Pandora's Box for thumbs down

So i have a problem.

i don't like a song.  In fact, i hate it.  It bothers me every time i hear it, and it comes up a lot, because there's a live version, a regular version, and a version featuring someone that doesn't really feature them.  i hear this one song more than any other band or artist in a day of pandoraing.  For anyone who hasn't figured it out from all the obvious clues i've given, it's 'New Soul' by Yael Naem.  i like the song.  i mean, sort of... but i can't stand how often i hear it.  

So why don't i just thumbs down it?  Because at one point, this song opened my eyes to a whole new world.  After giving her the thumbs up, i was rewarded with Kate Nash, who is now one of my favourite artists.  Snap, she actually just started playing.  She's awesome, pretty cute, and finds ways to sing about romance while using swears in humourous ways (humorous?  i don't know, i'm trying to be British when i blog to impress her).  

Yael also introduced me to Emmy the Great.  She's pretty sweet to.  She's like a teenage version of the movie "A Mighty Wind."  And Emmy the Great introduced me to the Born Ruffians.

All of those bands, from thumbs upping one Yael Naem song.  i only have one thumbsed up.  The rest aren't, but i'm scared if i thumbs down them, i'll lose out on some band that i would have liked.

i'm torn.  Torn enough to blog for the first time in a long time.

Why I'm ashamed of Christian media

There's a whole series of books, a couple low budget movies, and probably tons of awesome merchandise out there related to the LaHaye/Jenkins creation of Left Behind.

The books are okay, and i know many Christians that enjoyed them.  i thought they were average, but it was nice to read some Christian literature that was decently written (You'll note that i'm avoiding saying things like 'well written' and 'good').  Truth be told, i never finished the series.  i got bored with them.  Most Christian books all have really predictable endings.  We all live happily ever... we being the Christians in the story.  By the end of the conflict resolution, characters are either saved or completely unsaveable... or, in happier stories, the characters are either winners if they are saved or losers if they aren't.

It's fine, i guess.  Mostly because Christians have a 'good enough' filter over everything.  The Left Behind movies were based off books that made the best sellers list for the New York Times... not counting the copies sold at Christian book stores.  That means they made a lot of money.  Where did that money go? and why was it not invested into making quality films?

It hurts my brain.  At least it did, until i found this:

There is a Left Behind video game.

i've got a whole blog about the game, but i'm saving it for another project i'm working on.  i'd suggest reading up on the game though, and getting it.  My online screenname for IGN play is CameronForceFive

O'blog'a

My friends, family, and co-worker Mark, today is a great day for the The Geniousphere.  Today, i found out that President Obama is left handed.   That's right, President Barack is a lefty, just like me.  In my post-inaugural bliss, i realized that this was the perfect angle for any story, and contacted his people about an interview.

ring ring

"Hello, you've reached the White House, this is White House Press Person A"

"Hello, i'd like an interview with Obama, please."

"One moment sir, I'll transfer you to the White House Interview Person I."

"Can you transfer me to White House Interview Person V?"

"Of course."

Some White House Hold music is playing at this point.  I'm trying not to be annoyed at their less-than-immediate response time.

"Hello, this is White House Interview Person V."

"Hello, can i interview Obama?  i'm from the internets, and i write for a left-friendly blog."

"Certainly sir, he'll be over in a few minutes."

i turned my television back on and saw that Obama wasn't at the ceremonies anymore.  i wondered where Obama would land  Air Force 1, but didn't worry about it.  He's a resourceful guy.  He won an election.  Shortly after i finished

20 minutes after the inauguration, i had a chance to sit down with President Obama and talk about how things are on the left.  

"Hello, citizen.  It's good to be here.  I am your president, Obama!!!!"

At this point i'm pretty impressed.  he's my president, and he uses more than the standard 3 exclamation marks.  i noticed that he does favour his left hand a bit when saying 'your'.  It makes me feel like i'm noticed.

"That's a pretty self-proclaiming proclamation."

