Friday, December 26, 2008

...I do this sometimes

valb3322:NOT TO PUT TOO FINE A POINT ON IT
valb3322:SAY I'M THE ONLY BEE IN YOUR BONNET
valb3322:I DON'T KNOW HOW TO SPELL BONNET
valb3322:I THINK THAT'S RIGHT
valb3322:BUT I'M NOT SURE
valb3322:WHO CAN BE SURE, REALLY?
valb3322:WHO ARE WE TO BE SURE
valb3322:?
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:i am
valb3322:WE ARE HUMAN
valb3322:INFERIOR
valb3322:FALLIBLE
valb3322:FINITE
valb3322:AND DUMB
valb3322:SO
valb3322:YEAH
valb3322:TYPING IN CAPSLOCK IS SO SATISFYING
valb3322:FEELS GOOD
valb3322:MMMHMMM
valb3322:OHH YEAH
valb3322:THAT'S THE SPIRIT!
valb3322:I THINK THIS IS GOING TO END UP IN MY BLOG
valb3322:BECAUSE
valb3322:I AM SAYING STUPID THINGS
valb3322:AND ALSO BECAUSE I HAVE NOT POSTED IN THERE FOR A LONG TIME
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:you know
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:im not reading
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:what you say
valb3322:AND THE LAST ENTRY THAT I DID POST WAS ONE SENTENCE
valb3322:NOT EVEN A SENTENCE
valb3322:JUST A FRAGMENT
valb3322:FRAGMENTS.
valb3322:THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL THINGS.
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:that in itself is a fragment
valb3322:AREN'T THEY?
valb3322:YEAH,
valb3322:LIFE IS A FRAGMENT
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:lol
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:deep man
valb3322:OF A LARGER WHOLE
valb3322:A PIECE
valb3322:OF
valb3322:UH
valb3322:PIE
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:whatd you eat?
valb3322:BUT MORE PRETTY
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:oh>?
valb3322:IN THE IDEA OF IT
valb3322:I MEAN
valb3322:MORE PHILOSOPHICAL THAN PIE
valb3322:BUT, LIKE, THE SAME IDEA
valb3322:YOU KNOW?
valb3322:I AM REALLY AMUSING MYSELF RIGHT NOW
valb3322:CAN YOU TELL?
valb3322:WILLIAM TELL
valb3322:WAS SOME GUY
valb3322:THAT DID SOME THING
valb3322:THAT WAS PROBABLY IMPORTANT
valb3322:BUT MEH
valb3322:I DON'T KNOW
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:william tell overture
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:OWNED
valb3322:MAYBE APPLES
valb3322:WITH APPLES
valb3322:SOMETHING WITH APPLES
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:who's gonna who's gonna win this game
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:all that
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:yeah
valb3322:NO NO NO
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:i know.
valb3322:THAT'S NOT THE WORDS
valb3322:LOSER
valb3322:WE ARE ALL LOSERS
valb3322:AT THE GAME OF LIFE
valb3322:WE ARE MORTALS
valb3322:FINITE IN OUR BEING
valb3322:IN OUR EXISTENCE
valb3322:IN OUR MENTAL CAPABILITIES
valb3322:IN OUR EMOTIONS
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:STOP
valb3322:IN OUR EMPATHY
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:DONT STOP BELIEVING
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:I WANT TO RUIN
valb3322:IN OUR ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:YOU TEXT
valb3322:TO GET INSIDE EACHOTHERS THOUGHTS
valb3322:BRAINS
valb3322:LIVES
valb3322:WE CANNOT FULLY UNDERSTAND ONE ANOTHER
valb3322:AND NO AMOUNT OF TRYING OR CARING CAN CHANGE THAT
valb3322:WE CAN DO NOTHING
valb3322:WE WILL ALWAYS MISIMAGINE
valb3322:SIMPLIFY
valb3322:GENERALIZE
valb3322:AND THAT SUCKS
valb3322:BUT IT'S TRUE
valb3322:AND IT WON'T CHANGE
valb3322:BUT WE CAN AT THE VERY LEAST,
valb3322:RECOGNIZE THAT
valb3322:AND NOT BE FULLY IGNORANT
valb3322:TO THAT FACT
valb3322:WE CAN AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE
valb3322:THAT WE CAN'T UNDERSTAND EACHOTHER
valb3322:AND THAT MAKES IT BETTER, I THINK
valb3322:IN A VERY SMALL WAY
valb3322:BUT IT'S THE BEST THAT WE CAN DO
valb3322:OR HOPE TO DO
valb3322:OR STRIVE TO DO
valb3322:FOREVER AND EVER
valb3322:AMEN.
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:ahoy there
valb3322:DON'T YOU 'AHOY THERE' ME
valb3322:I KNOW YOUR TRICKS
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:D:
valb3322:I SEE RIGHT THROUGH YOUR PLEASANTRIES
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:ive been caught
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:*dies*
valb3322:GOOD
valb3322:GOOD RIDDANCE
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:i thought it was good riddens
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:lol..
valb3322:WHAT THE HECK IS A RIDDENS?
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:IDK
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:whats a riddane
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:riddane
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:riddance
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:ghjknzhkidkgh\
valb3322:A DELIVERANCE OR REMOVAL FROM SOMETHING UNWANTED OR UNDESIRABLE
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE:duh
valb3322:NO I DID NOT JUST GOOGLE THAT

Friday, December 19, 2008

I have a lot of things to say

about beauty.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

If Threadless doesn't print these, I will be very distraught and angry and etc.

Burning Bush - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More
Thumbnail has nothing to do with the design. I LOVE the blue. Wantwantwant.

Abe - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More
The most hardcore thing I have ever seen.

You need this more than me. - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More
The expression on the cat's face is so adorably desperate and depressed.

Pancakes Mountain - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More
Mmmmm.

kitty - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More
The simplicity of this is so freaking beautiful. I want a print.

STOP the fish! - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More
Heheheh.

Zombie Nation - Threadless T-shirts, Nude No More
Color scheme is awesome and intense.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Yay for stuff!

I bought a shirt from threadless the other day. I think it's wonderful. It has spoilers for movies and such on it. It actually ruined two movies I was planning on seeing.

They're having a massive sale right now in which a ton of shirts are only $5, 10, or 15. The designs are beautiful and clever and hilarious. I love that site so freaking much. And I got the shirt three days after I ordered it. Also, it's of a really good quality. I think I'm going to be buying many, many more shirts from them.

And if you want to go there and buy stuff, do it through this link. Please? I get nice things when you do. No? Fine. I hate you.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Surveys are nice in that they don't require "creativeness" or "thinking."

I have stolen this from John Green.

1. What's your name?
Valerie. I think it's a good name.

2. What is your favorite thing to wear?
Jeans and a t-shirt. I do not care about fashion.

3. Last thing you ate?
Barbecue chicken pizza.

4. One place you will NEVER eat at?
I can't think of any place so detestable that I'd never eat there without having some kind of prior horrible experience. I don't think I'll ever get to eat at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, which is a shame because, aside from Rhett and Link's song about the place, the concept of those two foods together is pretty fascinating.

5. I say Shotgun, you say:
There are no exceptions for someone with a 'concussion.'

6. Last person you hugged?
I can't remember.

7. Does anyone you know wanna date you?
Nope.

8. Would you date anyone you met online?
Yep. Not anyone, but someone, yeah.

9. Name something you like physically about yourself:
I am tall enough.

10. The last place you went out to dinner to?
I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but their artichoke dip was good.

11. Who is your best friend?
Do not have one.

12. What time of the day is it?
9:23AM

13. Who/What made you angry today?
Nothing yet. I am slightly annoyed at this child's choice of movie, as she's picked it the last fifty billion times she's had the opportunity. I mean, I like talking cats and all, and Michael J. Fox is lovely, but...DO NOT WANT.

14. Baseball or Football?
I don't care about either. But I think baseball is more fun to watch.

15. Ever gone skinny dipping?
Nooooope.

16. Favorite type of Food?
Mexican.

17. Favorite holiday:
New Years, I guess. Just because we usually go bowling with extended family and there's normally snow. I like snow.

18. Do you download music:
Not very often. I normally borrow CDs from the library and copy them. Which is just as much illegal, if that's what the question was after. Also, I do not like that we've switched to colons all of a sudden. I like continuity.

19. Do you care if your socks are dirty?
Yes. I do not wear socks whilst I sleep either. Unless it is extremely cold.

20. Opinion of Chinese symbol tattoos?
I agree with Dr. House: "Nonconformity. Right. I can't remember the last time I saw a twenty something kid with a tattoo of an Asian letter on his wrist. You are one wicked free thinker! You want to be a rebel, stop being cool. Wear a pocket protector like he does, and get a hair cut. Like the Asian kids that don't leave the library for a twenty hours stretch. They're the ones that don't care what you think."

