The truth is ... boring

I was partially looking forward to the X-Files movie, I used to be a fan, I admit it. My fandom mainly dates back to before the Scully-Mulder sexual tension era, back when it was just cases and answers, no drawn out story line about abducted siblings and alien babies. I hoped the movie would be a throw back to those days, a case, a major one, with major implications. The movie was instead a big let down, no aliens, no great super natural force, it was almost too mundane to be a X-Files episode. The worst part, it was 2 hours of that ... boring, and barely bearable. I somehow managed to get to the end of it, but I mean, it just wasn't worth the time invested. I guess I can chalk that up to time I wish I could get back, however have no chance of. I almost feel like I am wasting more time just blogging about it, like its perpetually going to absorb whats left of my freetime and perhaps sanity. I heard a rumor the movie was about aliens, it was the finale to all X-Files movies, wrapped everything up and proved the existence of something out there ... I hated that idea, but even a bad idea would have been better. Why go through all that trouble when I could have easily swapped Gorm from Criminal Intent with Mulder and had an acceptable episode of that show?


In other news, its interesting how things change over time, people especially. One moment someone has you enamored, completely love struck, the next its evolved into something different, something, excuse the repetition, mundane. How does someone fall from the top of the list, undivided attention, to single word answers? Well I guess two years can do that. The friends you sacrifice for something you think will be much more, and the dissappointment afterwards when it all falls down, and those friends are still stranded, all for naught.

Go on girl

I met up with my mother yesterday after work for dinner, she is leaving for Arizona and wanted to see me before she heads off. We talked about everything that has been going on in the last few days, her and my father finally getting divorced, Adrienne and I breaking up, etc. I asked her if it was wrong that I wasn't heart broken, what it means that I am not in tears after such a long time. She told me sometimes it just feels right ... I guess that's what it comes down to, as much as I wanted it to be right, there was obviously hurdles that would have ever prevented it from being so. I pondered over that for a little in silence, staring the deep fried macaroni and cheese she wanted me to try. I am a weird believer and simultaneous non-believer in God at times. I guess I am still struggling personally with the question, yet something seem to be set in motion. I guess I can register it all as a series of random events coinciding to bring ... something ... or I can look at it as a greater being telling me its time to leave from there, and pointing down the road telling me, "its time to go there, you're ready".

When I got in the car to head home, Ne-Yo's, Go On Girl, came on the radio ... again, sure, I guess it could have been coincidence. But it seems the message resonated well enough, as if, if you are a believer that is, God was telling me it was okay not to be hurt. So my break ups have covered the, out of both of your hands type of situation (Melissa), the cheating situation (Leslie), and now, the just fell apart (Adrienne). I have spent collectively the last 12+ years of my life in relationships ... something uplifting about it being all about me.

Hancock, Curve, and blabering.

I got to see Hancock, again, this time on the big screen. It was a lot better the second time around, watching it in the proper manner, not that I would have chosen Hancock to re-watch ... It is a good movie, however I think if I was going to watch something on the big screen it should have been Wall-E, impressions however are everything. While Hancock ultimately being a love story bothered many, I really had no issue with it. After seeing Hulk, and knowing Dark Knight was coming soon, did we really need another super hero movie, especially one without any previous foundation or history to draw from? The link they shared, the explanation, it was not the best, but it fit well enough to give a suitable turn to the "Hulk Smash" and maniacle ravings of the Joker that most were going to be anticipating or watching.


I ended up getting home a bit late and I am beat tired this morning. The worst of it is I can not get any rest as I have to assist a user with some testing in about 20 minutes. Yesterday was hectic, hopefully today settles down and tomorrow I can collect my check in peace, then quickly spend it. I finally got my blackberry upgrade, about 10 minutes before leaving work, just in time. Now I have to search online for a spot to get a memory card for cheap and I can retire my over-sized mp3 player, the PSP. The only complaint I have is the track ball is no where near as responsive as the scroll wheel was on previous versions, aesthetically it is vastly superior in size, design and weight, if it only it came with a proper holster ...

So what is on the agenda today? I am supposed to see my mother after work, she wants to take me to this new place that opened in the Slope. I was thinking of sticking around there afterward and seeing if I bump into anyone, usually I just end up seeing all the people I used to fight with when I was younger, my block being the only exception, its almost a sanctuary. Last time I was on 12th I bumped into the little sister of an old friend, she is just like her big sister, looks and attitude, its uncanny. I didn't turn out anything like my sister, perhaps its just for siblings of the same sex.

