As a writer for The University Echo, I get to hear all sorts of really stupid ideas that the Student Government comes up with. Sometimes, I get to hear some pretty good ideas as well, but most of those get marred by senates making dumb comments on them.
But today, I got to wondering about the nature of one of the bills that was posted. First though, I need to put a bit of background up. In September, I don't remember the date, a student killed himself on campus and was discovered by his girlfriend. Due to the ethics of publications, no stories were run about his death following it, but every student received an e-mail about his death, just not what he died from, or that he did it himself. (It's considered unethical to report suicides out of respect. When they are reported, the method is left out in order to prevent copy cats. Weird, but true.)
So, unsurprisingly, his death was a curiosity for most of the students here. That is, until The University Echo ran a story about the kid. His name was included because the parents gave the OK, but the girlfriend's name was withheld and his methods remain a mystery. Well, not totally, but I'm trying to tell a story.
So now, the topic at hand. The Student Government is honoring the kid with a tree. Now, the fact that it is a tree is unsurprising. Anytime SGA wants to honor something, it's in the form of a tree. But what I find strange about it is that the kid killed himself. If it was an accident, then it's tragic and honoring the dead is fine. But doesn't it send the wrong message to immortalize a boy who took his own life for taking his own life? I mean, now I know that if I want a permanent monument that people will see for years to come, I should just kill myself. Granted, I enjoy living, but if I were more depressed and sitting on the fence, knowing that I was going to honored in death would tip me over the edge. I don't mean to trivialize Cameron's death, because whatever caused him to do it wasn't knowledge he would get a tree. It's tragic that he felt their was no hope and he took his life, and it's important to pay respects to him. But why should he be honored for giving up?
30.10.07
23.10.07
Update
Well, I haven't been making so much progress with my book recently. At lease constructive work. I've done a lot of thinking involving some of the background of the characters as well as some of the history of the universe. I know I haven't been updating as often as I should, but hey, what can I do. Actually, I'm considering opening a review blog, or at least adding reviews to this one that discuss different movies or games, sometimes music. I don't know.
18.10.07
Creativity
Out of all things that piss me off, doubt in creativity is one of the biggest ones. I hate it when I hear someone say, "They must have been tripping acid while making this game," when someone plays a video game like Killer 7 or Loco Roco. It isn't like creativity only exists when you do drugs. I'm a very creative person and I've never done drugs. I never will.
I consider the thought process that leads to the belief that "Mario Party had to have been created by someone high," as insulting. It suggests that creativity isn't natural and has to be induced with a chemical reaction in the brain.
So does that mean anyone who is creative is just fucked up in the head? If I think outside the box something in my brain is just continuously high?
It is my personal belief that that thought process is just corrupt. It shows that the person saying that has no original thoughts. Or that those same chemical processes have already damaged their brain beyond the ability to process anything extraordinary. Either way is pretty sad.
But I am curious. What does it feel like to be devoid of creativity?
I consider the thought process that leads to the belief that "Mario Party had to have been created by someone high," as insulting. It suggests that creativity isn't natural and has to be induced with a chemical reaction in the brain.
So does that mean anyone who is creative is just fucked up in the head? If I think outside the box something in my brain is just continuously high?
It is my personal belief that that thought process is just corrupt. It shows that the person saying that has no original thoughts. Or that those same chemical processes have already damaged their brain beyond the ability to process anything extraordinary. Either way is pretty sad.
But I am curious. What does it feel like to be devoid of creativity?
1.10.07
RTS-87 Icebox
Well, here's my first update detailing something from my book. I wanted to start with one of the important ships which is piloted by Captain Sangsou Strykejern and his co-captain Morbira Katsuki. The ship, titled The Bad Ass White Lobster, is one of the main focuses of the story. The ship, it's name, and it's crew are a bit comical, but the story itself is meant to be serious.
The ship is of the model RTS-87 Icebox under the model number convention at it was designed and built by Rein Transport for the use of transporting frozen goods. While the ship was quickly replaced by the RTS-88 Freesia, the Icebox was considered more flexible and therefore was still used by some companies. The statistics are as follows:
Model: RTS-87 Icebox
Unit Type: Transport
Manufacturer: Rein Transport
Operator: Many food service corporations. Typically used by Earthlings, some other races, especially those allied with the United Earth Government have been known to use them.
