My Salute to the Hardcore

I have been accused before of using the exclamation "HARDORE!" too often, but for me, it defines a quality that not too many other words can define: The almighty moxie. The chutzpah. The BALLS.

For instance: Michelle Rodriguez, of Lost and The Fast and the Furious, was picked up for DUI a few months ago. During sentencing, she had the choice between doing a couple months of Community Service, or five days in jail. She chose the jail time. HARDCORE!

For instance: Chef Mario Batali is getting some flack for putting duck testicles in his latest pasta dish. "They're delicious, they don't taste like anything you've had before. They're whole and they're white," Batali said. HARDCORE!

For instance: Snoop Dogg is writing his first novel, to be published in October. HARDCORE, Biatch!

For instance: A rapist who won lottery buys mansion only to have rich neighbours offer to kill him. "You are a dirty, vile rapist and residents of this estate don't want you here," reads his fan mail. "We have hired someone to harm you" HARDCORE! (this is of course aimed at the neighbors.)

For instance: In a popular MMORPG (look it up, kids), one player has grown a species of plant that grows twenty feet high if you pray to rain gods enough to water it. Hook: Its a pot plant. HARDCORE!

So here's to you, all you hardcore people. If I could think of a funny and apropo salute, Id give it to you.

Special Mention: To anyone who has told someone "Suck it", in a non-ironic fashion, you are my hero.

The Best Bulletin Board Ever

http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments.pl?IDLink=2018473

This is a thread. I will give you the first post here, and then the brilliance will be self explanatory. Reading along is like watching in real time. This was the most interesting thing to happen to me today. The title of this thread is:

Im stuck to my chair. Im so very scared. Please Help.

alright, without going into too much detail, here's the situation:

I am TFing (totalFarking) in my boxers, and sitting on a chair that has slightly spaced out planks. Suffice to say that part of me is now lodged, and any attempt to move just pinches the crap out of me.

Can't move, need advice, soonish.

Oh god it hurts

Shake Your Ass (A Misleading Title)

I have recently read a book and seen a movie that have really made me think (which is never a rarity, but always a nice surprise). The book was The Ethical Assassin, by David Liss. The movie, V For Vendetta. Both are fantastic in their own way. One is a suspense/comedy, one is an action movie. Both have characters who strive to get things done, to overthrow ways of thinking that we are bogged down in. Both have the understanding that to get people moving, sometimes you have to punch them in the back.

I believe we are victims of ourselves sometimes. We tend not to go outside of our own little bubbles of understanding when it comes to certain things.

Take the treatment of animals, for instance. Do you realize that meat-bearing-animals are often so pumped full of drugs to keep them edible that they develop sores on their skin, they stand around in drugged dazes, and they are literally driven insane by the conditions they live in? (now, im not talking clinical definitions here, but think about it.) Why is this ok with us? Is it because they are bred for our consumption? Is it because we really think a God put them on this earth for our benefit? Im not disagreeing with that, but muse over the fact that its a whole lot easier to get upset about a drowning puppy than a cow with hoof and mouth disease. They are both animals, arent they? Is one worth less than the other?

Keeping in theme with the aforementioned works, take also the government. Now, although I seem very rebellious, I have a strong sense of right and wrong about certain things, and justice. I believe in the death penalty for some. I believe that sometimes war is the only viable option. I wish it were not the way it is, but thats what we got. (Im not mentioning Iraq here, but rest assured I dont think that was the only option.) So I dont think that overthrowing the government, and having complete anarchy is the way to go. I aint no Tyler Durden. But think about the level of apathy you have towards everything the government says. I know that personally, every time a statement is made by the government (in some form), I take it with a huge grain of salt. Its been bred into our idealogy that politicians are SUPPOSED to lie. Like 80% of the time. So everytime the president (ANY president, mind you) says "Dont worry! We got this under control!", part of you wants to believe him. Part of you thinks he's lying.

You end up getting stuck somewhere between the two, where its like you heard nothing at all. And, after awhile, its like there IS no one to tell you when to worry and when not to. There is so much bullshit flying around nowadays. Fear Terrorists, but by that we mean in no way to harm the Muslims. Love your country, or else! It feels like a giant sleight of hand we are being shown, and I don't know what to look for anymore to pay attention to.

Everything we know, everything we learn, is put through the cheese cloth of our own idealogies and philosophies until we don't know what we are hearing and what we choose to hear. These ways of thought are taught, but we also sit back and let them take over, so we aren't blameless. Sometimes, it seems like we are fed so much bullshit by other people that we don't know how to stop bullshitting ourselves.