Randomness

Murph put me on to a new DC comics MMO coming out, I just can't see myself playing another one, I can barely sit down and play Warcraft anymore. Just don't find it worth it to cancel my account, what does 16$ really buy a month anyway? It still operates as a good temporary time sink, not an enjoyable one, but a time sink for sure. D came through last night, he just wanted to chill and watch TV. I can barely stay up when that is all that is on the agenda. I usually leave him the spare key and tell him to just shoot it under the door when he leaves.

The Watchmen is getting better, I was reading it on the train this morning and was asked about it, guess the movie has some hype. It is odd, I have not read a graphic novel before, I did not expect such great writing, such in depth character development, how they think, how they make connections ... its like a ... novel with graphics ... The book is pretty dark, there are scenes interspersed with comic book scenes of a related fictional land to them, how does that translate in the big screen?

I noticed I have been eating a lot less, cutting back on the soda as well. Still have half the bottle from that Friday ... Not sure if the replacement lemonade is much better, then again I have been killing the water a lot faster, mixed with the sit-ups ... Oddly today I was leaving the rest room at work and looked up in the mirror and thought to myself *What am I trying to fix?* I like the way I look, perhaps more then I should at times. I guess it can all fall back to health right? I just hope I don't lose too much weight in between, I kinda like being a "big bear". It is the one description I think my last 3 serious girlfriends all have repeated.

Ok, he isn't yogi, or pooh, but he is my namesake for those who do not know, though it is not why I have that name. That just reminded me of a Pooh doll I once had ... Shawney stole it ... I don't remember if someone bought it for me, or if I bought it for them. Something deep inside tells me it was a gift to me, but from? I remember laying with it, cuddling up to it not because I needed to cuddle up with something, but because it reminded me of ... who? I would never even let it touch the ground I remember, and it pained me to lose it ... Maybe I don't remember because I can't deal with remembering ...

One Fourth or so

Oddly after such a long relationships conclusion, you would think I would be pained, but for some reason I am not. I have my home back, her stuff is still here, but it is mine once again. It will be quiet when I want it to be, I will not have to make the volume louder to over come a nearby computer blasting music, clean the drain to remove hair, or wash down leg shavings. The latter is for two reasons, I fixed the drains in both the tub and the bathroom sink. It turns out they twist off, lots of yuck later I can take a shower and not have the water amass below my feet, nope straight to the drain. I just hope the next girl, whomever she will be, will appreciate everything. That is something I always noticed with Leslie, though she was a cheating bitch, she always appreciated the smallest thing I purchased, the littlest point of affection. They did not get lost in some black hole of the last X years where things I did no longer exist, a Twilight Zone of a place.

In related news, my electric bill came and it was 130$, I know this will be dropping quickly, less usage on the air conditioning I am sure. I realized something powerful, I get my study, can move both computers into the extra room, yes I have a two bedroom, guess it would be a computer room more then a study then ... It is this weird sense of freedom. I can move anything where I want it to go, without asking or dealing with anything counter, I am the lord of my own domain, I have seized the land, the Moors have been driven out.

I went to Barnes and Noble the other day to pick up Watchmen, the graphic novel that spawned the upcoming movie, and could have easily picked up a shorty and one for Dennis too, but uh ... communication issues stopped me from going forward, we are all clear Dennis, next time its a go. So coincidentally I was talking to D yesterday and mistakenly called Adrienne, Melissa, the coincidence is that D bumped into her, Melissa, the same day, apparently she is around the Slope, perhaps she moved there? Who knows, who cares? I have thought about mailing her, if I can get her addy, to apologize for what I did, how I acted after we had broken up. I snubbed her pointlessly, a way for a kid to deal with his emotions, or to stop himself from dealing with them. The story goes that Melissa's mother passed away, she was given the option to live with me, but we were kids, she went to LI? SI? somewhere far, somewhere far for a teenager. When she did come down I ignored her, she would be in my living room talking to my mother and I wouldn't even turn around to talk to her, so undeserved. That led to my shit list method of dealing with ex's, right on the list you go, regardless of what the situation was, except for Tiffany, but that is a different story, a story for its own blog entry. It would probably start with "Dear diary, I almost got shot today, but my home boy showed up in his blue Jag with the cavalry and scared away the bad men." That is kinda the end of the story, but you start with the exciting part right?