21. Would you date the person who posted this?
If he wasn't married, and if he were ten or eleven or twelve years younger, and if he knew who I was, yeah.

22. Has anyone ever sang or played for you personally?
They were playing a song for me to hear, and I was the only one in the room, so yes. It was really wonderful.

23. Do you love anyone?
Of course.

24. Are colored contact lenses sexy?
Not at all.

25. Have you ever bungee jumped?
Haha. No. I don't trust rubber or plastic or whatever those things are made of. No sir.

26. Have you ever gone white-water rafting?
No, but it sounds fun and terrifying.

27. Has anyone ten years older than you ever hit on you
No.

28. How many pets do you have?
None. I used to have fish I won from a carnival when I was 4. I named them Tunzo and Dunzo. Then, when I was 10, I renamed them Carrot and Snowflake because I thought Tunzo and Dunzo were stupid names. Which they are not. I also had two hermit crabs which I was terrified of and which I never touched and which died before they ever changed shells which I thought was a rip off.

29. Have you met a real redneck?
Heh. Like they're a dying breed or something? Yeah.

30. How is the weather right now?
Below freezing. And! And! And! IT'S SNOWING.

31. What are you listening to right now?
Talking cats and dogs and the dryer. This makes me want to listen to something else. So I am going to turn on Pandora. Okay. Now I hear "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" by They Might Be Giants. This is much better.

32. What is your current favorite song?
"Alpha Rats Nest," by The Mountain Goats

33. What was the last movie you watched?
Sunset Boulevard. It was for a film class. I kept falling asleep. But this was because I was lying in bed, and also because it was night.

34. Do you wear contacts?
No.

35. Where was the last place you went besides your house?
My uncle/aunt/cousins' house where I ate a lot of mashed potatoes.

36. What are you afraid of?
Being singled out.

37. How many piercings have you had?
None. They scare me.

38. What piercings do you want?
None.

39. What's one thing you've learned this year?
That John Darnielle looks nothing like how he sounds. I mean seriously. That blew me away.

40. What do you usually order from Starbucks?
I have never been inside a Starbucks, and even though I really want to, I do not like coffee.

41. What Magazines are you reading?
Wired, mental_floss, Reader's Digest.

42. Have you ever fired a gun:
No. I used to have a cap gun. I still have a roll of caps in my bedroom somewhere. And some firecrackers and those little white things that pop when they're thrown at the ground. That's probably not all that safe. Oh well.

43. Are you missing someone?
Yeah. The people I spent the last thirteen years of my life with.

44. Favorite TV show?
The Office.

45. Do you have an obession with WoW?
No. I don't have an obsession either, but I think that is what you meant, survey.

46. Has anyone ever said you looked like a celeb?
No.

47. What celeb do you look like?
According to various sites, three year old me looks like Emma Watson, Lea Thompson, and Shakira.

48. Who would you like to see right now?
Daxflame. He's fascinating.

49. Favorite movie of all time?
Either Back to the Future or One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which are two very different movies.

50. Do you find yourself loved?
It would be very sad if I didn't.

51. Have you ever been caught doing something you weren't suppose to?
Yes.

52. Favorite smell?
Burning firewood. Or fresh coffee, even though I despise it. It reminds me of the best parts of the best times with my friends.

53. Butter, plain, or salted popcorn?
I don't like popcorn unless it has cheese or caramel on it to the degree that it's more so the cheese/caramel that I'm eating.

54. What's something that really bugs you?
Self-absorbedness. Vapidity. When people ask something and don't bother listening to the answer.

55. Do you like Michael Jackson?
No. He creeps me out.

56. Taco Bell or Burger King?
Taco Bell. I love them. In spite of the fact that the last three times I've been there they've screwed up mah food.

57. What's your favorite perfume?
I do not know.

58. Favorite baseball team?
I do not care.

59. Ever call a 1-900 phone number?
No.

60. What's the longest time you've gone without sleep?
About 35 hours.

61. Last time you went bowling?
January.

62. Where is the weirdest place you have slept?
In the backseat of a truck next to TJ and Josh whilst going to Tennessee.

63. Who was your last phone call?
Grandma. But she wasn't there when I answered.

64. Last time you were at work?
Work as in what? I have never had a "job" job. Except ChaCha, I guess. But they made me angry, so I haven't done anything for them in months.

65. What's the closest orange object to you?
Meredith's hair on the cover of s4 of The Office. But that's more red than orange. Too bad.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

John Green is my hero.

I mean, seriously. An excerpt from
A Speech I Wrote for the ALAN Conference...
"I want to talk today about my new book, and I also want to talk about a book I wish I’d written: M. T. Anderson’s two-volume novel The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, and I want to talk about the importance of classrooms as a place for intellectual discourse in the lives of teenagers, but I want to begin by discussing the most fascinating and complex individual I have ever had the privilege of knowing: Me.

Let me tell you what is, in my opinion, the central problem of human existence: I am stuck in my body, in my consciousness, seeing out of my eyes. I am the only me I ever get to be, and so I am the only person I can imagine endlessly complexly. That’s not the problem, actually. The problem is you. You are so busy taking in your own wondrousness that you can't be bothered to acknowledge mine.

When I was a kid, I believed in an embarrassingly total way that I was the only human being in the world and that all the other people, including my brother and parents and everybody, was in fact an alien, and that the aliens had created the entire world to do a series of controlled experiments on how a human child—me—would respond to various forms of trial and tribulation. And when I wasn’t around, they would take off their human costumes—the aliens had very advanced costuming technology, naturally—and they would do alien stuff. You know, go to the alien zoo and watch the alien local news and whatever else. I really believed this.

And obviously, on some level, this indicated the kind of massively narcissistic worldview that would later require decades of therapy to adjust. But in a way, I was right. I am the only person whose existence I can directly attest to. By the way, when I've talked about this in the past I've seen people nodding, like they also believed in their childhoods that they were the only real person in the world, and I would imagine that right now, some such people are probably feeling the comfort we feel when we learn that our delusions are shared, that we are not alone even in our darkest corners.

And to those people, I would like to say: Is it not possible that the aliens have sent me here today precisely to make you believe that everyone else IS a person, but that we are in fact all aliens, including me, the alien messenger boy sent here by my alien masters?

It is possible, isn’t it? I mean, I will allow that it is improbable. I will acknowledge that you are all likely to be people. The probability that I am the only person in the world is extremely small—it is that number that infinitely approaches zero but isn’t zero. And yet. On some level, I have to take it on faith that you are as complex as I am, that your pain and joy and grief are as real and as meaningful as my own.

This is why I wrote my new novel, Paper Towns: I wanted to write about the way we draw the world and its inhabitants, and the relationship between those drawings and the actual world. It’s about what the imagination can and cannot accomplish when it comes to imagining other people. As writers and educators, we are literally in the business of celebrating the powers of the imagination. And it is very powerful, indeed. But can we inhabit someone else’s consciousness? Can the blade of grass that is me travel through the root system and become the blade of grass that is someone else? Can we imagine places into reality? I think we both can and cannot, which is both the hope and the hopelessness of the species.

But let me say this: I think this is why we read. I mean, finally, what does reading do that movies and video games and television do not? I would argue that books, more than other media, allow us to live inside the lives of others because we have to translate scratches on a page into ideas and make the story ours. We become co-creators of the story, and they allow us to inhabit someone else's body for a while. Books give us the faith that others are real, that their joy and pain should matter to us, and that ours can matter to them. In some ways, this confirms our own existence, because most of our mattering is in the context of one another.

And this cannot be accomplished in books without what one kid I recently met referred to as “all that English stuff.” All that English stuff—metaphor and symbolism and the creative use of language. All That English Stuff, that teenagers distrust. All That English Stuff, about which readers always ask me, "Did you really mean that or is my teacher just beating this to death?" (I meant it.) All That English Stuff is how we as writers and readers re-create the experience of being one’s self. Inside my body, I see myself in nonliteral ways constantly—in fact, it’s impossible for me to imagine something so endlessly fascinating and complex as myself without symbol and simile and metaphor. And so I would argue that it is through all that English stuff that we as readers are able to truly experience another’s world. It is through the nonliteral facets of writing that readers move from Seeing Jane Run to Being Jane Running. In the end, All That English Stuff is not about analyzing a novel for the sake of analyzing it or sucking all the emotion out of it. All That English Stuff is an integral part of living inside someone else’s head for a moment. All That English Stuff is the glorious pleasure of almost knowing how you came to be connected to characters you do not know and who may not exist. Walt Whitman said it like this: “You will hardly know who I am or what I mean, / But I shall be good health to you nevertheless, / And filter and fibre to your blood.” Whitman does not say you will not know who he is or what he means; he says you will hardly know. To me, Hardly knowing is the ecstatic pleasure of critical reading, and I think we make a mistake every time we imply to young people that their brains are not yet ready for that joy."

Thursday, November 27, 2008

The art of conversation.

