HOLA, ALL!!!
I discovered that I have my regular weekend off this week WHICH INCLUDES NEW YEAR'S EVE AND NEW YEAR'S DAY!!! (Then I get an extra day off to recouperate, hee-hee!)
And I don't know what YOU'RE doing for New Years, but it looks like Brian and I may be having a 24 New Year's Eve...
Get this, I go to Best Buy to buy CLERKS II -- because I figure that might be a fun thing to watch on New Year's Eve, and I STILL haven't seen it(!!) -- and they, naturally, have TONS of copies of CLERKS... the Criterian Collection... and CLERKS X, the 10th Anniversary Edition... and CLERKS: UNRATED, the animated series...
NO CLERKS II!!!
Well, they had 3 copies... OF THE FULL-FRAME EDITION! FULL-FRAME?!! I mean, why even BOTHER?!! If they're gonna chop off the sides my movie, they should be forced to GIVE the dvd to me FREE! I shouldn't be forced to PAY for HALF a movie!!!
Sorry... I get very frustrated by the mere existence of Full-Frame dvds. I mean, they're dvds! Surely they can give the THE ENTIRE PICTURE!
I'm doing it again. Sorry.
So anyway, I didn't buy the Full-Frame edition of CLERKS II, and I was on my way out of the store when I passed a table FULL of all 5 seasons of the series 24. About 3 years ago I owned the first 2 seasons, and I LOVED them! And Brian dug on the first season, but he never got around to watching the second season.
Then I lost possesion of a bunch of my dvds, including 24... And I was sad.
And every time I get the itch to rejoin Jack Baur on his harrowing adventures I just look at the price tag on a single season ($57.99, or thereabout) and I decide to content myself with with one or five of the dvds I ALREADY own.
And on this table at Best Buy that has all 5 seasons laid neatly out in huge stacks, the sticker prices of each dvd is between $45 and $58 each.
...but BENEATH the stacks, attatched to the table itself, are OTHER sticker prices!!!
"24, The Complete First Season: $19.99", "24, The Complete Second Season: $19.99", "24, The Complete Third Season: $19.99", and so on! ALL 5 SEASONS!!! My buddy Pete hooked me up with Season One, so I scooped up Season's Two through Five!
And today, before I went to bed, Brian and I popped in the first disc of the second season and started watching! (Did I already mention that Brian never got around to seeing the second season before I lost my dvds?)
It was about 8:00 am when we popped in the first disc... And if you remember, Day 2 starts at 8:00 am! So that was kinda groovy! I didn't even notice it; Brian pointed that out this evening.
I went to bed after the first hour. I forced myself since I have work tonight. I ended up waking up way-early, and Brian was on Disc 3 of Day 2! He had just kept watching. One of the reasons I got up when I woke up early is I needed to withdraw some money for rent, so I could go ahead and pay it and not have to worry about it over the holiday. I alwso wanted to get a bit of shopping done before tomorrow night. Then when I got back -- still several hours to go before I had to leave for work -- I sat down and joined Brian in watching hours 6:00 pm through 10:00 pm(ish).
AND talked him into maybe ringing in the New Year with Day 3!
I haven't been able to see my baby in the last couple of days, so I don't know how much time I'll be able to spend with her tomorrow. :( However, she's bound to pass out before I will, as she'll begin her New Years drinkin' 6 hours before I will. So I can spend that time with Jack Baur & my li'l bro!
Good times for all!
And I imagine we'll take a break from time to time to walk out onto the balcony and enjoy the fireworks our neighbors shoot off.
It should be a good night! (All I have to do now is get past the next 6 1/2 hours of my shift...)
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Monday, December 25, 2006
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
After 11 days without a day off, then approximately 20-and-a-half hours without sleep, I am awake and refreshed and READY FOR CHRISTMAS!!!
And this year, I was ACTUALLY ALSEEP when Santa came, lol! Haven't done THAT in a few years. (The last time was probably when I spent Christmas with Tisha. We tend to stay up late, but we didn't hear or see Santa that year.)
And I can say that -- even before I open a single present this year -- I have gotten EVERYTHING I wanted, and more!!! The presents are just icing, lol!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
And this year, I was ACTUALLY ALSEEP when Santa came, lol! Haven't done THAT in a few years. (The last time was probably when I spent Christmas with Tisha. We tend to stay up late, but we didn't hear or see Santa that year.)
And I can say that -- even before I open a single present this year -- I have gotten EVERYTHING I wanted, and more!!! The presents are just icing, lol!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Last Santa Update This Year
I am WELL drunk and about to pass out, lol. Seems I will be asleep by the time Santa hits Austin.
As of 5:55 pm Central Standard Time Santa just cruised through Spain and is now in France.
OOH!!! He just hit southwest UK!!! So he's gonna hit my bay's house in a minute or two!!!
And with that, I can pass out in blissful peace. :D
My Gnomey has given me the BEST Christmas Eve I have EVER experienced!!! I can't believe I stayed up this long! It was because of her! She kept me laughing and loving and having a REALLY GREAT TIME!!!
I didn't plan how I wanted this Christmas Eve to turn out, but Wendy made it turn out BETTER than I could have planned!
God bless us, everyone!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
As of 5:55 pm Central Standard Time Santa just cruised through Spain and is now in France.
OOH!!! He just hit southwest UK!!! So he's gonna hit my bay's house in a minute or two!!!
And with that, I can pass out in blissful peace. :D
My Gnomey has given me the BEST Christmas Eve I have EVER experienced!!! I can't believe I stayed up this long! It was because of her! She kept me laughing and loving and having a REALLY GREAT TIME!!!
I didn't plan how I wanted this Christmas Eve to turn out, but Wendy made it turn out BETTER than I could have planned!
God bless us, everyone!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Santa's Visiting The Troops
According to NORAD Santa is making his way through Iraq, heading northwest toward Syria.
Wow, that's a sobering thought. Did you get that too just now?
Anyway, Merry Christmas to anyone serving who might stumble upon this silly little blog of mine, and also to anyone who has/knows someone over there!!! And ANYWEHRE that there might be those uninterested in the spirit of loving and taking care of each other!
As I type this Gnomey and I are taking a break from our little Christmas Eve celebration while she shares in some family traditions! My li'l heart just goes THUMP THUMP thinking about her laughing with her family!
Woah! Santa's TRUCKIN'! He's just about to enter Moscow now.
Dude knows how to MOVE!
Wow, that's a sobering thought. Did you get that too just now?
Anyway, Merry Christmas to anyone serving who might stumble upon this silly little blog of mine, and also to anyone who has/knows someone over there!!! And ANYWEHRE that there might be those uninterested in the spirit of loving and taking care of each other!
As I type this Gnomey and I are taking a break from our little Christmas Eve celebration while she shares in some family traditions! My li'l heart just goes THUMP THUMP thinking about her laughing with her family!
Woah! Santa's TRUCKIN'! He's just about to enter Moscow now.
Dude knows how to MOVE!
Tracking Santa Again :D
As of 9:33 am Central Standard Time (I think) NORAD has Santa in Nepal!!!
I logged on at work aound 3:00 am, I think, and Santa was at the North Pole. I did some work, then turned back around a few minutes later and they had him around the Fiji Islands, if memory serves.
Dude starts EARLY!
I've been getting to sleep later than I wanted to the last few days, so since I'm off today and tomorrow, I figured I'd just try to stay up and spend as much time with Wendy as possible! It's CHRISTMAS EVE after all!!!
Our first Christmas together!!! :D (You know, VIRTUALLY together... That is to say, together virtually... I mean, we're TOGETHER, but... You know what I mean.)
I haven't watched any of the videos yet this year, but I've been following Santa live on NORAD's map thingy.
VERY FUN!!! hee-hee
My baby thinks I'm cute! ;P
Ooh, and I got a call from Tisha a couple of nights ago and she inadvertantly gave me the GREATEST Christmas present... She asked me to get her 30 Seconds to Mars's second album!!!