"I'm sorry if it was a bit much.  I'm just so excited.  I've come a long way for this day, and it's finally here."

"You have come a long way, i'll give you that.  Tell me, what was it like growing up a minority?"

"It was hard at times.  I grew up in a lot of areas where there was segregation.  I was alwa-"

"You grew up somewhere that segregated 10% of the people?  How did families deal with being split"

"Families being split?  No, the families stuck together, so they weren't really split."

"Sins of the father..."

"What?  I don't think you can judge a father, or any person for that matter, on something they were born with."

"No, you can't.  You're right of course, but there are many less 'forward thinking' folk who do."

i offer Obama a Triscuit.  He politely refuses.

"There are many stereotypes to overcome.  People all over the world think that it leads to messier handwriting, but your penmanship is very neat and elegant, did it take a lot to overcome?"

"Excuse me?  I've never heard of a stereotype of African Americans having messier handwriting."

"African Americans?  No, man.  i'm talking about the plight of the left handed community right now.  People say we have messy handwriting, but look where the binding is.  It's what's keeping us down."

"Left handed?  You mean, you are a writer for the most left hand-friendly blog on the internets?"

"Yes, what did you think i meant?"

"I have to go.  I have to get back to the ceremonies."

"Alright, see you later."

As he leaves, i began writing.  It's good to have a president as aware of the trials of being left handed as i.  Perhaps he'll bring me on board as his left hand man.  Chuckles.

Really?

You call yourself my friend and you never told me i could watch every episode of Jackie Chan Adventures on hulu.com?

Toothpaste stained my shirt while i tried to use it to unstain my teeth.

i wasn't really trying

an excerpt from my childhood

Alright, you're right.  You won.  You scored 12 points more than me.  i guess that's a victory.  An empty victory.

When your mom called you in to go eat, you still hadn't scored 15.  15, do you remember that number.  It was the number we agreed to play to.  Since you hadn't scored that many, i feel like maybe it wasn't a legitimate win.  It's like when the Bulls won their 6th championship in 2 games, because the other team gave up.  Except i didn't give up.  That means you're the one who quit.

Besides, everyone knows that girls couldn't beat boys without government tampering.  If the government hadn't given you super powers, there's no way you would have made that shot from the free throw line.  

So here's what we have.  You had 12 points, i had 1.  You gave up before 15, and i thought we were playing golf basketball.  That means you are 12 strokes over me, and not to 15.  i might also point out that your two pointer was suspect at best, because i saw your foot on the crack.  You can't count a two pointer if both feet aren't behind the crack.  They poured the cement in this driveway for a specific reason.

In conclusion, i won.  That's right.  i'm the winner, smelly head.  

My theories on Lost

i like Lost.  i'm almost ashamed of it, after how last season went.  Long, boring, and slightly out of control.  Nevertheless, i watch it and i'm excited for the new season.  The reason i'm excited?  i know what's happening.  In fact, i know how the series is going to end.  If you're willing to risk the series being ruined, read ahead, otherwise turn back to this page in a couple years, when ABC promises it will end.

***SPOILER***

***ALERT!!!***

***SPOILER***

***ALERT!!!***

***SPOILER***

***ALERT!!!***

***SPOILER***

***ALERT!!!***

First things first, some of the less important subplot resolutions:

1.  M Night Shamalan will show up in the last episode.  Not because he had anything to do with the series.  Because in a year, he's going to be desperate for work, and he could almost pass as Sayid's brother.  Almost.   

2.  Jack is a mormon.

3.  Ben is Peter Pan.  Not the real Peter Pan, but in his mind he equates himself to being the Peter Pan of the Lost island.  Hurley is his Smee.