Length: 200 meters
Equipment: 2x loader arms designed to lift items, some of the last few Iceboxes were equipped with the experimental AI system "XAL Type 33"
The next entry will detail the RTSX-87-BAWL Bad Ass White Lobster itself.
The ship is of the model RTS-87 Icebox under the model number convention at it was designed and built by Rein Transport for the use of transporting frozen goods. While the ship was quickly replaced by the RTS-88 Freesia, the Icebox was considered more flexible and therefore was still used by some companies. The statistics are as follows:
Model: RTS-87 Icebox
Unit Type: Transport
Manufacturer: Rein Transport
Operator: Many food service corporations. Typically used by Earthlings, some other races, especially those allied with the United Earth Government have been known to use them.
Length: 200 meters
Equipment: 2x loader arms designed to lift items, some of the last few Iceboxes were equipped with the experimental AI system "XAL Type 33"
The next entry will detail the RTSX-87-BAWL Bad Ass White Lobster itself.
20.9.07
Peelander-Z, The Captains, The Emeralds
Last night I went to a pretty awesome concert staring Peelander-Z, with The Emeralds and The Captains opening. I was very impressed with The Captains, even though I have never heard them before. Really their performance would have been much better if they had a larger crowd. They need the crowd to dance and get involved, but they had a hard time pitching that idea to a crowd of 20 or so mostly male audience members. They have a very 60's Japanese type sound that they called "Group Sounds". They described themselves as "The Last Group Sounds" since there probably aren't any other bands that still sound like this. It was their first US tour, and I doubt they'll return to Chattanooga anytime soon, unless they hook up with the radically different Peelander Z again.
The second band was The Emeralds. They have more of a surf-rock kind of sound. In some respects, they remind me of the pillows, but I'm not sure why. I've listened to them for a while, and I had bought music from them on iTunes, but I wasn't prepared for something this awesome. The Emeralds truly shine when playing live. They made sure everyone was as close to the stage as possible and they had everyone sing along whenever possible. The Emeralds are the best band that isn't TsuShiMaMiRe that I've seen play live. Until I see another female bassist kick her leg over her head while rocking out, TsuShiMaMiRe will remain in a league of their own.
The final show was Peelander-Z. Peelander is just plain fun. Everyone becomes part of Peelander-Z and things just go insane. This show Peelander was better than ever because they had a very small crowd. This dragged everyone in the room into the performance which really made it something special. At one point, one of the members of The Captains was on stage playing the guitar, some random girl was playing Peelander Red's bass, a random guy was on the drums and the audience was beating on random instruments that were tossed to us. I was standing next to one of the Emeralds and we were both beating away on our random metal pieces we were given. It was just plain awesome.
The second band was The Emeralds. They have more of a surf-rock kind of sound. In some respects, they remind me of the pillows, but I'm not sure why. I've listened to them for a while, and I had bought music from them on iTunes, but I wasn't prepared for something this awesome. The Emeralds truly shine when playing live. They made sure everyone was as close to the stage as possible and they had everyone sing along whenever possible. The Emeralds are the best band that isn't TsuShiMaMiRe that I've seen play live. Until I see another female bassist kick her leg over her head while rocking out, TsuShiMaMiRe will remain in a league of their own.
The final show was Peelander-Z. Peelander is just plain fun. Everyone becomes part of Peelander-Z and things just go insane. This show Peelander was better than ever because they had a very small crowd. This dragged everyone in the room into the performance which really made it something special. At one point, one of the members of The Captains was on stage playing the guitar, some random girl was playing Peelander Red's bass, a random guy was on the drums and the audience was beating on random instruments that were tossed to us. I was standing next to one of the Emeralds and we were both beating away on our random metal pieces we were given. It was just plain awesome.
19.9.07
Fencing, etc.