There was a time, a few years ago, when the only way she and I could enjoy the same music is when I adopted her tastes... As I result I became a Spice Girls fan (still love them, though, I became an enthusiastic fan before they made their movie) and bought Britney Spears's FIRST album (remember way back then, before she started hangin' with Paris?)...
And NOW...
My Tisha has discovered one of my favorite bands ON HER OWN!!! I didn't give her the album and go on about how good they are and how she should listen to it or anything! In fact, she may not have even known that i was a fan! SHE discovered them FOR HERSELF!!!
I just couldn't be prouder!
Music is such a HUGE thing in our lives! I think it plays a bigger part -- to each and every one of us -- than we even realize! So for Tisha to call me up and ask me to get her 30 seconds To Mars is just MONUMENTAL!!!
For me, anyway, lol.
She also wants My Chemical Romance, and has recommended them to me many times. I really should give them a listen! (Tish is the one who turned me onto Panic! at the Disco, and they RULE!)
Blah.
Wonder if my sweety's back yet. Ooh! And where is Santa NOW?!!
Santa just left Dhaka/Dacca. He's moving southeasterly. In the general direction of Yangoon/Rangoon.
Gnomey's not back yet though.
BUT, I got Michael Crichton's new book, NEXT, from iTunes, so I think I'll go back to listening to that. (She let me watch her wrap presents earlier while I listened. IT'S DEFINITELY CHRISTMAS FOR RAY JAY!!!)
I logged on at work aound 3:00 am, I think, and Santa was at the North Pole. I did some work, then turned back around a few minutes later and they had him around the Fiji Islands, if memory serves.
Dude starts EARLY!
I've been getting to sleep later than I wanted to the last few days, so since I'm off today and tomorrow, I figured I'd just try to stay up and spend as much time with Wendy as possible! It's CHRISTMAS EVE after all!!!
Our first Christmas together!!! :D (You know, VIRTUALLY together... That is to say, together virtually... I mean, we're TOGETHER, but... You know what I mean.)
I haven't watched any of the videos yet this year, but I've been following Santa live on NORAD's map thingy.
VERY FUN!!! hee-hee
My baby thinks I'm cute! ;P
Ooh, and I got a call from Tisha a couple of nights ago and she inadvertantly gave me the GREATEST Christmas present... She asked me to get her 30 Seconds to Mars's second album!!!
There was a time, a few years ago, when the only way she and I could enjoy the same music is when I adopted her tastes... As I result I became a Spice Girls fan (still love them, though, I became an enthusiastic fan before they made their movie) and bought Britney Spears's FIRST album (remember way back then, before she started hangin' with Paris?)...
And NOW...
My Tisha has discovered one of my favorite bands ON HER OWN!!! I didn't give her the album and go on about how good they are and how she should listen to it or anything! In fact, she may not have even known that i was a fan! SHE discovered them FOR HERSELF!!!
I just couldn't be prouder!
Music is such a HUGE thing in our lives! I think it plays a bigger part -- to each and every one of us -- than we even realize! So for Tisha to call me up and ask me to get her 30 seconds To Mars is just MONUMENTAL!!!
For me, anyway, lol.
She also wants My Chemical Romance, and has recommended them to me many times. I really should give them a listen! (Tish is the one who turned me onto Panic! at the Disco, and they RULE!)
Blah.
Wonder if my sweety's back yet. Ooh! And where is Santa NOW?!!
Santa just left Dhaka/Dacca. He's moving southeasterly. In the general direction of Yangoon/Rangoon.
Gnomey's not back yet though.
BUT, I got Michael Crichton's new book, NEXT, from iTunes, so I think I'll go back to listening to that. (She let me watch her wrap presents earlier while I listened. IT'S DEFINITELY CHRISTMAS FOR RAY JAY!!!)
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Rockin' With Tha HOTTY
I just read my baby to sleep again! :D It's been quite a while since I've been able to do that with her, so it was REALLY NICE for me!!!
This would be my "Friday", but with the holidays upon us the other overnight guy is taking some time off and my boss apparently couldn't find anyone to fill in, so I'll be working the next three nights, and then resume my regular schedule. (I'm hoping I can have next weekend, tho' and enjoy Christmas with my peeps. We'll see how that goes.)
For some reason, tho', knowing that I'm going to work tomorrow, too, made it easier to get to sleep this morning early enough to wake up and spend time online with my Gnomey Goddess!!!
I actually ended up waking up a full hour before I set my alarm! I got to shower and get dressed before coming online.
See, usually she stays up late to see me, and I'm usually in my jammies & robe, with puffy eyes and hair all askew. So it was important to me to wake up early and surprise her, and look good doing so, lol.
It was wonderful!!!
She was very playful tonight -- insisting I need my eyes tested (because I kept going on about how beautiful she is, hehe) and creating bizarre scenarios to get me in for an eye checkup, lol.
At one point, tho', she left me to go wake her mom out of bed and tell her the chickens need their sponge bath and to shave the monkeys. I have no idea why she did that to her poor sleeping mom. (I think my baby may have been drinking a little tonight, lol. Don't tell her I told you.)
She's a strange woman.
But PRETTY!!!
hee-hee
It was cool reading to her again. I started with Chapter 12 of SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH (we still haven't finished that book yet, lol) and by the end of Chapter 13 I could hear her breathing quietly and steadily into the phone. When I asked if she was still with me she didn't respond. So I told her "good-night" and stuff and let her go.
It was ADORABLE!
I know that long-distance relationships are supposed to be hard, but somehow Gnomey makes it easy. And wonderful!!! Maybe it's just the knowlege that if it's THIS great now, it will be a million times sweeter when we're sharing the same continent.
I recently discovered this Texas band called Flyleaf, so after Wendy fell asleep I went to iTunes to see if they had any albums or videos. I found a Christmas single by the band!!! "Do You Hear What I Hear." It's GORGEOUS!!! A very earnest and heartfelt rendition of the song... THAT ROCKS, lol! It's now in my iPod next to Sarah Macglaughlan's "Silent Night".
:)
Okay, I should get to work now. Only 8 more days to go until I'm off again! (Hopefully...)
PEACE & YULE TIDINGS & STUFF!!!
This would be my "Friday", but with the holidays upon us the other overnight guy is taking some time off and my boss apparently couldn't find anyone to fill in, so I'll be working the next three nights, and then resume my regular schedule. (I'm hoping I can have next weekend, tho' and enjoy Christmas with my peeps. We'll see how that goes.)
For some reason, tho', knowing that I'm going to work tomorrow, too, made it easier to get to sleep this morning early enough to wake up and spend time online with my Gnomey Goddess!!!
I actually ended up waking up a full hour before I set my alarm! I got to shower and get dressed before coming online.
See, usually she stays up late to see me, and I'm usually in my jammies & robe, with puffy eyes and hair all askew. So it was important to me to wake up early and surprise her, and look good doing so, lol.
It was wonderful!!!
She was very playful tonight -- insisting I need my eyes tested (because I kept going on about how beautiful she is, hehe) and creating bizarre scenarios to get me in for an eye checkup, lol.
At one point, tho', she left me to go wake her mom out of bed and tell her the chickens need their sponge bath and to shave the monkeys. I have no idea why she did that to her poor sleeping mom. (I think my baby may have been drinking a little tonight, lol. Don't tell her I told you.)
She's a strange woman.
But PRETTY!!!
hee-hee
It was cool reading to her again. I started with Chapter 12 of SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE FISH (we still haven't finished that book yet, lol) and by the end of Chapter 13 I could hear her breathing quietly and steadily into the phone. When I asked if she was still with me she didn't respond. So I told her "good-night" and stuff and let her go.
It was ADORABLE!
I know that long-distance relationships are supposed to be hard, but somehow Gnomey makes it easy. And wonderful!!! Maybe it's just the knowlege that if it's THIS great now, it will be a million times sweeter when we're sharing the same continent.
I recently discovered this Texas band called Flyleaf, so after Wendy fell asleep I went to iTunes to see if they had any albums or videos. I found a Christmas single by the band!!! "Do You Hear What I Hear." It's GORGEOUS!!! A very earnest and heartfelt rendition of the song... THAT ROCKS, lol! It's now in my iPod next to Sarah Macglaughlan's "Silent Night".
