth on American soil?
No.
Would you have made up a false Birth Certificate (from a country that didn't exist) to try and start a debate?
No.
Would you be chasing after McCain to fulfill the campaign promises he made whilst in the middle of a depression created and perpetrated and not prevented by G.W. Bush?
No.
Would you be accusing him of being a socialist?
No.
Would you say that the posters of him being depicted as the Joker are admissible as a form of "free speech"
No. ( Especially with the history Republicans have had of destroying and mutating free speech.)

Most Republicans I know seem to have an attitude of wanting President Obama to fail. There is this underlying current of speaking up and pointing how he is acting like a "Rock Star" and not doing his job...

Let's analyze that for a moment... So, it is okay for George W. Bush to literally have a several month vacation at the very beginning of his presidency, but it is not okay for Obama to help improve the USA's International Perception at the same time he tries to push his changes? Hm.

All I see is Republicans WHINING about whether what Obama is doing is to their liking or not. Throwing terms like "Obama Inflation" trying to scare others into their system of beliefs... (Sort of like, you will go to hell if you don't believe what I do) But I don't see any attempts in favor of productivity.

To those Republicans out there that like so much to say "Obama is not doing this..." well, let me remind you that if George W. Bush had done what most of the world wanted, he wouldn't have survived the pretzel.

As a bonus, I leave you this: The Illegitimate Grandson of an Alligator (Just my luck that it was the only video with no "embed" code)

-WD

You knew it would come...

2009-06-30T04:34:00.005Z

So, Michael Jackson is dead and people debate on whether there is too much hype about it. What I would just like to point out to them is that MJ was, after all, the last of those artists that were at any one point comparable to Elvis or the Beatles (or Jesus). Of course there is going to be a lot of hype: since MJ there has been no-one to reach that amount of comparison or recognition... can you imagine someone saying with a straight face: "If Justin Timberlake died he would be bigger than Elvis"? of course not. Nor for that matter any other singer since then.

So what I really hope not to see are the opportunists that will try to make use of the hype to create attention to themselves with false MJ related claims that will be investigated and turned out to be nothing more than some idiot trying to get attention.

Chicago - SLO - L.A.

So as many as you guys know I have been traveling around. I visited Chicago for a couple of weeks, went to my first ever Baseball game (White Sox!) and went out boating.
When I got to San Luis Obispo things quickly piled up with a lot of things to do! I accompanied a group from Cal Poly on a tour of Los Angeles.
I learned a lot about what City Planning is and how it really affects lives. I was guided through the city by people from the Planning Department of City Hall, people from the Transportation Department, and others.
I learned about the L.A. architecture, the changes it has lived through, and I stayed at both East L.A. and Beverly Hills.
I also went to a Dodgers game there!
Back in San Luis Obispo I got a chance to show off my cooking skills and got to enjoy and appreciate the difference between really fresh off-the-garden fruits and vegetables and the supermarket variety. To the point that I actually started enjoying beets. (Which I formerly hated)
Now as rough days in the airport and tough luck with planes has modified my plans a little bit, I am preparing to return to Mexico soon, but I forsee a quick return to California.

Travel begins with a thermal camera

2009-05-20T13:26:00.002Z

First time I've ever seen a thermal camera... I never expected it to be in the Mexico City International Airport!
But it is there... which is quite amusing, you get to pose only for a guy to usher you in. The Influenza scare is still fresh in Mexico's mind, the radio comes up with apocalyptic warnings: don't let your guard down!
It's, I imagine, a bit how the Cold War was, or the Cuban Missile Scare... keep out an eye for commies! Don't let Russian Spies thrive amongst us! Report them!
One good thing out of this is that it most likely increased the amount of people that will actually wash their hands regularly.
I think my views on the actual inflenza scare are well documented here (just scroll down) so I will leave it there.

Security here has also increased from what it used to be... it is quite annoying too. For example, we all know that regardless of where you are, most airports have a basic rule: if you bring liquids with you, they better be in your check-in bag, or you will have to dump them. If you want a coke, or a coffee you can drink it all before going through security (inadvisable as last minute rushes through it will make you miss the flight) or you go through the check-up and THEN buy it.
Here however, you go through the check-up (x-rays, take the laptop out of the bag, put coins and your belt on a tray, security personnel checking to make sure you are not slipping through drugs or something and/or making you throw into the trash whatever they might frown upon) then you can CONSUME some products.
Unlike the USA where you can buy stuff like drinks inside the airport and carry them into the airplane itself, over here they insist on a second "layer" of "security" where whatever you bought that was not "Duty Free" (and therefore given to you once past them) is taken away and thrown out. So you end up losing money if you didn't gobble down your drink.

Another layer of security which I consider pretty much useless over here is the X-ray machine that checks your bags just before you leave the airport (on arrival). Not because I think the machines are useless, but because you put your bags through the machine and THEN you still have to push the green button for a random chance to get your bags checked.
What irks me about this is that they already checked your bags (all of them) on the X-ray machine. So, theoretically they know exactly what you have in your bags. What is the point in forcing you to "randomly" submit to yet ANOTHER search. Heck, the wait for the bags is annoying enough without having to stand in line for double-check-ups.

Anyway, regardless of this airport rant I am glad to be on the "road" again.

So, for now I bid you all good bye and invite those of you that read Spanish to check out Vilrandir's amusing (and true) post about Raquel Levinstein and "Quantum Psychology"

Later!

-D

The last Vestiges...

2009-05-09T00:12:00.004Z

Vestiges by the way, means: 1 a (1): a trace, mark, or visible sign left by something (Merriam-Webster) for those Evangelical Republicans out there that might frown at the strange word. (Click the link for the MW online entry)

Haven't you all noticed how the "SWINE FLU" terror cloud is slowly dispersing? Oh, sure, there are a bit more cases being identified around the world, but what happened with the Global Pandemic? Is the WHO still saying anything else about it other than how "Better Prepared" we are for an Influenza Pandemic? "Normal" influenza has killed thousands more than this "potentially devastating strain" (which was later found to be really not that aggressive) and they turned the whole thing into another SARS or Avian Flu scenario.

Let's face it people, we were scammed. Not only did the virus NOT originate in Mexico, but in the US (In San Diego California) and also NOT with a Mexican Immigrant... even better, there are studies that suggest that it has been floating around since September 2008... it's just that nobody noticed.

Mexico City closed off and left most of us stranded here (for the time being) completely bored out of our minds. No eternal coffee! In the meantime, there was enough panic to distract people from laws being passed or changed.

Now, I am not saying that this whole thing was a plan by the government to mess up the lives of literally millions of people, however, I do think that it is a prime example of the lack of capacity leaders here have. They blew the whole thing out of proportion, (something that is echoed in the states too by people such as Michelle Bachman, who Blamed Swine Flu on Obama) and created Global Panic (which is not quite the same as Global Pandemic)

What ended up happening is that it fed fear to those assholes out there (i.e. Jay Severin, or the Chinese Government Department in charge of the imports) who rather than inform themselves will point fingers and blame others to feel empowered in their twisted perception of the world.

So, all in all it was a messed-up affair and the world just pointed fingers at Mexico because it was convenient (Not that Mexico was completely blameless or anything) instead on focusing on a real investigation.

All we (the world) got in return was fear, ostracizing, and millions of dollars lost. So, please, stop sending those stupid "informative" emails about what we can and cannot do to avoid Voldemort... I mean, the Swine Flu.

So China isn't discriminating?

2009-05-04T09:42:00.004Z

China in all its thousand-year-old wisdom has decided to state that they are not discriminating by basically shoving any Mexican that arrives there into isolation. Thousands of years of Philosophy and teachings reveal that even the current Chinese government has forgotten the words of their very own Confucius when he said: "Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself." otherwise known as THE GOLDEN RULE

I guess that entitles the rest of the world to do the same to them with their next Toxic Candy or Avian Flu scare.

2010 - Year of the (Possibly Sick) Tiger

"Here is my passport."
"Chinese? Please, step on this line. Be prepared for everything you own to be searched, and for blood samples to be taken. In the meantime, you will stay in this little gray room with every other Chinese that comes to the country."
"But... that's discrimination against my people!"
"Oh no, it's not discrimination, you see... it is a natural, perfectly justifiable way of preserving our country safe from whatever it is that you bring with you. We have also decided to kill every single Sichuan Partridge under the radar and to burn all the candy from the last 17 years that came from your country."
"But I feel fine?! And why would you kill that bird?"
"What? You don't feel ill? Well, you are Chinese you see... and birds have flu there. And candy is toxic. Now, step on the line."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Well, your government taught us this was the rational, educated way of preventing illness from spreading. It's not personal. Now strip please."
"This is an outrage! I demand to speak with my Ambassador!"
"You will. He's in the gray room too."
"But... that other person was also on the plane, he was coughing and sneezing and he hasn't been stopped!"
"Yeah... but you see... he's German. Sorry."

Swine Flu and Panic

2009-04-28T17:20:00.006Z

WILL PORCINE ZOMBIES RISE UP TO EAT OUR BRAINS?!

So Swine Flu or Influenza has been the topic of choice for the last few days. When things got pretty hot in the city I was out, and on the way back I was kindly given a face mask by a police officer upon my return to the Mexico City limits.

My mask, of course was not so nice looking, but rather one of the blue ones that look like diapers.

The previous day we had found that people were rising the price of the Face Masks on the small towns outside the city. It is this mercenary-like profiteering that makes me know that Mexico City will survive, and although I am sure at least one person out there would rather see me catch the Flu, shrivel up and die, well, I guess "S" will have to wait for that to happen.

What has really got me going is some of the world reactions. I can understand the assholes that think preventing Mexicans from leaving the country will stop it completely -they are uneducated fools that don't even bother to watch the news to find out that it doesn't work that way, much less look for information on their own.

It is actually some of the Governments that have surprised me with their excessive zealousness. Countries such as China and Russia that actually decided that stopping pork meat imports would prevent the flu.

Even after THE WHO explained in minute detail that eating Pork meat does NOT cause the flu or comes even close to being a danger (unless it is undercooked, but that is another cookie altogether.) Is this an attempt from China to point fingers and say "See?! Tainted food products come from other places too!" and give back as much grief as they received with their TOXIC CANDY? Or simply a way to calm down the masses? "Yesss... trust the system..."
Not to mention the fact that this strain of Influenza is a mixture of Swine, Avian and Human Influenza. Different thing than the classic Swine Flu which was extremely hard to catch.

I think people are ignoring the fact that the best way to avoid passing on the flu to others, and contracting it is simple: Hygiene and what would be called good manners, such as putting your hand up in front of your mouth when sneezing or coughing, washing your hands, taking showers, cleaning your house, etc.

The Economy will suffer the most out of this with restaurants, and cinemas closing down (nooo! I wanted to watch the Wolverine movie!) among several other places trying to prevent spreading the virus.

Of course we are seeing a lot of people dying of Influenza in Mexico City. First, look at the ratio 2000 cases of infection versus what, 60 or so in the US? 90 World wide? Second, the deaths have not ALL been confirmed as Swine Flu being the cause or even the decisive factor. In a city known for smokers, contamination, altitude, etc, there is a high chance that those that died were not only afflicted by the Swine Flu itself, but might have been asthmatic or have another type of respiratory disease that worsened their condition. The actual CONFIRMED cases at this point have been 25.

Stick to the facts people... it seems we skipped on the Zombie Apocalypse once again...

ALSO CHECK THIS OUT: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090501/ap_on_he_me/med_swine_flu

One more year!

2009-03-16T08:33:00.003Z

So today I'm 29. Wow. The last of the Twenties as a friend pointed out.

What is there to say, really? Do I feel any older than two or three days ago? Nah. I've never been much to worry about my age. Life goes on and now I have to search for new objectives. Change sometimes comes easy, sometimes hard.
Fighting to achieve something and being pulled down a few pegs by lack of employment or bureaucracy teaches a lot of things to a person. But the most important lesson, I think, is not to give up hope.
Job options, like life options, are all around and it is up to us to take them or not. Sometimes the smart thing to do is to stay with what you have despite how much you hate it, and sometimes it is better to let go of something that makes you so sad or angry or stressed.
So I am still moving forward, still searching for the right place to be and still writing stories. This last year has provided me with more material than before and I intent to use it until I can fulfill my dreams.
I hadn't been having many dreams until I let go of certain things... and now I have even more things to write about; more images in my head... a kaleidoscope of feelings and hopes, dreams and nightmares that can only help my writing.

So, here I am, a year older, but learning and going stronger.

My day was pretty amazing thanks to my many friends who took the time to write emails, sent text messages, leave facebook notes and go with me to a restaurant to celebrate this day! I never expected more than 3 messages but got all in all around... well, let's not brag about it :D Thanks again to those that were kind enough to think about me today!

-WD

"One often finds his destiny on the road he takes to avoid it."

2009-03-05T05:14:00.008Z

Or so the quote goes.

"Yesterday is History. Tomorrow is a Mystery. But Today is a gift. That's why it's called 'Present.'"

Good luck Tiger.

Songs

2009-02-15T21:25:00.002Z

So with all the Facebook "25 things", or "Shufffle songs" quizzes going around, I got to thinking... what makes a song, any song, your favorite song? Do you identify with it? Plays a certain feeling? What makes it your favorite song? And the last thing I wonder, how does it affect your life? Does having "Defying Gravity" as your most favorite song ever really inspire you to challenge the life you have led so far?
Or "Para tu amor" give you the strength to love someone beyond space and time and with more than you can say or express?
What makes the songs important to you?

Medieval

2009-01-24T07:22:00.004Z

In response to Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., saying that it is "morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life Americans to promote abortion around the world."...

So that means that it is "morally" correct to stop people that want to help funds like these from doing it from THEIR Taxpayer money? May I remind several extremists that what these groups promote are FACTS and OPTIONS? Should I remind them that if you step into such a clinic the first thing they will tell anyone is "don't do it" and "think carefully about your OPTIONS"?

I ask you, Mr. Pence, have you even stepped into one? Or is your "morally sound" way of thinking too far above doing that? Is it that you are omniscient and know everything? The desperation, the fear some of these people suffer through?

Bush administration extremists are just like the leader you followed: narrow-minded. You want things to remain stagnant, to prohibit people in dire need of information from getting it with your "Mexico City Policy". You want to make people believe that it is morally correct to forget their lives and futures in case of a rape pregnancy? Or create more of those fanatics that say "thank God I was raped"? true, not all the people that will go there will be ignorant or have taken all the precautions they needed, but it is hardly an excuse to forbid those that DO need assistance from getting it.

No wonder your Bush Administration went along so well with Mexico's PAN party of martyrs and "morally" superior who condemn information and self awareness as almost sins and promote nothing but blindly following the "morally" correct thing to do and mess up someone's life through no fault of their own.

Here is my comparison for you, Mr. Republican. Your policy of "non-abortion" reminds me of your prior administration's xenophobic attitudes using words that struck "terror" to the hearts of those that rather naively trusted you to have an informed opinion.