Anyway, D bumping into Melissa led to this odd self examination, though I know Adrienne was flirting with some dork she liked in High School, pursuing a guy that won't give her the time of day because of her weight sadly, I thought perhaps a friendship could be salvaged. However I realize after a short conversation that there is nothing worth it there. I care not to be your acquaintance, I do not get junk mail, I do not need another person to CC: on such junk mail if I did. So, c'est la vie. I cared not to support you, and I care not to be your crutch when your friends are too busy to be there for you.

The book is good so far, up to chapter five, hero's who have flaws, who are real people, who are vengeful, who hate, who kill ... This is not your typical story of people with flawless morals, who are perfect in their minor details, they are human. For those who are hung up on awards and accolades, one of Time Magazine's 100 best novels, and winner of the Hugo Award, whatever either of those two really mean to anyone. Communist's, Nixon on his 5th term, capped crusaders outlawed, just great.

The Dark Knight

Truly epic, I could probably leave it all at that, but that would not be any fun. The truth? I didn't think Heath Ledger was that great of a Joker, certainly better then any other Joker, but what am I comparing him to? The reality is Joker has never gotten to be as "dark" and sinister as his character is suppose to be renown for being. This time around we had a joker with that freedom, but there was something I felt was lacking in closeness, it didn't feel dead on, the laugh was not as chilling as I had hoped. The dialogue isn't the actors job, and that is what was so great. The personality, the banter, the purpose of the character. I almost feel partly like the movie is just too great that the actors not being perfect doesn't pull away from the perfection of the movie. Christian Bale is not a perfect Batman, but the characters portrayal and spiral is perfect, its what is expected, it is almost breath taking, however again, the voice doesn't feel right, it seems forced, its not gritty enough, he is not square-jawed enough, he is however properly devoid of emotion, and completely filled with the greater good. Since the release of Equilibrium years ago, me and Dennis talked about how he would be a perfect Batman. If you have not seen Equilibrium, it is a must see, think Fareheit 451 meets Brave New World.

So with a less then perfect Batman and Joker, what are we left with? Dialogue that just shines, the speeches, the back and forth, the relationships, this movie was truly written to be great. I think the biggest ovation should go to the writers and producers for pushing the detail, for making these characters personalities, into the ones we have always wanted since watching the first Batman movies.

So what does happen when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Oddly this was not the first time I heard this, while I am sure it goes further back, I am sure the Warcraft fans are familiar with the mace and shield of similar names that prompted numerous Alterac Valley jokes, if you are not, it doesn't really matter, go see this movie!

For your viewing pleasure

I know, its been a while since I last posted, not much to write about until the other day. I was introduced to a new show, The Cleaner, which I had seen commercials for and had no clue what it was. William (Benjamin Bratt) is a reformed addict who, along with his team of reformed addicts, goes about helping others overcome their addictions. Without ruining too much, the first episode opens with a snatch and grab of a women addicted to gambling, with her families permission of course. The team works to isolate the women, Akani (Grace Park), flirts with her date, then the other two members cut off her car later after she exits the bar. She is eventually wisked away to rehab to hopefully get better. The story is not all big smiles however, William explains that most of the people they attempt to save revert back or end up dead, adding a very real twist to plot. So what motivates the man to run this team? Overcoming his own addictions, William promised to act as God's avenging angel if he saw him through it. After watching the episode it seems like Williams open dialogue is often answered by God, though not always in the positive. Anyway, so far I am pleased and it will find its way to my DVR.


Next up, The Middleman. I am still on the fence about this show, it is a complete opposite of The Cleaner. The Middleman (Matt Keeslar), a throwback like hero, complete with utility belt, and his sidekick, Wendy Watson (Natalie Morales), attempt to battle the forces of evil; aliens, zombies, killer fish, the works. The show focuses around Wendy and her attempts to balance both work, zombie slaughtering, with her friendships, her friends believing she works for a temp agency, the Jolly Fats Wehawking Temp agency to be exact. The more I talk about it, the less I can figure out why I watch it, yet I know I will be watching it again.

Its going to be a movie weekend, so I will have so review coming soon: Taken, Hellboy 2, Dark Knight, Meet Dave

Free =! Good

So I had someone offer me a movie today, Love Guru. They assured me the quality was DVD like, and I could not bring myself to actually accept. Mike Meyers? This is not the early 90's, has he even made a good movie? searches imdb.com Well I guess it depends on your taste, '92 if you did not like Austin Powers, '02 if you did. I guess we can count Shrek, but is just a voice really acting? Is a script he has no control over really "his movie"? I don't think so. His list of good movies reads: Waynes World, Austin Powers, Shrek. This movie doesn't even look good, and the critics seem to feel it sucks as well, total of 15% on RottenTomatoes.com. And what is with Jessica Alba, do all her roles have to suck? She went from being the hotty on Dark Angel, to these crappy roles in decent movies. Sin City, good movie, her role, forgettable, Honey? horrible, Fantastic Four? She didn't even fit the role, Bill? Awake? The Eye ...