:)
Okay, I should get to work now. Only 8 more days to go until I'm off again! (Hopefully...)
PEACE & YULE TIDINGS & STUFF!!!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
BOND RULES!!!
I did such a fantastic job of developing the backstory for my new screenplay Saturday night and last night that I'm allowing myself to watch dvds and play videogames!
What's that you say? "Bollocks?" That sounds like BOLLOCKS to you?!!
Well, it is.
;P
I did have an amazing burst of creativity SatSun and yesterday, and got some good work done. But the truth is that I'm slackin' off today because it feel groovy. :)
My Gnomey's feeling better than she has in, like, a week and a half, if not 2 weeks!!! She went back to work today (or... technically, "yesterday" as she'll be waking up soon for her Tuesday while I'm still enjoying my Monday night) and I got to see her before I went to bed and she stayed up so I could see her before she went to bed... ALL IS GOOD! :)
I stayed up late last night/this morning, too! I was looking for a very specific Christmas present for her in SL (she insisted I not get her one in RL) and it took maybe 4 hours to track down THE specific think I was looking for, BUT I GOT IT!!! hee-hee :D
And, as it turns out, my alarm still woke me! (It has failed to in the past, lol.)
So after Wendy went to bed I ran downstairs to check the mail... AND MY JAMES BOND BOX-SET FINALLY ARRIVED!!!
There's a story in this:
A couple of months ago I didn't really have money, but I got SO OBSESSED with wanting to FINALLY put a dent in my HQFS library that I ordered 3 dvds off Amazon.
This requires a bit of explaination... HQFS stands for High-Quality Field-Sequential, and it's a format for watching 3-D movies at home.
If you purchased SPYKIDS: GAME OVER or SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN in the last couple of years and watched either with the red/blue 3-D glasses that came with the dvd, you discovered that it's not really 3-D. In fact, it's not really watchable.
Red/blue 3-D (there's a term for it, and it's something like "anaglyphic" but I'm not sure) works incredibly well if (1) your TV set is perfectly color timed, and (2) the original picture is in black & white. When these criteria are met, one eye sees one image and the other eye sees the other image, creating the same illusion of depth that your eyeballs give you in everyday life. (Assuming, of course, that you have equal sight in both eyes.) But either studios or home video distributors believe that we -- the Public -- will not buy black & white movies. So they simply tint one image blue and the other red and give you the glasses.
But that's not really 3-D. You're not seeing one image in each eye, you're seeing 2 images because any color that's not red or blue fails to disappear. So you sort of, kind of get an impression of depth, but not really, as there is always this ghost image to contend with.
It's a HORRIBLE way to watch a movie!
But some really smart folks came up with the Field-Sequential system which present almost-theatrical quality 3-D.
Each frame of film alternates between left-eye perspective and right-eye perspective. And film frames pass by so rapidly that if you're not wearing the Field-Sequential glasses you see both perspectives simultaneously. (Just like if you take your glasses off in the theater.)
But the HQFS system causes the lenses of each eye of your glasses to take turns blacking out in an alternating pattern, allowing each eye to ONLY see the propper frame from that eye's perspective.
It's quite brilliant, really!!!
So some years back I bought this package of 3 IMAX 3-D dvds and the HQFS syetem (2 pairs of glasses which plug into a box that tells the glasses to black-out according to a syncronizing signal it receives from the dvd being played, if I understand it all correctly). One of the dvds was shite, but the other 2 were quite good.
And I ended up losing the dvds. I didn't misplace them, I lost possession, ownership, of them.
But I found one of them at a pawn shop! My favorite one, in fact!
But ever since I discovered that Amazon still sells several HQFS titles, I've been ACHING to stock-up, so I have a little variety when I want to watch a 3-D movie.
So a couple of months ago I really didn't have the money, but I couldn't stop myself from ordering SPYKIDS: GAME OVER, SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN (I wanted to be able to watch it in REAL 3-D this Christmas) and a disc called TRANSITION.
A week went by and I still hadn't received it.
Well, HQFS probably isn't in the highest demand, so they're probably rare-ish.
So I waited patiently.
Then a month ago -- around the time you couldn't turn on a TV or log into a website without seeing an ad for CASINO ROYALE -- I decided my Bond library was embarrassingly small.
I had DR. NO, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN and DIE ANOTHER DAY.
Brian had A VIEW TO A KILL on VHS.
Very sad, indeed.
And these new Bond box-set were popping up in Walmart, each PACKED with Bond!
But they're $80.00!!!
I had money, but I would be broke if I bought ONE of those boxed-sets. PLUS, I have very specific tastes in my Bond flicks, and there were certain flicks I HAD TO have, and the others were just gravy, if I wound up with them.
But the way they arranged these new box-sets, I would have to buy all 4 to acquire my Have-T-Haves. :(
However... Browsing Amazon, I discovered that they still sell the Bond collections from a few years ago!!! (The Christmas that DIE ANOTHER DAY came out in theaters.)
AND they were affordable!!!
AND the first box-set contained MOST of my Have-To-Haves!!!
So I ordered it!
When I ordered it, I noticed that my 3-D flicks hadn't shipped YET!
That sucked.
So for the next few days, I logged into Amazon to see if either of my orders was moving.
Bond shipped a couple of days later.
I've experienced this before... You order something hard-to-find off Amazon and it doesn't ship, and 6 months later you get an email informing you it's still not available, and would you like to cancel your order or continue to wait.
Okay. Real 3-D is kind of a Holy Grail for me, so I accepted that this was just another mirage in my quest.
But I had me some Bond on it's way to me!!! :D THAT would soften the blow!
The next day I get an email saying that Bond has shipped!
2 days after I get an email saying that my 3-D has shipped!
Okay, so I had a weekend coming up... With any luck, Bond would come this weekend and I could watch it before heading back to work, and then -- if the gods were REALLY smiling on me -- I would get my 3-D dvds in time for NEXT weekend!
That weekend came and went, and Bond never arrived. :(
Luckily, though, I had some Marx Brothers from Netflix to tide me over. So that was fun.
Another weekend came and went, and Bond STILL hadn't arrived. :(
BUT... In the meantime I had acquired ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, A VIEW TO A KILL (on dvd... with EXTRAS!!!), THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH!
So now the Edwards Boys' Bond library was 7 titles strong! (hee-hee)
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH is a Have-To-Have for me simply because I like the world of Brosnan's 007. It's the weakest of his Bond films (through absolutely NO fault of his own!) but it still has that state-of-the-art, up-to-the-second immediacy that makes Bond exciting for a 12-year-old boy trapped in a 36-year-old man's body, lol.
Brian and I watched it (his first time, my second -- after seeing it on the Big Screen when it was first released I felt no desire to see it again, until now) and it's a lot better than I remembered it!!! The wrote the fuck out of that movie, lol! Seriously, that story was working on SO MANY levels!!! Ig nore Denise Richards' performance -- just enjoy the view -- and that's a pretty strong entry in the series!
So that was a pleasant surprise for me! I now owned a Bond film that I like that I didn't previosuly like!
(I experienced the same thing with TOMORROW NEVER DIES... After GOLDENEYE I guess I expected all the Brosnan Bonds to be of the same quality, but I left the theater a bit disappointed... But when I bought the dvd (which I later lost possession of) I enjoyed the movie more than had in the theater... I think it's something to do with the way those movies end; you have a great time, then it just sort of fizzles just before you walk out of the theater. That's a theory, anyway.)
Then, last weekend, I go down to check the mail and...
...my 3-D MOVIES HAVE ARRIVED!!!
Which is a bit perverse, but I got to see SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN in 3-D so I'm not complaining one bit!!! It was GREAT!!! :D
And that brings us back to today, the reason I took you on this whole journey in the first place.
I got to talk to Gnomey before she went to work, then spent the next 4 hours or so tracking down her SL Chritsmas present, and that put me in bed WELL LATE. But I woke up in time to see her (because she also stayed up until the time I usually wake up) and I got to talk to her some more -- which was HEAVEN!!!