You think Americans are being forced to do this against their will? Well bottom line is, sir, that it was the same for those Americans that were forced not to do it according to their will. Your worries about the Tax Payers money are a childish attempt to attack a policy you don't like, you know perfectly well that it is not the dollar that leaves the hand of the "pro-life" that goes straight into the hands of those people.

Think about it when you say "Pro Life" too. Who's life are you referring to? An unwanted childs? Or the mother that doesn't have the means or job to support even herself much less a child? I guess you can always transform BOTH their deaths by starvation into a moving story about the "right choice".

In the end, it is their choice, not yours. And as much as you detest informed people as the church detested them in the middle ages, the fact is, it is not in your hands.

Wisdom

2008-12-19T21:13:00.002Z

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.

2008-11-27T21:09:00.003Z

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...

2008-11-22T05:35:00.004Z

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

2008-11-05T06:45:00.005Z

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.

2008-07-28T17:48:00.002Z

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!

2008-06-19T16:53:00.002Z

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!

2008-05-01T19:21:00.002Z

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

2008-04-25T02:56:00.002Z

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

2008-04-23T17:34:00.003Z

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

2008-04-11T05:02:00.007Z

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.

2008-04-05T03:44:00.004Z

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

2008-03-22T16:23:00.005Z

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...

2008-03-19T07:27:00.003Z

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

2008-03-14T21:18:00.006Z

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

2008-03-12T02:04:00.003Z

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...

2008-03-09T06:54:00.007Z

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!

2008-03-08T02:27:00.000Z

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

A sad day for RPGers

2008-03-04T18:19:00.002Z

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!!!

2008-02-23T00:04:00.002Z

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

My biggest weakness...

2008-02-17T20:45:00.003Z

(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

2008-01-31T11:33:00.000Z

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....

2008-01-22T08:50:00.000Z

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

2008-01-11T06:09:00.000Z

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!

ORLANDO TRIP DAYS 3, 4, & 5

2007-12-29T03:13:00.000Z

DAY 3...

Not much done today, basically dedicated myself to resting about, reading a good book through and through; "The Chinatown Death Clowd Peril" a must-read if you like Pulp Fiction (the actual thing, not Tarantino's film). Then at around 4ish my peace was interrupted when I was dragged to the Florida Mall to watch people buy stuff. At least I got something cool out of it.

DAY 4

We had to wake up early today... to go meet a repre sentative of the Sheraton Vistana Village time share. At 7:30, on my sister's insistence... however, everyone else thought it would be a good idea to wake up at 5AM to get ready.

It was honestly, a waste of time and we had to sit through an hour to two of this woman from Holland that COULD NOT SHUT UP. Seriously. She was doing her damned best to get us to buy something that we didn't want to and we ended up havig to put up with her comrade a while later. Not cool with her flirting with me though... she had kids and all it was more off-putting than convincing enough to waste a shit-load of money on anything.

We ended up going for MORE shopping. Although at least we stopped at an interesting restaurant, "Fish and Bones" good, really really good food.

Comp USA seems to be closing cross-country and Circuit City charges 35 dollars for the service to put in RAM memory in your computer. So just do it yourself.

Day 5

Disney... Magic Kingdom. Wasted a whole day there. I didn't want to be there, but people had to insist. Gods. I like M.K.... I do... with the right people. With my family I'd rather do something else. Seriously. Like... going out to eat. Or shopping (maybe) with them. But I'm not 12 anymore, and even then I didn't want to hang about at snail-pace.

ORLANDO TRIP DAYS 1 & 2

2007-12-25T05:08:00.000Z

Hello everyone, as some of you might know I ended up in Orlando this time, as an effort to keep the writing spark going I'm going to write what happens here from beginning to end. That does not mean daily updates, but at least a full story....

FIRST DAY- Travel and Arrival

First, the flight was handled by Aeromexico from MEX to ATL, which meant a loooooooooooong wait just to get to the counter. Service SUCKS. Big time.

Then, there was a queue of more than a 100 people waiting... fortunately I used my charms to convince a security guard to let me through and skip the whole thing (If I had boobs it would have been quicker...)

The flight was said to leave at 9:25, we started bording at 9:35 or so. I got a frienship seat, but fortunately, the person to my right, missed the flight. So, I got some space between me and the other person, making the trip a little more enjoyable. The plane wasn't very comfortable, to begin with. They gave us a "continental breakfast" which consists of rabbit food, basically: Fruit, a muffin and a drink.

In Atlanta I got scooped up by security... again. This happened in Chicago too, and I was hoping they had sorted it out but...

It turns out there's this guy with a similar name to mine who the US government is looking for and they have to check all the way with Washington.

So, as you can imagine, having only 1 hour to get through customs, pick the bags, put them through again and reach the next terminal... I missed my flight.

So I had to cajole one of the staff to prompt me up in the standby list to make sure I would make it to Orlando. This was Delta BTW.

Once I made it here, I had to get a shuttle to the hotel, which my dad had failed to mention costs 20 bucks (not too much, but still he had said it was free...) at least I made friends with the driver who took me to Mac Donalds since I hadn't eating ANYTHING since BF. I took the food with me, believing once I got to the hotel it would be quick...

... and check-in was. Nice people at the counter.

Got a shuttle from the hotel to take me to the area I'm supposed to be in, got the the 4th floor... key didn't work. I had to walk back, dragging my stuff to reception for another one. Again, I met the Shuttle guy who I also ended up making friends with. I went up to my room, hungry, annoyed and tired... and the key didn't work.

This time I knocked on the doors on all the floor, but there appeared to be no-one, so I couldn't ask someone to either let me call reception or call for me... but fortunately, I saw a security guy in one of those little golf-cars, so he gave me a ride to the reception again, where they decided to send a technitian. I got a ride back to the room, met the technitian and he opened the door for me, and gave me a new key that works.

The room is ridiculously small and it turns out there was a mix-up with the booking and we were down-graded. Yay. I had to share the sofa-bed with my dad and it wasn't fun.

A great start for the holiday I soooo much wanted, isn't it?

Day Two - Epcot Center

Waking up semi-early wasn't fun either. But, at least it was the start of a new day, right? And not just any day, the 24th of December, a day where we would celebrate Christamas Dinner at Epcot Center (WTF?!)

Most of the morning was spent discussing the virtues of wasting money on tickets for several places and complaining on the front desk about accomodations, all of it accompanied by my reiteration of my intent to stay in the hotel while everyone went out... and get some peace.

We discovered that most supermarkets would be closed on the 25th, so instead of going straight to Epcot, we went shopping. At least, with our final objective being Epcot Center, pushing the cart about in the supermarket was as entertaining as most of the rides there are. Speed-wise at least.

Getting food, we went to the hotel, left it and sped out to Epcot Center.

We got into a few rides, but by then it was quite late, so Mission: Space, was cool, but not something I would go out to recommend despite the high praises my sister insists on delivering about it. Then there is another one called "Test Drive" which is supposed to impress with taking curves with 50 angle on it at 60 MPH, or 100 KpH... which is impressive, I guess, if you've never done something similar and/or driven about with Koba. Otherwise, it's just a random ride and utterly pointless.

We went to the Circle of Life presentation and another tour that deals with greenhouses. The last one mentioned above was pretty interesting, but made annoying with the help of some kids who wanted out half a minute into the ride.

Finally, the main reason we had gone there arrived and we went into the Chefs de France restaurant, where I got escargot and lamb, along with a nice 2001 I-forget-the-brand red wine and some crepes with apple in them. It was a good dinner, spoilt at times by the antics of my companions, but enjoyable nontheless.

Finally, made it back to the hotel, where I am preparing to sleep... alone this time, thanfully. Anyway, I'll keep posting.

Nya!

Chicago again!

2007-12-21T18:31:00.000Z

So these last few days I went to visit my friends in Chicago... there is only one word to describe the place right now... SNOW! LOTS and LOTS of snow. It reminded me a bit of London in winter, only colder.
I stayed at my friend's place and basically we all decided that the best things to do were: a) eat good food; b) Go buy stuff; c) Go watch movies at the cinema; and d) watch dvds so we did.

I have to say that, although I have watched Ratatouille more than 20 times, watching it in Blue Ray was a new experience altogether. Simply amazing. The details that came to life that you could not see in the DVD was... a revelation!

Speaking of food, Papadeux is having a 3 Lobster meal for 29.99... that's pretty good if you ask me, and although they were prepared in a rather unimaginative manner, they were very good still. Recomended.

A couple of non-spoiler thoughts about films though...

I am Legend: Did they have to put the "GOD SENT ME" bit in it? I think it was completely unecessary and absurd, considering the plot of the movie itself.

Enchanted: Generally good. But the best was in the trailer except perhaps for the Park song. The girls look much better as cartoons though.

The Golden Compass: WTF? Some stuff stayed in... they rushed the whole thing, ended it where it wasn't supposed to end... wtf?

STILL ALIVE!

2007-12-10T07:57:00.000Z

I guess I'm just posting because it irritates me not to have the willpower to do it as often as I should. I mean, since July I haven't really posted anything at all and a LOT has happened to me:

Tried to go back to England only to be stopped by a racist customs officer.
Spent the night in the security room at the Airport (Gadwick).
Got sent back to Mexico :P
Found out how useless it is to ask the UK Embassy here for help...
Joined an RPG here... character: a Bard! ;) Quite cool.
Got Digimon Dusk and Dawn... (I really liked them :p)
Got work at United Airlines.
Got sent to Chicago for Training for 5 weeks...
Met the group from Argentina that went to train there... (I was the only one from Mex)
Learnt how to use FastRes....
Watched "The Sparrow"
Watched "Wicked" (BTW, I've seen some of the British and Broadway versions and I have to say the Chicago one beats them hands down.)
Got to go to several different restaurants in Chicago :)
Came back to Mexico and did a 2 week training in 1 week...
Watched "Beawolf" (Did they really have to put the Christian add-ons on the film?)
Quit United Airlines...
Got offered a job in a company related to Stock Market...
Joined another RPG group...
Miss Stacey & the gang terribly...

Anyway, as you can read a lot did happen which I haven't really posted. I guess that's life though. I'm checking work opportunities in the UK and plan to get back there as soon as possible... and I'll also try to pay more attention to this, perhaps starting by re-vamping it a bit. That might help...

Later!

July Post...

2007-07-17T06:13:00.001Z

Me and my big mouth... >< I don't know whether to be very happy or annoyed that now I have until the end of September to get a DS. The only other problem is that in the UK it will probably take LONGER for the games to come out. Damn European game delay.
I guess I'll just get someone to get the American versions for me.

It is July and Stacey and I are in Mexico. I will add more info, but it is quite late right now so, until tomorrow.

It's JUNE!

2007-06-15T15:31:00.000Z

It is! June, I mean, and lot's of things have happened...

First I will say this: I will only buy a DS when these come out:

In other news: I moved out of my flat, finally. And now... I don't have an internet connection, so, don't be surprised to see me even less than usual. On the bright side, the lack of internet has allowed me to start writing properly again. It is remarkable just how much time can be wasted between waiting for pages to load or someone to answer an email/instant message.
But that's back on track now, and I hope that it keeps up!

This month we got tickets to go watch Boeing Boeing! Previously mentioned in the last post. The production was amazing and had the crowd laughing all the way, it was a very clever play, translated from the original French theatre, a while ago, turned into a Film in the 60s and resusitated at the Comedy Theatre this year.
As you can see Elena Roger played (the one in blue) a character in this one. This time, she played an Italian (which, was slightly amusing since I was reminded by Stacey that an Italian man had played an Argentinian character in Evita) she is the Italian Air Hostess Gabriella.
We were also fortunate to have seen Patricia Hodge as Bertha (the maid). She is soon to be replaced by Rhea Perlman (who was in the movie Taxi with Danny DeVito)

On the German side of the story, Doon Mackichan plays Gretchen, and she IS scary at the same time as she is funny. If you think they're falling into cliches don't worry, evey character has enough originallity by themselves, except possibly the American, Gloria, played by Amy Nuttall reveals to be 100% American inthe last part of the play, but I will not spoil it for those that might want to go watch it. Adrian Dunbar (Bernard) and Neil Stuke (Robert) make you laugh constantly through their antics as the city boy and country boy :) Definate must see.

On another note, we ALSO went to watch The Complete Works of William Shakespear (Abrigued) by the Reduced Shakespear Company (of three guys.) While it was not as funny as Boeing Boeing for some people, I will say that it was funny in a different way. It was more slapstick and a basic knowledge of Shakespear is certainly required if you want to get most of the jokes, but it is fast paced and before you know it, you have gone through 37 plays in 96 minutes.
Amusing and worth watching. They have other interesting sounding plays, such as "Starwars Trilogy (Abridged)" Done by one man. Alone.

In any case, should more intersting stuff happen, I will update this post. Later!

May....

2007-05-20T20:28:00.000Z

Sigh, I just found out that "Nerima Daikon Brothers" was licensed by ADV (Ok, so it's been a while, but I wasn't really paying attention.)... just what we needed, another anime that is fun to watch just about to be destroyed by American Dubbing. ¬¬ I know everyone has an obsession with Nabeshin and his stuff, but... why destroy his work then? This anime has so many songs the characters sing that it is bound to be messed up by the translations and voice acting.

Well, we went to Central London to watch Evita with the Argentinian Actress Elena Roger playing the role of Eva Peron... I have to say that she's an a mazing actress and she brought life to Evita much more than anyone I had seen before (obviously much more than Maddona) and she has an amazing voice to boot.
After the show I managed to meet her and she's a really nice person, she also told me about Boeing Boeing which is the next thing she'll be acting on over here, so when I get the chance we're going ^^ we had to leave early (we were hungry as hell) but hopefully she'll agree to have a few pints with us the next time we see her.

And I still find this funny:

Gneh!

2007-04-01T21:53:00.000Z

It was my Birthday in March, as you might know. Nothing new happened. I didn't sprout wings or horns, and/or discovered latent mutant powers. So, all in all I am just another year old. Bleh.

I did spend a fun time with Stacey, Sam and Becky though :)

Few things have happened... among them... Roleplaying. And... Reading... and... writing (of emails)... and... eating... and cooking... and...

I also bought a bottle of Grand Marnier and a bottle of Martell VS and I now am able to create my fav mix: Faja Dorada. It has a nice kick and sets your body on fire. ;) And it is also one of those drinks that are good at any time of the year.

Each, of course, on its own is delicious.

Anyway, catch you soon.

2007-02-09T16:16:00.000Z

FEBRUARY POST

In a bit of a hurry, so I'll update this same post later...

BAFTA Awards

So the time has come for the BAFTAs. To be honest I have just watched a couple over the years, and it was because someone else found them interesting. I didn't really see how some of the videos could win anything at all other than a one way ticket to the gallows for the staff and cast, but this year something different has happened.