Enough ranting, its quite clear that free =! good. Imagine had I accepted the movie and watched it, that would be almost two hours lost from my existence, not that much would have been accomplished in those two hours, but a bad movie could put you in a bad mood, which is worse then just being bored. I could have farmed 450g in Warcraft, finished the next 10 holes in Fairway Golf, completed a bunch of Soduku puzzles, watched the first 3-5 episodes of a new series, or stared blankly at the wall for a more enjoyable two hours.

Off from the subject, anyone trolling the streets for a bootleg of The Wanted, do not make the mistake, you must see this in the theatre. The first 10 minutes of the movie is completely over the top, watching it anything short of a big screen is to deny yourself some dark action packed pleasure. The action scenes are so over the top, it works perfectly, something plausible, but flawed would illicit picking and prodding of "that was stupid, it can't be done." When the action however is so over the top, that its already understood that there is no possibility for it to happen in real life, for any human being to commit those acts, then it doesn't matter how far past that boundary you go. Consider the boundary a black hole sucking in scenes that try to teeter on the plausible but fail to convince, the further from that black hole the less of pull, the more freedom to do as you please, and so they did.

If you knew how this scene ended you would understand just how far from that black hole they were.

If I was Russian ...

... I would get to watch the best Wanted bootleg out, since for some reason, they get a damn nice telesync and we get a shitty Chinese subbed cam, wtf. So here are two pics, English on top, Russian on bottom:


There is absolutely no comparison. Most bootlegs of good quality, dubbed R5's, are actually Russian, sometimes French, with English line audio attached. Telesyncs, for those who do not know, are camcorder recorded video with audio, often taken from a hearing impaired seat, synch'd to the video. So bootlegs can get pretty complex, oddly.

Speaking of flicks, I recently watched Wall-E, which almost had me ballin' tears at the end, yes like a true bitch. The movie from start to finish was just mind blowing, both in unintended message, visuals, and emotion. I have to say, and this is after moments of re-examination, this is a big claim after all, Wall-E is the best thing Pixar has dropped, since Pixar dropped. There was not a moment I thought the movie ran too long, felt the message wasn't on point, etc. For those that know me, know I am hyper critical after a movie finishes, even movies I liked. If you have not seen it yet, go watch Wall-E!



I also got to see Hulk recently, had a movie binge, and it was a lot better then expected. Not as mind blowing as Wall-E, but its an action movie. The fight scenes were great, Hulk rockin the shield was o so reminiscent of Warcraft orc's. How did it compare to the first? I keep getting asked that, but I had no interest in watching the first, it was not refined enough, graphically. Ed Norton is actually the only reason I bothered to watch this, because if anyone could pull it off, it was him, and he did. Good action scenes, nothing I was particularly against, however they hint at something that kind of disturbed me since it seemed as though they were going to massacre the history of a character in a future movie. Hopefully they do not, hopefully they do make that movie though.

That is your movie wrap up, cause I had nothing else to go on about.

The Wiki

I have been editing Wikipedia for some time, for those unaware, it is an encyclopedia "anyone can edit", though that is not always the case. My interest in Wikipedia started some time ago, I was just hopping around, and came across numerous arguments on the talk pages, each article has a talk page where people discuss the articles content. Needless to say, for those that know me, I love to argue, especially when I know I am right. So I jumped into Wikipedia finger typing mad, arguing, discussing, and warring. I use the term warring for two reasons. The first, on the wiki there exists a term, "revert warring", in which people revert back and forth between two different versions of the text, often fighting over the inclusion of just a single word. The other reason I use this term is because sides are often drawn based on ideology, discussions often take a civil, yet condescending tone, mastering the passive aggressive is an art form on Wikipedia. Anyway choosing a side is often what will determine your experience, do you want to be an underdog, squashed because of your views, an outsider, which often leaves no one liking you, or with the "in crowd."