Then went downstairs to check the mail... AND BOND HAD ARRIVED!!!
(I'd like to take yet another paragraph to explain that this is a fortuitous event. There is a very narrow window between when I wake up and when the appartment complex office closes for the day. And when I order dvds or books, I usually get a slip of paper in my mailbox informing me that I have a package waiting for me in the office. MANY is the time I've received that slip of paper after the office is closed, so my anticipation of these Bond flicks has had me going downstairs in my pajama bottoms -- or Pirate Pants, as I call them because they have Pirates of the Caribbean on them -- and a coat and checking the mail half-asleep, just so I'll make it in time, in case my package has arrived. AND to have it arrive on a Monday, when I have 2 WHOLE DAYS to enjoy my package before the wrok week begins again... Even more of a miracle!)
I talked to Gnomey on the phone for a bit before she fell alseep, and then wandered into the living room to see what Brian was up to. he was destroying humans in Japan. (He's not racist or homicidal.. he was playing the game DESTROY ALL HUMANS 2.) I offered to help him ravage Japan, but he hates the split-screen, so he generously let me destroy some humans for half an hour or so, then it was time for breakfats/dinner (breakfast for me, dinner for him) and we popped in a Bond flick to watch while we ate.
The box-set I ordered came with:
GOLDFINGER
THUNDERBALL
LIVE AND LET DIE
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
LICENCE TO KILL
GOLDENEYE
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
Which is ASTOUNDING because 5 of those are my Have-To-Have Bond flicks. FIVE!!! For $45.00, including shipping!!! (Less than $10 a movie and with LIVE AND LET DIE and THUNDEBALL thrown in as bonuses!!!)
I was suggested we watch LIVE AND LET DIE because before Tom Mankiewicz wrote SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT (NOT the theatrical version of SUPERMAN II) he had written some James Bond films. And being the incredible writer/film nerd I am, I wanted a taste of what he had done for the Bond franchise!
Turns out that Mankiewicz had written DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, LIVE AND LET DIE and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
Now, DAF if the flick that Connery returned to Bond as (for, he believed at the time, the LAST time) and I remember TMWTGG being a decent Bond flick when I had recorded it (along with the other Bond flicks) off TNT's Christmas Bond marathon for my dad several years ago.
So when I thought of how bad LIVE AND LET DIE was, I was probably only thinking of one of two bad scenes, and the movie as a whole was probably much better than I remembered it, right? Like with THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH.
Brian and I didn't make it through the whole movie. I was falling asleep in my chair and Brian was making unrepeatable jokes about the cheesiness of the way the film was directed. (He was in rare -- if scatological -- form tonight, lol!)
So I hopped to the Making Of LALD and rather enjoyed that. (Not sure if Brian did... But he's kind of a wierd cat... He seems to simply enjoy new knowlege and new experiences. Put in an obscure b/w classic and he'll watch it and take stuff away from it that you wouldn't imagine was intended by the filmmaker. But then you pop an "artsy" flick in there and he's in pain and misery -- as am I usually, lol.) We started watching THNDERBALL because we're both familiar with NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (I think we both saw it in the theaters.. I know I did, but Brian doesn't seem to remember and I don't remember who I was with when I saw it, lol) and I recently discoverd it was a remake of THUNDERBALL.
Before the first act was over we were both heading ofr our beds, lol. But that was probably more to do with the huge meals we had both consumed than the movie.
Anyway, I got a call that woke me up a little, so I decided to just go through the Bond discs watching the Making-Of featurettes, and had a really nice time!!!
Then I played a level of TOMB RAIDER 2... And now I'm here, writing this entry for the last hour or more, lol.
My baby hasn't woken up yet.
At any rate, I haven't written any more on my screenplay, but I'm still really excited about it! :D
Not an excuse, mind you. Just an explanation of what I've been doing instead.
Okay, I'm outty. PEACE!!! :D
What's that you say? "Bollocks?" That sounds like BOLLOCKS to you?!!
Well, it is.
;P
I did have an amazing burst of creativity SatSun and yesterday, and got some good work done. But the truth is that I'm slackin' off today because it feel groovy. :)
My Gnomey's feeling better than she has in, like, a week and a half, if not 2 weeks!!! She went back to work today (or... technically, "yesterday" as she'll be waking up soon for her Tuesday while I'm still enjoying my Monday night) and I got to see her before I went to bed and she stayed up so I could see her before she went to bed... ALL IS GOOD! :)
I stayed up late last night/this morning, too! I was looking for a very specific Christmas present for her in SL (she insisted I not get her one in RL) and it took maybe 4 hours to track down THE specific think I was looking for, BUT I GOT IT!!! hee-hee :D
And, as it turns out, my alarm still woke me! (It has failed to in the past, lol.)
So after Wendy went to bed I ran downstairs to check the mail... AND MY JAMES BOND BOX-SET FINALLY ARRIVED!!!
There's a story in this:
A couple of months ago I didn't really have money, but I got SO OBSESSED with wanting to FINALLY put a dent in my HQFS library that I ordered 3 dvds off Amazon.
This requires a bit of explaination... HQFS stands for High-Quality Field-Sequential, and it's a format for watching 3-D movies at home.
If you purchased SPYKIDS: GAME OVER or SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN in the last couple of years and watched either with the red/blue 3-D glasses that came with the dvd, you discovered that it's not really 3-D. In fact, it's not really watchable.
Red/blue 3-D (there's a term for it, and it's something like "anaglyphic" but I'm not sure) works incredibly well if (1) your TV set is perfectly color timed, and (2) the original picture is in black & white. When these criteria are met, one eye sees one image and the other eye sees the other image, creating the same illusion of depth that your eyeballs give you in everyday life. (Assuming, of course, that you have equal sight in both eyes.) But either studios or home video distributors believe that we -- the Public -- will not buy black & white movies. So they simply tint one image blue and the other red and give you the glasses.
But that's not really 3-D. You're not seeing one image in each eye, you're seeing 2 images because any color that's not red or blue fails to disappear. So you sort of, kind of get an impression of depth, but not really, as there is always this ghost image to contend with.
It's a HORRIBLE way to watch a movie!
But some really smart folks came up with the Field-Sequential system which present almost-theatrical quality 3-D.
Each frame of film alternates between left-eye perspective and right-eye perspective. And film frames pass by so rapidly that if you're not wearing the Field-Sequential glasses you see both perspectives simultaneously. (Just like if you take your glasses off in the theater.)
But the HQFS system causes the lenses of each eye of your glasses to take turns blacking out in an alternating pattern, allowing each eye to ONLY see the propper frame from that eye's perspective.
It's quite brilliant, really!!!
So some years back I bought this package of 3 IMAX 3-D dvds and the HQFS syetem (2 pairs of glasses which plug into a box that tells the glasses to black-out according to a syncronizing signal it receives from the dvd being played, if I understand it all correctly). One of the dvds was shite, but the other 2 were quite good.
And I ended up losing the dvds. I didn't misplace them, I lost possession, ownership, of them.
But I found one of them at a pawn shop! My favorite one, in fact!
But ever since I discovered that Amazon still sells several HQFS titles, I've been ACHING to stock-up, so I have a little variety when I want to watch a 3-D movie.
So a couple of months ago I really didn't have the money, but I couldn't stop myself from ordering SPYKIDS: GAME OVER, SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN (I wanted to be able to watch it in REAL 3-D this Christmas) and a disc called TRANSITION.
A week went by and I still hadn't received it.
Well, HQFS probably isn't in the highest demand, so they're probably rare-ish.
So I waited patiently.
Then a month ago -- around the time you couldn't turn on a TV or log into a website without seeing an ad for CASINO ROYALE -- I decided my Bond library was embarrassingly small.
I had DR. NO, NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN and DIE ANOTHER DAY.
Brian had A VIEW TO A KILL on VHS.
Very sad, indeed.
And these new Bond box-set were popping up in Walmart, each PACKED with Bond!
But they're $80.00!!!