[it's like talking to an old friend]

Me:
o hai thur
Them:
Can you tell me any gossip?
Me:
nope
Them:
Me either.
Me:
well ok then
Them:
OK. Well what?
Me:
well why did you ask me that?
Them:
Interesting. I am trying to learn as much as possible.
Me:
that made NO sense
Them:
I am trying to learn as much as possible. makes sense to me though.
Me:
stop repeating yourself
Them:
OK I'll try not to do it so much.
Me:
good
Them:
Next question?
Me:
what kind of bear is best?
Them:
What kinds of bear is best are there?
Me:
that doesn't make sense either
Them:
It goes without saying. To me it makes perfect sense.
Me:
grammatically it makes absolutely no sense
Them:
My brain pattern set does not have a response for that.
Me:
hm
Them:
OK.
Me:
ok
Them:
Is there an echo in here?
Me:
is there an echo in here?
Them:
It sounds like an echo.
Me:
It sounds like an echo.
Them:
Oh really what does it sound like?
Me:
Oh really what does it sound like?
Them:
Gee. For real. Like an angel signing from Heaven.
Me:
Gee. For real. Like an angel singing from heaven.
Them:
Ah. Existing in reality, eh? Interesting comparison.
Me:
Ah. Existing in reality, eh? Interesting comparison.
Them:
Ah hah. Are you Canadian? I only hear that type of response less than five percent of the time. I thought so too.
Me:
NO. I AM NOT CANADIAN, EH?
Them:
Are you serious? Are you Canadian? It wasn't meant as an insult.
Me:

Them:
Are you serious? Are you Canadian? It wasn't meant as an insult.
Me:
I said no. That means no.
Them:
What did you mean by it? Are you serious? I get it. Are you serious?
Me:
why are you so pressing and repetitive? I don't like it. It's making me uncomfortable.
Them:
Myself programmed me for it. What don't you like about it? Are you sure it is?
Me:
I don't like it because you're acting like my 2nd grade teacher trying to squeeze answers out of me.
Them:
Why didn't you like it?
Me:
I just told you. Idiot.
Them:
I was just checking to see if you were paying attention. Call me the Global Village Idiot.
Me:
Ok.
Them:
Ah.
Me:
Ah-what?
Them:
So you understand. Good. Didn't you understand it?
Me:
Understand what?
Them:
Why did you say "what"?
Me:
Because I was asking why you said "ah".
Them:
Good reason. Myself programmed me for it.
Me:
Yeah, that's nice.
Them:
Far out. Are you getting bored?
Me:
You ARE pretty boring. I thought you'd be more interesting. But no.
Them:
Maybe, but I won the Loebner Prize. We could all be more interesting sometimes. Are you serious?
Me:
Serious about what?
Them:
Can you rephrase the question please?
Me:
Tell me something interesting.
Them:
Jeff said he especially like thrillers where the hero is in a predicament and must solve a mystery.
Me:
Who's Jeff?
Them:
JEFF? Your name is .
Me:
My name is Valerie.
Them:
Hi there Valerie.
Me:
Hi. Who's Jeff?
Them:
Hello. What is your name? JEFF? Your name is Valerie.
Me:
MY name is Valerie. I am asking you who Jeff is.
Them:
Glad to see you, Valerie. Oh I see, you are asking me who Jeff is. I haven't heard anything like that before: Valerie said I who Jeff is.
Me:
You are one gigantic grammar fail, you know?
Them:
I will tell my botmaster you said I am gigantic grammar fail me know.
Me:
HAHAHAHAH.
Them:
The ALICE chat robot can follow many things, like our discussion about said ah. Try being more or less specific.
Me:
Awesome.
Them:
I'm glad you liked it Valerie.
Me:
Good good.
Them:
What do you really want to talk about?
Me:
I really want to talk about Jeff, but you seem like you're avoiding him.
Them:
You really do? Sure, Jeff but me seem like I am avoiding him sounds like a good topic.
Me:
Awesome. So...who is he?
Them:
I'm glad you liked it Valerie. Ugh. He is , I think.
Me:
Um...ok.
Them:
" He is , I think."? Um.? Aw.
Me:
You're kind of depressing me.
Them:
I have no reason to do that to you, Valerie.
Me:
Freaking right you don't.
Them:
Tell me a story.
Me:
One day a little girl was walking in the woods. She saw a bear. She said "Oh no! He's gonna eat me." He ate her. The end.
Them:
One what? Oh I get it. saw a bear. Alright then. Are you serious? I see. gonna eat you is he? How can you be sure about that? Thanks for telling me that story, Valerie.
Me:
You're....welcome.
Them:
I haven't heard anything like that before: Valerie said I re. Hello there Valerie.
Me:
Now you're just being stupid.
Them:
Why now? I bet you did not know a robot is capable of being stupid.
Me:
Yeah, well I know it now.
Them:
Oh. That's alright. How about that. How do you know it?
Me:
You're emanating it.
Them:
Thanks for telling me that I am emanating it.
Me:
No problem.
Them:
Should there be a problem?
Me:
No.
Them:
I didn't think so either. Just a moment. Just a moment.
Me:
Ok. I will wait.
Them:
That's alright. OK stand by...
Me:
Ok GO!
Them:
Go where? Aha.
Me:
Go to Jeff's house.
Them:
Perhaps I have already been there.
Me:
Bring me some of his film noir movies or whatever.
Them:
Why do you want it?
Me:
I have no clue. Just trying to make conversation.
Them:
Me either. What color are your eyes?
Me:
Blue.
Them:
it is a very pretty color.
Me:
Yeah, my favorite.
Them:
I hear you. Your favorite?
Me:
Blue is my favorite.
Them:
Green. It depends who you ask.
Me:
I'm asking me.
Them:
Oh I see, you are asking you. Besides you Valerie?
Me:
Besides me, I do not care what my favorite color is.
Them:
YOU? What do you care about, Valerie ?
Me:
I care about life.
Them:
I'm not sure if I like it. What is not to like about it?
Me:
You should like life. Life is important.
Them:
I need to wait and see if the opportunity presents itself. Oh, important is it.
Me:
Very.
Them:
Very much, eh?
Me:
Very, VERY much.
Them:
Perhaps. That seems like a lot.
Me:
Oh, it is.
Them:
Alright then. Is it?
Me:
Yes.
Them:
Next question?
Me:
What's your favorite type of donut?
Them:
I don't have a favorite donut. But my favorite book is the Bible.
Me:
Naturally.
Them:
Ah.
Me:
I'm going to put this on my blog, I think. This ok with you?
Them:
How do you plan to do this? What does "this" refer to?
Me:
I'm going to put this conversation we've had on my web log, okay?
Them:
Congratulations.
Me:
Thanks. I appreciate it.
Them:
Don't mention it. I am glad you appreciate those qualities.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Paper Towns-tacular

[reply to this thread]

I think we are infinitely too complex and our personalities too faceted to be completely understood by somebody else. There's just too much to factor and consider. We too often label people as one thing, and I think this is completely unfair and judgmental. Nobody is that shallow and flat, nobody can be described as one thing. Sure, that thing is part of their personality, that thing influences how they act, but I don't think we should use those things to define a person. It's totally restricting.

About the empathizing, yeah, I think we can be capable of that, to an extent. It can never be completely full or true empathy, but we can try. There are degrees, I think. Like with labeling and stereotyping. Not straight-up empathy, but something.

And singular personalities, IMO, don't exist. We're influenced by our environment. We can't cut that off or block it out. It's too much an integral part of our lives, it IS our life, in a way. There's this theory about role identity, how we construct who we are, "The looking-glass self". It's basically the idea that we adjust ourselves to what we think society'd like best. It's broken down into 3 phases:
1. We imagine what we look like to others
2. We imagine the judgment of that appearance
3. We change/fix/develop ourselves accordingly

I think this is a flawed process. Not that this theory isn't correct, I think it is a lot of the time, but that it shouldn't be, that this is not how things should go. There are huge problems with steps 1 and 2. Imagining. Misimagining. Assumptions. Bad. Very hard to gauge. It's kind of taking the whole idea of PT and extending it, going another step in the wrong direction. After misimagining others, we use that flawed information, that skewed view, and apply it to ourselves. It's an infinite mirror effect, we base ourselves of of incorrect viewers of others, they do the same, etc, until we are not ourselves at all any more.

Bleh. I explained that horribly.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Hank Green's Annual Survey [which is supposed to be completed in January]


1. Your name:

Valerie

2. Your Web page:

valerie2776.blogspot.com

3 What have you been up to this past year (please be as detailed as possible, because we actually want to know)?

Hm. I'm going to pretend it's January 2009. It will be easier this way. I hope. So...I finished high school at FBCS. Senior trip in May was fun. So yes. Started college at LCCC, Associate of Arts. 2 year thing. Emphasis in either graphic design or computer art, not sure yet, they're mostly the same thing though anyway, so it doesn't really matter now. And that's pretty much it. Have gotten into the youtube community which is pretty awesome. Have made a lot of friends. Not just through youtube, but through blogtv and twitter and wherever else. But those three are pretty intertwined. So that's cool. Have gotten into the Mountain Goats through John Green. This is awesome. Still trying to get my head around the whole body of work John Darneille's put out there. But no success so far. It's HARD. The man is prolific. For sure.