And Im here to tell you, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

I want to give you all an assignment. I'm not going to tell you to sign a petition, because I don't have one, and I'm not going to tell you to have a sit-in until we get a good society, because your legs would be mighty sleepy by that point. What I want you to do is this: Take a moment, or an hour, or a whole day, and THINK about everything that you hear on the news, or in the newspaper, or on TV. Try not to get bored with the stories about Iraq, or the weather, or the commercials for car insurance. Take a step outside yourself and look at how you think. You may be surprised at what you find.

Now, just in case some of you haven't really gotten the gist of this yet, I'll say the obvious: I dont want you to believe what I believe. I dont want you to read this as, "Yeah, that guys right! Lets kill politicians and cattle ranchers!" I want you to realize that you are sieving out what Im saying as you read this. I dont want you to change the way you think to make me a better blogger. I want you to change the way you think because that's what we HAVE to do, if we are going to grow as a society. We are at the pinnacle these days, of everything we can accomplish. Without some new frontier, without light-speed travel or cold fusion or war with aliens, the only place we can go is downhill from here. But, again, it doesn't have to be that way. If we can rethink our way of thinking, we can make this place great. We can be what we always wanted to be, people who gave and changed and really made the world a better place. I believe in us.

But we can't do anything if we sit back and let the world spin us around.

We have to move the world ourselves.

A Parade of Emotions In the Wake of A Pseudo-Breakup

You know what the worst feeling in the world is?

Say you were dating this girl. A beautiful girl, a smart, funny girl, the kind you dream about, with none of the drama, with only good thigns to add to you. The kind of girl you think would absolutely compliment your life.

One night, she gets upset about something that happened during her day, and you try to comfort her, and bring out the old standby (that works for me every time), "Everything will be alright, baby. I promise." Its obvious that this does not make her feel better.

On a different night, you are in a bad mood. After thinking a bit about a certain conversation you've had, you feel terrible over the fact that you may have snapped at her. She didnt deserve that, you think. Goodness, she's probably seething right now. After feeling guilty all day, you call her, and say, "Listen, Im really sorry to have said those things. It was not your fault, and I feel terrible." And you find out she hadnt even thought about it.

After a while, you begin to notice a pattern. HERE is where the worst feeling in the world comes in: The realization that you have absolutely no effect on the person you are supposed to be in a relationship with. It feels like "Wow, this really doesnt mean anything to anyone but me. Man. I guess its obvious Im wasting my time."

I've just ended a short "dating" style relationship with the girl above. It feels like we have broken up, but we never got close enough to even be exclusive, officially.

I guess Im used to the relationships that really get going fast, but I really dont care for these "We arent labeling this, we are just dating" relationships. Who does? Is it really big somewhere in the northeast? Its EXHAUSTING. I spend all of this time wondering what is going on because there is not a closeness between us, and then I realize I shouldnt/cant be wondering about it, because its not even a real relationship to begin with.

Ugh. Well, on to bigger and brighter things. I got a part in Lone Star in the colony, thats exciting. Im starting to feel like a real actor. (Notice I didnt say a real GOOD actor.)

Dammit, man! Calm yourself! It's Friday!

My Declining Sense of Fashion Apathy

So, I have decided (after many people told me to) not to let my hair grow long. Perhaps it WAS a bad idea, but it was a cheap way I knew to kind of change my style a bit.

Does anybody else have that? Every so often, I like to really take a look at myself (re: how I dress, how I look, the accessories I wear, etc). I never change these in a way that anybody else might be able to see, but I do enjoy tinkering with myself in tiny ways. For instance, this past time I got a hair cut, I dyed it black for a show. It was a small change, but I felt like slightly different person.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like who I am, and Im vaguely happy with how I look at all times. I mean, ostensibly, it must be working to some degree, because I have friends, and am never ABSOLUTELY desperate for a date. But its nice to feel like a new person, a person with a shade more class than yourself, is it not?

There are cheap ways to change yourself, but sometimes, every once in a while, you kinda feel like you need a big change. (Or, at least, I do.) Sometimes this means a new tattoo, sometimes this means a new haircut (granted, not as permanent), sometimes even a new shirt or pair of pants will help. In the latter part of last year, I felt particularly classy when I began a special shaving regiment.

Hmm. So now, with my hair idea thwarted (granted, I wasnt looking forward to the "my hair looks stupid for a couple weeks" period), I wonder what I should try. Ah, for the days when I will be able to afford clothes again. What do yall think? What new thing should I do to myself that will give me a feeling of confidence and make me look sexy and smart to women of all ages?

PS: On that same note, for everyone who was wishing for me to do this a long time ago, I have given up hair gel for pomade. No more crunchy helmet hair. Still, though, dont touch it, unless we are concurrently making love.