I had money, but I would be broke if I bought ONE of those boxed-sets. PLUS, I have very specific tastes in my Bond flicks, and there were certain flicks I HAD TO have, and the others were just gravy, if I wound up with them.
But the way they arranged these new box-sets, I would have to buy all 4 to acquire my Have-T-Haves. :(
However... Browsing Amazon, I discovered that they still sell the Bond collections from a few years ago!!! (The Christmas that DIE ANOTHER DAY came out in theaters.)
AND they were affordable!!!
AND the first box-set contained MOST of my Have-To-Haves!!!
So I ordered it!
When I ordered it, I noticed that my 3-D flicks hadn't shipped YET!
That sucked.
So for the next few days, I logged into Amazon to see if either of my orders was moving.
Bond shipped a couple of days later.
I've experienced this before... You order something hard-to-find off Amazon and it doesn't ship, and 6 months later you get an email informing you it's still not available, and would you like to cancel your order or continue to wait.
Okay. Real 3-D is kind of a Holy Grail for me, so I accepted that this was just another mirage in my quest.
But I had me some Bond on it's way to me!!! :D THAT would soften the blow!
The next day I get an email saying that Bond has shipped!
2 days after I get an email saying that my 3-D has shipped!
Okay, so I had a weekend coming up... With any luck, Bond would come this weekend and I could watch it before heading back to work, and then -- if the gods were REALLY smiling on me -- I would get my 3-D dvds in time for NEXT weekend!
That weekend came and went, and Bond never arrived. :(
Luckily, though, I had some Marx Brothers from Netflix to tide me over. So that was fun.
Another weekend came and went, and Bond STILL hadn't arrived. :(
BUT... In the meantime I had acquired ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, A VIEW TO A KILL (on dvd... with EXTRAS!!!), THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH!
So now the Edwards Boys' Bond library was 7 titles strong! (hee-hee)
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH is a Have-To-Have for me simply because I like the world of Brosnan's 007. It's the weakest of his Bond films (through absolutely NO fault of his own!) but it still has that state-of-the-art, up-to-the-second immediacy that makes Bond exciting for a 12-year-old boy trapped in a 36-year-old man's body, lol.
Brian and I watched it (his first time, my second -- after seeing it on the Big Screen when it was first released I felt no desire to see it again, until now) and it's a lot better than I remembered it!!! The wrote the fuck out of that movie, lol! Seriously, that story was working on SO MANY levels!!! Ig nore Denise Richards' performance -- just enjoy the view -- and that's a pretty strong entry in the series!
So that was a pleasant surprise for me! I now owned a Bond film that I like that I didn't previosuly like!
(I experienced the same thing with TOMORROW NEVER DIES... After GOLDENEYE I guess I expected all the Brosnan Bonds to be of the same quality, but I left the theater a bit disappointed... But when I bought the dvd (which I later lost possession of) I enjoyed the movie more than had in the theater... I think it's something to do with the way those movies end; you have a great time, then it just sort of fizzles just before you walk out of the theater. That's a theory, anyway.)
Then, last weekend, I go down to check the mail and...
...my 3-D MOVIES HAVE ARRIVED!!!
Which is a bit perverse, but I got to see SANTA VS. THE SNOWMAN in 3-D so I'm not complaining one bit!!! It was GREAT!!! :D
And that brings us back to today, the reason I took you on this whole journey in the first place.
I got to talk to Gnomey before she went to work, then spent the next 4 hours or so tracking down her SL Chritsmas present, and that put me in bed WELL LATE. But I woke up in time to see her (because she also stayed up until the time I usually wake up) and I got to talk to her some more -- which was HEAVEN!!!
Then went downstairs to check the mail... AND BOND HAD ARRIVED!!!
(I'd like to take yet another paragraph to explain that this is a fortuitous event. There is a very narrow window between when I wake up and when the appartment complex office closes for the day. And when I order dvds or books, I usually get a slip of paper in my mailbox informing me that I have a package waiting for me in the office. MANY is the time I've received that slip of paper after the office is closed, so my anticipation of these Bond flicks has had me going downstairs in my pajama bottoms -- or Pirate Pants, as I call them because they have Pirates of the Caribbean on them -- and a coat and checking the mail half-asleep, just so I'll make it in time, in case my package has arrived. AND to have it arrive on a Monday, when I have 2 WHOLE DAYS to enjoy my package before the wrok week begins again... Even more of a miracle!)
I talked to Gnomey on the phone for a bit before she fell alseep, and then wandered into the living room to see what Brian was up to. he was destroying humans in Japan. (He's not racist or homicidal.. he was playing the game DESTROY ALL HUMANS 2.) I offered to help him ravage Japan, but he hates the split-screen, so he generously let me destroy some humans for half an hour or so, then it was time for breakfats/dinner (breakfast for me, dinner for him) and we popped in a Bond flick to watch while we ate.
The box-set I ordered came with:
GOLDFINGER
THUNDERBALL
LIVE AND LET DIE
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
LICENCE TO KILL
GOLDENEYE
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
Which is ASTOUNDING because 5 of those are my Have-To-Have Bond flicks. FIVE!!! For $45.00, including shipping!!! (Less than $10 a movie and with LIVE AND LET DIE and THUNDEBALL thrown in as bonuses!!!)
I was suggested we watch LIVE AND LET DIE because before Tom Mankiewicz wrote SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE and SUPERMAN II: THE RICHARD DONNER CUT (NOT the theatrical version of SUPERMAN II) he had written some James Bond films. And being the incredible writer/film nerd I am, I wanted a taste of what he had done for the Bond franchise!
Turns out that Mankiewicz had written DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, LIVE AND LET DIE and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.
Now, DAF if the flick that Connery returned to Bond as (for, he believed at the time, the LAST time) and I remember TMWTGG being a decent Bond flick when I had recorded it (along with the other Bond flicks) off TNT's Christmas Bond marathon for my dad several years ago.
So when I thought of how bad LIVE AND LET DIE was, I was probably only thinking of one of two bad scenes, and the movie as a whole was probably much better than I remembered it, right? Like with THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH.
Brian and I didn't make it through the whole movie. I was falling asleep in my chair and Brian was making unrepeatable jokes about the cheesiness of the way the film was directed. (He was in rare -- if scatological -- form tonight, lol!)
So I hopped to the Making Of LALD and rather enjoyed that. (Not sure if Brian did... But he's kind of a wierd cat... He seems to simply enjoy new knowlege and new experiences. Put in an obscure b/w classic and he'll watch it and take stuff away from it that you wouldn't imagine was intended by the filmmaker. But then you pop an "artsy" flick in there and he's in pain and misery -- as am I usually, lol.) We started watching THNDERBALL because we're both familiar with NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (I think we both saw it in the theaters.. I know I did, but Brian doesn't seem to remember and I don't remember who I was with when I saw it, lol) and I recently discoverd it was a remake of THUNDERBALL.
Before the first act was over we were both heading ofr our beds, lol. But that was probably more to do with the huge meals we had both consumed than the movie.
Anyway, I got a call that woke me up a little, so I decided to just go through the Bond discs watching the Making-Of featurettes, and had a really nice time!!!
Then I played a level of TOMB RAIDER 2... And now I'm here, writing this entry for the last hour or more, lol.
My baby hasn't woken up yet.
At any rate, I haven't written any more on my screenplay, but I'm still really excited about it! :D
Not an excuse, mind you. Just an explanation of what I've been doing instead.
Okay, I'm outty. PEACE!!! :D
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Some Random Philosophizing...
This is just me thinking aloud... So please feel free to skip this entry. It's a lot of my very peculiar beliefs, but I need to organize them so I'm jotting them down here.
I sometimes get frustrated that my life doesn't seem to be moving more quickly.
I fear that I'm not writing enough, or not writing fast enough. But we can only create as quickly as we can create, and my Taoist/Buddhaist nature assures me that I am where I am meant to be when I am meant to be here.
And yet, life would be a great deal more convenient if, say, I had more money -- just for a start.