4.  The Dharma Initiative made global warming.

None of that should come as a surprise.  i mean, if you've watched 3 episodes of the show, you know that Ben thinks he can fly, Jack fancies multiple women, M Night hasn't had a good movie in ages, and that blaming global warming on non-existing entities works.  Nothing i've said so far should be news.  Now you're getting into where the news starts:

***DOUBLE***

***SPOILER***

***ALERT!!!***

***DOUBLE***

***SPOILER***

***ALERT!!!***

The whole show of Lost is just a Coldplay music video.  At the end of the last episode, you're going to see in the bottom left corner some sweet music video text that says the following:

"Lost"

Coldplay 

The 6 Seasons

Bad Robot

Dir. JJ Abrams

Think i'm wrong?  Think about this:

• JJ Abrams has no clue what's going on, just like Chris Martin.  
• Half of Lost takes place on a beach, just like the music video for Yellow. 
• Coldplay steals things, just like JJ Abrams.  They (Coldplay) stole their most recent hit song, and Lost is just a remake of some the hit NBC show Crusoe (I could blog for hours on the similarities between the two shows).
  
• Hugh Laurie was offered the spot as lead singer of Coldplay, and as any/every character for Lost (Imagine the whole show with just him.  It would make way more sense).  If you don't think this proves the link between Coldplay and Lost, it should be noted that both offers happened on the same plane ride from LAX to Toronto.  If that doesn't prove the link, JJ ABRAMS OFFERED THEM BOTH!  Seriously.  The caps proves it like no link could.
• Each season of Lost is supposed to be played while listening to one of Coldplay's albums.  Season 4 was shortened, supposedly because of the strike, but really because of the fact that Vida La Vida only had a few songs worth listening to while watching Lost.
• Chris Martin is an anagram for MI CHARTA RINS, which is Atlantian for I'm JJ Abrams clone.
  
• The Dharma Initiative began in the late 1980s to write songs that sounded better while using Acid.  Regardless of what JJ Abrams switches it to, the fact is, Dharma Initiative=group of strung out hippies writing music for Coldplay.
• Lastly, JJ Abrams and Christ Martin have never been seen together...  You think that kills this theory?  You think that proves me wrong?  You think that makes you a tough guy?  You think you're better than me?  i've got more zeroes to my name than all the non-Honey Nut Cheerios you ate this morning, Mr./Mrs. High Cholesterol.  JJ and Chris have made it a point to ignore each other in public, but use other means to communicate.

i'm sure you're all wondering if there's any way to verify this information.  There is.  Use acid, put Safety in your CD player, and turn on Season 1 of Lost.  At the end of the season, i dare you to tell me i'm wrong.

blog out,

matt

B Train minus the post-hipster beverage

i was driving on some errands (important ones, i'm not a PA), when i realized how smart my brain is.  i was thinking about a video, when i suddenly realized something about myself.  If most people use 10% of their brain, i use 20.  And if most people really use 90%, i use 180%.  That's right.  i don't use 10% more, i use twice as much.  if you were a pc computer, i'd be two macs and a linux machine, all working together in harmony to build viruses to lol into your face.

But seriously, my brain is awesome.  

My next fun video projects are all stop motion, and the one i'm most excited about (so far) is a stop motion of a Furby singing "Come Sail Away" by Styx.  You read that right.  It's such a great statement i almost blew one of my nine swears on it.  If that doesn't get your goat yodeling, imagine adding in a tyrannosaurus rex stepping on sheep.  Got your attention now?  If your brain was working at twice it's capacity, you would have realized how awesome this was back at the word "My" in this paragraph.  Noob.

i cannot feel sorry for you, because my heightened intellect realized long ago that unlocking the key to my incredible brainpower wasn't in your reach.  One day, when you're bringing me a glass of chardonnay in the throne room your family helped construct before i had them all sent to the bean fields, you'll realize that i wasn't being cruel, because i cured all sickness.  So what if i enslaved mankind?  Even the best super heroes (if you had my brain, you would have realized i'm a super hero long ago) have flaws, and my flaw is far better than Superman.  i never left the world because i had a kid, and i certainly never made a movie as crappy as King Kong (makes sense to me, sorry pint-brained dweeb).

in conclusion, well, actually, i don't need to conclude.  It's not my fault you can't keep up with me, and i came to my conclusion before i typed in the title of this blog.

blog out,

matt

Look at this

In 2001 Nickelback had a hit song called 'How You Remind Me', where Chad Kroeger tells the complex story of how an airline stewardess reminds him of an ex-wife.  The band hadn't sold out yet, and you saw the pain and heartbreak Chad had endured.  I wanted to reach out to him, to tell him it would be alright, but my parents were cheap and wouldn't pay for texting on my phone.