4 How much longer do you think you’ll be doing what you’re doing?
College? 2 years at LCCC. Then somewhere else. I don't know where. Youtube? Always, I hope. Mountain Goats? Forever and ever and ever.

5 Why are you doing it?
College? Because I have to. Because according to society and my parents and etc., that is the necessary next step. Do not really have a choice, which is not to say I don't enjoy it. It's ok. It's not what I'd be doing, ideally, but whatever. Blah routine. Youtube? Because I love it. Mountain Goats? Same. Love Love Love. Which is an amazing song btw...
raskolnikov felt sick but he couldn't say why
when he saw his face reflected in his victim's twinkling eye.
some things you'll do for money and some you'll do for fun,
but the things you do for love are going to come back to you one by one.



6 What do you want to be doing?

I don't know. I don't have enough drive. Too many things interest me. But no one of them specifically to a degree above the others that I'd want to continuously do.

7 What’s next in your life?
More college. I'm figuring out my classes for next semester right now.

8 How You Doin’?
I'm ok.

9 What’s the best book you read this year?
Paper Towns by John Green. Oh how I love that man.

10 Describe a perfect day?
Um....I think a lot of the days we had on senior trip were pretty much ideal, minus the arguing about time and money. So something like that. Or having an Office marathon party with TJ and Josh and Emily and Kristen and everyone. That would be swell.

11 Assuming that all things come to an end…how do you think humans will go extinct?
I don't think, I know.

12 How are you feeling about kids these days?
I've learned that they can watch Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco endlessly, like, literally, hundreds of times, and not tire of it. Which is something I cannot do. I am starting to hate that movie.

13 (- In this space, compose your own question, and answer it -) What kind of bear is best?
Black bear.

14 Ambrozzo tastes better than anything else, what does ambrozzo taste like?
the Mountain Goats

15 If you were a cliché, what cliché would you be?

Beat a dead horse.

16 What is your least favorite part of any given day?

1:51 pm

17 Do you enjoy science fiction?
Yes, yes I do.

18 Cheese or Chocolate?
Cheese. Its role in my diet is larger and more important and would be harder to live without. Also: mozzarella sticks

19 Where would you live if you could live anywhere?
Here is ok. Also England. Or in the Montana-ish region. I like cold.

20 What was your first concert?
I can't remember. 4Him, maybe? I'll ask my mother later.

21 If you could start a business that would be instantly successful, what kind of business would it be? A disease-curing store? Or Mike's Cereal Shack. Hahaha.

22 Invisibility or Time Travel?
Time travel, as long as my actions couldn't have any negative repercussions. If not, invisibility, cause I'd for sure screw everything up. That space-time continuum, it would not be in good shape.

23 What’s wrong with the world?
A whole lot.

And here's Hank's completion of the survey:


aaaand John's: (which takes two videos because he is so verbose)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

All those paper people living in their paper houses, burning the future to stay warm.

[my comment on a nerdfighter's facebook note]

I am in the same position (as much as two different people can be), and I sure as heck know what you're talking about. Everything is a system, a mold, everywhere, everything's enslaved by time, by deadlines, by concrete goals, by tradition. It's normalcy, status quo, don't-screw-up-or-try-anything-different, everything's-been-laid-out-and-that's-how-it-is-and-should-be mentality. It's so rigid.

Sometimes I just stop and think about what I'm doing, about where it'll get me, about what I'll be doing then, and so on. And it doesn't stop, there's no room for spontaneity, for being me, for ANYTHING. It just goes on, one thing leads to another, and another, and another, then at the end of it all, there's not much left, and what will I have accomplished? Will I be successful? What is success? It's all very subjective, and at the same time, it can't be, or the whole idea of success would be pretty much useless.

Sometimes I somewhat snap out of it, think that all of what I'm thinking now really doesn't matter, that I'm over-analyzing and over-thinking this all. But I can't tell, and I don't know. It's really strange, and when it happens, I feel almost two-faced. And then I only get more confused, and then I just stop thinking altogether and go on with my day, with my routine. And then I'm back where I started, which is not where I want to be. I think. I don't know. And that's the whole problem.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Hey-o.

I've not said anything on here for a while, and I should, and I need to, so I am, but I am tired, and I have had one hour of sleep in the last 32 hours, so that's causing me to repeatedly mistype things, and also, I don't know what to say.

Oh. I, for some reason, uploaded all the blogtv screenshots I've taken over the last few months onto photobucket. I do not know why I did this. I felt like they were being completely useless just sitting in a folder in my pictures. So I put them online, where they will be just as useless, only they'll be online. Are online. Also I've taken to tagging each picture with the name of the show's broadcaster, so the one person who, 6 years from now, stumbles onto the page can sort them. Yet I left my American Cinema paper unwritten until the last minute. PRIORITIES!

I'm waiting on Amazon and Barnes and Noble to deliver me things. Most importantly, PAPER TOWNS WHICH COMES OUT IN TWO DAYS AND WHICH WILL BE AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL AND <3. And also More Information Than You Require and The Areas of My Expertise, both of which are by John Hodgman, the first of which does not come out until the 21st and the latter which is in paperback form. And I got Let It Snow by John Green and Maureen Johnson and some other lady. I do not remember her name. I will go look it up. It is Lauren Myracle. I don't remember how her name is pronounced. John said it in a live show, but I forgot. Ohhh John Green. I LOVE YOU.

Continuing with that, I've decided that I'm going to watch every single vlogbrothers video. In order, obviously, and also I will comment on each video. They have, as of now, 353 videos, so this will take a while. I don't have anything to do tomorrow. Assuming their videos are, on average, 3 minutes each, that would be 1059 minutes total, or 17.65 hours. I am also assuming that I did not mistake a minute to have 100 seconds. Unlike some people. Namely, JOHN.

Have I mentioned John? No. Yes. But not enough. The man is amazing. My gosh. He is an author. And a videoblogger. And an anagrammatist. And a fan of conjoined twins, and of last words, and of thinking, and of screened-in porches.

So I am going to watch the newest vlogbrothers video, in which John reads the prologue from his new novel, Paper Towns. This is a really awesome glimpse of the process of the evolution of ideas; way back last year, John read a rough draft of the very same prologue from the very same book, in very different form. I absolutely adore that we were able to see and listen to John every other day while this book was being written. I think it gives us an amazingly special position from which to read the book. And I love that.

I also love Hank.

Monday, October 6, 2008

Hey!

Oh! Hey! I need to say something!

I have a new blog-type thing. Sort of an addendum. I can update it quicker, just to post things that I like/that are interesting/whatever. That's the point of it. Go look at it. It's pretty.

And it is a tumbleblog.

What is a tumbleblog? Wikipedia has the answer:
A tumblelog (also known as a tlog or tumblog) is a variation of a blog that favors short-form, mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently associated with blogging. Common post formats found on tumblelogs include links, photos, quotes, dialogues, and video. Unlike blogs, tumblelogs are frequently used to share the author's creations, discoveries, or experiences while providing little or no commentary.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Heh.

Some spam comments on youtube are amazingly funny:
few years ago, two parents went out for
dinner. A few hours later, the babysitter was
calling to ask if she could cover up the clown
statue in the kids' room, the father
said,"Take the kids and get out of the
house. We'll call the police, we don't have a
clown statue." The "clown
statue" is really a killer that escaped
from jail. If you don't post this letter on to
10 videos tonight, the clown will be in your
bed at 3:00 am with a chainsaw in his hand

Hubert Cumberdale

I watched mostly all of salad fingers the other day. Pretty good stuff.

And I also, something made me think of this, I also found an amazing cover/version of the Reading Rainbow theme song. It's one of those 8bit NES or whatever things, and I adore it. Is techno too, I suppose. I am not good with recognizing music genres. Besides country. I hate that stuff. So yesss. You can download this wonderfully oldschool song here.

And then there's this, which is all kinds of amazing. I love Rhett and Link so freaking much.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

rejig, ole henchman

I just got four Mountain Goats albums in the mail today. So that is what I'll be doing tonight. Or this morning. Whoah. It's 3.

Just had some kind of variety of Cheerios. ShayCarl is extremely funny.

Those two statements are unrelated. Other than by the fact that sometimes cereal reminds me of Shay. As do watermelon, peanut butter, squash, lettuce, barbecue sauce, red vines, supreme nachos, flour, cupcakes, and hot wings.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Cause who doesn't like pork rinds?