First off, let me point out that the BAFTA Awards are the Biggest film and television awards in the United Kindom. It is a significant experience and honor to be elected to participate.

Becky, who made a short film, has been elected to be one of the 15 finalists to compete for supremacy on the BAFTAs, her video which can be found [here] was first elected as a regional champion and now, this sunday she'll be in Leicester Square rubbing shoulders with famous producers and directors. If you look carefully at the video you might see a cameo by Stacey, Sam, Ross and yours trully, in it! ^^

Best of luck, Becky! We're routing for you! WIN! WIN!

January

2007-01-09T06:36:00.000Z

Ok, ok, so I HAD intended to make an earlier post, but so many PERSONAL things have happened that it has been a serious roller-coaster over here. Good news, Bad news and very surprising news have piled up, but at last, here it is.

New Year was quiet this time, but enjoyable, and again I cooked up a storm, and Stacey made a delicious Apple Pie to finish off dinner.

There have been some developments, such as me getting a real job (finally) and Essays still hanging around my head. Lectures have started again, much to my delight/disgust and life slowly will seep back into a routine :P

I sent lots if not all of you Christmassy-New Year emails so I hope you got them! Anyway, if you didn't get it or it got somehow sent to the SPAM folder... I do wish you all a good New Year. (Well, all except "Me!me!" who's pissed me off so often with her selfish ways.)

Im posting a picture of how the dinner looked like (before the massacre):

Coca-Cola, Champagne, Wines, Beer (Old Speckled Hen)... my much-loved roast chicken with potatoes, and an escalopes/asparagus/bacon entree... it was a very nice dinner. :) I'm quite proud of it.

December Post

2006-12-07T04:42:00.000Z

This month:

Food! Roasted Chicken & Tilapia Dish
FFXII: The good and the bad
Updated links: Welcome to Blogger P-chan!
Babylon 5, Day of the Dead ep by Neil Gaiman
Webcomics: Elf-chan.
Cromartie! The Movie
MA stuff. Presentations and essay titles. First half will be over soon.

-*-

First I will apologize for staying out of contact for a while; Firefox 2 has not been working properly on Stacey's computer, which is the one I use to update, and well... Talk Talk (Internet company) hasn't been great anyway.

Food! Roasted Chicken & Tilapia Dish

Some people have asked me what the hell I eat here in England... well, for you curious people, I've taken a couple of pictures from a couple of dishes I cook over here...

The first dish has become a favourite of mine and Stacey and any guests that happen to be there when I make it (and for those who haven't, it will.)

Simple Roast Chicken with some herbs ;)

The second dish I have for you today is Tilapia in Lemon-butter sauce. I cooked this a couple of times for my family back home...

FFXII: The good and the bad

Final Fantasy XII is an amazing and damnably addictive game. I won't repeat what P-chan has already said about the game but here's my own rant:

The story itself is really well thought and developed. There is some resonance with Star Wars (Besides Biggs and Wedge who ALSO appear in this game as Imperialists in Nalbina fortress) The huge amount of references to all previous FF games make it a really enjoyable experience for those of us that have played them all or at least most of them, but again, it doesn't rely to heavily on them for the appeal. I will not mention the similarities it has with FFXI since I haven't played that one and any claims would be stuff I heard from third parties.

My main complain would be the Quickenings, which are overpowered attacks to the nth power... to put it bluntly, a level 13 character can blast into pieces a lvl 30 monster with one of those... heck Summons are not that powerful.

On the Summon note, their new take on their personalities is also a good reason to play this game...

Updated links: Welcome to Blogger P-chan!

So you've had your blog for a while... :P sorry, just updated the link!

Babylon 5, Day of the Dead ep by Neil Gaiman

Watching B5 again I finally noticed (rather belatedly) that Neil Gaiman wrote the script for "Day of the Dead" episode of said series. No wonder it was one of my favourites. It also proves that I should pay more attention. ¬_¬

Webcomics: Elf-chan

So, Elf is going to start her own webcomic and I'm doing some promotion for it.. :p Check it. The link is on the sidebar.

Cromartie! The Movie...

And speaking of comics (or Manga) and Anime, Cromartie the Movie is an amazing piece of work, I should have told JCS that I had it before they showed Uzumaki (Which is CRAP as a film. The Manga is so amazingly good that you want to cry when you see what they did to it in the Live Action version.... it is not Horror it is a crappy comedy.)

MA stuff. Presentations and essay titles. First half will be over soon.

On the MA side, next week will be the last week of the first half of the Degree. I have to think essay titles and start writing for delivery on January, since I haven't got a steady job yet it is going to be an interesting Christmas....

On that note, I will do another post before the end of the year, on Christmas. See you then!

Test stolen from Hikari's blog...

November Post

2006-11-02T16:59:00.000Z

This month:

Rant: State of Affairs
Books: Science Fiction
Friends: Communication
Drinks: Absinthe

The Current State of Affairs

So this is the first post on the actual "Monthly" post proposition. I hope this makes it better and easier, knowing that the actual posts will come on the first week of each month, rather than having to check to see if there's anything new.

Just to have everyone know what's going on I will cover it now.

I am still in England. I am doing an MA in Children's Literature that means, it is a Literature course, which requires Literary Essays, it is not a "Write for Children Course" which you would still fail, Mandi, given your writing skills and just how little you actually understand of what writing implies and how bad you take constructive critisism. But, I digress.

This MA will finish in June, after which I still have to decide what to do exactly. There are general plans, but as common sense dictates it is not advisable to leave it hanging in the air until the last moment.

I am enjoying my lectures and course very much, studying the history of Children's Literature, the various Literary theories of analysis (that don't really exist as such in the American Continent) and learning about the intricancies of Childen's Literature in Translation.

Ross, Stacey, Becky, Sam and I have started RAGS (Roehampton Adventurer's Guild) which is the RPG Society for all intents and purposes. Currently I am DMing a Dungeons And Dragons 3.5 adventure, and waiting for my players for a Vampire: The Masquerade session that I will also Story-tell. I am also playing a character in a Legend of the Five Rings campaign. I am in no hurry about the Roleplaying though, which is good as it doesn't interfere at all with my actual work.

I am planning to enter a couple of contests for writers in January, so I will keep you posted on that.

We (Stacey and I) have had some trouble with our flatmate, Miranda. In my opinion it boils down to two main issues:

a) the bad care she has for her Rats.

and b) That she never compromises or is willing to talk about what the problem is, and the worst thing is, she complains about what a bad week she's had if we bring it up.

Now she has said that she wants to leave, leaving us with a 1 year contract. But then, she doesn't want to leave now. We don't know what the hell she intends to do or not. And it is very annoying.

I'm not saying that we are the perfect flatmates. I am not implying that we are the cleanest beings in the world. I am not pretending that we don't leave plates in the kitchen for probably longer than advisable without cleaning them... but we DO clean them.

She thinks we bully her or that we are not her friends. But the fact is that I am dissapointed by her and the reason I am is because I considered her my friend. Otherwise I would not give a flying fuck.

Anyway, Miranda, if you read this and wonder why I actually said it here, let me point it out for you. I don't say things about people that I wouldn't say to their faces. All of my friends know this; Ripton, Ross, Sam, Stacey, Elf, Luis, Omar, etc... if I have a problem with them I will tell them and face the music. However, you Miranda, are NEVER AROUND for me to say any of this to you, so there it is. If you insist I will remove this, but bear this in mind: We HAVE tried to amend things, we HAVE shown interest in coming to a resolution, and the only thing we got in return was your contempt.

Anyway, as you can see, not all is going perfect, but thankfully there are enough good things floating around to make up for the misery some people insist on perpetrating on others.

Books

Fabulous Riverboat by Phillip Jose Farmer, Amazon.co.uk; Amazon.com

This book is amazingly well written and it is a cornerstone of Science Fiction. With more than a bit of Fantasy into it, it is kind of similar to the classic SF rather than the more modern, more technical approach that we find today.

In this book, interesting historical characters meet, such as Odysseus, Mark Twain, King John and Mozart. This is the second book of the Riverworld Trilogy. Highly recomended.

Ender's Shadow Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com; Shadow of the Hegemon Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com; Shadow Puppets Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com; Shadow of the Giant Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com By Orson Scott Card

For those fortunate enough to have read Ender'sGame, Xenoside and so on, Orson Scott Card has wrote a new compelling series in the Enderverse. Starting with Ender's Shadow, this is the story of Bean and several of the other characters from Battle School that joined Ender in the last battle with the Formics. I know at least one of my friends has read Ender's Game, and when we talked about it we found just how diverse the interests in it can be; from the political to the technological, to the philosophical, Ender's Game is a gem, and this sequel series is completely enjoyable even on it's own.

I still have to read "Shadow of the Giant" but can otherwise vouch for the other three.

Brothers Grimm

Not the destroyers of Folktales as some people think...

It has come to my attention that the Brothers Grimm are not the ones that "adapted" fairy tales to be more children-friendly, rather all they did was gather stories from around Europe, and compile them.

It was actually the translators of such texts (notably the French) that adapted them, not for children, but for the court, changing small details, adding things and adding Christian references to stories that didn't need them.

Sadly, most of these Fairy tales would have dissappeared if they hadn't been "sanctified" by adding the word "God", as the very pagan and magical nature of fairy tales would be offensive to the sensitivities of God-fearing, Church-going fundamentalists.

The original Grimm records include all the blood, gore and sexual innuendo that you can hope for in the original stories.

Friends

Getting in Contact with friends can be sometimes more complicated than expected... MSN, Skype, Emails... what to use? And what if you're not using your computer for a couple of reasons? Is it fair to randomly install programs to do so? I know some friends don't use MSN Messenger for their own reasons, and I respect that even if it is annoying not to be able to contact them otherwise.

To be honest, I miss my friends. I've always thought they are the best influence in my life. They sometimes inspire me, sometimes challenge me to be better, sometimes annoy me and sometimes make me realize some truth about life or myself that I hadn't even considered. It is hard to be away from so many of them and only be able to see them a couple of times in the few months I've been back, and even then, not being able to see all of them.

I'm trying, along with reviving this blog with the monthly updates to somehow keep in touch with everyone. And I am glad to have heard from some of them lately.

Drinks: Absinthe

Tastes like crap when mixed with water... who's idea was that anyway? It is simply stupid.

Blame it on the French again!

Absinthe tastes better when you put the spoon with the sugar-cube, pour Absinthe on it to mix it with the sugar and fill your glass (well, not FILL to capacity, just a shot or so) and then set it on fire. THAT is good. Especially when the sugar starts melting and falls into the glass, setting the absinthe inside on fire too. Yummy.

While the Wikipidea article about it is informative, it is heavilly censored into what and how it was originally drank, which is the method I mentioned above... although it is said that Lord Byron had his absinthe like that while "Chasing the Dragon" there is only so much I will do in pursue of fun.

***

Anyway, this is it for now, see you soon!

-Nya

Alive

2006-10-19T01:16:00.000Z

As of today I have decided to post ONCE A MONTH until further notice. I am in the process of writing the actual post for this month, but it might not come until the end of the week. I well then proceed to write on the first week of the month. I'm not up to daily or even weekly updates yet and I don't expect to be for some time. Maybe until I finish my MA. However, I think it would be a shame for this method of comunication with my friends and interested people to go under due to negligence.

Please forgive me for taking so long, it has been my loss to shy away from it and miss your possible coments, reassurances or word-edge slaps in the face for saying something stupid, so, if you're still out there, I hope to see you around.

And just for the heck of it I stole another Test from Elf's Blog...

-D

Spellsword

51% Combativeness, 40% Sneakiness, 82% Intellect, 41% Spirituality

Aggressive, but with the brains to back it up: You are a Spellsword!

Score! You have a prestige class. A prestige class can only be taken after you’ve fulfilled certain requirements. This may mean that you're an exceptionally talented person, but it probably doesn't.

Spellswords combine arcane might with combat know-how. They're much tougher than mages, like to wear armor, and can cast spells through their weapons. They're very, very, good at doing lots of damage to a single target very quickly, and while not quite as tough as most fighters, are still pretty hard to kill.

You're both smart and aggressive, which means that you're probably pretty dangerous when pissed off. You also tend to be somewhat straightforward, which is nice, and don’t have much use for spirituality or mysticism.

My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 99% on Combativeness
You scored higher than 99% on Sneakiness
You scored higher than 99% on Intellect
You scored higher than 99% on Spirituality

Link: The RPG Class Test written by MFlowers on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Mexico!

2006-08-15T17:42:00.000Z

Yes I'm here. In Mexico.

I came to find that one of the most beautiful avenues in the World, once compared to the Champs-Élysées in France, the Paseo de la Reforma has been overwhelmed by a group of idiots numbering in the thousands if not millions, who are being actually PAID to be there with the money from the city. And why, you might ask? Well, simple. Their "Leader" didn't get elected as president, and now he's throwing a fit.
He's now trying to pick a fight with the army. I think he wants bloodshed so that people will start another revolution. What an asshole. Their only objective so far has been to destroy things, avoid direct confrontation, insult people's sense of smell and everything they percieve as better than themselves (which it normally is, including blades of grass.) One of my favorite fantasies is hail the size of golf balls raining down on all those idiots for a couple of hours. It's not even about democracy, it's about the ego of Lopez Obrador may he go to hell to be ass-rapped by imps.

Anyway, the image above was taken without permission from http://www.stormgasm.com they have some cool videos and pictures there, be sure to visit.

***

On other news, I had a great time in Bilbao and Santander, and I have to thank one of my friends, Jose Luis, for helping us get an amazing tour of the city, with history and anecdotes included. Not to mention the food! Oh Gods, the FOOD! Amazing stuff. If anytime, anyone wants to go to Santander with me we're going to eat there.

And here in Mexico I have been able to get in touch with my friends!

Nya!

Graduated!

2006-07-31T21:51:00.000Z

Well, yes...

I admit! I was the one commenting on how other people didn't update! Of course, I HAD internet at my disposition back then, so it was easier to say that! :P

Anyway, so, several things have happened, but most importantly I feel, is the fact that I have graduated from my University Course and now I hold a BA in Creative Writing! Bwahahahahaha!

I will post more about this eventually when I can upload images. At this moment I am in a hotel in Bilbao (Spain) so I can't really do it, but as soon as I can I will.

-Nya!

Eurovision

2006-05-21T19:38:00.000Z

Heh. For the last three years I have avoided willing contact with the Eurovision contest, mainly because it is normally nothing more than light pop songs and crappy singing... but this year...

Well, I took a look at the news the day before and it turns out that the Finnish Hard Rock Band, LORDI (really cool website, btw. More INFO HERE.) was going to participate. Now, I won't lie. I didn't know who they were, or that they existed, but I was up for them the moment I saw them. :) I was also slightly biased towards them when I heard some people couldn't believe that they were allowed to participate when they were clearly Demon-worshipers...