I obsessed over the song.  I threw out all my Christian Ska and Furthermore records, and began listening to this new, raw, real rock and roll song.  'How You Remind Me' was the only thing that kept me from falling in line with all those zombie kids who liked Sugar Ray, Pink, and Lil' Bow WoW.  It was my anthem. 

After 'How You Remind Me' showed me that a man can truly live after love, Chad pushed me away.  With his track 'Never Again', I feared he wouldn't open up anymore, since I had been unable to reach out to him, and when I wept for the injustice caused by my parents, he released 'Too Bad'.  

For 7 years I tried to avoid his songs, because of the gaping hole he left in my heart.  Where was the man who wrote 'How You Remind Me', and how could he be reminded again of his awesome potential.  My heart broken, I fell back into the Christian Ska craze that had plagued my youth.  I turned the radio off for nigh on 6 years, until the need for traffic and weather reports pried open the fragile remains of my heart.

When i first heard Nickelback had a new single on the radio, you can imagine how I wanted to crash my car into a ditch filled with explosives and small, fragile baby giraffes.  I was so overcome with grief, I was ready to quit listening to the radio altogether. 

Until I heard the title of the song.

'Gotta be Somebody' or  The anguished cry of Chad Kroeger and his complexly deep soul.  I began listening retroactively to his music.  In 'Photograph' I learned about his past, and in 'Rockstar' I saw a glimpse behind the facade of his 'Rockstar' image.  Again there was more than just a heartless, Fred Durst wannabe in Chad Kroeger.

'Gotta be Somebody' is Chad saying to all of the loyal fans (like me, but not me, because we parted ways long ago) that he appreciates them and promises to deliver more touching songs in the future.  It may not be his normal style of song, but it's incredible.  You can see it in his lyrics.

A thousand times I've seen you standing 

Gravity like lunar landing 

That's pretty sweet, especially considering that space is the final frontier, and he's saying that we are all a part of his final frontier.  

You make me want to run till' I find you 

And yet, we're in space and he's running.  He's got super powers.  Chad is like Superman and the guy who was sort of like Superman from one of the last Superman movies.  I didn't see it all, and I was 10 when I watched it, so I'm not sure, but I think Superman and the other guy were sort of like Chad's illegitimate fathers.

I shut the world away from here 

I drift to you, you're all I hear 
As everything we know fades to black 

It's hard to even imagine what went through his head here, but my guess is that he's singing about how at concerts when the lights go out, he's usually unable to see the fans, but he can still hear them.  

Half the time the world is ending 
Truth is I am done pretending 

Chad has always been an active stopper of global warming, and he's finally bringing it to the forefront of his musical prowess.  How can you ignore the truth when the world is half destroyed already?  Don't be foolish.

I never thought that I 
Had anymore to give 
You're pushing me so far 
Here I am without you

And now we get to it.  Nickelback is Nickelback because the fans believe in Chad, but they sometimes push him farther than he can go alone.  Chad doesn't want to fall into where he was with 'How you Remind Me', but he does want to give us more beautiful music.

 
Drink to all that we have lost 
Mistakes we have made 
Everything will change 
But love remains the same 

A man like Chad has lost a lot, and here he reflects on his mistakes, and how there's got to be someone, somewhere, who will share love with him, no matter how many mistakes he's made.  

I find a place where we escape 
Take you with me for the space 

He's inviting his fans to go up into space with him... like a cult leader... but I think it's way cooler, because he's a rockstar. 