There's a great line in this week's episode of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP in which Matthew Perry's character (the head writer for a Saturday-Night-Live-like weekly, live sketch comedy show) says "I hate L. A. as much as anyone else, but I live here because in any other state in the country I'm unemployable."
I feel like that. I know I have talent and skill and knowlege that could be earning me a paycheck large enough to pay me more than simply what it costs to survive from month-to-month, and yet because no employer (who is seeking to hire someone with my abilities) is aware of what I can do, I spend my entire check paying bills and have nothing left over to put into a savings account or buy my baby a plane ticket to come visit me.
That's really my main frustration... I mean, yeah, I want to own more toys and dvd box sets, but there's a certain fun charm in having ALMOST everything you want and having a finite selection of entertainment to choose from. You know? If I had the dvd or videogame library I want to have I don't think I'd be able to make a decision based on the sheer VOLUME of options. Plus, it's kind of cool picking and choosing which movies you want to own and which you're content to simply rent whenever you're in the mood.
Blah.
Anyway, at this point in my life, my main frustration reall only comes from the fact that I want to own a house large enoguh for Brian and Wendy and me to live in comfortably, and I want my pay-the-bills job to be doing the things that I love to do. I don't want Wendy to ever HAVE TO work again in her life, and I want to be financially able to support a family.
Plus, it would be SO COOL to be able to send Mom a ridiculously large check every month as a Thank You for taking care of me all these years.
And yet...
Things only come as quickly as they come.
When I rush through a screenplay, it comes out crap. Something that I don't want to have my name associated with. And when I get an idea that I know is commercially viable, the story only comes a quickly as it comes.
:(
My Inner Guru tells me that not everything is in place yet, and that if I keep vigilant and continue to work and try, I will be ready when everything is in place.
(Yes, my Inner Guru is fond of fortune cookies. What do you expect after being raised on a rich diet of Zen Koans and Stephen Mitchell's translation of Lao-tzu? My Inner Guru, that is, not me... I didn't discover Eastern Philosphy until I was in my mid-20s.)
And come on... Here on the Western Hemesphere we are programmed to believe that if you want something you DO something to get it, and that patience is a loser's strategy and all that. And after striving for a specific career for 14 years and still being apparently not one step closer to attaining it, I tend to see Western Civilization's point.
But then I look at the citizens of Western Civilization, and I see A LOT of unhappiness -- people who possess their dream jobs and/or dream spouces, or live in their dream homes or drive their dream cars -- and yet they really aren't dancing in the streets and kissing their neighbors.... or even being nice to their neighbors, for that matter. Or themselves!
Now, granted, I don't know anyone who lives on the Eastern Hemisphere personally, so maybe they're just as screwed-up as we are. I don't honestly know.
But here's something...
I went a decade -- 10 YEARS -- without sex or a girlfriend because Eastern Philosophy suggests that it's better to be happy by myself than to be unhappy and be getting sex on a quasi-regular basis. Through in a little good old-fashioned Spiritualism (we live in a universe/multiverse that is essentially possitive and the negative aspects are meant to build us up and make us spiritually stronger, and God -- whomever/whatever He/She is -- loves us unconditionally and wants to see us happy) and I'm thinking that not only can I be happy by myself for as long as I'm asked to be alone, but that there IS SOMEONE out there meant for me, and in time we will be brought together.
Now, a 10-year "dry spell" had me doubting that there really was someone out there meant for me, but I was happy to have discovered that I actually CAN be happy by myself. I knew a couple of women who possessed several of the personality traits I was looking for, but there were always the deal-breaker qualities that made it VERY CLEAR that we weren't meant to be a couple. I seriously doubted that a ingle woman could possess all the qualities I insisted upon having in a mate.
Then I met Gnomey!!!
You really CAN'T understand how inhumanly perfect for me this woman is! You can't! SHE can't understand it! I am the only one who will ever fully recognize how amazingly perfect and wonderful she is, because I'm the only one who has experienced the joys and heartbreaks that I have. I'm the only one who is me.
But that's not even it... She not only meets, but EXCEEDS my seemingly impossible demands for a girlfriend. And not because I've given her a handbook of what makes me feel all mushy inside and she dutifully obeys it. (Dutifully obeying ANYONE wouldn't be in my handbook, anyway! hee-hee) She just IS everything I hoped a girlfriend would be! Just by being her! (Which is, ironically, one of my criterea for Mrs. Right... That she not have to change who she is for us to fit. That's one of the deal-breakers, hee-hee.) AND THEN SOME! She possesses personality strenghts and quirks that make me giggle in a way I could never have imagined!!! She is, in short, everything I ever wanted in someone to share my life with AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!!
But THAT's not even it!
Here's the thing. The reason I get so confused about following my instincts (and thereby the Eastern Philosophy) and my Western Philospohy upbringing, which yells at me that I'm worhtless and lazy and if I haven't ammounted to anything yet I never will...
The existence of a Gnomey Munts Munts and the fact that she could actually be into me too (!!!) proves that the Universe/Multiverse is indeed a kind and loving place, and patience actually WILL pay off in the end. (I did nothing to deserve or earn my relationship with her -- I didn't even seek it out -- and then she appeared... Apparently at the time in her life in which she was ready to meet a Ray Jay.)
AND... On both her side and my side, our meeting each other seems to have been an intricate web of incidents and events that shaped us into who we are, shapped our preferences into what they are, and then guided us to do the things we were doing so that we would eventually meet. We each have at least one "You know, if I had/hadn't ____ we would never have met!"
So to me, Wendy -- everything about her, and about us -- is a loud and CLEAR confirmation that following my instincts and vibes IS THE way to proceed through life.
And yet...
Why does stuff taks SO LONG to happen? :(
Blah.
I'm gonna go have a smoke and decide whether or not to even post this entry. Back in five...
...
Okay, I'm back.
My Guides (that's what I call the quiet voices that give me suggestions and nudges about what to do when I'm uncertain) suggest that someone, somewhere, sometime will read this and it will make speak to them, and that some others will get a little gigle from my way of looking at stuff.
So I'm publishing the entry.
...
P.S. Apropos of nothing: Don't ya LOVE those dreams that make you actually, physically laugh out loud, waking you up a little?!! I had one night-before-last. I don't remember what happened, I just remember waking myself up for half a second laughing. (And you're always laughing really loudly in the dream, and then when you slip into consciousness the laugh is just a quiet little chuckle.) And then last night I passed by Brian while he was asleep and heard him do the same thing.
There is simply NO better way to wake up than laughing!
(Well... You know... ;P )
I sometimes get frustrated that my life doesn't seem to be moving more quickly.
I fear that I'm not writing enough, or not writing fast enough. But we can only create as quickly as we can create, and my Taoist/Buddhaist nature assures me that I am where I am meant to be when I am meant to be here.
And yet, life would be a great deal more convenient if, say, I had more money -- just for a start.
There's a great line in this week's episode of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP in which Matthew Perry's character (the head writer for a Saturday-Night-Live-like weekly, live sketch comedy show) says "I hate L. A. as much as anyone else, but I live here because in any other state in the country I'm unemployable."
I feel like that. I know I have talent and skill and knowlege that could be earning me a paycheck large enough to pay me more than simply what it costs to survive from month-to-month, and yet because no employer (who is seeking to hire someone with my abilities) is aware of what I can do, I spend my entire check paying bills and have nothing left over to put into a savings account or buy my baby a plane ticket to come visit me.
That's really my main frustration... I mean, yeah, I want to own more toys and dvd box sets, but there's a certain fun charm in having ALMOST everything you want and having a finite selection of entertainment to choose from. You know? If I had the dvd or videogame library I want to have I don't think I'd be able to make a decision based on the sheer VOLUME of options. Plus, it's kind of cool picking and choosing which movies you want to own and which you're content to simply rent whenever you're in the mood.
Blah.
Anyway, at this point in my life, my main frustration reall only comes from the fact that I want to own a house large enoguh for Brian and Wendy and me to live in comfortably, and I want my pay-the-bills job to be doing the things that I love to do. I don't want Wendy to ever HAVE TO work again in her life, and I want to be financially able to support a family.
