Ramblings of an Anonymous Coward

It's The Thought That Counts

granted it's been a while since mit has pulled a truly good prank (see ihtfp hack gallery), but lets give yale points for effort as they pulled the infamous we suck prank on harvard at the 121st annual yale .vs. harvard football game. of course the crimson sucked to the tune of beating yale 35-3, but that is beside the point isn't it?

Word Association, Week 96

i missed a number of weeks, no matter which way you look at it. so this week i'll simply go with the better late than never thought for word association

1. Limited time only:: act now!
2. Voluptuous:: zaftig
3. Nutritionist:: diet
4. Belt:: way
5. Star crossed:: luck
6. Snakeskin:: wallet
7. Athlete’s foot:: powder
8. Boom:: bah!
9. Freezer:: burn
10. Store hours:: when they're open

Dear X: November

this month's dearx challenge provides the words beauty and deception to work from. you will have to come to your own conclusion on which i chose.

Dear X:

I've been there many times of late looking for the comfort of that warm fire that beams across the hearth of my memory. The scribblings still carved into the thin frost which has covered the windows since ... well, since perhaps forever. A gentle snow continues to fall outside blanketing the grounds and has all but hidden the long and winding road back to town leaving silence in it's wake.

There is a certain oddness to the idea in needing to be so remote to finally be together with one's own thoughts.

Best Wishes,

Y

As God Is My Witness...

i don't consider myself extremely old as jamie suggests one would be when remembering the wkrp in cincinnati episode "Turkey Drop", but i definitely remember it. according to jwz, someone has ripped and posted that episode. just thinking of that episode brings a smile to my heart.

Why Not? -- Don Octavio

does admitting i'm weak suggest i am actually strong or conversely thinking i am strong ultimately define my weakness? the holidays are here again. "oh joy", to be said in the most sarcastic of tones. yes, i tend to be one of those that dips down on the holidays instead of up. but i think i'm gonna try and do some writing this year, we'll see where it goes.

there are only 4 questions of value in life, don octavio: what is sacred? of what is the spirit made? what is worth living for? and what is worth dying for?
the answer to each is the same.
-- don juan demarco

i would say that he has a rather limited and uncreative way of looking at the situation. look, you want to know if i understand that this is a mental hospital? yes, i understand that, but then how can I say that you are don octavio and i am a guest at your villa? correct?
-- don juan demarco

Come Clean

looking to confess? here is your chance to come clean for the holidays. it's an amusing little flash app. and worth a peek if for no reason other than so you can say you've seen it. looking at the confessions of others is laborious to say the least, so i'm sure nobody will find any of mine.

• i confess, i wish i had one of these when i was a kid. much better than cards of various types.
• it's true, the iBoom is a pretty nifty device. the price ($150), however, is a bit too steep especially given it's limited use (for me personally).
• sure, we've all thought about it at some point, i'm sure some of thought it about me -- whack your boss is a flash app where the sopranos meet office space. heh.

Following Links

i'm not really sure where i started, but where i ended left me thinking wtf. i've been in a pretty sour mood all day and thankfully i've resisted letting that feeling disrupt my professional life. oh, it's been tempting to let loose on a variety of people, but none of them are at fault for the mood or feelings, so i've managed to resist. getting back on track... somehow i ended up reading a post called you be well for me over on a blog called dooce -- it must have been the recommendation to "listen to music a little louder" that caught me as i had turned up the tunes a bit this morning. but i digress again. a google ad-sense ad caught my attention (partly due to some work related issues) and i clicked on it.

it was a spiritual questionnaire. heh. so i'm a sucker for these things and i figure i'll be able to click of my answers quickly and with little thought needed, but little did i know...

question number one was Do you believe in God?. working on my own personal assumptions of what they mean by that, i answered no. several more questions were asked and it ended with the much anticpated "dear friend -- blah, blah, blah" sort of message, BUT there was more:

There are a lot of reasons why people say no to God. Click on the reason that
best applies to you.  If you are hurting, look past list below...

I Do Not Believe in God.
A Christian hurt me.
I'm not good enough to know God.
Some other time.
The gospel's not fair, too many people never hear it.
I'm a good person.
I'm Jewish.
There are many paths to God.
I tried it and it didn't work out.

scanning down this list i nearly spit water all over my keyboard when i read an excuse for saying no to god was i'm jewish. i'm speechless. it just makes me want to give the person that wrote this a smack on the back of the head. i'd be sure to refer to it as a zetz as i drive the point home. *sigh*

Small Big Screen Reviews

i interupt this string of poetic postings to note that it has been over a month since i have posted an update to my movies watched, and now seems as good a time as any. besides, it breaks the mood. only 22 flicks this time, is that a good thing or a bad thing? oh well...