Which of course they are not and they have made an effort to point out, but were ignored, as is always the case with controversy, organized religion leaders -who have a reputation for being thick-headed simpletons- that see anything as an affront and danger to their groups and make extremely obvious and miserably usless attempts to stop it. (Which, much to my amusement ends up having the opposite effect and makes many more people take interest. For example the Da Vinci Cra- Code wouldn't have gotten ANYWHERE on its own without the constant nagging of the Catholic Church. It's a wonder that being banned from the world of books it wasn't sponsored by Pepsi...)

There was even this Greek group called "The Hellenes" who wrote to the President of Finland to stop Lordi from going.

Anyway, Finland WON :) and by FAR with 294 points. As for Lordi... I'm buying their records. Their music is actually quite good, they deserved to win.

Hard Rock Hallelujah
original English lyrics

music & lyrics: Mr Lordi
arrangement: Lordi
performer: Lordi

Hard Rock Hallelujah!
Hard Rock Hallelujah!

The saints are crippled
On this sinners’ night
Lost are the lambs with no guiding light

The walls come down like thunder
The rocks about to roll
It’s the Arockalypse
Now bare your soul

All we need is lightning
With power and might
Striking down the prophets of false
As the moon is rising
Give us the sign
Now let us rise up in awe

Rock ’n roll angels bring thyn hard rock hallelujah
Demons and angels all in one have arrived
Rock ’n roll angels bring thyn hard rock hallelujah
In God’s creation supernatural high

The true believers
Thou shall be saved
Brothers and sisters keep strong in the faith
On the day of Rockoning
It’s who dares, wins
You will see the jokers soon’ll be the new kings

All we need is lightning
With power and might
Striking down the prophets of false
As the moon is rising
Give us the sign
Now let us rise up in awe

Rock ’n roll angels bring thyn hard rock hallelujah
Demons and angels all in one have arrived
Rock ’n roll angels bring thyn hard rock hallelujah
In God’s creation supernatural high

Wings on my back
I got horns on my head
My fangs are sharp
And my eyes are red
Not quite an angel
Or the one that fell
Now choose to join us or go straight to Hell

Hard Rock Hallelujah!
Hard Rock Hallelujah!
Hard Rock Hallelujah!
Hard Rock Hallelujah!

Rock ’n roll angels bring thyn hard rock hallelujah
Demons and angels all in one have arrived
Rock ’n roll angels bring thyn hard rock hallelujah
In God’s creation supernatural high

Hard Rock Hallelujah!

Da Vinci Code... a failure.

2006-05-17T09:13:00.001Z

A good way to wake up in the morning is to check the news and find out THIS. (I will save the article to put it up later if they take it off.)

My favourite quote "Thus book's detractors will no doubt be comforted to hear that when Hanks reveals who is supposedly the last surviving descendant of Jesus, the Cannes audience couldn't hold back their laughter."

There is also THIS article, which is funnier, and was pointed out to me by Stacey.

It opens up like this: "CANNES (Hollywood Reporter) - For those who hate Dan Brown's best-selling symbology thriller "The Da Vinci Code," the eagerly awaited and much-hyped movie version beautifully exposes all its flaws and nightmares of logic."

In the words of old Stan Lee... 'Nuff said.

I mean, I will NOT go into just how much the book sucks. I have to say though, people that thought is was "revealing", "deep" or "polemic" ought to start reading real books.

Oh, yeah. And Dan Brown knows SHIT about religious symbolism. And for those that think he does, again, read more. And also take into account, for the few bits that he got right... he got them 1/3 right.

-Nya!

Been a while...

2006-05-04T13:34:00.000Z

So I took my sweet time to update. However, these are the last three weeks of Uni, and I have to give in a shit-load of work by the end of the month! But then, I graduate! :)

Catherine Willows is a Bitch

2006-04-24T20:00:00.000Z

Catherine Willows is a Bitch. :p

She hates almost anything Mexican, and through 6 Seasons of CSI she remains being self-absorbed and using her daughter as a trading card for simpathy. I know flaws make characters interesting, but this woman has no redeeming feature.

Opinions?

St. George's Day

2006-04-24T00:27:00.000Z

So, Saint George's Day. I find St. George's legend somewhat interesting. Here's the LEGEND bit from Wikipedia (you can find the whole thing, including historical facts, by clicking HERE):

The tale found its place in the folk religion of several regions of Europe and Asia Minor, and accounts may vary based on local tradition.

The tale begins with a dragon making its nest at the spring which provides a city-state with water. Consequently, the citizens had to temporarily remove the dragon from its nest in order to collect water. To do so, they offered the dragon a daily human sacrifice. The victim of the day was chosen by drawing lots. Eventually the "winner" of this lottery happened to be the local princess. The local Monarch is occasionally depicted begging for her life with no result. She is offered to the dragon but at this point a travelling George arrives. He faces the dragon, slays it and saves the princess. The grateful citizens then abandon their ancestral Paganism and convert to Christianity.

The account used to be considered factual but this belief has been progressively abandoned. On the other hand few doubt it contains religious symbolism but various interpretations have been suggested. George can be seen as representing Christianity. In both the Christianized Physiologus and the bestiaries of the 9th through 13th centuries, the dragon is a consistent symbol of Satan. Similarly, in traditional Judaic and early Christian allegory and exegesis, both the serpent (with the vast serpent being a dragon) and leviathan represent Satan. George's victory over the dragon, therefore, has been read allegorically as the victory of Christianity (riding the white horse of the Church Universal) over Satan. Indeed, as late as the 17th century, Edmund Spenser would use the story of George in that manner.

However, secular historians consider the roots of the story to be older than Christianity itself. They note that the origin of the saint is said to be partly from Cappadocia in Asia Minor, and that Asia Minor was among the earliest regions to adopt the popular veneration of the saint. The region had long venerated other religious figures. These historians deem it likely that certain elements of their ancient worship could have passed to their Christian successors. Notable among these ancient deities was Sabazios, the Sky Father of the Phrygians and known as Sabazius to the Romans. This god was traditionally depicted riding on horseback. The iconic image of St. George on horseback trampling the serpent-dragon beneath him is considered to be similar to these pre-Christian representations of Sabazios^[1]. So a number of secular historians have suggested that St. George has served as a christianised version of the older deity.

On the other hand, the tale of George and the Dragon is widely considered among secular historians to share a common theme with the ancient Greek myth of Ethiopian princess Andromeda and her saviour and later husband Perseus, slayer of the gorgon Medusa. According to this myth, Perseus beheaded Medusa and George his Dragon in a shared theme of decapitation. Perseus' meeting with Andromeda was placed in her native Ethiopia. In several versions, George meets his Dragon in Libya (North Africa west of Egypt). Both locales can be interpreted to represent distant chthonic kingdoms of magic. The saving of the king's daughter is another shared theme as is the reward-bargain exacted by the respective hero of the stories: Possession of the princess for Perseus and the mass baptism of the king's subjects for George.

Another idea is that Saint George is an alternative manifestation of St Michael, the archangel and captain of the heavenly host.

Saint George's history could be considered an example of Princess and dragon Fairy tales.

Coincidentally, a dragon is an ancient symbol of Wales, conquered by England (King Edward I).

A comic book, Aliens vs. Predator Annual #1, retold the story with the "dragon" of the legend revealed to be a Yautja, or Predator.

Aside those observations, Brian Bates, author of "The Real Middle Earth" also notes that the Christian version of the legend was also a convinient way of converting pagans to Christianity by converging all the "evil" aspects they were trying to erradicate into a "slayable" monster. That the deeper meaning of the Dragon in the ancient Celtic traditions was lost on them is also mentioned.

Another interesting thing to observe (as pointed out to me) is George's legend as compared to that of the Minotaur, and its many resemblances.

2006-04-18T20:59:00.000Z

So the Easter Holidays are concluding with some more examples of certain people’s stupidity.

Before I carry on, let me state that I do not believe every single Christian out there to be an idiot. In fact, one of the most intelligent people I know happens to be a Christian, and I consider him not only a reasonable individual, but a very good friend. The people I criticize happen to be either a bit too Fundamentalist, downright fanatical, and/or stupid. Sadly they move in packs and give the sensible Christians a bad name.

The Roehampton Christian Union (RCU- what is it with “Union” instead of “Society”? United for a common Goal? Or against a common Enemy?) plagued the whole University with posters asking “Who moved the Stone?” they put posters wherever they desired (regardless of the fact that some places were prohibited, or that they shouldn’t use TACKS on TREES) and chased people around asking the question again and again not taking “I don’t care” as an answer. I wasn’t interviewed or asked, so I couldn’t give any witty response such as “Roman Grave Robbers?” oh, yeah, and they also “hosted” a meeting for “anyone” interested in the “Differences between Muslim and Christian Religion” which translated into: “We are right, they are terrorists and completely wrong and while we cannot prove this fact we will pretend that we know what we are talking about and rant about it and not let anyone else talk.”

While on their own, the events themselves might prove to be not only interesting, but provide opportunity for discussion and cooperative understanding, the fact that the RCU is composed mainly of people that declare everyone that doesn’t agree with them heathens and unworthy and servants of the devil makes the whole thing nothing but an escape-hole for people who are unsure of their own values, religion, faith and knowledge of their own roots to bash on other religions and people with the knowledge that everyone else in the room is as lost and just as pig-headed as they are.

These events should have been held by the Hindu Society; or the Asian Society; or the Philosophy Society, or the Human Rights Society... why? Well simply because they would have rather tried to understand the truth about both groups rather than dispense their version of it.

And speaking of Societies, we’re starting the Role Playing Society, which should be interesting. Again, everyone will be invited to join. It will also prove an interesting experience.

Anyway, here’s some good examples to make extremists think...

"AIDS CURES SODOMY"

Posts

2006-04-16T02:09:00.000Z

Besides Erin, Hikari and Jenny, sometimes I feel like I'm the only one posting kinda regularly, and that is not saying much. ^_^'
Elf, who is also a regular blog-updater is having a good time in some beach, so no news from her.

But what about everyone else? Shun has began updating. In fact, he has some really interesting posts, including one of a conference with Stephen Hawkings :) Although I had to explain a few bits and pieces to him when he talked about it.

Quasi's is priceless, cause I KNOW he has internet. And the last post, made on the 14th of January, says:

My blog has been dead recently.

WELL NO MORE

Which I find very amusing.

Come on, Quasi! Lots of things have happened to you lately!

And where is Kaput? I know your lady demands time and she deserves it man, but a few news? Come on!

And I haven't heard anything from Joy.

FURS

Today Stacey and I went to the Londonfurs Meeting for the first time ever. It was a new experience and we met some interesting people. We ended up having dinner and talking with a couple of them; Spike and Jazz. Pretty cool furs. Ate lots of sushi. Niiiice.

We also had a chance to talk to a lot of others, more than ten, whose names I really can't remember, other than Graff and Shep, basically, and there was this guy who had a gettup that screamed BAT, without being an actuall fur-suit. Really cool. He and I talked about the novel "Silverwing" and its sequels for a bit.

-Nya!

RENT

2006-04-11T20:21:00.000Z

I just went to watch the Movie/Musical with Stacey. I seriously recommend it. It's probably not as enjoyable for those whose English understanding is helped by subtitles, but otherwise it is amazing. I haven't seen the original Broadway Production yet, but I will definetly go whenever I get the chance.

Anyway, go watch it! NOW.

Updated Blog Links

2006-04-11T02:47:00.000Z

Well, I updated the links. Added Nullrand's, Stacey's, P-chan's and Hikari-chan's blogs! Who else out there has a blog?

Updated

2006-04-07T20:01:00.000Z

Well, I've updated the links... (about f'n time too).

Don't have much to say or rant about. My only complaint so far is to the Christians that just will not admit that Easter originated from something OTHER than Christianism; like many other parts of their religion, it was there before Christ. I'm sorry. Understand, just because something doesn't originate from where you want it to doesn't mean it should be less important. It means what it means to YOU, that should be enough regardless of where it came from, so, please, stop the nonsense of telling me it's a 100% Christian originated practice and that I am not allowed to celebrate it in my own Pagan ways.

On that note, the Easter hollidays have begun over here, and Jenny and I are planning to visit Shun in Cambridge. Yay to us! It's just a one day thing, but I think it will be pretty fun.

As for Digimon Savers and Digimon Next... so far so cool! First episode was niiiice. Haven't had a chance to see ".hack root" even in RAW, but I'm sure it's going to prove interesting.

Animes I'm watching at the moment:
Blood+
Digimon Savers
Zipang

As soon as they come out I get my hands on them :p

Reading from monday this week:

Cell by Steven King - Finished
The Summons (Return of the Archwizards Book 1) by Troy Denning - Finished
The Siege (Return of the Archwizards Book 2) by Troy Denning - Finished (Sunday 09 April)

DIGIMON!

2006-03-30T12:45:00.000Z

So, starting next month, "Digimon Savers" will start airing in Japan, and the US guys will not buy the license until 2007! THANK THE GODS.
Larios, if you EVER read this blog, or in fact, Damian or Santo, if you guys see him... ask him for my Digimon VHS! He has them all!
It has been a while since the last Digimon anime, the games keep on comming, but the anime seemed stagnant after the "Digimon X" CGI movie, which wasn't that bad but could have been better, I think.
Now Wolfpack has valiantly strode forth along with SD Project to subtitle the series. Now, I don't know much about SD, but Wolfpack has a tendency to start and not finish their projects, which is very annoying. Hopefully, but unlikely, this time will be different. Another ray of hope comes in the form of the THIRD group of subbers to subtitle the trailer and with a promising calling card by the name of "With the Will". I hope they do have the will as it is, since Digimon series normally range on the 50+ eps.

The main characters (besides the humans, who for once are now Highschool students) are: Agumon, Gaomon and Lalamon. This gives us a Triunvirate of characters much like Digimon Tamers, most likely a few more "Trainers/Savers/Digidestined" or whatever they will be called in this one will appear much deeper into the series. That's good. They learnt the error of their ways with Digimon 02 and too many characters. The 5+ formula only worked once well... in "Digimon Adventure" that's it.
Anyway, we all know Agumon (although this Agumon in particular seems to be much more of a brawler than previous incarnations) and he is the lead character's Digimon. But so far as character design I particularly like Gaomon. This mutt looks like someone took V-mon, an SD version of Renamon, a red bandana and some boxing gloves and threw them into a blender, activated the thing and poured the resulting puree into a mold, let it simmer and take shape and out came Gaomon. Ok, that was rather gross, but seriously, this guy looks cool. Heck, his partner looks like a 16 year old Matt.

On other news, there's also the next release in the .Hack series. Following the first series, the videogames, the OVAs, the manga and the second series comes ".Hack Roots" it looks... well. Pretentious. At least in the Trailer. That won't stop me from watching it though. :p

-Nya!

Finally!

2006-03-28T00:51:00.000Z

I was finally able to transform the Mini-DV films of the Stand Up Comedy night at the Laughing Horse into a DVD! Now I only need to contact the other comedians to get some money back from them! :P

On the day, that I was born...