The city buzz sounds just like a fridge

After talking about space, he slows things down.  Chad had trouble as a child coming to terms with the cold air coming from his family's refridgerator.  His older brothers, Chaz and Chet, once threw him into the food cooling and storage unit and barred the door shut for almost 3 hours.  After the incident, Chad decided to forego the fridge, because the sound haunted him.  He wants to leave the city.

 
I walk the streets through seven bars 
I have to find just where you are 

Even though Chad wants to leave, if he can't find us, he's going to stay.  The Proclaimers walked 500 miles (and possibly 500 more, although that was an if, then thing... "if i walk 500 miles and don't find you, then i will walk 500 more"), but Chad says that he'll walk until he finds us, stopping at nothing.  He has to know.  

The faces seem to blur 
They're all the same 

These are the non-fans.  One day, Chad will bring all of us into his ship, and all of the non-fans will gnash their teeth on the outside, crying as we leave, knowing that without Chad, the world is going to suck.

Half the time the world is ending 
Truth is I am done pretending 

This time, the world is ending because he's leaving, but he still doesn't want us to skip on the recycling.  It's important.

After that he goes into the chorus, and that's all the same stuff.  You can reread it from above if you want.

So much more to say 
So much to be done 
Don't you trick me out 
We shall overcome 
It's all left still to play 

This post-second chorus bit is probably the part that sucker punches my heart the most viciously.  Chad really cares about me.  He wants us to do everything, but understands that we can't.  Instead, he wants us to overcome together, and maybe put on a play.  Knowing Chad, it will probably be a hilarious parody of one of Shakespeare's work, chocked full of modern jokes.

We should've had the sun 
Could have been inside 
Instead we're over here 

As the ship prepares to take off, Chad says one last thing to all the haters.  When he says 'we're over here', he's really saying 'me and all my fans, we're going, you could have come, but you were foolish. Peace, suck it, I'm out.'

Half the time the world is ending 
Truth is I am done pretending 
Too much time too long defending 
You and I are done pretending 

And smack.  The world is ending because Chad is gone, and he's not even going to pretend to miss the haters.  We're going to somewhere better.  No more defending beautiful lyrics to the stupid masses, it's time for Chad to quit wasting time on those who don't get the deep message of his song.

Chad has captured the hearts of millions, and I hope that all of the haters reading this will realize that they've got it all wrong.  Nickelback is the best band ever, thanks to Chad and his awesomeness.  Chad, I'm sorry for ever being a doubter. 

blog out,

matt

Swearing rules (not SWEARING RULZ!!!)

I'm a firm believer in the fact that there are times appropriate for swearing.  Swearing can be used to emphasize a point, make an average joke incredible, and just make the sun shine a little bit brighter, if only for a short while.  My dad has had a grand slam of swears (that means he's said them all) in the last 4 years, and they all came out in ways that made everyone in the family laugh... even if he didn't say them expecting laughs.  Who could do anything about the story of "a b!"

On top of being useful, I believe swear words have to be earned.  The problem I have with most sweary-typed people is that they use them way too often.  I mean, I've heard guys use 3-5 words in a sentence.  Cool dude, way to water down everything.

I have earned 9 swears this year.  9.  That means that Mr. Cool dude from above used half of my quota for 2008 in one sentence.  It might happen, but I earned mine from 3 injuries that were painful, embarrassing, and altogether unpleasant.  Since the first injury, I began compiling a chart on how to know how many swears you have, since ignorance is no excuse to overswear.

1 Swear

• Immediately following a stubbed toe (2 if it happens in the shower)
  
• Missing your exit and having to drive another 3 miles before taking the next exit... and it has no on ramp going the other way.
  
• Finding out that Obama isn't a republican (only applies before 2008 or after the election)
• Finding out that Sarah Palin is (must use immediately)
• Buying anything Apple makes the day before an "unveiling." 
• Dropping a first aid kit into a toilet, and then telling the employee who saw it who just met you "it's okay, the bags water proof," but when you open it, it looks like the water seeped through.  