• Walking Tall -- what's the rock got cookin'? all in all the movie was a resounding "ok", but just didn't measure up to the original walking tall's. they didn't even keep the name buford puser for the sheriff and given the result, i'm glad they didn't tarnish the image.
• Young Adam -- i really could have done without seeing ewan mcgregor's dick, but aside from that found the story interesting albeit sometimes difficult to listen to with the heavy accents. it is a typical film festival offering, this one from cannes.
• FahrenHype 9/11 -- a response to michael moore's movie fahrenheit 9/11. certainly more objective, but at times tried to push the spin the other way. but that, too, was expected. worth watching to balance out moore's flick.
• Annie Hall -- i know at least one person is giggling. get over it, it's a classic woody allen movie and i like it. so there.
• The Day After Tomorrow -- so the world is gonna end eh? i suppose this is as nutty a way for it to happen as any. i just wish they could have taken the premise and been more realistic with how various things could happen.
• Raising Helen -- i really don't know what to say about this movie. it was ok. i would not have been happy had i paid $10 to see it at the theatre, but as a rental on a night with nothing better to do... you could pick worse.
• The United States of Leland -- i'm probably in the minority, but i liked this movie. go see it and draw your own conclusions. to quote the movie -- "You have to believe that life is more than the sum of its parts", and i think that sums up this film as well.
• Jersey Girl -- in a word, disappointing. yeah, it had it's cute moments, but it didn't even come close to the level of a "while you were sleeping" or such.
• Being John Malkovich -- interesting idea on how to get into somebody's head. heh. it definitely had some amusing twists and turns, but all in all it wasn't the classic i was told it would be.
• White Chicks -- i really wasn't expecting much from this movie aside from some slapstick humor. the wayan's brothers pulled a rabbit out of their prada handbag and far exceeded my expectations. definitely worth a rental! if you haven't seen it, do so. i think you'll be pleasantly surprised.
• Control Room - a documentary on how the al jazerra news network works. it was insightful and while i can't say i always agree on what the choose to report on, is it really any different than u.s. based media? i think they are closer than most are willing to admit. ask dan rather.
• Salem's Lot -- a classic to get into the halloween mood. the pendant the girl got via her dad was very cool. i always expect it to play a role in the movie and it doesn't. go figure.
• Fangoria Blood Drive -- amature films and you get what you expect. a couple were clever, like the one where the guy cuts off his finger and it becomes alive, lonely, and then he gives it a mate or two or nine. if you like cheese horror flicks, this might be your bag, but watching this once was enough for me. oh! there was an interview with clive barker on the dvd too, that made it almost worth a rental.
• Night of the Living Dead -- classic. 'nuf said.
• Thirteen Days -- i meant to see this a long time ago, and after watching it, while i understand there is a lot of hollywood involved, it clearly shows the differences between a leader like john f. kennedy and george w. bush. had gwb been in power at that time, i don't think we'd be here.
• Huff, First Episode -- this was a dvd that came with entertainment week magazine. it's the first episode of an upcoming series called huff (obviously). i liked the episode, but figure it will jump the shark in season two. heh, look at me, mr. prognosticator. if you like hbo-ish series, give this one a look. if nothing else, it will give you a different perspective of your therapist.
• Dawn of the Dead -- now this was a good zombie flick and far exceeds other recent efforts. it has a good mix of plot, shocks, and subtle humor. come on and get down with the sickness and go see this one!
• Van Helsing -- i expected a bit too much from this movie, but reflecting back, i guess it was ok. after seeing what dawn of the dead did for zombies, i had hoped van helsing was going to do for the classic monster hunting movie. no dice. ok for a rental, but would have been a huge disappointment in a theatre.
• House, First Episode -- another dvd in the mail, this one on a fox show. mark my words, this is going to be a good series. it does for medical shows what csi did for cop shows. i view it as a quincy meets csi, but with an ego and sense of humor. i'll definitely try and squeeze this show in, making it one of two shows i watch on any regular basis.
• Mesmerized -- a very young jodi foster, the one hinkley shot reagan for i suppose. this was a quirky movie where she marries a much older [and strange] man back in the late 1800's. in new zealand no less. i can't say i recommend it, but it definitely reminded me of how far movies have come over the years.
• Before Sunset -- i could write a long post on this movie, but will simply suggest you watch it. it is like spending 80 minutes being the proverbial fly on a wall as two people run into each other 9 years after discovering each other for the first time. being someone that likes quotes, this one is filled with them, like when celine says"Memory is a good thing if you don't have to deal with the past."
• The Clearing -- headlined by robert redford, this is a soft drama about an executive that is kidnapped and shows not only his experience as a captive, but the experiences and discoveries of his family. don't expect a particularly suspense filled movie to escape in to, this movie was definitely more a melancholy treatment of a darker side of life and ends as such. me, i was just fine with that.