2006-03-13T01:02:00.000Z

So, I was born today... most people think it was actually on the 15th, but truth is, that was just an easier date to celebrate my Birthdays. I was born on March the 13th, 1980. And here in Britain it is already the 13th. In any case, here I am, 26 now.

I wouldn't be here though, if it wasn't for many people, my family, for example, but there were several people that affected my life... and that includes every single one of my friends, even the ones that I have lost contact with or become distanced from, some who might not even remember me, some I haven't seen for about 20 years already. For good, and bad, for a little while, or a long time, you guys were there. There's so many of you to thank individually and in as much detail as I would like, and thank you properly, for everything, I can't, but I remember you:

Armando, Amilcar, Aca, Alejandra, Alfredo Salim, Arturo (Chino), Arturo (Intertrack), Betty, Becky, Bau, Damian, David, David Stone, Derek, Diana, Emma, Eduardo Callejas, Ed, Elfie, Erick & Iaquimi Kobayashi, Erick Hernandes, Erin, Fernando, Guillermo, Gustavo, Gerry, Hector Haro, Hector Garzidueñas, Hector (Antybody), Humberto, Hikari-chan, Hugo & Daniel Camou, Helena, Itzel, Ivan, Iker, Jose Luis Genel, Jose Luis (Ikki), Juan (El Juez), Juan Pablo, Jose, Jesus Zurita, Jenny, Joy, Julio (Kroup), Jorge Pratt, Jose Manuel, Jessie, Karla, Kat, Kuko, Kaori, Kiana, Luis (Kaput), Lawrence Dickens, Larios, Miguel Puente, Mizuki, Michael, Omar (Shalom), Omar Sosol, Pako Puente, Pepe Puente, Pablo (si, tu), Rafael Tello, Rolando, Ross, Ripton, Stacey, Shun Kobayashi, Sam, Salvador (El Santo), Santiago Montoya, Sandy, Tuli, Tere, Toño, Vyaney, Yukina...

Guys, you have had an influence in my life, helped me discover things about myself that I liked, and some that I didn't like. I owe much to you. So, even those of you that are not here right now, I do have all of you in mind and I do remember you. Thanks for everything.

Predictions...

2006-03-03T16:56:00.000Z

Since it came up that a lot of people actually believe despite evidence that the frase: "Something Wicked This Way Comes" originates from Harry Potter, I have decided to have another rant about HP.

But this time, rather than pointing out my dislikes or likes about the HP series, the HP Hardcore Fanatics that call people Muggles, or the intelligence and actual writing ability of J.K. Rowling, I have decided to just... predict the points of the next book and several issues that were left behind.

Please note that, unlike MOST HP Fans that criticise other people's work (like Pratchet's) without ever reading a word he's written, I HAVE read all of the HP books so far, so don't give me shit about "not knowing" what I'm talking about.

So here are my 8 predictions for Book Seven of the Harry Potter series.

Hoggwarts will be the house of the Resistance, possibly a gathering place for Harry's lot to get together and plan to possibly: a) go look for the missing Harry. b) Plan an attack on Voldemort without telling Harry. c) Gather with him to plan the attack.
During Bill and Fleur's wedding there IS going to be an attack by the baddies.
The NEWTs will be as pathetic a test as the OWLS.
There will be the final, climactic confrontation between Harry and Voldemort. In which both will die and most likely will be revealed that Dumbledore didn't even die in the first place. (Rowling did say that she wouldn't write more fantasy books after the HP series, so, in her ever so astounding array of unexpected twists.. he'll die.
The character Rowling was talking about when she said that "A non-magical character will perform magic in 'desperate circumstances.'" will be one of the Dursely's. Rowling says that Petunia will NEVER perform magic. We shall see.
Sirius Black will pull a Mufasa/Simba moment.
Wormtail will pull a Wormtongue/Saruman moment.
Harry will learn why Snape is as he is and that he is trully not bad and that he saved Dumbledore's life by shooting him.

So, that's it. We'll see what happens when the book comes out, but like with all previous six, I can predict one thing for sure: it will not impress me either.

Something I found...
Why I hate Harry Potter

-Nya!

Update

2006-02-24T23:17:00.000Z

Work, work, work.

Not that I have too much work, mind. I have lots of free time. I have to make something of that time though! I don't mind a routine too much, but I also don't cherish the thought of doing the exact same thing at the exact same time every day until the end of the semester. So, I have decided to look up some courses (extracurricular) or maybe go to the gym a couple of days a week. I still remember that a Doctor told me that my back pains would be eased by proper excercise, so I guess I won't lose anything if I give it a try. :p

Right now I'm working on a Detective story, I won't be able to post it here, but, when I finish it, I'll send it to those interested.

Anyway, hopefully I will update again soon.

-Nya!

2006-02-09T00:41:00.000Z

Well, about a week or so ago we roleplayed D&D again. I had one of THOSE days when you always seem to rol a 1 despite just how absurd it is for it to happen more than 2 times in less than an hour. While it was the subject of much amusement from the others it was annoying. Heh.

Anyway, I have talked about Role Playing here, but I have never really delved deeper into the meaning of Good roleplaying vs Bad Roleplaying and what Roleplaying actually is. As instruction material I would reccomend Commissioned Comic. Most important, besides the comic itself, are O's comments and blog.

Anyway, here's some hints. Wikipedia defines roleplaying as:

A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of characters and collaboratively create narratives. Gameplay progresses according to a predetermined system of rules and guidelines, within which players may improvise freely. Player choices shape the direction and outcome of role-playing games.
Role-playing games are typically more collaborative and social than competitive. A typical role-playing game unites its participants into a single team that adventures as a group. A role-playing game rarely has winners or losers. This makes role-playing games fundamentally different from board games, card games, sports and most other types of games. Like novels or films, role-playing games appeal because they engage the imagination.

Computer games incorporating gameplay mechanics from role-playing games are referred to as computer role-playing games, or CRPGs. Due to the popularity of CRPGs, the terms "role-playing game" and "RPG" have both to some degree been co-opted by the computer gaming industry; as a result, traditional non-digital pastimes of this sort are increasingly being referred to as pen and paper role-playing games (PnP RPG or PPRPG) or tabletop role-playing games (TTRPG).

Now. The basic concept of Role Playing is explained above. Online RPGs (such as forums, choose your own adventure-types, online chats) are much more different than the Pen and Paper RPGs which is the one I play and I will be reffering to through this post, and again, it works differently from LARPS (Live Action Role Playing Games).

The books. Well, I have heard several people tell me that they don't really role-play because whenever they see the books, such as the "Player's Handbook" they grow discouraged by the amount of pages it contains. Let me put it this way.
There are several ways to understand RPGs. Here are a few...
You can sit down and read the books.
You can sit down and play and learn the rules through practice.
You can sit down, have a coffee, and talk it over with someone that has actually played before.
You can sit down and observe a gaming session.

To be honest my opinion is that all of them are important. I have been told I am a pretty good roleplayer (ok, so I am a great role-player) but I have NEVER in more than 12 years of roleplaying read ANY core book from cover to cover in one sit. I learnt by playing with more experienced people, by observation, by talking. I borrowed the books, and looked into them.

Some people complain when a player or Dungeon Master (DM), or Storyteller gets into the books to check a detail. Why complain? It's not about sticking to the rules, it's about having fun. More often than not the DM will just do what advances the story more efficiently or help the players have more fun.

That has to do with the Dinamic of the game. If you have all agreed to play Vampire: The Masquerade in a serious, dark context, fall into character and play like so. Keep aside jokes to the minimum. But, if it is a relaxed, let's have fun game, 70% of the time might be spent making snide remarks to other players and get answered, "Well, who rolled the 1 and dropped the scimitar on his foot?" It's all in good humor.

Another thing that I have seen, sadly lots of times and even recently, in some players that claim to have a certain experience, is that they role-play ALL and I mean ALL their characters EXACTLY the same way. Hint: Remember, everyone might be hearing your normal voice, but in their minds, and to their characters eyes, it is SOMEONE ELSE that is doing the actions or saying the things.

Your character is another, completely different person. What you know, even what you consider common sense, might be something completely usless or unknown to your character. No two characters should be exactly the same. Particularly if you are playing more than one setting and more importantly if the settings are completely different, you are playing a different species and/or sex.

Anyway, I'll leave you with a couple of tests and some links you can check to find more about Role Playing.

-Nya!

This first test I answered with Akasha Sunhorn in mind, since the type of answer would depend completely on the character.

Find your Role-Playing
Stereotype at mutedfaith.com.

This other, for example is the result with my character "Ryan" from a Final Fantasy VI RPG I played a few years ago. It completely fits her! :p

Find your Role-Playing
Stereotype at mutedfaith.com.

Your Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score
Category	Your Score	Average
Hacklust	50% Will kill for XP	53.5%
Sensitive Roleplaying	20.25% All the game's your stage	54.6%
GM Experience	68.84% Ran a module once or twice	69.5%
Systems Knowledge	86.86% Played in a couple of campaigns	90.4%
Livin' La Vida Dorka	60.92% Goes nuts on the weekends	63.3%
You are 61.86% pure Average Score: 68.8%
Take The Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Test and see how you match up! (By The Ferrett)

LINKS:

Wikipedia (You know what Wikipedia is.)
White Wolf (Vampire, Werewolf, Mage, etc.)
Wizards of the Coast (Dungeons and Dragons, Forgotten Realms, Alternity, etc.)

Saint Seiya!

2006-02-06T12:56:00.000Z

Is it already 16 years since we saw this TV series in Mexico? Seems like a long time, but yet, the memories of the series that brought so many people into Anime, and accompanied many of my generation's younger years and taught us so many things, among them the "never give up your dreams and hopes" lesson -for those that chose to listen- remains clear in my mind.
True, it was recently butchered by American dubbing and worse; editing, when taken to the USA, and sadly it was too late for many people that got exposed to that sad imitiation of its former self to trully understand what this series was about.

Anyway, few years ago the last part of the Saint Seiya Manga, the Hades, was brought into anime. The Sanctuary Chapters were incredibly well done, and most importantly, fast paced. While we eagerly awaited the rest of it someone fished out "Starway to Heaven" which is an OVA series that was supposed to follow AFTER all of Hades was finished.

But now, after having to wait a couple more years, Saint Seiya: Inferno is finally out! Apparently 6 episodes long for the first part of Hell and already blood is boiling (and splashing) as Seiya and the gang follow Athena's and Shaka's lead. I am extremely happy that the series is again on its way!

Way to go, Kurumada!

-Nya!

American Dubbing Sucks

2006-01-31T12:54:00.000Z

Sigh... Blood+ was licensed. Again, despite the fact that the rest of the world is NOT America -regardless of what some people might think- we have to wait for them to butcher a perfectly good series with not only bad translations, but worse voice acting.

Trust me, I KNOW voice acting first hand and American Dubbing SUCKS. Especially in Anime. Big time. Worst ever. Just ask Rick Hunter. Or Alucard (from Hellsing). How long will it take for them to make lame puns or change plots or undermine perfectly good villains by ::gasp:: monologuing (Remember Digimon 02?) how long will it take to get brilliant lines like:

Harlock: "Geronimo!" (Harlock jumps and lands in front of corrupt polititian.)
Corrupt Politician: "How did you get here?!"
Harlock: "I jumped."

Am I the only one that thinks that american dubbing sucks? I think not. And why does it? They have most of the world's best actors living in L.A. they have Mark Hamil, who is a decent enough voice actor. Okay, he's good. But he's basically the only one. Have him train other actors! Reminds me of AX2005 Voice acting contest. Never have I seen such a parade of hypocresy and advice given by people that don't use it.

Well, as for the work of the esteemed Mamoru Oshii, I do hope they get real actors to do it and not make "funny" voices just because "they are cartoons".

I leave at 10:10 AM and arrive at 6:50 AM...

2006-01-13T09:01:00.000Z

So I'm going back to the UK now. Mexico was fun- got to see my friends!
Some of them got married. I didn't really go into Koba's wedding after all, but I will say something: both, Koba and Jaquimi ('m always confused with the proper spelling, please forgive) looked so happy with each other when they got married that it was worth arriving before hand to witness. I wish them the best and that they can be as happy as they were then as much as possible in the future.
Others I didn't see much off, Ghost, Vilrandir, Callejas and JP- at least I managed to talk Ghost into going for dinner tonight and a quick chat. (He insists that I do the impossible to vote in the comming elections.)
I went to a bar with Amilkar and Armando. I met Kaput's girlfriend and saw his sister and parents after 12 and a half years of not seeing each other (I ended up drunk, great impression after all that time, eh?)
I did travel a lot. Managed to send in my work despite the odds. And now, I'm going away, probably until July when I'll come visit again.
I'm going back to Stacey, my girlfriend. I can't wait! ^_^

Anyway, here's a couple of tests I took. I like the results, but obviously they're pretty much left to opinions. What do you guys think?

Cats

What Broadway Musical Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Your Blogging Type Is Clever and Witty

Of all blogging types, you're the best with words.
Almost every blog post you write has legendary quality.
You have a perverse sense of humor and often play devil's advocate.
Impatient and picky, you tend to go off on funny rants from time to time.

What's Your Blogging Personality?

Disappointment

2006-01-09T20:55:00.000Z

I did the wrong thing by posting this on the internet rather than finding another way of getting the message through. For that I am sorry.

But to those involved, you DO have to stop and think on what happened that day and what you did and said. I may have been wrong here, but you were wrong then and there. It wasn't the first time that attitude showed through. You may or not forgive me, that is your choice. But I was disappointed by your actions too.

Trip to Concá

2005-12-23T09:21:00.000Z

Pt. 1

So, I just went to a trip with my dad and my uncle. We went to a place called Concá which used to be an old sugar plantation. We took off at nine and arrived at six, it was a long and actually dangerous trip with old roads, many town-crossings and a LOT of curves. When we finally arrived the place was like a blessing. It’s not that big and it looks like the type of place you’d come to relax and have a good time. It has a pool and rather big gardens, but not as huge as I would expect. Maybe it’s because I haven’t fully taken a look around.
The buildings are very colonial and painted in a soft cream color with red. Sadly, this place doesn’t have a phone, and the TV is rather limited. (1 channel) Regardless, we just arrived, and we still have a couple of days to spend and find out just what makes this place so interesting so as to come all the way here.
Hopefully we’ll have time to have dinner now. Dad’s gone to bed, so if I don’t do something now he’ll fall asleep.

Pt. 2

Well, we ended up visiting the town next to the hotel (4 km off north-east) called, oh surprise, Concá!
It was in a word, depressing. A two street (literally) town with an old mission built by Franciscans as its only bit of interest. Other than the fact that certain indigenous groups called Paman (Indians, for lack of a word, since some people think that Native American only applies to anything past the Rio Grand to the North) are to be avoided lest violent –and often embarrassing- situations ensue. Well. We went there on the insistence of my dad and unlce and I already KNEW it would be like that, but, well, they’re paying for the trip. So, yeah. We stayed there, realized there was NOTHING to stay for after visiting the aforementioned mission and came back to the hotel’s restaurant.