2 Swear

• Being Brett Favre
• Leaving your car keys in the car, and then not finding your magnet key device, because you never put it on because you used that key when you left your first one in the car and now they're both in the car.
• Getting poked in one eye.  Then getting poked in the other.  
• Forgetting the whole reason you drove 30 minutes in the snow.
• Getting into a low speed car accident.

3 Swear

• Broken bones (3 per bone)
  
• Any injury that prevent activity
• Missing the game winning field goal
• Being stuck in a car with a driver who listens to Nickelback (or 1 Swear per song, maximum 10 swears per album)
• Telling the wrong girl/guy you like them on facebook because of an accidental tab.
• Finding out that the girl/guy you like didn't really like you, they just accidentally pushed tab (multiply by 10 if this whole incident takes place in person)

5 Swear

• Burning your toast beyond repair.
  
• Finding out your roommate does Quixtar
• Having cancer (5 is the lowball, use your own judgement based on severity)
• Finding proof the moon landing was fake

Downtrodden be damned

"The Caribbean Monk seal (or West Indian seal) has been announced extinct on Friday. This comes as a shock (at least for me - and many others), as this is the first seal species announced extinct due to human activities; now, it will only be seen in drawings.After five years of futile efforts in which not even a single sighting has been reported, the U.S. declared extinct, and also declared that no other seal species has been extinct because of us. This probably (and sadly) opens the way for more such species to become extinct - unless something changes.

The Caribbean Monk Seal was a relatively small seal (6-9 feet) with rolls of fat around its neck and brown pelage that faded to a yellow-white color on the stomach. The last recorded sighting occurred in 1952.

Perhaps what’s even more important here is the lesson that must be learned. Humans left the population unsustainable due to overhunting. To how many other species have we done this? This will (and already is) ultimately affect us! Take just 10 seconds and think about that."

Okay, I found this article on Stumbledupon.com, which is pretty awesome, but the article is pretty sad.  I was really sad when I read the captioning.  We shouldn't be extincting animals.  We should be unextincting them. 

Then I got to the part of the article where the writer says "This probably (and sadly) opens the way for more such species to become extinct - unless something changes."  

Really?

I mean, I'm against taking our environment for granted and destroying nature, but - um... I need to write my blog about swearing real quick - WTF!!1!!11!!1!!  

This probably opens the way for more species to become extinct?  Buh... um... I'm sorry, but what a stupid thing to say.  Our society is so obsessed with green right now, that every company is at least making some effort towards going green (or pretending to).  NBC did a whole week on going green.  Every political candidate (the seal article was written in June) was talking about the environment.  Everything is about going green.  People are using more and more cloth bags at stores.  It's a wonderful thing....

But I'm not going to be happy if I spend the next four years of the "Obamanation" (it's clever, because it sounds like abomination, which isn't how I feel about him, but I keep hearing everyone call it that, and I don't know who coined it in the first place, so I have to wonder whether or not that's why it was introduced) okay... the parenthesis there were needed, I'm restarting the sentence:

I'm not going to be happy if I spend the next four years hearing about how little we're doing for nature and how much worse things are getting, and how doors are opening for new bouts of baby seal clubbing.

Again, I'm all for the environment, but I hate when I read things like this.  I just want to ask this person "do you really believe with all of the new pushes for green, from consumer and government, things are still getting worse?"

I'm probably just tired, but when I read that, i could no longer stumble upon things until I had blogged about it.

Meg and John

My sister got married a few weeks ago.  It was an awesome time.  I ate really expensive food, had a really messed up Roy Rogers, saw my sister get married, and got a girlfriend.  All of those are pretty good things, but what topped all of that was the performance me and my little brothers put on.  It's one of the most beautiful songs ever written.  You can hear it here.

blog out

matt

p.s.  Go to my youtube account tool.  I'm still not convinced hits go through if you watch the video on blogs, and if you can't afford one more tab open, we aren't good enough friends for me to care about your opinion, and if we are good enough friends for me to care about your opinion, you should care about mine to.  This thing goes both ways.  I'm writing the blog for you, so do this one thing for me.  I think my post script was longer than my script.