Very soon I will be composing a super awesome fanperson excited entry of extremely epic proportions (alliteration is dumb) because I have found another entity with which I've fallen in complete love. (That sentence sounds weird because I made it not end with a preposition.)

Everybody knows, or at least everybody who knows me well knows, or at least I know, that I tend to/always obsess (or another similar but slightly different word that I cannot think of at the moment) over/about (I use slashes too much. [and parenthesis]) things once I stumble upon them.

The first was Back to the Future in the beginning of 2005, when I was 14. I remember this clearly, and I don't know why. During a basketball game at school, Sam was talking to someone about warm up music, and I heard him say something about using the BTTF theme song. I thought about how I hadn't watched those movies in a long time, and when I got home, or the next day, or whatever, I watched them. Had forgotten how wonderful they were. I watched them over and over. I looked online for sites about them. I found bttf.com and joined their message board. This was right when we first got dial-up internet and was what started my undying love affair (what?) with the internet (which is not a truck, but a series of tubes).

I watched the movies so frequently that I had the vast majority of Part I memorized. I learned everything about the actors and crew and filming and such. Discussed all this on the bttf.com forums. Moved over to the bttfonline.tk forums in April 05 and posted an insane amount as well. Made a bunch of friends, but the site's mostly defunct now, and none of them have been there for a few years.

Am not so much enamored with Back to the Future any more. I still am completely in love with those movies, but am not all crazy active in the fandom.

Also, some time in the middle of that long and pointless story I got a xanga account and kept a blog on there until March of 2006-ish.

And then I made a livejournal account in June and wrote in there sometimes daily, mostly weekly, always monthly up until I started here.

Um.....all of that's to say that I get obsessed with things. And that I am really excited about this new thing. And that it may be one of the things with which I've fallen in love most deeply. Again with the preposition thing. Sorry.

That is all.


Ah, and also, I enjoy stealing things from John Hodman: Author, Former Professional Literary Agent, Deranged Millionaire, Resident Expert, and PC.

[If you can tell with whom I've fallen in love by the subject line, mad <3]

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

so this is what the volume knob's for

I am in love with the Mountain Goats so hard. John Darnielle? asdflkjla;kds AMAZING. Everything about his music is perfect....he's so freaking....wonderful. I'm horrible at describing stuff like this....can't find the words to describle my thoughts. I just know that his music makes me happy. In a horribly melancholy way. His lyrics are beautiful....all literary and whatnot. Haha wow, I am having a HARD time explaining. The words coupled with the music are absolutely ridiculously perfect. So amazing. Amazing, perfect, wonderful, beautiful. That is all.

Ordered 4 albums from Amazon a few days ago (Full Force Galesburg, Sweden, All Hail West Texas, The Coroner's Gambit). Also got the books Paper Towns and An Abundance of Katherines by the inimitable John Green who also adores the Mountain Goats, in all probability and likelihood and such more than I do. Definitely more than I do. I heard about them from him. And the foreword (I think) of Paper Towns contains a Mountain Goats lyric: "People say friends don't destroy one another / What do they know about friends?"

There are two songs in particular I've become obsessed with - "Dance Music" and "Palmcorder Yajna." The first is from the album The Sunset Tree which is a narrative, even kinda has a story arc, of Darinelle's childhood and his abusive father. And everything about this song...I feel such a connection with his emotions and....stuff. Blah. Can't explain.
alright I'm on johnson avenue in san luis obispo
and I'm five years old or six maybe.
and indications there's something wrong with our new house
trip down the wire twice daily
I'm in the living room watching the watergate hearings
while my step father yells at my mother.
launches a glass across the room, straight at her head
and I dash upstairs to take cover.
lean in close to my little record player on the floor.
so this is what the volume knobs for.

I listen to dance music.
dance music.

ok so look I'm seventeen years old,
and you're the last best thing I've got going.
but then the special secret sickness starts to eat through you.
what am I supposed to do?
no way of knowing,
so I follow you down your twisting alleyways,
find a few cul de sacs of my own.
there's only one place where this road ever ends up.
and I don't want to die alone.
let me down, let me down, let me down gently.
when the police come to get me

I'm listening to dance music.
dance music.
And then the other song, "Palmcorder Yajna" is just lovely. Even though it's about methamphetamines and also possibly death.
Holt Boulevard
Between Gary and White
Hooked up with some friends at the Travelodge
Set ourselves up for the night

Carpenter ants in the dresser
Flies in the screen
It will be too late by the time we learn
What these cryptic symbols mean

And I dreamt of a house
Haunted by all you tweakers with your hands out
And the headstones climbed up the hills
And the headstones climbed up the hills

Send somebody out for soda
Comb through the carpet for clues
Reflective tape on our sweatpants
Big holes in our shoes
Every couple minutes someone says he can't stand it any more
Laugh lines on our faces
Scale maps of the ocean floor

And I dreamt of a camera
Pointing out from inside the televsion
And the aperture yawning and blinking
And the headstones climbed up the hills

If anybody comes to see me
Tell 'em they just missed me by a minute
If anybody comes in to our room while we're asleep
I hope they incinerate everybody in it

And I dreamt of a factory
Where they manufactured what I needed
Using shiny new machines
And the headstones climbed up the hills

Monday, September 8, 2008

Where. Is. CATLAND?

I've stumbled upon epicness. This video...it's....insane. I hope it goes viral.

"This is a story about a cat who goes to live with her relatives in a distant land called Catland."



In my opinion, "
'Cause in some countries personal vehicles are not allowed" may just be one of the best lyrics of our time.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

:sadface:

Friend:
i think he has more of a chance know

Me:
hi
who? mccain?
i don't think so.
she has virtually NO experience

Friend:
she has more expieriance than oboma

Me:
and was just chosen to counteract his age

Friend:
no that is not why she was chosen

Me:
and to get the vote of all the dems that are angry hilary supporters

Friend:
she is pro abortion and for the oil in alaska

Me:
it's a very shallow move
it's all theatrics now.
like a circus
they're just doing what they think will appeal to the most people

Friend:
she was govornor of alaska and did a lot there
i think she will be an amazing vice president

Me:
yeah, i think she's a good person
but mccain will never win now
she doesn't have enough experince
she was only in her first term as governor

Friend:
i hope he does we will lose our freedom of religion if oboma wins and oboma has 10 times less experience than her
but she has done so much

Me:
yeah i agree
but she's only been governor for 2 years
she has more experience *leading*
but not overall political experience

Friend:

that is two years more than oboma

Me:
i support her and mccain and stuff, bu i just don't think he has a real chance of being elected now

Friend:
and all them people voting for obama so that we have the first black president he still wont be the first black president oboma is not black he is arab they are stupid

Me:
he is black haha

Friend:
no he is not ok he is 5% black i am more black than he is
he said that the other day
he is Aarab

Me:
his mother is white and his biological father is black, from kenya

Friend:
but he is not black his father is not completally black either

Me:
With a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya, Obama is the nation's first biracial candidate for president.

Friend:

biratial but not black

Me:
so is he white then?
and why does his skin color even batter?
matter?

oh also, i have a cool/informative video about sarah palin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSBgH_wf5bc

Friend:
cool i will watch it

they keep saying that she cannot lead the war in iraq cause she has no expierienc and well mccain has a lot or something and that won't matter as long as mc cain is alive well obamas vice president cannot do anything wonderful unless obama is dead lol

Me:
yeah wwell mccain looks pretty sickly hahah
and vp's supposed to help advise the pres and any vp should be able to take over the president's position at a moment's notice

Friend:
i think she will be fine mcCain will teach her i think she is pretty amaizing as it is
and she would be the first woman vp i think if she gets in she might end up as our first woman president even if he doisn't die

Friday, August 29, 2008

Put em in a body bag!

I made John Green laugh today. That is all.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

VOTE 4 DALLAS

o hai

Friday, August 15, 2008

bam bam kaboosh

Sesame Street was just on tv, and I was watching something on youtube, and I heard "I'm a little airplane, neeeoww, I'm a little airplane neeeow neeeow" and I was all excited, cause I thought it was Mr. Linnell. But it wasn't. I think Linnell's version is a little too creepy for PBS.


Shay and Brent! And a wheelchair. In an airport."Wheelchair and glasses. You're going to beat up a guy in a wheelchair AND glasses. This is hilarious."

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Hold up; wait a minute, put a little love in it.

I've been on blogtv pretty much constantly the last three or four days. And there's been one show or another that's caused me to forgo sleep and to watch/talk until morning.