The hotel, to be a little more descriptive, has several intricate gardens, which I’ll endevour to take a picture of, and it’s generally a nice place to stay. I could tell more, but, again, my two adventurous kin decided to visit the place in the night time when visibility is close to nothing. Besides that, we found a place called the “Fountain of Power” (Dun dun duuuuuuun!) which is a pretty impressive fountain with several natural rocks organized in their respective charka parallels and (to my annoyance) included also a “Meditation 101” little script next to the proclamation of purpose.
I can just imagine part time yogi’s or martial artist-wannabe’s that sit down there and follow the instructions and pretend later on that they know what the heck they are talking about. N00bs.
Don't get me wrong- the place is beautiful and there was some interesting things, like the 500 year old tree.
Anyway, I was supposed to write part of my Dystopian Fiction Essay now, but I can’t be bothered- too tired. Will do tomorrow.
So, that’s it for now.

Pt. 3
Next morning. Well, we woke up early, had a good breakfast and decided to go to the nearby town of Jalpan, where another mission stood. The town was much bigger than Concá. Much, much bigger. We walked through the market, along the plaza and inside the church, and I am afraid to say that other than the old church Jalpan doesn’t have anything else worth visiting or paying attention to, even if it is bigger than the one before. I will give them this, though: They keep the town clean.
The other problem that arose (besides the weight of boredom) was the arrival of more tourists in the hotel. So far they have made it much noisier in the 10 minutes since their arrival, and by the sounds of it, they’ll carry on. So much for peace and quiet.
My dad and my uncle went out to walk while I wrote. Frankly I don’t know where the heck they’ve been two for the last two hours, since there is not that much around here. Maybe they’re at the restaurant having a long talk and a few drinks. More likely than not, they’ll come back when least expected.

Pt. 4
Just like I said, they did turn up unexpectedly. Oh well. Turns out they were just talking outside the hotel. There wasn't much to do apparently. :p

We had dinner and went to sleep. The next day consisted basically of the looooong way back home. I had to drive back for a bit. Now, for those that have never been to the Sierra Gorda, here's some advice: Don't go there.

It's mostly nothing more than desert, dangerous curves up in the mountains next to cliffs, so one small mistake and you're a goner. Annoying to say the least. But we did good time and stopped at Tequizquiapan to eat. It was a good meal. I ate Arrachera, which is an Argentinian cut, if I am not mistaken.

We arrived at Mexico City at 6, but didn't get home until 8:30is, which should come as no surprise to those that live here.

It was all in all a generally fun trip. Despite the lack of places to visit, and I did get to eat a lor of food!

Anyway, I was also supposed to write about Koba's wedding, but I don't feel I can do it justice for now. I will write about it later though.

-Nya!

2005-12-22T04:28:00.000Z

Didn't really feel like posting anything right now. Too tired from a long trip.
Tomorrow: Koba's Wedding! Trip to Concá!

In the meantime, Test:

The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Second Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Very Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Extreme
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	High
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very High
Level 7 (Violent)	High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Very High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	High

Take the Dante's Inferno Test

Flying away....

2005-12-13T11:49:00.000Z

So, I'm flying off to Mexico tomorrow morning at around 12, that means I have to wake up early, get in time to the train, and meet Ripton at Wimbeldon so he can give me and Stacey a ride to Heathrow Airport. Yay.

I'll be arriving in Mexico at around 11:00 PM so, if you guys wanna see me, you know where. :p

On the other hand, I'm free of Uni, but not of work. I'll have to send my finished essays and work by FedEx to Uni and hope they get in time!

Anyway, see you all later!

-Nya!

You should learn Japanese

You should learn Japanese. You are very practical, and enjoy setting goals for yourself. You feel very rewarded when you accomplish something big.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali should paint your portrait. You love to think about the world in a different way then everyone else. You are very ambitious, and you like strange things. You are curious about everything and love to learn.

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Trips of all kinds

2005-12-06T13:58:00.000Z

The "CW-D"

The trip to York started a bit later than expected. Fortunately, my ticket allowed me to go in whatever train I wanted, so I wasn't overly concerned, the problem was that here "light-time" does go pretty fast in Winter. By 5 its almost completely dark.

Anyway, long trip, watched a lot of things from the window that gave me story ideas. I even met an old lady at the York Train Station who'se nickname was the "4 Museum Granny" because she would tackle four of those a day whenever she went to London. (Basically because they are free).

My trip's final destination was a little town about 1 hour and a half from York called Knaresborough. The place is a placid little town with some interesting land-marks, such as an old Castle, a huge bridge and a legendary Witch with profetic powers known as Mother Shipton.
Terry Pratchet and Neil Gaiman used a character based on her on the book "Good Omens" apparently, she was very, very good at making predictions and most of her predictions have come true.

Sadly, "Mother Shipton's Cave" was closed. They used to keep it open all the time, but it has a new owner and the bastard closed it on september. ¬_¬

Regardless of that, the little town was pretty interesting. Not only did I actually found an alley called "Green Dragon" but they were in the middle of a Fair called the "Edwardian Fair" and people from the town and most shopkeepers would dress up in clothes appropiate for the times.

Bought a couple of things at the market and had some interesting chats. The trip ended by me going to Leeds and then taking a train back to London to Roleplay!

Roleplaying!

Finally, after so long I managed to roleplay a character of my own.

My PC, Akasha Sunhorn is a Tiefling Ranger/Cleric of Sif, and I rolled pretty high, so, doing good! Me and Sam finished a lvl 1 adventure with only two characters (his being a Chosen One, or something like that, named Lann) when we were only lvl 1 and I was only a Ranger (he is a Sorcerer now too) so we make a pretty good combination. Later on, Kiana and Ripton also got into the adventure as a Rogue and a Bard respectively.
The best thing was that it completely reminded me of the RPG sessions back home that would carry on for hours, all night until early morning (We managed a 9:30 PM meet to 8:00 AM break up) we had to finish earlier than expected because Ripton and Kiana wimped out on us (They were too tired, they said) so we were kicked out by Ripton. Kiana stayed, of course. Ripton being the Gentleman he is (honestly, he is) let Kiana stay over yet again.
I cannot yet decide if seeing Kiana curled up in a ball with her head covered by her scarf was: a) cute or b) really sad.
It was a night of good laughs, adventures, closed shops and impromptu dancing sessions for the benefit of the Roehampton Security Team.
I would post more details on the adventure, but Ross, who is the Dungeon Master, already has a website for it, which I will link to eventually that has Character Stats, Brief history of the world, info on the Wytchrocks and also summaries of the adventures.
Hopefully, Stacey and Becky (Ross’ friend) will join up soon.

You can check the game's webpage HERE

The RPG quote of the day goes to Sam and Ripton.
Sam (calculating damage)- “…13 minus 8… is…”
Ripton (Falling asleep, completely sarcastic) – “About five. Just about.”

Creative Date!

2005-12-04T21:30:00.000Z

Well, I went on my "CW Date" this saturday. And it went great! I can't believe just the amount of things I noted, the amount of things I wrote, the new experiences and places!

I don't have much time now, but I'd like to thank Stacey for suggesting I go to Mother Shipton's Cave. It was a long trip, but it was extremelly interesting. I will transcribe some of the notes I made on the blog at a latter time.

-Nya!

Reading, Writing and Time Management

2005-11-27T22:40:00.000Z

“How important is to read to be a good writer?” Is one of the questions Creative Writing Lecturers will ask almost at the beginning of the first Lecture. The answer is easy: EXTREMELY important. Curiously, most CW students here don’t read that much.

I do. But I used to read more. My normal quota of non-education-related books was above 50 per year, now it has dropped to around 30 to 40 at the most. The reason? Well, I’m tight with money at the moment and I have spent it unwisely. I have to admit, part of it is just the idea of getting back to Mexico with my 100+ books as it is and then adding more… but, should I let this stop me? I’m reading Neuromancer now. A book I started a month ago. That bad has it been these last weeks. But, as soon as I seat down to read a bit of it I felt invigorated to write. Hence my claim above as to the importance of reading to writing.

Most people don’t know –I haven’t seen ANYONE on MSN for months now- I have found myself in a kind of depression. My hours are too strange and I have developed a self-destructive passivity complex that distracts me. I sleep too much. Eat too little. Read too little. Write too little.

I have talked to my lecturers and Leone has helped a bit by proposing I create a “Writing” schedule for the next 6 Months of my existence. However I have found that to be most difficult –and it shouldn’t. I should talk to my parents about this, and make some kind of deal. I need a change of scenery HERE. I can’t wait until I go back to Mexico. I have to get my bearings BACK.

Let me tell all my dear friends back home… I have decided –formally- I’m going to Oxford for my Master in Arts. The last thing I will allow to stop me getting there is my own laziness. The almost-to-last test revealed that I was a Phoenix, according to the Mythical Test. While I think was over simplistic I guess it does reflect everyone’s personalities in some way. So, I will assume the mantle of the Phoenix this once. I will make Phoenix my Totem for now. Death- Change. Phoenix- Starting anew. I will grow with this new Totem before bidding it my thanks and goodbye, because I will not let myself fall again.

When Nostalgia hits me I remember all of my friends back home. Doing or having done their best at Uni and those that finished doing amazing efforts at time at work.

I think of Omar, who also has problems at times dealing with his own daemons, but if I know someone that has struggled with problems I would never want to face and not only survived, but endured, it’s him.

I think of P-chan and how he has always been willing to encourage me to do my best in Uni and even stuck his neck up for me to get me into LASCA when I asked for help.

Luis, splitting time between work and studying, but always quick to come to a friends’ help. (Well, mostly quick, unless he’s too busy :p) And all the times we have bored Elf out of her mind while reminiscing the good old days at Olinca.

I think of Elf, complaining, moaning and joking about her time in ULA, but still soldiering on to finish her work and have good grades.

I think of Koba, still studying and even with all the work, all the things coming together, he still has time to take serious relationships into his life.

Erick, who already finished, still holding on to his beloved Radio and Communications dream.

Pratt, picking everyone up at 5:00 AM the fist time I came here, taking me to the Hospital to visit my Mom and say goodbye and then driving all the way to the Airport, not to mention all the times I call him and *force* him to come have a Daiquiri with the gang despite having to work the next day.

5anto, back in Japan, calling me at 6 am to tell me he’s at Odaiba!

Damian waiting for the comic book and also with a job that takes him a couple of hours to get to; Kroup still studying at UNAM and I imagine still complaining a bit about it; Karla also finished (although I don’t know if she found a job yet); Chino (who’s actually from Korea) who I can always imagine either a) drunk, b) role playing with the best of them (sans me), c) engrossed in computer codes or d) flirting; Hikari in the states working at the Airport at ungodly times and being forced to be there over Christmas; Ghost with Computer Science, whom I haven’t heard from since I told him I STILL don’t have internet; Hector Haro, Lost In Space –the bastard-; Hector Garzidueñas, who last I heard was still working; Callejas whom I last spoke only on the phone; J.P. driving off to Toluca at the behest of his boss; Rosy, Helena and Marta, who have helped me through the years in several ways, and I have always known had the best of intentions in mind every time they cussed me.

Amilcar, Rafa, Vyaney, Aca, Fink, Jessica, Alejandra, Jocelyn, Armando, Agoran, Montoya…

Even Jose Luis Genel, Lawerence Dickens and Jesus Zurita, whom I haven’t seen much of in the last 5 to 7 years…

These are all my friends. And I still remember what some of them said aloud to me while others just gave me knowing glances: Don’t quit. This is your dream. And even if we still are your friends, if you give this one up and come back in defeat we will be very disappointed.

I have so many stories with each of these individuals. So many long conversations, unbelievable adventures, silly antics, parties, wrestling, sword fighting…

Monica Germana, my Lecturer in Gothic and Fantastic and Twentieth-Century Dystopian Fiction asked me last Friday what I would consider “Good” Nostalgia.

I would think the above is the best example. I know, that my friends hope the best for me, far away as I am, just as I hope the best for them. I know that they’ll be glad to see me back, but I know they will truly be happy for me when I finish my BA. I know some of them will complain half-heartedly about me staying here for my MA, but they will be happy for me just as I am happy for them despite the fact that I miss everyone.

Don’t get me wrong- friends like Stacey, Ripton, Emma, Mizuki, Kaori, Sam, Ross, Kiana… Leone, Peter, Monica, Mark and Sandy (from IT, not the girl) are not easily found and I consider myself lucky to have met them all. Jenny, Yukina, Erin, Michael and Shun, although away at this time are also very dear to my heart. But I could do with some of Amilcar’s Smart-Ass comments right now, or Omar’s stern but useful and honest advice, or even with P-chan showing off his latest acquisitions to name a few. ^_^

Heh, I feel better already, imagining the slapping, head-butting, punches and back-slaps I would receive along with the sarcasm, witty retorts and “brutally honest” opinions on my lazy-depression-stage.

Don’t let this stop you from making comments. ^_~ I haven’t heard from many of you in a looong time.

But, as it is, remembering you all, back in Mexico, Japan, UK and the rest of the world already has helped.

-Nya!

Ah, and before I forget;

The Quotes:

"It's not how many points you have, it's how you use them." -Ripton (While playing Vampire the Masquerade, and yes, talking about sex.)

New Link

2005-11-26T20:34:00.000Z

Well, it was long overdue for me to post DJgotga's Blog link here, so I just did. To commemorate this momentous occation I have also taken YET another test from Elf's Blog due to lack of time to post something worthwhile of my own.

-Nya!

Morpheus

?? Which Of The Greek Gods Are You ??
brought to you by Quizilla

Just to avoid not posting anything...

2005-11-24T15:56:00.000Z

So I stole it from Elf's Blog. ^_^

You're a phoenix. You can take anything from life
and emerge none the worse for wear. Others
admire you and are always chasing after you;
whether or not you pay attention depends on
your mood. Spontaneity is both a virtue and a
vice in you. Your alignment is neutral, leaning
slightly towards *good*.

What mythical beast are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Random Stuff

2005-11-10T17:16:00.000Z

So, I haven't posted in a while.

This last couple of months have been a bit hectic, amusing and annoying, yet somehow squishy in the center despite the burnt outside. Like something Raven would cook and only Starfire would eat.

I built my 64bit PC, finally. It looks extremely cool and, while Gamera would probably kick its ass, it would still give a fight. Which is fine by me.
The most annoying thing of building the computer was that it had a hardware fault somewhere that wouldn't let me install ANY OS. Not even Linux. I ended up buying another HD just in case it was that. It wasn't. I checked everysingle piece of the computer... it was fine... turns out that the problem was the RAM. It worked properly, but it had conflicts with the installation process somehow. We changed the RAM with sticks from another PC and it worked perfectly there and the installation process worked out smoothly. ¬_¬ RAM... of all the stupid things.