Fortnight: Part deux

So you know where Fortnight came from, but I should tell you what we're doing.  

The kids are getting placed in two competing teams.  The Gourdic Vikings and The Gourdabon Empire.  They each have one Gourd ruler (in costume (pictures to come, I have to charge my camera before I can take them)) and their job is to build a fort around the Gourd to protect it. 

Each team will have string, sheets, and some pillows (and whatever they bring) to build a fort for their Gourd ruler.  The Gourd rulers are just, so the teams will want to protect their gourds.

After the teams build their forts, they will take turns firing cannons (fancy for throwing balls) at the other team's fort.  Each time they knock over the Gourd ruler they will be allowed to place 1 checker in a connect 4 game.  

Each time they have 3 in a row on the first connect 4 game, they will be awarded one new checker to place on a second connect 4 game, where they can win the whole game by connecting 4.

I know it sounds a little confusing, but these are junior highers... they'll get it.  I'm super excited.

blog out

matt

Fortnight

a week and a half ago at Junior High Group at Westwind an idea came about for an event called Fortnight.  The story behind it's creation is simple.  I started telling the kids, about how two weeks from now would be fortnight.  We had decided that two weeks from the night we'd do costumes, but when the kids didn't understand what I meant when I said fortnight, it became a really long and awesome vocabulary joke that went something like this:

"Everyone, two weeks from tonight will be a fortnight."

"What's a fortnight?"

"Two weeks."

"What?"

"Two weeks from tonight will be a fortnight."

"Huh?"

"Two weeks from tonight will be Fortnight." 

(please note, this is the point where the idea was fleshed out.  I think I turned to Katie and said something about "let's build forts!" and both of us got excited.)

"What's fortnight?"

"In a fortnight we'll be having fortnight where we build forts.  Wear costumes and bring stuff."

"I'm confused"

"You should be.  See you in a fortnight for fortnight."

Voyager

Captain's blog,

A few days ago I bought a new phone.  The *pause* voyager.  It *pause* seems to be *pause* just *pause* a cheap *pause* iPhone.  What *pause* does *pause* this *pause* mean?  

Okay, but seriously, the Voyager seems pretty okay.  Having an iPod touch makes anything short of an iPhone seem stupid, but I decided that AT&T wasn't my thing... neither was leaving my parents Verizon account.  So yeah, I'm 'stuck' with my cell phone bill being paid by them a few more years.  Sweet.

Having a phone that doesn't freeze after each text message is awesome, and I like the overall interface with the touch screen and a non-touch screen keyboard.  I'd give the phone a 6/10... assuming that an iPhone ranks about 8.  I'd say 6 isn't bad on that scale, and I think iPhones could be a 10... but I want to believe there's better options out there, so I'll put them at 8/10 and lol at Steve Jobs when he reads this post and realizes he has 2 more to go.

blog out

captain matt

Blog

This was my blog from last night, but I didn't submit it last night.  Instead, I fell asleep reading an article on Obama. 

So I voted Tuesday... Sort of.  I did the ballot filling out a few days early via the facebook.  I voted for Mr. Potato Head.  Mostly because I couldn't vote for either candidate without knowing that I had no honest reason to vote for either candidate except that they aren't the other person.

Obama might be able to do great things... He's young, ultra-liberal, and has some past history that makes me uneasy, BUT he's got the right attitude for our country.  If I was voting completely based off which candidate I liked more or thought looked more presidential, he would win in a heartbeat.  I also don't mind Biden.  I don't agree with either of these guys politically, but they're not total idiots.

That's where I get into Sarah Palin and, to a lesser extent, John McCain.  Sarah Palin was an attempt to beat someone with a gimmick.  If John McCain thought Sarah Palin was ready to be vice president... There's a blank spot here, because I like to think McCain isn't a total idiot... but maybe he is.  I read back when she first got put on the ticket that "she was the only hope for McCain in winning."  Really?  Then Obama won back then.  

