Balance

Ok. You might have to go with me a little on this...

Consider humans as beings that don't have complete control over their own minds (unless you're some enlightened perfect being), and a goal can be to suppress deviations from your own "pure" will (your will to do what is right or whatever). However, does one's desired point of control exist at no impulsive illogical action ever, or is there a happy medium between impulse and control? I pursue the latter, as some of the fun of being alive is possessing the inability to determine the future, or even have complete control of the present. Just a passing thought as I get my life together (ongoing process for the last 21 years).

SMS - Reasoning Behind Invitations

I think I figured out the difference between clicking "text" rather than "call" when trying to pass on an invitation. Calling would give definitive answer "yes" or "no" with an absolute decision from the receiving party (most of the time). Texting is a way of giving a half-assed invite that, in my mind, says "I'm going to invite this person to do something but am complacent concerning the response." However, it sometimes is a front that allows one to not be disappointed when turned down. It's a silly way of hiding intentions and text invites should be used when calling is inappropriate or unavailable. I'll work on that for the last 22 days I'm in the country.

Bad scripts would make me feel better with bad actors

I'll comment on "The sphere" first, as it left me wanting more (I really mean less) at the end of it. Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson give it their all the entire movie, but, as you can see by the chart below, the story didn't hold out the whole time. What began as a gripping story ended in a whirlwind of plot twists and turns to arrive a "what the hell" alley. However, if you like sci-fi and solid acting (Jackson is pretty creepy) and don't mind a few "what? why?" moments, then go watch this movie and see if you agree with me. It's on watch-at-home Netflix.

The next film I'd like to address is "Starman," starring Jeff Bridges (a personal favorite) and Marion from Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Arcsine (Karen Allen). Go see this. 1984 Alien meets Human movie. Nothing special, just a good movie.

Finally, we come to "Big Bad Swim." I wasn't too sure of even watching this, as coming-of-age/personal-transformation/self-realization indie films usually are pretty predictable. This one wasn't surprising, but it goes about portraying people as what they are: afraid of the wrong things.

When you really thing about it, what is there to be afraid of around us (aside from the normal life-threatening stuff...falling off cliffs, eaten by raptors, etc.)? I'm scared to go on a date, but should I be? What real consequences are there that can't be fixed? I guess people should learn to swim in their own pool of unnecessary fear. This is not a recommendation of indulgence, but a question of whether or not you are afraid of the scary things (as opposed to the kind of things that aren't scary)

But back to the movie...excellent soundtrack. This guy, who I'd never heard of, performed the final song. This isn't it (I couldn't find the credits song online), but this one is pretty good by him also:

So this is also a recommendation, if you like low-budget reality. This film also has the cutest dog I've seen in a while.

Having a Very Larry Christmas

For those who have met my dad, they usually come away with "nice, smart man" or something of the sort. However, he streaks of genius. Today was one of them. Here are a few of his exploits:

1. Filling the stockings
Each year my mother fills the stockings with things she can find at stores in 3-packs (for the 3 boys in the family) and with fresh and/or dried fruit. This year, Larry added his own touch to the stockings. In my mother's he put:
- one "I (heart) you" balloon left over from Valentine's Day
- one bottle of Mateus
- an old cord for sunglasses
- a light-up Rudolph nose
- a plastic clamp he found somewhere
In mine he put:
- 2 old luggage tags (one was my grandmothers, the other something he found)
- an old toothbrush
- an empty 35mm film container
- an old shoe horn
- a broken bluetooth headset
- his old band music holder clip (for windy days)
- and one of his old nametags from a conference

2. His gift from nancy
She bought him (her) a hair dryer for his (lack of) hair. He was reading the box and read "it has 3 heats and 2 speeds" then, after a little pause, he says "I'm only going to use one heat...high...and one speed...fast" as his hand rifled through his fuzzy top.

3. His gifts to the family
He bought me a flat shovel, my brother a log-splitting axe, and my mother a 3-pound hammer

4. His other gift to Nancy
I can't describe how cute this was, so check it out on youtube:




She goes on to say, "What a special husband I have!" And he replies, "And I'm cheap, too."

Punch Card Christmas Cards

This was too cool/nerdy. My parents sent out computer punch cards as their greeting cards one year. Here is what they looked like with the card:

Here is a close up:
EDIT 11-30-12: If anyone on reddit finds this here and says I stole the content.../u/brugaltheelder is me.

Christmas

Here are the standard Christmas happenings at the Long household (beginning with Christmas Eve dinner):
Papa Johns Pizza. My mother used to eat oyster soup for diner on the eve, but since that is disgusting to everyone but her, we get tasty pizza and eat it with my grandmother. We all then piddle around on Skype waving to family as too many people all try to talk at once (you should hear the singing chorus we tried...the second delay does wonders for transforming harmonizing to hazardous). During the Skype time, we take turns napping from eating too much, then, when we're out of relatives to bug, we all drive home and do whatever we do to avoid going sleep immediately. This year we tasted beer and read/laughed at/learn from the many cards sent to our family. My personal favorite was from my mothers friend Rudy, who turned 101 this year and is still living on his own. His letter detailed everyone who visited him over the year ("This last February, John McClain came and took me to eat at Joe's Steak house. It was fun." x 20).

Then came Christmas morning. I woke up at 11, and my grandmother somewhere around that time also (isn't it great?). We just finished lunch and will proceed to opening my grandmother's gifts (our family doesn't really do the traditional "gift" thing anymore). We'll end the day by napping and dreaming of the next week's infinite stream of leftover ham sandwiches.