Darkness Shines

waiting in the shadows
gazing through the night
darkness closes round him
covering all that once was bright

his dreams and secret yearnings
disappointments cut so deep
together they will haunt him
and through him they do seep

the darkness now is glowing
burrowing deep into his soul
the bitter truth left glistening
never again will he be whole

Just A Moment

closed my eyes for just a moment
and yesterday became tomorrow
open my heart for just a moment
to drown inside my sorrow

Salute!

it is probably a good thing britta water filters weren't around when i was at university, as i'm sure we'd have certainly done this experiment many times over. just to make it statistically valid of course!

Build A Better Bush

omg! i'm speechless. build a better bush is far, far too funny.

All Your Answers Belong To Us

Snail Harassment

Firefox 1.0

everyone knows by now that firefox 1.0 was released yesterday. it is, frankly, heads above msie -- so if you haven't switched yet, now is probably a good time to do it. to make things even better, i recently read that there were some improvements made on the mac os/x side, thus making it "all good" and an even more viable alternative to safari.

in other news, konfabulator does windows now. good times.

Vote For Me, Vote For Me

wow! one of my limericks made the top-6 over at asmallvictory, that's a treat in it's own right, but i certainly wouldn't mind if anyone reading this ran over there and voted for my entry.

update: the voting is complete and i finished a strong 3rd, just 9 votes out of first place. yay me! there were a lot of excellent entries and am thrilled to have been associated with them.

Three Rules Of Work

Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
-- Albert Einstein

Word Association, Week 92

word association, why not?

1. Small Talk:: lisp
2. Evidence:: discovery
3. Drifting:: sinking
4. Hostage:: crisis
5. Beauty:: don't fall in love, she's a
6. Automatic:: transmission
7. Asking for it:: begging for it
8. Visene:: gets the red out
9. No strings attached:: free
10. Frizz:: y hair

A Quote For Today

Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out. -- oliver wendell holmes

But I'm a Creep

I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here
I don't belong here
--Radiohead

if you like radiohead or very creative and well done flash movies, go check out this most excellent music video of radiohead's creep.

There Once Was a Man From Texas

over at asmallvictory, michele is having an election limmerick contest where you can read some rather witty poems. i, of course, submitted a few myself which can be found in the extended entry.

Elected again we hail Dubya
With 51% sayin' we lubya
Tis the far right he pleases
Getting advice from his Jesus
Me, I'd prefer to just club ya

Kerry and Bush, their campaigns of disparage
Our country they ruin with political miscarriage
Despite who will win
We all lose again
Now time for that alcoholic beverage

Elected and thought to be moral
For his predecessor much preferred oral
First he beat Gore
Then Kerry by more
By popular and electoral

United States of Canada

i found this image far too amusing to not share.

Bush, Dick Beat Pair of Johns

with my fingers crossed that bush will right his wrongs over the next four years, i present to you some links to amuse you.

• quite possibly the worst driving directions of all time.
• aspiring writes, consider holt's 10 mistakes you can avoid.
• see other things in pictures? i know i do. here are some hidden pictures for you to look at. i should get a t-shirt that says rorshack loves me or some such -- in ink blots of course!
• geek alert: a usb based virtual machine via metropipe. yeah, baby, yeah.
• now this is what i call a useful cable. out of stock. damn!
• maybe it isn't a good idea to be putting your pictures on the internet. heh.

Big Day Tomorrow

i put the final touches on an rss presentation i have to make to get others at our company up to speed on rss. it has been frustrating pounding on the rss drum (from a technology standpoint). too many people thing of blogs like live journal (or like this one) -- personal diaries of sorts as having feeds rather than blogs being the business tools they can be and rss feeds providing a delivery method for headlines/content. email newsletters they get, web pages they get, i'm not so sure i understand the trouble in grasping the advantages of rss.

so tomorrow will be a frustrating day i'm sure. and then there is that election thing. heh. maybe i should worry less, there's a 50/50 chance the world will end tomorrow ... right? *sigh*

Line Please

ever have the feeling you are a poorly cast actor in your own life?