So I'm fencing now. I had a club meeting last night. Fencing's pretty fun. I'm no pro at it, but I'm learning. I'm an épée fencer. An épée is the heaviest sword as well as the only sword in which you can score by hitting any part of your opponent. I'd like to learn to use a saber as well, but I enjoy the prospect of having to guard my entire body. I'm on the taller side of people on my team as well, which gives me a reach advantage.
I participated in my first scored bouts this Tuesday. I lost my first match, but won my second. Pretty much the whole night I alternated between winning and losing. I felt that wasn't bad for my first go at scored matches. I'll need to get better though.
I participated in my first scored bouts this Tuesday. I lost my first match, but won my second. Pretty much the whole night I alternated between winning and losing. I felt that wasn't bad for my first go at scored matches. I'll need to get better though.
18.9.07
The Book
Well, as some people know, and others...well, don't, I'm writing a book. Right now I'm about 30 pages into the process, and, I'm not totally sure, but my pacing seems way off. As long as I get the basis down. The entire book is finished...in my head, but it just needs to get off onto the paper. I have the problem of when I work on writing sometimes I get distracted with some new idea and I want to start writing a different book.
A brief rundown of what's up with it is the main three character's planet is destroyed by a massive planet eating ship that uses the core of the planet as a power source. There is more to the ship than that, but I'm only giving a very vague amount of information here.
So the three are now homeless, their families and friends are all dead. They team up with an eccentric ship captain in hopes of stopping the black ship from destroying anyone else's home.
While yes, it does very much follow the typical "Space Opera" style of larger than life heroics and an evil that threatens the universe, I hope to make it very interesting and compelling while still paying tribute to that style. Keep your eyes open, I'll upload more information every once and a while.
A brief rundown of what's up with it is the main three character's planet is destroyed by a massive planet eating ship that uses the core of the planet as a power source. There is more to the ship than that, but I'm only giving a very vague amount of information here.
So the three are now homeless, their families and friends are all dead. They team up with an eccentric ship captain in hopes of stopping the black ship from destroying anyone else's home.
While yes, it does very much follow the typical "Space Opera" style of larger than life heroics and an evil that threatens the universe, I hope to make it very interesting and compelling while still paying tribute to that style. Keep your eyes open, I'll upload more information every once and a while.
So lazy.
I really get pretty lazy. I have not updated this since May. May. That was quite some time ago. I mean...since then I've been to Japan, got to see my lovely girlfriend, poisoned a man on accident, learned at least a dozen recipes, began fencing, told a girl's fortune, restored contact with my sister, met a really kick ass guy from New Zealand, and started school back up. Alright, I suppose I'll now update every day (-ish).
18.5.07
Poisoning, Work, Apocalypse
Well, I was poisoned. Ate some bad food. That's not why I didn't update. I didn't update because I'm lazy. But the poisoning lasted almost all week. It was not enjoyable.
On the job front I'm an agent for Staffing Solutions. My first (and only) assignment for this summer is to work as a Talbot call center associate. At 8.50 an hour I can't complain. It's not a hard job, but it really isn't interesting. And I just gotta go for a month. After that's up, I'm down and out into Japan. I can endure any sort of painful horrible work if it's only going to last a couple months and ends with a trip to Japan topped off with a fated reunion with my beloved.
In all honesty, this is the first time that I've been deathly ill and can still say that it was a great week. I think it'd be the same if the world was ending. No matter what shit I have to put up with from my parent's divorce, my unemployment, long distance relationship, etc. I know it'll all be gone in July. How can I feel blue if every problem I have will burn to ashes in a month? Conversely, August will be exceptionally depressing. Problems are like a pheonix. They burn away and vanish, but they'll always rise from the ashes when you think you're done with them.
On the job front I'm an agent for Staffing Solutions. My first (and only) assignment for this summer is to work as a Talbot call center associate. At 8.50 an hour I can't complain. It's not a hard job, but it really isn't interesting. And I just gotta go for a month. After that's up, I'm down and out into Japan. I can endure any sort of painful horrible work if it's only going to last a couple months and ends with a trip to Japan topped off with a fated reunion with my beloved.