As for the internet, well I WAS going to get an internet connection with Bulldog (8megs- no download limit) but while the front page said £30 the last count was about £60 per month. To give people back home an idea that is about 1200 - 1300 pesos. So I decided to forego that venue and try my luck with "bethere" which offers a 24Mb connection, no download limits and a reasonable price. Hopefully that will be the answer to my prayers since there's so much I'm missing already.

JCS has been going on despite a little wobbling from time to time, nothing serious and I won't point out with accusing fingers, but it could and should work better.

We are showing Nausicaa tonight (at 7) it's a great film and something that any Anime lover should see at least once. Especially those that want to at least trully understand what it [Anime] is about. I do understand the irony of this, Pratt, rest assured.

I have also managed to FINALLY gather a Role Playing Group here.

The cast:

"Reverend" Ross: Gangrel
Kiana: Brujah
Sam: Ravnos
Ripton (Part-timer): Ventrue

We're RPGing the story I had with Koba, Elf, Kroup, Damian, Kaput, Mario and Karla so all of you guys are making an appearance there in your respective characters. It gets a bit complicated because Ripton has missed a couple of game sesions and he's the one that knows THE ONE (no spoilers from those that have played my story or were guests in it before. You can make comments, but keep them obscure ^_^)

Also, it is CONFIRMED that I'm going back to Mexico in December, leaving here the 14th and comming back in January.

Going to other issues, there is this guy, Sentry-kun, who has an attitude and has been annoying one of the three people I trust the most. Sentry-kun, when I met him was a little bit reserved and I got the feeling he didn't like me. No biggie anyway, since we didn't become anything more than vague aquaintances. I did notice though that he is a wanna-be.

He wants to pretend he knows something about anime, and yet, as far as I know, his knowledge of it leaves much to be desired. He wants to brag that he knows about magic... I laughed really hard at that one. And he presumes to give advice and point out defects to people he trully does not understand, even pointing out publicly issues that are personal to "prove" that he's right (which he is not.)

Sentry-kun. there is one thing about wisdom and it is that the wise keep their mouths shut when it comes to actual advice unless they have something that is worth giving.
Wise people don't "flaunter" and brag how much they know.
They don't call people "young" in a derogatory form like "my young Elf" and expect them to take it at face-value unless they trully know that person and know that she/he won't take offense.
Combine that with KNOWING the wise guy* (you) in person and you get the type of response that ensued on that particular blog. If you were surprised by the general feel of hostility, well, there's the reason for it.

*Sentry-kun, since your grasp on English reminds me of a bulldog trying to chew through a titanium-alloy bar let me point out that "wise-guy" is a derogatory expression not to be confused with being called wise.
Derogatory is not good.

Anyway, having said that, I will leave you all for now. I hope to be able to make another post shortly. BTW if any of you guys reading this gets their hands on Final Fantasy 7: Last Order English SUBTITLES please let me know and/or send them to me. Thanks!

-Nya!

And yet another quicky...

2005-10-11T14:43:00.000Z

News: My stuff is FINALLY HERE! I will have to play LEGO(tm) with the parts for a while, but I'll have it running smoothly tonight hehehehe...

In other news, my room turns into a SAUNA each night, and it's not because of me, honest. Apparently it is good at keeping moisture IN, so annoying.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA

Another Quicky

2005-10-08T12:37:00.000Z

Just a quick note to let everyone know I'm still alive. As soon as my stuff gets here (hopefully soon) I will start updating my blog more often. I just don't feel comfortable doing this here at the LRC with so many people around all the time.

-Nya

Leaving Menzoberranzan

2005-09-15T16:54:00.000Z

... or rather, Mexico City.

For those unfamiliar with Menzoberranzan it is the dreaded City of the Drow in the UNDERDARK... ooo.... anway. The only rule there is NOT to get caught doing something illegal. (Like murder) Even if people KNOW you did it, as long as there is no evidence left (such as survivors of noble birth) then its fair game, and if you were pretty impressive they will aplaude your efforts in being evil in such a... "civilized" manner. Just like Mexico city!

Here people can run-over several individuals on motorcylces and be free the next morning. Stage phony voting polls, get outvoted negatevly, but do it anyway.

Come to think of it, you can also get caught in camera shoving lots of money into a bag, then, when its full put it in their pockets. Get caught using government money for bets in Las Vegas... and be free!

Yes, this place is a seething pool of political corruption out of biblical proportions. But, the food is good and there are a few decent people and places still left. :p

Mexico City is a nice place anyway. I mean, I can always convince the police to ignore some minor crimes. Like drinking in public places. As long as Kaput is NOT THERE. Anyway, if he is there, then we need money. ^_^

Anyway, for all that it's worth, Mexico City is really great besides those tiny details, and I'll miss it as soon as I leave. Mostly my friends.

So, see ya all in London!

Your Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Score
Category	Your Score	Average
Hacklust	47% Will kill for XP	53.5%
Sensitive Roleplaying	26% All the game's your stage	54.6%
GM Experience	66% Ran a module once or twice	69.4%
Systems Knowledge	85% Played in a couple of campaigns	90.3%
Livin' La Vida Dorka	52% Has interesting conversations in public	63.2%
You are 59% pure Average Score: 68.8%
Take The Ultimate Roleplaying Purity Test and see how you match up!

During this crisis you failed us.

2005-09-06T02:52:00.000Z

I don't need to point out the suffering and fear people from New Orleans have gone through these last few days. I think most everyone in the world knows about it by now. How is it that a government that has troops across the world in less than 24 hours cannot act to save their own?
You know what? Al Gore would have been there because he was not worried about looking messianic and ending up looking like a wimp. Figures it would have to be the self-proclaimed reincarnation of God, George Bush, who would still be in "power" to prove how helpless he STILL is against a crisis in his own doormat.

Anne Rice, NY Times OP-ED...

Now nature has done what the Civil War couldn't do. Nature has done what the labor riots of the 1920's couldn't do. Nature had done what "modern life" with its relentless pursuit of efficiency couldn't do. It has done what racism couldn't do, and what segregation couldn't do either. Nature has laid the city waste - with a scope that brings to mind the end of Pompeii.

[...]

But to my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us "Sin City," and turned your backs.

Well, we are a lot more than all that. And though we may seem the most exotic, the most atmospheric and, at times, the most downtrodden part of this land, we are still part of it. We are Americans. We are you.

I have seen and lived through Natural Disasters. Granted, I was just a kid back then. But, to those that accuse Mexico of being a third-world country with oh, so many faults, I'll say this: we are one of many, but we never, ever, fail to help each other out in a crisis like this.

My sincere hopes for the restoration of New Orleans and of their lives go to that nigh-magical city which I was only able to see through its literature and poems. And I know, it will be back, stronger... because magic isn't destroyed that easily.

-*-

And Bush says:

"We've got a lot of rebuilding to do ... The good news is — and it's hard for some to see it now — that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house — he's lost his entire house — there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch." (Laughter) —President Bush, touring hurricane damage, Mobile, Ala., Sept. 2, 2005

-*-

And what was the President doing while all those people suffered? Wanna know?
CHECK IT OUT

Just Lucky

2005-08-28T08:24:00.000Z

I just found out today the exact age of my personal Charles Dickens collection.... almost 106 Years!

Vultures

2005-08-26T08:39:00.000Z

It never ceases to irritate me how certain groups of people (cough, hack, salvationarmyforinstance, cough) insist on hounding others when these particular individuals have left the group definately.

Stooping to such low ends as taking advantage of the feelings of people, they drag you in to their personal interpretations of the Bible or Quoran and feed you xenophobia, they foster alliumphobia, overexagerate and enforce daemonophobia with the promise of eternal evil ready to drag you down into the burning halls of HELL. Thinking of which, they enforce hadephobia and arsonphobia (to some degree) and most importantly, they cultivate hedonophobia with an over-enphazis of guilt. Yes, lots of Phobias here, but then again, most of these are completely based on the fear of the End of the World.

But they use that, fear of being left alone, fear of being punished, fear of death and fear of God to turn you to their ways. Of course they argue that it is in the end your choice. And so it is, half way. You might be seeking spiritual guidance, so yes, the intent there is yours, however, taking advantage of this situation and using psychological rape in the name of good to convince either the weak willed or the momentarily vulnerable to join your particular sect is the other half. They didn't choose. You took advantage of them and chose for them, keeping them and washing their minds with promises of friendship, a place in heaven and punishment of the wicked.

Personally, I wouldn't trust ANY Fundamentalist Christian group with LESS than 500 to 1000 years in existance. Why should I trust the words of a F.C. Pastor (for example) head of a "church" of 50 to 100 individuals, who just happens to interpret the Bible so, over the words of a proper Priest (and I don't mean catholics specifically) who comes from a school of thought and studies almost 2000 years old?

Some people just need time to think, not being dragged by these idiots.

The worst kind are those that keep up after you. Leaving snide remarks, or reminding you of "where you came from," or assuming that just because you put a reference to your beliefs that they happen to share you are on your way back to them.

I'm not saying that all individuals of those groups are like that. I have been fortunate enough to meet a few such individuals, but so far the faults of the masses outweight the merits of the few.

Thankfully this hasn't happened to me. All the religious fanatics I've known have either had the common sense of leaving me alone or have quit after finding out that unlike them, I HAVE read the Bible and/or the Quoran. And I'm not even from those religions. This rant, rather comes from something that came up on a friend's site.

Come on, Vultures. Get a grip, catch the jist of it. Leave him alone. Let him be. And get a real life.

Howl vs. Howl

2005-08-19T19:51:00.000Z

I intended to write a post about this sooner, but several issues got in the way. In any case. While in LA I went with some friends to watch "Howl's Moving Castle" in the original Japanese with English subs. Having read the book around three years ago (or so,) I was surprised to find I thought the movie was good, but not brilliant. Entertaining, but not memorable. You get my drift.

However, uppon arrival to Mexico, and a few weeks after it was dubbed into Spanish I went to watch it again and to my surprise I really enjoyed it this time. I actually think, that for once in my life I really did like the dub better, and that is saying something after so long of finding it (if not mediocre) lacking. But curiously it was so. Don't get me wrong: I'm definately not complaining. I'm just surprised at the great job they did of adapting it to spanish and also getting through some things that just didn't get through properly in Japanese (and English) if you hadn't read the book.

The movie itself is enjoyable in either format, however, even for a Miyasaki adaptation... it takes too many liberties IMHO. Sullivan is... messed up. Even more than in the book. Heck Sullivan was a HE in the book and Howl's co-student.

Apparently, the importance of fairy-tale aspects were not so important to whoever adapted the text into the movie script. Possibly because they are not familiar with old bedside stories of Seven-League Boots, or being the first-born daughter out of three and how that applied to Fortune.

The Witch of the Waste changing into a kind old hag was an amusing change, but hardly worth the sacrifice of the secrets of Howl's origins, the fight with her, HER fire-demon, and the profecy. Not to mention that none of Sophie's powers made it into the movie. Or the fact that she had TWO sisters. Not one.

I was kind of disappointed with the adaptation, seeing how Mimi Wo Tsubaseba was adapted so well. (Also with some, but smaller, changes) The storytelling needed polishing, and I know they had some trouble with changing directors for the movie, but the problem was the adaptation, not the direction.

In any case, it IS worth watching, but typically, doesn't live up to the book.

Dumbledore Dies... and that's the only interesting thing in Book 6.

2005-08-10T08:15:00.000Z

And that title is no lie. NOTHING much happens in the book that is remotely relevant. It is mostly plucks at trying to cover sad plotholes.

This place is called Dr. Dice's Rants. There is a reason for it, so you've been warned.

I have always said I dislike the Harry Potter series as a general rule (despite your insistence to the contrary, Ghost.) Why can I say that? Well, besides studying Literature AND Creative Writing, I have been reading books since I was 6 years old. I have read all kinds of literary genres; from fiction, to fantasy, to philosophical treaties, to National Geographic, to poetry, to science fiction (if you don't know the difference between "fiction" and "Science Fiction" you should find out. Soon. Especially if you want to keep reading.) I have never criticized any book that I haven't actually read. So, I have the knowledge, the background and the ARGUMENTS necessary to say that those books are crap.

ar.gu.ment (ärgy-mnt) n.

A course of reasoning aimed at demonstrating truth or falsehood: presented a careful argument for extraterrestrial life.

A fact or statement put forth as proof or evidence; a reason: The current low mortgage rates are an argument for buying a house now.

A set of statements in which one follows logically as a conclusion from the others.

There are undoubtly some things that I appreciate and even find interesting or funny in those books. But I can list them and they are less than ten.

The Harry Potter series as a read is not even remotely close to deserving the popularity it got, except maybe for ADULT people that haven't read ANYTHING before it. And that speaks
worse of them than the book.

It is still surprising to me that some people (3 total, including Lurker and Ghost) I actually know for a fact have a much broader literary culture still defend HP as one of the best things they have ever read. It is not only dissapointing in a way, but also worrysome.

Recently, there has been some arguments over this letter sent by Terry Pratchet on regards to J.K. Rowling interview in "The Sunday Times" on July 25th, 2005.

From The Sunday Times - 31st July 2005

WHY IS it felt that the continued elevation of J K Rowling can only be achieved at the expense of other writers (Mistress of magic, News Review, last week)? Now we learn that prior to Harry Potter the world of fantasy was plagued with “knights and ladies morris-dancing to Greensleeves.”

In fact the best of it has always been edgy and inventive, with “the dark heart of the real world” being exactly what, underneath the top dressing, it is all about. Ever since The Lord of the Rings revitalised the genre, writers have played with it, reinvented it, subverted it and bent it to the times. It has also contained some of the very best, most accessible writing for children, by writers who seldom get the acknowledgement they deserve.

Rowling says that she didn’t realise that the first Potter book was fantasy until after it was published. I’m not the world’s greatest expert, but I would have thought that the wizards, witches, trolls, unicorns, hidden worlds, jumping chocolate frogs, owl mail, magic food, ghosts, broomsticks and spells would have given her a clue?

Terry Pratchett
Salisbury, Wiltshire

Well. Most people didn't even read what the whole interview was about, and the fandom response by Potter fans (predictably) ranged on these type of comments:

L.a.m.b 08-09-2005 07:53 PM

That LOSER ON HER BIRTHDAY WHAT A CHEAP JERK HOW DARE HE ATTACK JO ROWLING I'M TOALLY DISGUSTED HE WANTS A CRY FOR PUBLICITY WHAT A SOUR GRAPE NOW REALLY . i CAN'T BELIEVE JO ROWLING HAD 2 PUT UP WITH THIS JERK! I WOULD GIVE THAT GUY A PIECE OF MY MIND IF I WERE JO!

That was taken from HERE. Most people, like this L.a.m.b troll (if he's a normal user he needs to work on his approach) mindlesly attack Pratchet for a well made point over Rowling's criticism of the Fantasy Genre in general and her honest stupidity with claims regarding her ignorance of the genre of what she was writing until the book was published. Other comments in the same place include saying that Pratchet is jealous of her. (heh)

They also tend to ignore the fact that Pratchet's letter was intended for the writer and publishers of the article, rather that Rowling herself. The small pun at the end is what got the idiots going.