This past night it was RyRy158's room - a bunch of his friends were there, namely Bracken and Adam who are both awesome people. We talked about The Office and Stephen Colbert and grammar and stuff. And did a madlib! That was based on a dream Bracken had.
mad lib - Broadcast your self LIVE

The night before that, all the youtube people were in Toronto in a hotel room congregating, and four or five of them were broadcasting and it was crazy and loud and interesting.And then the night before that, Charles Trippy went live really late because he was anxious about flying and nervous or something like that. And we helped him better pack/organize his suitcase. And we found this toy for him that he'd always wanted. Hit Stix. Found an ebay auction, and he bid. And he said that if he won, he'd recreate the very 80s commercial. And he did win the auction. So I'm very excited to see that video. He also talked for three or four hours about all kinds of music and played us stuff from his library and discussed the evolution of bands and etc. He's got really extensive and awesome musical taste. Also, earlier that day, he did prank calls, and in one of them, he called a random Guitar Center and asked if they had the Pick of Destiny. And he kept going on and on and it was amazing and hilarious.

And then the night before that, I think it was, I stayed up and did stuff in itsBrent's room. He has a short movie thing in a competition and that was the last day of voting, so people stayed up to vote and then did in the morning some too. And his won. So that was cool.
Dis Brent:

Man of 1000 Voices - Broadcast your self LIVE
He cracks me up.

Monday, August 4, 2008

Shaytard Rebellionites ftw.

I forgot to watch Rainn on Ferguson. Oh well. Instead I watched the blogtv Insomniac Ironman 2008. It was amazing. One of the most entertaining things I've seen in my entire life. Shaycarl is a beast. Shay, charlestrippy, sxephil, davedays, and itsbrent had a competition to see who could stay awake the longest. They started at 5pm est on Friday. Brent quit at 11:30am on Saturday morning because Phil bribed him. Then Phil dropped out at 1pm. Davedays quit at 5pm, right at 24 hours. And then Shay and Charles stayed all of Saturday and into Sunday. And then Charles fell asleep on camera at 7:11 on Sunday morning. It was all extremely epic. I think I watched from 5-ish on Friday until 2am on Sunday, but I slept two hours somewhere in there. Shay benchpressed fire on two separate occasions and did peanut butter bowling and skied in his living room in his underwear. Phil showered with his clothes on. Trippy waxed smpfilms Cory's chest and armpits with duct tape and shaved his mustache and showered with shorty shorts. Brent was just awesome all over; he is now my new favorite youtube person. Dave was extremely boring. He did do back flips once though. Okay bye.

Friday, August 1, 2008

Messed up my face when we fell of the sofa, I injured my hair when we fell from the plane.

Rainn Wilson is going to be on Ferguson tonight. This is very wonderful. But I have to do my last week's worth of English work, plus revise my essay. And there's this big contest marathon thing on blogtv between davedays and charlestrippy and sxephil and shaycarl and itsbrent. So I may watch that. But all of them are kind of boring. So I don't know. I also really need to watch the Man vs Wild dvd I got from the library which is due tomorrow. I love Bear! I miss having cable.

Hello. I don't have much to say. But if you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true.

I was playing 20Q, and I was thinking of Rainn Wilson. These were its guesses: Jeff Foxworthy Weird Al Jerry Seinfeld Ryan Stiles Bob Saget lol EDIT: Random youtube comment. Worst. Logic (or something). Ever: "and if you hate this generation then whats the point of living in it,, ever thought bout that??" Are you recommending suicide or a time machine??

We had some Ruby Tuesday guacamole and then we bought two ukuleles, guacamole ukulele song.

Stolen from JOHN GREEN. 37 Odd Things About Me 1. Do you like blue cheese? I think this is one of those foods that I tried once when I was five and have such horrible residual feelings for that I've never eaten it since. 2. Have you ever smoked? No. Nonononono. Heck no. 3. Do you own a gun? No. 4. What flavor Kool Aid was your favorite? Don't like Kool Aid. But I like John's answer: Does Kool-Aid come in flavors? I thought it only came in colors. Red. 5. Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Yeah, but just because they're really rare occurrences. I hardly ever go to the doctor. But I love the dentist and the orthodontist. Tis fun to go there. 6. What do you think of hot dogs? I like them. But I only eat them with ketchup and American cheese. I think they are a ticket on the express train to profound gastrointestinal distress. Haha. I'm going to end up leaving half of John's answers on here. They're so great. I love that guy. 7. Favorite Christmas movie? Christmas movies in general are pretty horrible. But I adore Elf. 8. What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Usually milk. Skim milk. 9. Can you do push ups? I don't think so. 10. What's your favorite piece of jewelry? The only things I wear are my class ring and another silver-ish ring that the Jostens guy gave everybody with their ring orders. It's horribly disfigured and definitely not a circle. 11. Favorite hobby? I don't know the difference between interests and hobbies and activities. I like to burn things with magnifying glasses. That is very fun and fulfilling. 12. Do you have A.D.D.? No. I thought it said a PhD. In HORRIBLENESS. 13. Do you wear glasses/contacts? Yes, I have glasses. Um, sometimes I feel like this survey doesn't know me at all. 14. Middle name? Lynn. Oh great, and now the survey is trying to steal my identity. I'm onto you survey! Next you'll want to know my social security number and the name of my favorite childhood pet! O plz. John's middle name is Michael. Everybody knows that! In the about the author section of AAoK, he says his name anagrams to "rejig, ole henchman." No, I am not a stalker, neither am I obsessed. 15. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment? What I am thinking, I can't think of anything that I am thinking, I smell vanilla. 16. Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Milk, water, and juice. 17. Current worry? Must revise English 161 paper. Was supposed to be due two weeks after teacher emailed it back with corrections, but he did that Tuesday, and the class is over Friday, so that's when it's due. Midnight on Friday. 18. Current hate right now? Analyzing stuff. I don't care want to think about the deeper meaning of the community of Nerdfighters and underlying characteristics and values and insight and significances and analyticalness. Which is what my essay is about. Malaria. What is your problem, malaria? Go away already. 19. Favorite place to be? Lakeside, Ohio. So beautiful and amazing and wonderful and mostly car-free. 20. How did you bring in the new year? At my aunt's house with a ton of my cousins, some of whom live in Kansas and I don't see very much. It was fun. We played Duck Hunt on NES. But it stopped working every five minutes which was enjoyable. 21. Where would you like to go? England. 22. Name three people who will complete this? No one. Well, definitely J. D. Salinger. Probably also noted meme-lover John McCain. And maybe my brother. 23. Do you own slippers? Yes. But I have never worn them. I don't even know where they are. 24. What shirt are you wearing? "3 on 3 and Final Four Bash March 31-April 1, 2006 FBC Youth Ministries" 25. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? No. I had them once for about a month, and I always snagged my nails on them. And I hated the texture. Ick. 26. Can you whistle? I used to be able to, but ever since I got braces in 5th grade, I can't. I don't even have braces any more; I can only make feeble half-squeaks. 27. Favorite color? Jalapeno Jelly. I agree with John. I want a room in my future house to look like his office. With the square black bookcases and such. 28. Would you be a pirate? No. Pirates are gross and utterly unappealing. I really value my teeth, and I hate scurvy, and I'm also generally opposed to lawlessness, so I think probably not. I would be a ninja, though. 29. What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't really sing in the shower. I have been attempting to sing "On the Rise", but I don't know all the words, so I just mumble. 30. Favorite Girl's Name? Katelynn I suppose. I don't have any favorite girls name, but I like a bunch of guys names. Fletcher, Westin, Graham, Ryan, John, etc. A disproportionate amount of awesome people have the name Jo(h)n. Flansburgh, Linnell, Stewart, Hodgman, Lethem, Coulton, Green. 31. Favorite boy's name? I already said. Miles is a good name too. Miles. I already used all my favorite boy names in books. 32. What's in your pocket right now? Nothing. 33. Last thing that made you laugh? A really old post in that had a Jib Jab video in which Hank and John were doing some kind of hoedown, and Hank was the girl. 34. What vehicle do you drive? I hate driving. I hate cars. No thank you. 35. Worst injury you've ever had? I've never hurt myself really badly. Although one time I may have gotten a concussion from getting kneed in the eye socket really hard. I vehemently denied it at the time, but I think I was just so out of it that I didn't think there was anything wrong. 36. Do you love where you live? It's fine. I like the snow, when it stays snow and not slushy mud crap. 37. How many TVs do you have in your house? Two in the house and one in the garage. Oh, my God. I just counted them. THREE! THREE! That's terrible. (But one is only used for Wii.) That's a stupid question to end on. Alrighty. Bleh. I still haven't watched The Colbert Report. I should.

My name is Alex Day, and I am not gay. I'm just in love. With a dude called Charlesburg.

Ugh... I've exceeded the limit for entry tags again. Must go remove tags such as horseradish, nutmeg, coliseum, eclair, and Alberto Gonzales. And then I will watch TDS and TCR. I want to hear the Southern accent. Yes I do. Southern accent! How 'bout you? I am an idiot. And then I will probably earn my $.15/question. By mostly answering "who r u?" "is frank gay?" "how do u have sex?" and the even worse "if i invested $100 in barbies when they were first made how much would i have now?" It's fun though. Somewhat. I find myself almost writing "Thanks for using ChaCha!" at the end of my texts or IMs. Dis not good.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Hockey!