In all honesty, this is the first time that I've been deathly ill and can still say that it was a great week. I think it'd be the same if the world was ending. No matter what shit I have to put up with from my parent's divorce, my unemployment, long distance relationship, etc. I know it'll all be gone in July. How can I feel blue if every problem I have will burn to ashes in a month? Conversely, August will be exceptionally depressing. Problems are like a pheonix. They burn away and vanish, but they'll always rise from the ashes when you think you're done with them.
3.5.07
What I'm watching.
I felt it would be interesting to post up some of the crap I'm watching. Perhaps not.
First, American Drama Heroes. It's like a comic book in the form of a drama. I can't resist it. It is one of the very, very few popular TV dramas that I would actually watch from week to week. Right now it's nearing the end of a season so it's getting rather intense.
Sexy Voice and Robo, interestingly enough, another drama. This one's a Japanese drama. It's about a middle school girl who can imitate and recognize voices really well and a giant robot geek. The two of them become spies kinda by mistake. It's funny and interesting.
Well, this probably comes as no surprise.... Gundam Seed. I'm a Gundam fan at heart. I can't resist the allure of giant robots, and Seed is actually, very much to my surprise, well written, action packed and not what I expected. I recommend it to anyone.....who love giant robots or Gundams.
These are all the new shows I'm getting into at this time. As for old contenders, I watch Penn & Teller's Bullshit. Additionally I'm getting back into GARO. Granted, it's over and no longer airing, I love re watching the episodes. Unfortunately, I can't get anyone to watch it with me other than Aaron. And he's in Portland now. No one's willing to watch it because it's a Tokusatsu program. But it's not normal tokusatsu. GARO is very dark and full of lots of details, aesthetically pleasing design, and some of the best fight scenes in existence. Seriously, Kodama's fight against Kouga is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
Any of you interested in checking out some of these shows can watch Heroes on NBC on Mondays. As for Gundam Seed, check it out on DVD, but only if you can find it unedited. The Cartoon Network version isn't so good. Sexy Voice and Robo as well as GARO are not aired or licensed for US distribution. Those interested in seeing them can download them (with subtitles) from Tv-Nihon. Or of course, anyone can see any of those programs by going through me.
First, American Drama Heroes. It's like a comic book in the form of a drama. I can't resist it. It is one of the very, very few popular TV dramas that I would actually watch from week to week. Right now it's nearing the end of a season so it's getting rather intense.
Sexy Voice and Robo, interestingly enough, another drama. This one's a Japanese drama. It's about a middle school girl who can imitate and recognize voices really well and a giant robot geek. The two of them become spies kinda by mistake. It's funny and interesting.
Well, this probably comes as no surprise.... Gundam Seed. I'm a Gundam fan at heart. I can't resist the allure of giant robots, and Seed is actually, very much to my surprise, well written, action packed and not what I expected. I recommend it to anyone.....who love giant robots or Gundams.
These are all the new shows I'm getting into at this time. As for old contenders, I watch Penn & Teller's Bullshit. Additionally I'm getting back into GARO. Granted, it's over and no longer airing, I love re watching the episodes. Unfortunately, I can't get anyone to watch it with me other than Aaron. And he's in Portland now. No one's willing to watch it because it's a Tokusatsu program. But it's not normal tokusatsu. GARO is very dark and full of lots of details, aesthetically pleasing design, and some of the best fight scenes in existence. Seriously, Kodama's fight against Kouga is one of the coolest things I've ever seen.
Any of you interested in checking out some of these shows can watch Heroes on NBC on Mondays. As for Gundam Seed, check it out on DVD, but only if you can find it unedited. The Cartoon Network version isn't so good. Sexy Voice and Robo as well as GARO are not aired or licensed for US distribution. Those interested in seeing them can download them (with subtitles) from Tv-Nihon. Or of course, anyone can see any of those programs by going through me.
And it begins
I've decided to start blogging.
Why not? If nothing else, it can cut some of the edge off of the summer. It's strange that time seems to have halted since school has ended. I just remind myself that I only have to make it through about two months. Then I'll leave the country, go on an adventure....and after that school starts back.
Why not? If nothing else, it can cut some of the edge off of the summer. It's strange that time seems to have halted since school has ended. I just remind myself that I only have to make it through about two months. Then I'll leave the country, go on an adventure....and after that school starts back.
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