Even more sadly, most of them admit to not having never read a Terry Pratchet book (some of them because they didn't like the covers) but they claim that he's not as good a writer (when he's actually better.)

Another sad truth is that the average Harry Potter fan is a complete git, who knows absolutely nothing about the Fantasy genre besides HP for the simple reason that they don't read anything else. Talk about lack of culture!

How can they defend someone that is asked THIS stupid question:

Cara McKenzie for Radio Forth - Every year since Harry has been to Hogwarts the defence against the dark arts teacher has left Hogwarts or died every year. Does that mean that something will stop Snape from being the defence against the dark arts in book 7?

Obviously, McKenzie hadn't even read the book, but Rowling goes and answers this:

JK Rowling: Yes. I really can't say more than that. That is because one of those questions that is a very good question and everyone would like to know the answer but it gives a lot away. There must obviously be a new one.

Eh... logic? Coherence? Hello?

From the interview:

The most popular living fantasy writer in the world doesn't even especially like fantasy novels. It wasn't until after Sorcerer's Stone was published that it even occurred to her that she had written one. "That's the honest truth," she says. "You know, the unicorns were in there. There was the castle, God knows. But I really had not thought that that's what I was doing. And I think maybe the reason that it didn't occur to me is that I'm not a huge fan of fantasy." Rowling has never finished The Lord of the Rings. She hasn't even read all of C.S. Lewis' Narnia novels, which her books get compared to a lot.

My dear Rowling... I think you just declared yourself stupid. Publicly. Not because you don't like fantasy; not because you didn't finish reading the Lord of the Rings; and certainly NOT because you dislike that idiot Lewis. In today's bookstores ANY book containing ANYTHING remotely similar to a story including wizards, dragons, unicorns and three-headed dogs (not to mention a school of magic users) is under the FANTASY Genre.

Another priceless paragraph from the interview is this one:

The genre tends to be deeply conservative--politically, culturally, psychologically. It looks backward to an idealized, romanticized, pseudofeudal world, where knights and ladies morris-dance to Greensleeves. Rowling's books aren't like that. They take place in the 1990s--not in some never-never Narnia but in modern-day Mugglish England, with cars, telephones and PlayStations. Rowling adapts an inherently conservative genre for her own progressive purposes.

Are we talking about the same Fantasy genre? Terry Pratchet, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman? (Just to name a few.) Lev Grossman, who wrote the article now reveals that he/she/it knows even LESS than Rowling about the Fantasy genre.

Rowling claims in the interview that:

"But I think I really planned the hell out of this one. I took three months and just sat there and went over and over and over the plan, really fine-tuned it, looked at it from every angle. I had learnt, maybe, from past mistakes."

Planned the hell out of this one? HAH! Does she even understand how much time a real writer dedicates to creating the "rules of the world" where he/she is working on alone? 3 Months? And she calls it planning the hell out of it? Amateur. No wonder HP has so many plotholes all through it and she has to cover them every time on the next book. She probably thinks a week planning is enough for most novels.

"I think I can say categorically that I will not write another fantasy after Harry," she says, making herself and her publicists, who hover nearby, visibly nervous. "Wait, now I'm panicking. Oh, my God! Yes, I'm sure I can say that. I think I will have exhausted the possibilities of that. For me."

Too bad it's just another fantasy and not another book. Fortunately, people will realize after just how much she lacks as a writer; when muggles and wizards cease to exist in her literature.

Although, I would bet that it won't take long for her to despair and return to the genre after she has finished the last HP book.

Anyway, I'll end this rant with two tests plucked (I feel like Rowling, plucking stuff from everywhere and putting it among my text) from Elf's webpage.

Fox Furry (actually, this pic is of a Dhole, but I
loved the facial expression so much that I had
to use it anyway). ART COPYRIGHT TO:
www.redpanda.com (Sara Palmer)

What Kind of Furry Are You? (with lovely images)
brought to you by Quizilla

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to good manners and elegance.

In love, you feel the most alive when everything is uncertain, one moment heaven... the next moment hell.

You'd like to your lover to think you are stylish and alluring.

You would be forced to break up with someone who was ruthless, cold-blooded, and sarcastic.

Your ideal relationship is lasting. You want a relationship that looks to the future... one you can grow with.

Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment.

You think of marriage as something precious. You'll treasure marriage and treat it as sacred.

In this moment, you think of love as something you thirst for. You'll do anything for love, but you won't fall for it easily.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

Racism?

2005-07-31T01:42:00.000Z

So, México...

I've been here for more than a month now and many things have happened since.

A week and a half after my arrival I ended up in Anaheim, CA, in the US for the internationally famous Anime Expo 2005. I should have posted about it earlier, but several... issues needed to be... resolved before hand. Suffice it to say that the repercusions of said events still linger over several individuals perception of right and wrong. But most of us have already began the road towards healing. Duuude. Peace.

Anyway. Afterwards I went camping. I love camping. I know several friends who would DIE if they attempted to survive in a few places we've camped before (I know some that have ended with broken bones... ^_^ accidental, of course.) but this time we tried... Tepoztlan.

Regardless of how cool and wild the place looks from the picture (click here it for more pictures of the place from the original owner), the truth is that we stayed in a designated camping area where we had the misfortune of having to share with: 1 Kids Camp (Complete with extremely dumb cheerleeders) 1 YMCA group and 1 group of priests. Fortunately, they didn't try to convert anyone (heh, would have liked to see them try...) but it was noisy and annoying and worst of all they have no manners whatsoever.

I spent the nights Storytelling for a Vampire: The Masquerade adventure. And don't even get me started on that crap "Requiem". White Wolf... if you want to control the "Power Players" then think of another way than messing such a cool game.

The following weeks will include a trip to Tampico (which is very far north), possibly a visit to Guanajuato (also north) for a Literature Congress and hopefully a trip to Chiapas (very, very far south, almost on the border with Guatemala). We shall see what transpires there.

Now, for the title of the present post... Racism.

Dictionary.com defines Racism:

rac·ism (rszm)
n.

The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.
Discrimination or prejudice based on race.

Ok. We cool on that, right? Good.

Recently I have found several instances of people claiming that "This or that or those is/are racist!" and I'm getting tired of hearing that crap. While in Los Angeles I watched the news where some American Media groups and political figues claimed that the Mémin Pinguín postal stamps were "racist" because the cartoon character (from a beloved comic book series dating back to the 1940's) was an exagerated black person. Seldom have I not read or heard crap from American Politics, but this is ridiculous. The character is so charming, so beloved, so envied and so creative that it completely nullifies the two defining points of what is considered Racism. (As a matter of fact, in the Phillipines, Memín Pinguín is an obligatory read for school students, as the educational system argued that it "puts a lot of value into respect for family and institutions.)

Another person claimed that One Piece (excelent Manga BTW) was also "kinda racist" because Luffy used an Afro during a boxing match. Furthermore, some people actually started arguing that it was because the Japanese and Asian people in general were Xenophobic and they did it to make fun of others...

Right. I won't deny that Japanese and Chinese are Xenophobic. It's true. It is a sad but undenyable truth. Specially with each other and the Koreans. But, it doesn't mean that if Luffy uses an Afro, or that Director Watanabe appears with afros in Excel Saga and Puny Puny Poemi it's to make fun of black people.

So, who are the ones insulted by this? Racists themselves. That's my conclusion. Censors are racist and people that find little tiny details that anyone with a brain would ignore but they hang on to as if their lives depended on it are also racist. At this point in time you will ONLY say something or another is racist if, and only if you are actually looking for excuses on a regular basis. What does basic psychology say about that?

Let me use an example. It is said that out of a group of 100 Homophobics, at least 85% will have homosexual tendencies or predispositions. Same goes for racism.

Racism exists only as long as people actively look for it. And, while a lot of people always get into fights over racism against blacks, let me point something out. MOST Black Stand Up Comedians make racist jokes about being black and/or how it makes whites get all racist.

The way I see it, doing that kind of crap indicates that the comedian himself (black, white, yellow or blue) is a racist to some level. Oh, you might argue that the fact that they make jokes about it means that they're not. To be fair, I will concede that a few, and very few of them might actually fall into that category. But why then bring it up again and again? By now it should be OLD. Why keep at it?

Like censors and elitist groups, they just keep fanning the flames... and as long as they keep it up, it won't dissappear.

But be warned: Being a racist or having something categorized as "racist" like in the comics mentioned above, just because a character has dark skin or an afro, is just an indication of how limited your view is, and therefore, how sad your miserable little existance will be.

Another thing that really bugs me is how people always see (and find) racism against black people, but ignore other forms that could be considered as such. Like that idiot Speedy Gonzalez. You want racism? There it is. It's a mouse. It's supposed to represent Mexicans in general. It dresses in a way that most mexicans (unless they live in very rural areas) don't dress like. It implies that all mexicans are simple minded like him. And do you get the Mexican government asking for Warner to remove it? No!

Bush Quote of Stupidity:

"I hope I stand for anti-bigotry, anti-Semitism, anti-racism. This is what drives me."

(Did someone explain to him what "Anti-Semitism" actually means? Or does he really hate Jews?)

I've spoken.

-Nya!

Take the Digipedia FunFic Personality Test!

Late post.

2005-07-20T06:12:00.000Z

Well, I intended to make this post sooner, but several circumstances kept me from doing it... among them the connection here, which is worth nothing.

In any case...

I read this comic the other day... Commissioned Comic and I started to wonder... I agree completely with Oz that when someone takes YOUR special "Tool Of the Craft" you totally flip out and take it on the (often not-understanding) offender.

But, what are these "Tools Of the Craft" (TOCs) for different people? I know that artists and graffic Designers value their pencils and erasers over anything else. It's comlpete taboo to touch those. For a carpenter it would be a whole set of instruments vital to the proper success of their job. For us writers, the TOCs would be our special pens, or, in several cases including mine the computer.

While to many other people, like politicians, a computer is nothing more than a convenient tool to write reports or watch the news or check email, for a writer a computer is a REAL tool of the trade. Scores of stories and ideas are written down in otherwise inaccessible folders and files. While it is true that a cautious writer keeps several copies of their work in other media (print-outs, cds, flash-cards, 31/4 floppy disks) innevitably the most advanced copy is ALWAYS in the main hard-drive.

So, I know there are several people with completely different jobs and careers than mine, so tell me, which is your TOC?

Sad News...

A friend I haven't seen for a while, Fito, was hit by a car the other day while driving and a vein in his head burst. He is in intensive care right now, but chances are he won't make it. If my views of Death weren't so peculiar I would probably be a little bit more emotional about the whole thing, but I will only say the truth: He is a nice guy. Good to have around and good to talk to. Before the gap between us was created, he was a heavy drinker. And he cares for his friends. I don't yet know the whole story on how things happened, but, here's to him pulling through.

TEST

I took this one from Jenny's...

You Are a Hunter Soul

You are driven and ambitious - totally self motiviated to succeed
Actively working to acheive what you want, you are skillful in many areas.
You are a natural predator with strong instincts ... and more than a little demanding.
You are creative, energetic, and an extremely powerful force.

An outdoors person, you like animals and relate to them better than people.
You tend to have an explosive personality, but also a good sense of humor.
People sometimes see you as arrogant or a know it all.
You tend to be a bit of a loner, though you hate to be alone.

Souls you are most compatible with: Seeker Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Parcel

2005-07-08T08:34:00.000Z

Ripton, I emailed you, talked to (or tried to and was ignored) by MSN since I asked you to tell me if you could check if the Amazon parcel destined to my place about two weeks ago had arrived or not. If you couldn't go, it's fine, but at least let me know so I can ask someone else to check. It's not my money on the line with that parcel, and there is a limit to how long the mail service will keep it if no-one picks it up. IF you found it just say yes and if you didn't and you tried then you could let me know.

In other news...

Some people might have felt offended or that I over reacted with what happened with Shun and the flat. Let me get some things clear.

1: I don't take kindly to threats. If you know I am your friend, then you should know I would not set you up to take the heat for me. How many times have I gone to apologize in person and talk things over rather than just ignore things?

2: My stuff is mine. If the situation was inversed I would just have dealt with it on my own and asked Shun for the money later when we talked again. I would NOT, I repeat, I WOULD NOT threaten to sell his computer to cover the costs. IF he didn't contact me I would mantain my faith in him as a FRIEND that there was some reason for him not to do so.

3: While I know Shun over-reacts sometimes, what really, really got to me were some people's Blogs saying there would be "Hell to pay", "Contact Shun ASAP or your computer is no more", etc. Read point 1 and consider the fact that:
a) you also know me and I have given you NO REASON to doubt me in such matters;
b) You would NOT like to be reminded like that of something that was a MISUNDERSTANDING;
c) Consider how fair is to be threatened with your own possessions at stake whether its a joke or not. IT IS NOT FUNNY.

I read some posts asking me to calm down. Well, I wont until this is settled. You have your peace and quiet again, Shun, yet no thank you email for getting things cleared out. Put yourself in my place and ask what you would like me to do.

I check Ripton's blog and read his kind reminder, yet, after two weeks of waiting for an answer to a favour asked, I still don't know anything about my parcel. Ripton, if I could do it myself I wouldn't have asked you to check, and if you didn't want to, you could just say no, but say it since the beginning. And if for some reason you couldn't do it, letting me know wouldn't make you my enemy or make me angry at you.

I quote: "We know you having fun, but £££ is £££ and £££ is very important. Especially when £££ involves friends. Carlos, if you want to see your computer alive, esp with your porn movies saved, and if you want to call Shun- your eternal friend- then you better read Shun’s email OK?"

Well, let me tell you something, precisely because it involves friends it shouldn't come down to several Blogs asking me to pay as if I had just ran away and let Shun to his luck.

If there is any doubt about just *why* I got angry at this situation, then re-read this. I don't consider any of the involved idiots, but I did think you had a little bit more faith in me.
I consider your actions as bad taste, lack of trust and blattantly insulting. If you do or don't agree with me, well you are always welcome to post, but don't pretend there is no limit to my patience.

Like Erin rightfully said: "I found that people who are normally surprised about someone else's lack of niceness, often doesn't realize that a person was being nice in the first place. Those who recognize what others do for them will not have a problem of shock if a nice person's personality suddenly changes." I realize this goes both ways, but at least I have the decency to admit it to the face of those I have wronged.

Cowardly Century

2005-07-07T15:23:00.000Z

I find it extremely amusing how terrorist groups decide to take "responsibility" for bombings from safe places out of sight and dare claim that they "Fight" for a cause.

They destroy and attack civilians rather than the army, how brave is that?

I just hope none of my friends was hurt, since none of them are online right now, I really don't know... I'll check on later.

Well, I did check... thanks Erin for letting me know that everyone is okay.