I chose, well fell into, the underdog category. I wrote positively of socialism, a big no-no, added content to articles critical of the United States, and even defended people who do not believe global warming is a man driven issue. Oddly I did none of these because I believe them, not to say I do not. For instance, I am interested in socialism and communism, and wrote articles on many of the unsung heroes of that political persuasion, however do not believe that in socialism lies the key to good government. I believe global warming is man made, however defended poor Fred Singer who was being accused of believing in Martians because of a 60 year old letter to a magazine.

Needless to say I contributed much to Wikipedia, over 40 articles to be exact:

Isidro Fabela, Valentín Campa, Sergio Mendez Arceo, Revolutionary Committee of Puerto Rico, COCEI, Rodolfo Fierro, Narciso Bassols, Movimiento de Liberation National, Genaro Vázquez Rojas, Elvia Carrillo Puerto, Demetrio Vallejo, Arturo Lona Reyes, Adolfo Christlieb Ibarrola, Andrés Molina Enríquez, Miguel Caro-Quintero, Sonora Cartel, Los Negros, Edgar Valdez Villarreal, Sinaloa Cartel, Agustín Casasola, Heraclio Bernal, Luis Amezcua Contreras, Jesus Amezcua Contreras, Adán Amezcua Contreras, Colima Cartel, Juan José Esparragoza Moreno, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, Javier Barba-Hernandez, Héctor Luis Palma Salazar, Mariana Grajales Coello, Ponciano Arriaga, Don Pedro Jaramillo, Salvador Nava Martínez, Jose Antonio Llama, Mario Montoya Uribe, Zapata Swamp, Zapata Wren, BINCI, Harold Bedoya Pizarro, Colombian presidential election, 1998, Zapata Sparrow, Luis Hernando Gómez Bustamante, Polaris (poker bot), Juan Carlos Ramirez-Abadia, Carlos Alberto Rentería Mantilla

I was however banned. My crime was to edit an article, State terrorism and the United States, and also live in New York City. Perhaps that was too simple, the other piece of evidence was that both myself and this other person that was deemed disruptive, also edited a 9/11 article, and edit between 9AM and 10PM. No amount of common sense could have persuaded the horde, who opposed my views, that the fact we both live in NYC would automatically give us similar editing times, similar as in day time. In total I have created tons of accounts, all with the goal of writing articles and contributing content; JessicaRamos, JessicaRamos2, Grimlight, SevenOfDiamonds, SixOfDiamonds, N4GMiraflores and I Write Stuff. So 45 articles later I was determined to be a net negative, no matter how detailed my articles were, no matter how many I wrote, or, even that the people opposing my combined had not written that many articles in their 10 year combined editing time.

So what have I been doing? I still write ... the usefulness of the project is much more important then the ego's within it. Much like the United States, the corrupt politics do not change the fact that the nation, its founding, and the people within it are great.

*twitch* *twitch*

Ugh, my addiction may be rousing again. I have come to realize the depths of it, many moons ago I was stagnant, trapped in a cave, bartering until my blood shot eyes could not stay open any longer. I slept dreaming of deals I passed on, wondering if I had purchased that magnificent cloak would I have been able to turn around a profit. I was the first, by my estimations, to be so young, yet in my bags have such a treasure, a Froglok Bonecaster Robe. I could not wear it, not seasoned enough, pfft, but my hard times earned me such esteem for owning it.

There were more similar moments, hiding near the smelting pits just outside Minoc, waiting for some unsuspecting fool to bring his hard earned goods too near, *click* * click*, his ore gone in a flash, my bag now too heavy to move with all the now stolen ingots weighing me down.

So last weekend as the thunder erupted in maddening roars, I sat, and sat, and hours later realized I had completed a binge much greater then any I had been on previously, 20 thousand honor later, no small feat I tell you, I had finally had a rogue dressed correctly. No more cackles and sneers in the background, surely at my red pants and black chestguard. Lucky I can hide in plain site, and I surely did, often.

My escape is just not much of one lately ... those long hours are just such a waste, a good time killing mechanism, like some magical jewel that just absorbs the time away, no recollection of what happened, a period of time devoid of existence. At least I have my books, and more drive around Manhattan with D. Work, sleep, game, TV, read ... I need an outlet, gaming is not a hobby, its a time sink ... Perhaps because everyone who made it more then a time sink has moved on, Jedi, Lucky and MBeast in Ultima; Dennis, my father and uncle in Warcraft ... *scratches head* I really have no clue now that I think about it on why I played EQ so long ... Where ever some of my long gone, but surely not forgotten fellow travelers have ended up, in the real or virtual, I hope you all are enjoying your days, and hopefully those past memories.