For anyone who actually reads this, have an enjoyable day (not that I wouldn't always want you to have an enjoyable day). I'm going to rephrase that...

For anyone who actually reads this, try your hardest to make today as enjoyable as possible for the people around you.

Score one for useless skills

I finally opened my eyes and looked around while still in a state of sleep today. I couldn't actually move any of my limbs except my eyes. It lasted about 3-5 seconds then I closed my eyes and seamlessly transferred back in my balls-to-the-wall action dream. For those who don't know, I've tried to go to sleep with the thought that I can control my waking body while remaining asleep. I've only done this without trying a few times, so my own will was not expressed in my actions. However, this time I forcefully opened my eyes, saw my bright room, seemed to be paralyzed like somebody with Lou Gehrig's disease, then was back asleep.

So horray. I hope to develop this into a skill that solves the mysteries of the universe. Maybe I have to do it 42 times.

To add to the list of intensely awkward things..

Beginning with the most recent..
-Walking into a room asking a sarcastic question only to find the person you are looking for has just been notified of the dead of a close friend.
-Verbally trashing an institution just before the listener reveals her hand in its creation.
-Meeting high school peers after several years for the first time and confirming how much you didn't fit in with most of them as the drunkenly try to reminisce about the times in high school when they were doing...EXACTLY THE SAME THING--ignoring reality. High school never ended for some people, and they'll remain in that mental state.

what time is oh-six-hundred? 6 o'clock

I had originally intended this blog to be about studying abroad in England, but I've realized that there wouldn't be much to say if I kept to only that topic. Instead, I'm going to write whenever I feel like it.

Now is that time.

I just finished the movie Cloverfield. Well, first a little background on my movie habits. I watch a lot of movies. Good, bad (in this case exceptionally bad), thought-provoking, idiotic, I'll watch it. For those who know me, I have an odd ability to actually enjoy the annoying or terrible, like Larry Anderson's smooth voice or social drama.

However, this film was so compellingly awful that I was shocked into finishing it just to see if it could potentially redeem itself. I think that the movie spawned from a nightmare of a camcorder enthusiast with Parkinson's and a Starship Troopers fetish (the minions reminded me of the aliens in that silly, but far superior, movie). Each time a main character departed from the camcorder party (usually by being dead), a glimmer of hope twinkled that perhaps the camcorder would change hands away from Stupid party to some other Leave-The-City-And-Live party, but it never happened. The movie never redeemed itself. It was a transparent love story under the guise of an weak monster movie. The unconvincing acting and nausea-inducing cinematography merely amplified the many story flaws. A few questions still linger

Why were the monster's arms so long?
Why was the timecode so messed up on the camera (did they fast forward a few seconds every time they began recording in a new locale)?
Why didn't Hud die earlier?
Why was only Marlena bitten? Why couldn't they all have been bitten?
Last one:
With many soldiers having camera-helmets and news choppers all around, why in the world would anyone keep such a terrible account of that catastrophe (or at least edit out the party at the beginning)?

That film made me tired.

Motivation

So I realized the other day that I decided to study abroad without actually acknowledging the purpose behind leaving Fayetteville. In truth, I'm lonely. Not in an "alone" way or a romantic way. This past year has been an extended distraction of schoolwork and social paperwork, going through social motions but never actually moving anywhere. The schoolwork is happy pants usually (through my odd joy in academia), but something elsewhere, elusive (star wars epI...i'm so sorry) is bothering me. Studying abroad won't fill whatever I'm missing or fix whatever isn't right, but I guess I'm ready to just try something different. Nothing changes when one doesn't put forth the effort and resolve to seek change (movement towards truth, whatever that may be).

Thoughts before england

Right now, I'm sitting in my little cubicle (see below) attempting to push through the period of greatest resistance thus far in my college career. Many professors feel as though syncing up tests and projects with the others is the best way to produce quality work? Whatever the reason, it results in the confusing of students.
I'm not sure that anyone knows about this blog yet, this is where I will be writing about my time in England, as well as my general thoughts (and amazing ideas...Adam can vouch for me there). I'll try to keep it G, no PG, no PG-13, no..R. Nobody under 18 is going to read this, so I feel no need to sensor myself beyond normal. So to get it out of the way, in the spirit of George Carlin: "shit, piss, cunt, fuck, cocksucker, motherfucker, and tits" (for those out there scratching their skulls, those are the self-identified 7 words that cannot be said on TV in Carlin's time). Now that that's out of my system, I can relax, etc.

Here is a little shrine to Dr. Jong that I created in my research partner, Sarah's desk. I'm sure after I leave she will be deeply missing my shenanigans. I know I will miss this lab (and the laptop). Although I might just take it with me for "Research". I was going to create a POMPOMPAT banner (Principle of Moments 1, principle of moments 2, parallel axis theorem), but I felt as thought I had taken enough thumbtacks and paper from the IE department for the day. Perhaps tomorrow.

While I did video journals in India, I think that this text stuff will be better in England (pictures will leave more to wonder about than videos).

I'm extremely excited about leaving, and will try to update this on a regular basis. As terrible as this sounds, I'm ready to be away from people I know and around people I don't...like walking from one side of a party to another to find a completely different vibe, attitude, principles of slang and sexual reference (which I've heard is somewhat difficult to pull off gracefully in England).

That's enough for an intro...now for the fun stuff