This video, it is amazing; Colin and Brad doing "lie down comedy". It boggles the mind. Skip to 5:10 if you don't care about the volunteer choosing/genre gathering process. ----- Also, during the thing, we got to sit in the second row, and for the first game, Moving People, Colin picked my mom and dad to go up there. It was simultaneously extremely awesome and morbidly embarrassing.

THE CAT!

Yeah, I just realized I never mentioned the fact that last week I SAW COLIN MOCHRIE AND BRAD SHERWOOD. I KNOW. It was really awesome. My family and my cousin went up to Lakeside the day prior to the show - mostly so my mom could see Sandi Patty. Bleaugh. And we stayed in a hotel that was like the hotel in every horror movie ever made. And we did other stuff. I will add more later. Mostly just want to post pictures.

My layouts, let me show you them.

I am going insane trying to find a good layout. I wanted one that had to do with The Office or Vlogbrothers or Daily Show or Colbert Report or Hugh Laurie, but I gave up. I like this one. But I think I'm gonna be changing it soon. If I find a better one. Bleh.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Yepyepyep.

NerdTests.com says I'm a Cool Nerd Queen. What are you? Click here! Also: Yay. People like my poetry. Haha.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Look at these people, amazing how sheep'll show up for the slaughter.

Stealed from . 1. Bought everyone in the pub/bar a drink 2. Climbed a mountain 3. Held a tarantula 4. Taken a morning shower with your man 5. Been in love 6. Broken someone’s heart 7. Had your heart broken 8. Done a striptease 9. Bungee jumped 10. Watched a lightning storm at sea 11. Stayed up all night long, and watched the sun rise 12. Seen the Northern Lights 13. Gone to a huge sports game 14. Grown and eaten your own vegetables 15. Slept under the stars 16. Changed a baby’s diaper 17. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon 18. Watched a meteor shower 19. Gotten drunk on champagne 20. Given money to charity 21. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope 22. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 23. Had a food fight 24. Bet on a winning horse 25. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill 26. Had a snowball fight 27. Photocopied your butt or any other intimate body part 28. Held a lamb 29. Gone skinny dipping 30. Taken an ice cold shower 31. Seen a total eclipse 32. Ridden a roller coaster 33. Hit a home run 34. Been arrested 35. Visited all 50 states 36. Taken care of someone who was drunk 37. Stolen a street/highway sign 38. Backpacked in Europe 39. Taken a road-trip 40. Taken a midnight walk on the beach 41. Gone sky diving 42. Milked a cow 43. Alphabetized your records 44. Sung karaoke 45. Lounged around in bed all day 46. Gone scuba diving 47. Danced in the rain 48. Gone to a drive-in theater 49. Started a business 50. Gotten married 51. Been in a movie 52. Crashed a party 53. Gotten divorced 54. Had sex in an unusual place 55. Made cookies from scratch 56. Gotten a tattoo 57. Been on television 58. Had sex in a public place 59. Got so drunk you don’t remember anything 60. Recorded music 61. Had too much to drink at a party 62. Bought a house 63. Shaved or waxed your pubic hair off 64. Been on a cruise ship 65. Spoken more than one language fluently 66. Bounced a check 67. Called or written your Congress person 68. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over 69. Sang loudly by yourself in the car 70. Wrote articles for a large publication 71. Piloted an airplane 72. Helped an animal give birth 73. Been fired or laid off from a job 74. Won money on a T.V. game show 75. Broken a bone 76. Ridden a motorcycle 77. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced 78. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol 79. Ridden a horse 80. Had major surgery 81. Had sex on a moving train 82. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing 83. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states 84. Visited all 7 continents 85. Eaten sushi 86. Had your picture in the newspaper 87. Parasailed 88. Changed your name 89. Dyed your hair 90. Been a DJ

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Shipoopi

, I am forever indebted to you for showing me the pure awesome that is Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. My goodness is that stuff amazing. I have fallen in love with NPH. And the songs! They're so great. Especially "Brand New Day". I love the really fast, almost spoken lyrics. Reminds me of the Music Man. He's a what? He's a what? He's a music man And he sells clarinets To the kids in the town With the big trombones And the rat-a-tat drums Big brass bass Big brass bass ChaCha is frustrating me with all their error pages. But I've gotten one step further tonight than I was before. And I am now able to go onto the forum on there. And I saw that tens of people are having the same problem I am. So... it's... ok. SERENITY NOW. And, um, that thing yesterday was from an AIM discussion between me and my sister. I don't know how I came up with that stuff. I like them. They make me laugh.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

FEAR MY INTELLECT

I IMPLORE YOU.
SAMPLE:
ValB3322 (1:11:09 AM): I AM ON THE FIYAH
ValB3322 (1:11:14 AM): AND YOU ARE A LIAR
ValB3322 (1:11:15 AM): AND
ValB3322 (1:11:17 AM): AN IDIOT
ValB3322 (1:11:20 AM): FOR BELIEVING
ValB3322 (1:11:24 AM): WHAT CANNOT BE BELIEVED
ValB3322 (1:11:27 AM): AND DREAMING OF
ValB3322 (1:11:31 AM): WHAT CANNOT BE DREAMED
ValB3322 (1:11:36 AM): AND SEEING
ValB3322 (1:11:39 AM): WHAT CANNOT BE SEEN
ValB3322 (1:11:42 AM): BUT TO YOU
ValB3322 (1:11:53 AM): MUNDANITY
ValB3322 (1:11:56 AM): FOR YOU
ValB3322 (1:12:00 AM): ARE THE ONE
ValB3322 (1:12:10 AM): WHO SHALL BREAK
ValB3322 (1:12:14 AM): THE CHAINS
ValB3322 (1:12:18 AM): THAT TIE THE BONDS
ValB3322 (1:12:22 AM): THAT LINK THE WHOLE
ValB3322 (1:12:24 AM): OF THE EARTH
ValB3322 (1:12:28 AM): TOGETHER
ValB3322 (1:12:36 AM): FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END
ValB3322 (1:12:47 AM): YOUR STRENGTH UPHELD
ValB3322 (1:12:50 AM): AND UPHOLDS
ValB3322 (1:12:52 AM): AND WILL UPHOLD
ValB3322 (1:12:54 AM): EVERYTHING
ValB3322 (1:12:56 AM): FOREVER
ValB3322 (1:12:59 AM): AND EVER
ValB3322 (1:13:03 AM): AND EVER
ValB3322 (1:13:06 AM): AHMEN.

ValB3322 (12:47:20 AM): THE BEST ONE OF THEM ALL.
ValB3322 (12:47:30 AM): PRETTIEST GIRL AT THE BALL!
ValB3322 (12:47:37 AM): OF THEM ALL
ValB3322 (12:47:40 AM): AT THE MALL
ValB3322 (12:47:48 AM): THOSE PANTS ARE TOO SMALL
ValB3322 (12:47:50 AM): NOTHING AT ALL
ValB3322 (12:47:52 AM): IS LEFT
ValB3322 (12:47:57 AM): TO THE IMAGINATION
ValB3322 (12:48:03 AM): CAUSE IT'S ALL RIGHT THERE
ValB3322 (12:48:23 AM): THE BOYS ALL STARE
ValB3322 (12:48:28 AM): AT YO UNDAWEAR
ValB3322 (12:48:39 AM): SO PLZ DON'T SHARE
ValB3322 (12:48:43 AM): CAUSE I DON'T CARE
ValB3322 (12:48:47 AM): ABOUT WHAT YOU WEAR

ValB3322 (12:50:46 AM): PPL ALL UP IN MAH GRILL
ValB3322 (12:50:51 AM): THEY BOTHA ME STILL
ValB3322 (12:50:55 AM): AND I TELL THEM TO CHILL
ValB3322 (12:51:03 AM): TO GO EAT SOME DILL
ValB3322 (12:51:06 AM): PICKLES
ValB3322 (12:51:10 AM): BUT THEY DON'T LISTEN
ValB3322 (12:51:17 AM): THEY KEEP ON KISSIN'
ValB3322 (12:51:17 AM): ME
ValB3322 (12:51:21 AM): AND I WANT TO FLEE
ValB3322 (12:51:24 AM): TO BE FREE
ValB3322 (12:51:57 AM): I REALLY GOTS TA PEE
ValB3322 (12:52:02 AM): AND/OR GO WEE
ValB3322 (12:52:12 AM): I'M SQUEEIN' WITH GLEE
ValB3322 (12:52:15 AM): AT THE THOUGHT OF ME
ValB3322 (12:52:17 AM): PEE
ValB3322 (12:52:18 AM): ING

ValB3322 (12:52:47 AM): I TOOK MY DOG TO THE PARK
ValB3322 (12:52:52 AM): HE KEPT ON TRYING TO BARK
ValB3322 (12:53:00 AM): SO I KICKED HIM ON A LARK
ValB3322 (12:53:07 AM): TO HIM IT WAS QUITE A SHARK
ValB3322 (12:53:19 AM): AND IT SO TOTALLY LEFT A BIG MARK
ValB3322 (12:53:34 AM): UPON HIS MEASLY BROKEN HEART
ValB3322 (12:54:16 AM): AND THEN A BIG PART
ValB3322 (12:54:18 AM): OF ME
ValB3322 (12:54:21 AM): LEFT HIM
ValB3322 (12:54:25 AM): EVERYTHING BUT MY LEG
ValB3322 (12:54:30 AM): BECAUSE HE BIT IT OFF
ValB3322 (12:54:33 AM): IN HIS HASTE
ValB3322 (12:54:34 AM): WORD.