To think, our country was a failing heart away from her running everything.  Gashlkajhs;lhjkahj  It's scary to think about.

So yeah, I don't agree with Obama on a lot of the social issues, but at least his vice president isn't a gimmick.  Maybe he'll be the messiah everyone thought he was... or maybe in 4 years the republican party wont try and run a John Kerry-esque campaign.

blog out

matt

Verizon gets a little less sucky

So apparently I could have had a free upgrade in August...

Huh?

What?!?

Back in September I went in and tried to get my antenae fixed and was told that I couldn't, because they discontinued the kind of phone.  Fine.  I can't fix it, but maybe you could solve the problem and tell me I can upgrade my phone...

Oh well.

Today, after hearing for the last week that I couldn't get a new phone yet, I finally got one.  Thanks to an awesome Verizon manager who happened to also not be a tool.

What a great day.  I went to the doctor, confirmed that my finger really is broken... but I can still play frisbee, and then had junior high group, where I got ice cream.  Ice cream + Naomi Safford = best night ever.  She's cooler than you.

Besides that, next week is fortnight.  Be prepared for video of the event, because I'm planning on having video of the event.

Click on the link above that says 'video.'  Someone please tell me who this guy is.

blog out

matt

Rapid Hope Loss

I was perusing a Parables catalog while pooping, when I saw the following two things:

Sinbad being used to advertise a Christian comedy?

And Christian rock (I'm just glad there aren't drums, or the right wingers would be up in arms)

Christians are funny.  I love the idea of a Guitar Hero game with a good majority of the songs having little to no heroic guitar.  

Well, I couldn't properly laugh at Christians without checking up on Godtube.

See, I check up on Godtube from time to time and search for things like "features" or "trailers."  This time I came across some gems:

The first might actually be a decent film.  Frank Peretti has some good books, and he studied to be a filmmaker.  His book "House" was a little cheesy... but I must say it was ONLY a little cheesy.  The film is rated 'R', and it looks pretty decent.  I'm actually considering seeing it.  That's a first.

Other than that, I would suggest anyone who wants to laugh at acting check out this little flick.

I had more, but Obama + Godtube being down(? can't load it at home) + tired = bed.

Blog out

matt

Cellular Phones

There isn't much honour to be had in the cellular phone industry. There probably was at one time. A simpler time.

Thrice I have gone talking to different Verizon employees about my phone in the last week. You see, my phone is currently in a sad situation. The antenea falls out constantly, and it rarely has signal. It also freezes more often than Vista (Ba-Zing).

I am sitting right now looking at the stupid thing, and all I can say is, Verizon sucks. I'm two days from a new phone. I've tried getting a new phone a few times in the last week, with the employees always telling me "sorry it hasn't been two years... you need to wait a few more days."

Screw you, Verizon employee. You're not going career at Verizon. Help a brother out, and let him get his phone 2 days early.


When Barack Obama gets elected, he's going to change Verizon.

November 3rd

I'm typing with a broken finger right now. Everytime I type a s, w, or x, it's painful. So are the capital versions of Q, A, Z, W, S, and X. I can handle numbers fine, because I'm a genious.

So how did my finger break? Great question. Last weekend I played in an Ultimate tournament called Hallowinona. My team, Gnarwhal, finished 2nd overall. All it took was a 5-2 record and a broken finger. I ran into some bumpy terrain trying to catch a huck from the distinguished Brian Lucido, and wound up on the ground. Shortly after falling, the guy guarding me decided my hand needed to be stepped in. I'm sure it was an accident, but only jerks step on hands. Period.

Besides the recent finger break, life is going pretty good. I've got a new job at a company called REL productions as a video editor, I hang out with the Westwind Junior Highers every Wednesday, and I'm on two Ultimate teams in the top 100. It's been a pretty good year.

Blog out
matt

No-Not-blog November

So, I'm starting to do the blog-a-day, or No-Not-Blog November. I can't post about it directly, and I started two days late.