Plus, it would be SO COOL to be able to send Mom a ridiculously large check every month as a Thank You for taking care of me all these years.
And yet...
Things only come as quickly as they come.
When I rush through a screenplay, it comes out crap. Something that I don't want to have my name associated with. And when I get an idea that I know is commercially viable, the story only comes a quickly as it comes.
:(
My Inner Guru tells me that not everything is in place yet, and that if I keep vigilant and continue to work and try, I will be ready when everything is in place.
(Yes, my Inner Guru is fond of fortune cookies. What do you expect after being raised on a rich diet of Zen Koans and Stephen Mitchell's translation of Lao-tzu? My Inner Guru, that is, not me... I didn't discover Eastern Philosphy until I was in my mid-20s.)
And come on... Here on the Western Hemesphere we are programmed to believe that if you want something you DO something to get it, and that patience is a loser's strategy and all that. And after striving for a specific career for 14 years and still being apparently not one step closer to attaining it, I tend to see Western Civilization's point.
But then I look at the citizens of Western Civilization, and I see A LOT of unhappiness -- people who possess their dream jobs and/or dream spouces, or live in their dream homes or drive their dream cars -- and yet they really aren't dancing in the streets and kissing their neighbors.... or even being nice to their neighbors, for that matter. Or themselves!
Now, granted, I don't know anyone who lives on the Eastern Hemisphere personally, so maybe they're just as screwed-up as we are. I don't honestly know.
But here's something...
I went a decade -- 10 YEARS -- without sex or a girlfriend because Eastern Philosophy suggests that it's better to be happy by myself than to be unhappy and be getting sex on a quasi-regular basis. Through in a little good old-fashioned Spiritualism (we live in a universe/multiverse that is essentially possitive and the negative aspects are meant to build us up and make us spiritually stronger, and God -- whomever/whatever He/She is -- loves us unconditionally and wants to see us happy) and I'm thinking that not only can I be happy by myself for as long as I'm asked to be alone, but that there IS SOMEONE out there meant for me, and in time we will be brought together.
Now, a 10-year "dry spell" had me doubting that there really was someone out there meant for me, but I was happy to have discovered that I actually CAN be happy by myself. I knew a couple of women who possessed several of the personality traits I was looking for, but there were always the deal-breaker qualities that made it VERY CLEAR that we weren't meant to be a couple. I seriously doubted that a ingle woman could possess all the qualities I insisted upon having in a mate.
Then I met Gnomey!!!
You really CAN'T understand how inhumanly perfect for me this woman is! You can't! SHE can't understand it! I am the only one who will ever fully recognize how amazingly perfect and wonderful she is, because I'm the only one who has experienced the joys and heartbreaks that I have. I'm the only one who is me.
But that's not even it... She not only meets, but EXCEEDS my seemingly impossible demands for a girlfriend. And not because I've given her a handbook of what makes me feel all mushy inside and she dutifully obeys it. (Dutifully obeying ANYONE wouldn't be in my handbook, anyway! hee-hee) She just IS everything I hoped a girlfriend would be! Just by being her! (Which is, ironically, one of my criterea for Mrs. Right... That she not have to change who she is for us to fit. That's one of the deal-breakers, hee-hee.) AND THEN SOME! She possesses personality strenghts and quirks that make me giggle in a way I could never have imagined!!! She is, in short, everything I ever wanted in someone to share my life with AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!!
But THAT's not even it!
Here's the thing. The reason I get so confused about following my instincts (and thereby the Eastern Philosophy) and my Western Philospohy upbringing, which yells at me that I'm worhtless and lazy and if I haven't ammounted to anything yet I never will...
The existence of a Gnomey Munts Munts and the fact that she could actually be into me too (!!!) proves that the Universe/Multiverse is indeed a kind and loving place, and patience actually WILL pay off in the end. (I did nothing to deserve or earn my relationship with her -- I didn't even seek it out -- and then she appeared... Apparently at the time in her life in which she was ready to meet a Ray Jay.)
AND... On both her side and my side, our meeting each other seems to have been an intricate web of incidents and events that shaped us into who we are, shapped our preferences into what they are, and then guided us to do the things we were doing so that we would eventually meet. We each have at least one "You know, if I had/hadn't ____ we would never have met!"
So to me, Wendy -- everything about her, and about us -- is a loud and CLEAR confirmation that following my instincts and vibes IS THE way to proceed through life.
And yet...
Why does stuff taks SO LONG to happen? :(
Blah.
I'm gonna go have a smoke and decide whether or not to even post this entry. Back in five...
...
Okay, I'm back.
My Guides (that's what I call the quiet voices that give me suggestions and nudges about what to do when I'm uncertain) suggest that someone, somewhere, sometime will read this and it will make speak to them, and that some others will get a little gigle from my way of looking at stuff.
So I'm publishing the entry.
...
P.S. Apropos of nothing: Don't ya LOVE those dreams that make you actually, physically laugh out loud, waking you up a little?!! I had one night-before-last. I don't remember what happened, I just remember waking myself up for half a second laughing. (And you're always laughing really loudly in the dream, and then when you slip into consciousness the laugh is just a quiet little chuckle.) And then last night I passed by Brian while he was asleep and heard him do the same thing.
There is simply NO better way to wake up than laughing!
(Well... You know... ;P )
Saturday, December 02, 2006
I'VE DISCOVERED THE SECRET OF THE iPOD!!!
It's PLAYLISTS!!! :D
I'm guessing any regular Mac user probably could have told me that... But you DIDN'T, you bastards.
I'm a pc user.
By default, in all honesty, not by choice. My writing heroes talk about the glory of the Mac, but you see... I'm NOT a rich man.
And I've inherrited all my computers. I haven't bought my own computer yet. I've purchased a PS2 and now a Video iPod, but I haven't yet bit the bullet and purchased my own computer.
(I will as soon as I can, though, because mine are dead now, and I'm using Brian's computers at the moment. Not purchasing your own computer means that you're accepting a computer that's too old for someone else, sadly.)
So anyway, as glorious and wonderful as the Video iPod is, it was also unspeakably vexing! The audiobooks I had transfered to mp3s from cds would play out of order because Apple programmers wouldn't let me make MY OWN FRIGGIN' FOLDERS!!!
I mean, the ZVUE (Mircrosoft's initial go at competing with the Video iPod) has an incredibly limited selection of compatible video available, BUT AT LEAST THEY LET ME MAKE MY OWN FOLDERS!!!
Ever since I got into computers I discovered a real knack for organization. I'm quite good at creating places to store things so that I can access them quickly and easily in the future.
The ZVUE encouraged me to do my own organizing.
The iPod simply wouldn't hear of it.
The iPod programmers apparently feel that I only need so many folders, and they'll name the folders for me, and when I drop content into Eddy What Travels w/Ray Jay (that's the name of my iPod... The iPod programmers WERE kind enough to let me name him, bless them :D ) it goes JUST WHERE EVER the iPod programmers decided it should go! Even if it's counter-intuitive -- like putting audiobook tracks in my Music folder!!!
And then... AND THEN...
...I'm listening to Allison DuBois's second book yesterday morning (ThurFri night, in my time) and it kept hoppin' around from chapter to chapter, disc to disc!!!
HOW FRUSTRATING IS THAT?!!
I'm having an emotional moment about a woman dealing with the loss of her child, and them I'm hearing about what happened and didn't happen ON THE TV SHOW!!!
I mean, the whole book is wonderful and spiritually uplifting... BUT IN ORDER!!!
And I can't rename the tracks so that they play in the correct order, because Eddy only knows what THE COMPUTER THAT CONVERTED THEM NAMED THEM!!! [I used to convert stuff in batches and rename it after it was converted to save time, but my ZVUE taught me to go ahead and take the time to work on the titles and tags as I was converting because apparently sometimes computers ignore humans and only listen to what OTHER COMPUTERS tell them.]
But that's not even the worst! HERE's the WORST...
I found the free movie trailers on iTunes -- which is brilliant, because movie trailers are (when they're done right) like 3-minute jumbled-up mini-movies -- and I happily downloaded them onto Eddy...