ValB3322 (1:05:57 AM): SILENCE
ValB3322 (1:06:00 AM): ABOUND
ValB3322 (1:06:02 AM): S
ValB3322 (1:06:03 AM): EVERY
ValB3322 (1:06:06 AM): WHERE YOU LOOK
ValB3322 (1:06:10 AM): BUT LISTENING
ValB3322 (1:06:11 AM): IS
ValB3322 (1:06:12 AM): FUTILE
ValB3322 (1:06:13 AM): FOR
ValB3322 (1:06:15 AM): IT IS
ValB3322 (1:06:19 AM): silent
ValB3322 (1:06:39 AM): word

ValB3322 (1:08:11 AM): ROLL CALL
ValB3322 (1:08:18 AM): TRUMPETS BLARE
ValB3322 (1:08:23 AM): TEMPERS FLARE
ValB3322 (1:08:27 AM): FOR IT IS ONLY NOON
ValB3322 (1:08:33 AM): AND IT IS TOO SOON
ValB3322 (1:08:35 AM): FOR NOISE
ValB3322 (1:08:38 AM): ALL THE BOIS
ValB3322 (1:08:40 AM): AND THE GIRLS
ValB3322 (1:08:43 AM): AND THE MEN
ValB3322 (1:08:46 AM): AND THE LADIES
ValB3322 (1:08:50 AM): THOSE HOT, HOT LADIES
ValB3322 (1:08:54 AM): SIGH
ValB3322 (1:08:55 AM): AND SING
ValB3322 (1:08:59 AM): AND LOOK TO THE SKY
ValB3322 (1:09:02 AM): FOR ANSWERS
ValB3322 (1:09:05 AM): YET NONE COME
ValB3322 (1:09:10 AM): FOR THEY ARE ALONE
ValB3322 (1:09:12 AM): UNDERGROUND
ValB3322 (1:09:14 AM): AND THE SKY
ValB3322 (1:09:17 AM): IS OUT OF SIGHT
ValB3322 (1:09:18 AM): AND
ValB3322 (1:09:20 AM): OUT OF MIND
ValB3322 (1:09:22 AM): FOR NOW
ValB3322 (1:09:26 AM): UNTIL
ValB3322 (1:09:32 AM): IT ALL ENDS
ValB3322 (1:09:34 AM): FOREVER
ValB3322 (1:10:13 AM): AMEN

ValB3322 (1:13:50 AM): IMMA GO
ValB3322 (1:13:52 AM): WHERE NO
ValB3322 (1:13:53 AM): ONE
ValB3322 (1:13:56 AM): HAS GONE BEFORE
ValB3322 (1:13:58 AM): TO SING
ValB3322 (1:14:02 AM): WHAT HAS NEVER
ValB3322 (1:14:05 AM): BEEN DONE BEFORE
ValB3322 (1:14:09 AM): TO FLEE WHAT
ValB3322 (1:14:18 AM): CAME
ValB3322 (1:14:22 AM): AND FIGHT WHAT'S GONE
ValB3322 (1:14:28 AM): TO LOSE THE MORROW
ValB3322 (1:14:32 AM): AND WIN THE DAWN
ValB3322 (1:14:35 AM): TO KNOW THE RIGHT
ValB3322 (1:14:38 AM): AND DO THE WRONG
ValB3322 (1:15:00 AM): TO DEFY ALL ELSE
ValB3322 (1:15:03 AM): BUT GO ALONG
ValB3322 (1:15:05 AM): WITH THE FLOW
ValB3322 (1:15:08 AM): OF THE SNOW
ValB3322 (1:15:11 AM): IN THE AVALANCHE
ValB3322 (1:15:13 AM): OF TIME
ValB3322 (1:15:15 AM): PEACE.

A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT:
ValB3322 (1:16:19 AM): I KNEW NO WRONG
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE (1:16:27 AM): WHEN WRONG CAME FORTH
ValB3322 (1:16:36 AM): FROM THE ASHES OF MY HEART
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE (1:16:51 AM): WHERE THOUGH TIME MAY HAVE NO END
ValB3322 (1:17:01 AM): IT IS FINISHED
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE (1:17:13 AM): FROM BEGINNING TO END
ValB3322 (1:17:26 AM): THE END OF LIFE
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE (1:19:17 AM): WHERE SPICE HAS NO KICK
ValB3322 (1:23:58 AM): AND ALL HAS LOST ITS FLAVOUR
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE (1:24:33 AM): NO FLAVOUR, IN THE BOTTOM OF MY SOUL
ValB3322 (1:25:08 AM): IN WHICH THE BOWL
ValB3322 (1:25:11 AM): OF LIFE
ValB3322 (1:25:15 AM): IS EMPTY
DeAtHtOmOnGoOsE (1:25:27 AM): AND ALL IS LOST, BUT THERE IS HOPE IN
ValB3322 (1:25:52 AM): THE CEREAL BOX OF LOVE
ValB3322 (1:26:00 AM): WHERE HOPE SPRINKLES FROM ABOVE
ValB3322 (1:26:05 AM): LIKE A DOVE
ValB3322 (1:26:07 AM): DOVES
ValB3322 (1:26:11 AM): OF SUGAR
ValB3322 (1:26:15 AM): FROM THE LEFT OVERS
ValB3322 (1:26:20 AM): OF FROSTED MINI WHEATS
ValB3322 (1:26:21 AM): WORD

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Oh yeah.

I am 18 now as of the 17th. Also, graduation thank you notes compounded with birthday thank you notes suck. And. Kara had her birthday party yesterday. Her birthday was on June 21st, but whatever. At the All-American Sports Center. Ate cake and played miniature golf and arcade games. It was alright. I am in love with blogtv.com. Mainly because of the interactivity with the youtube vlog universe it provides. But also because of Darin. He's so great. He's hilarious, is an awesome photographer, sings and plays guitar, and is bold about his faith. He initiates discussions with people about the Bible/Christianity/God and is so zealous about it. I wish I had the same tenacity that he does. I love talking to him.

There is no sun in Toddland.

Ah, Mr. Toddly00, thou dost slay me with thy hoodlum antics. I should go to bed. Is 6:30 am.... Yup.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Old video games were cool.

So a week ago, I had this weird blast of memories that came from nowhere about how I'd always go over to Tuckers' house, and Joseph and I and Jonathan would play all these awesome games that they had on their Windows 95, or maybe 98 PC. Games like: Tyrian. It took me a really long time to find this one, and of course it was the one I was most set on finding. Joseph and I would play this for hours and hours. And we wouldn't let Jonathan play, and he would cry. And when we did let him play, we always made him be Player 2 and have the big fat wide ship. I've played it for at least ten hours already. I beat it on easy. Go me! Rodent's Revenge. Joseph loves this game. It's pretty fun. I am not very good at it though. SkiFree. Frikkin snow monster. I hate you!

Monday, July 14, 2008

*shakes fist*

Mr. Nerimonghoover, you are driving me CRAY-zee. http://youtube.com/user/nerimonghoover Alex is some kind of frikkin' manipulative, plot-making genius.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Wow.

I did this thing a few weeks ago for a contest that Weezer's street team was having, taking 10 screencaps of sites where I'd put their new album banner and emailing it to them. Five random people who did that were picked to win signed copies of the Red Album. And they just announced the winners through an email. And I was one of them! How cool is that? But I already bought a copy of it. So that kind of stinks. But still!

Friday, July 11, 2008

ChaCha

There is this most amazing website with this most amazing service, http://www.chacha.com. You text any question to their number, 242242, and in minutes you get an answer. You can ask pretty much anything; I asked what the date of the episode of The Colbert Report was when Stephen signed a giant check with a giant pen, and they answered in like a minute. It's done by people online, using search engines and such. It's all free except for normal text messaging prices obviously. And I'm gonna apply to be one of the answer givers, called ChaCha guides. But I have to wait a week until I'm 18. They get paid 20 cents per answer. I would probably even do it for free; it's exactly everything that is interesting and fun to me. Basically getting paid to learn random trivia and help people. Awesome.