...AND MY FRIGGIN' iPOD COULDN'T FIND THEM!!!
Tonight at work I was gonna show My Genius Friend Dave the trailer for GHOST RIDER (because I know he doesn't get to the movies much and figured he probably hasn't seen it yet... and I was correct) AND MY iPOD COULDN'T FIND IT!!!
I've gotten in the habbit of, once a week since I got the beautiful iPod, sharing some short treasure with My Genius Friend Dave, because he works WAY too much, and needs more little treasures in his life, I feel.
(As he reads this, he's laughing, but he's also agreeing. ;P )
And tonight, I was unable to keep up the tradition.
LUCKILY, however, I CRACKED THE CODE!
It turns out that the iPod programmers weren't as narrow-minded as I first assessed. (Presumptuous and arrogant, yes. But not narrow-minded.) (Do I come across as bitter?) They built in a back door of sorts to compensate for their presumtion...
...THE PLAYLIST!
So hear me now, all non-Mac users who seek to own and manipultae an iPod...
It IS possible for a PC user to hear his/her audiobooks IN ORDER and WITHOUT having purchased them from iTunes, or to watch his/her free movie trailers...
You simply make a playlist in iTunes!
THEN... You select that playlist for syncronization!
Now, if it's an audiobook that you converted yourself, or free movie trailers, the playlist will be found in the Music section of your iPod syncronization interface... BUT YOU'LL GET TO HAVE THINGS YOUR WAY!!!
It's not the same as being allowed to create your own folders on YOUR portable media device... But it works.
And THAT'S the key: Subjugating Technology to serve Humanity's needs/desires/whims/organizational-preferences.
THAT is the Secret Of The iPod.
....
Btw: For all my bitching and moaning, I REALLY DO LOVE my Video iPod!!! I've watched, like, 7 or the current 9 episodes of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP on it so far. And lots of KIM POSSIBLE and JOHNNY BRAVO. PLUS... the only episode of HEROES I've seen, I watched it on my iPod, along with the pilot for SKYLAND and FRISKY DINGO. Ooh! AND Pink's video for "U + Ur Hand". (Friggin' HOT!!!)
And everytime I've shown someone my new toy, they comment on how crisp and clear the image is (something NEVER heard when I showed them video on my ZVUE).
So it really is a magnificent device! If you can afford one, go grab one! VERY cool! :D
I just add this last bit because I don't want to be unfair. Now that we know The Secret we can enjoy our new toy the way we want to! :D
Ooh! And did I mention the Slideshow option?!! I have a folder on my iPod of Gnomey pics, and I can view them as a slideshow, which is really nice! :D Particularly during my work-week when I don't get to see her as much.
It's PLAYLISTS!!! :D
I'm guessing any regular Mac user probably could have told me that... But you DIDN'T, you bastards.
I'm a pc user.
By default, in all honesty, not by choice. My writing heroes talk about the glory of the Mac, but you see... I'm NOT a rich man.
And I've inherrited all my computers. I haven't bought my own computer yet. I've purchased a PS2 and now a Video iPod, but I haven't yet bit the bullet and purchased my own computer.
(I will as soon as I can, though, because mine are dead now, and I'm using Brian's computers at the moment. Not purchasing your own computer means that you're accepting a computer that's too old for someone else, sadly.)
So anyway, as glorious and wonderful as the Video iPod is, it was also unspeakably vexing! The audiobooks I had transfered to mp3s from cds would play out of order because Apple programmers wouldn't let me make MY OWN FRIGGIN' FOLDERS!!!
I mean, the ZVUE (Mircrosoft's initial go at competing with the Video iPod) has an incredibly limited selection of compatible video available, BUT AT LEAST THEY LET ME MAKE MY OWN FOLDERS!!!
Ever since I got into computers I discovered a real knack for organization. I'm quite good at creating places to store things so that I can access them quickly and easily in the future.
The ZVUE encouraged me to do my own organizing.
The iPod simply wouldn't hear of it.
The iPod programmers apparently feel that I only need so many folders, and they'll name the folders for me, and when I drop content into Eddy What Travels w/Ray Jay (that's the name of my iPod... The iPod programmers WERE kind enough to let me name him, bless them :D ) it goes JUST WHERE EVER the iPod programmers decided it should go! Even if it's counter-intuitive -- like putting audiobook tracks in my Music folder!!!
And then... AND THEN...
...I'm listening to Allison DuBois's second book yesterday morning (ThurFri night, in my time) and it kept hoppin' around from chapter to chapter, disc to disc!!!
HOW FRUSTRATING IS THAT?!!
I'm having an emotional moment about a woman dealing with the loss of her child, and them I'm hearing about what happened and didn't happen ON THE TV SHOW!!!
I mean, the whole book is wonderful and spiritually uplifting... BUT IN ORDER!!!
And I can't rename the tracks so that they play in the correct order, because Eddy only knows what THE COMPUTER THAT CONVERTED THEM NAMED THEM!!! [I used to convert stuff in batches and rename it after it was converted to save time, but my ZVUE taught me to go ahead and take the time to work on the titles and tags as I was converting because apparently sometimes computers ignore humans and only listen to what OTHER COMPUTERS tell them.]
But that's not even the worst! HERE's the WORST...
I found the free movie trailers on iTunes -- which is brilliant, because movie trailers are (when they're done right) like 3-minute jumbled-up mini-movies -- and I happily downloaded them onto Eddy...
...AND MY FRIGGIN' iPOD COULDN'T FIND THEM!!!
Tonight at work I was gonna show My Genius Friend Dave the trailer for GHOST RIDER (because I know he doesn't get to the movies much and figured he probably hasn't seen it yet... and I was correct) AND MY iPOD COULDN'T FIND IT!!!
I've gotten in the habbit of, once a week since I got the beautiful iPod, sharing some short treasure with My Genius Friend Dave, because he works WAY too much, and needs more little treasures in his life, I feel.
(As he reads this, he's laughing, but he's also agreeing. ;P )
And tonight, I was unable to keep up the tradition.
LUCKILY, however, I CRACKED THE CODE!
It turns out that the iPod programmers weren't as narrow-minded as I first assessed. (Presumptuous and arrogant, yes. But not narrow-minded.) (Do I come across as bitter?) They built in a back door of sorts to compensate for their presumtion...
...THE PLAYLIST!
So hear me now, all non-Mac users who seek to own and manipultae an iPod...
It IS possible for a PC user to hear his/her audiobooks IN ORDER and WITHOUT having purchased them from iTunes, or to watch his/her free movie trailers...
You simply make a playlist in iTunes!
THEN... You select that playlist for syncronization!
Now, if it's an audiobook that you converted yourself, or free movie trailers, the playlist will be found in the Music section of your iPod syncronization interface... BUT YOU'LL GET TO HAVE THINGS YOUR WAY!!!
It's not the same as being allowed to create your own folders on YOUR portable media device... But it works.
And THAT'S the key: Subjugating Technology to serve Humanity's needs/desires/whims/organizational-preferences.
THAT is the Secret Of The iPod.
....
Btw: For all my bitching and moaning, I REALLY DO LOVE my Video iPod!!! I've watched, like, 7 or the current 9 episodes of STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP on it so far. And lots of KIM POSSIBLE and JOHNNY BRAVO. PLUS... the only episode of HEROES I've seen, I watched it on my iPod, along with the pilot for SKYLAND and FRISKY DINGO. Ooh! AND Pink's video for "U + Ur Hand". (Friggin' HOT!!!)
And everytime I've shown someone my new toy, they comment on how crisp and clear the image is (something NEVER heard when I showed them video on my ZVUE).
So it really is a magnificent device! If you can afford one, go grab one! VERY cool! :D
I just add this last bit because I don't want to be unfair. Now that we know The Secret we can enjoy our new toy the way we want to! :D
Ooh! And did I mention the Slideshow option?!! I have a folder on my iPod of Gnomey pics, and I can view them as a slideshow, which is really nice! :D Particularly during my work-week when I don't get to see her as much.
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