K. I'll update.

I thought about just leaving it like that. But I'm not that cruel.

And then I thought about leaving it just like that. But I'm not that cruel.

This can go on for a while.

I cannot believe how tired I've been these last few days. Taking 9 classes is just as taxing as it sounds. Yesterday I literally could not pick up a pencil or keep my eyes open to finish my homework so I had to go take a half hour nap and so that I could function. It'll probably get better after Homecoming hall stuff is over.

Since I have nothing else to talk about, I guess I'll just give the usual rant about Virtual Virginia that so many of you have heard. It sucks. It's terrible. If I were a writer for the Pilot, I'd call it an "interesting new technology that has great potential, but is just simply not there yet. C+." Or maybe its just my teacher, not that she's bad, but her methodology is just confusing. She's actually really nice and understanding, but when she links to dead sites or site that I don't have permission to access or alternates between calling an assignment a "quiz" or a "self-check," it can get kinda confusing. Or maybe its the students. In these online "chat" sessions designed for the whole class, I'm basically the only one that shows up. So pretty much they're among some of the most awkward situations I've been in in my life. "Hmm... let's wait a little and see if people show up. [...] Nope. Alright then, let's get started." "uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..." That's pretty much how each one of these sessions goes. Although I guess I do actually learn stuff from these sessions... which brings me to another point.

I'm pretty much taking self-taught physics. There is pretty much no instruction for the class. "Read 25 pages in one night. Do these problems. Oh btw, they're impossibly hard." That's all the instruction that I get. No teaching, no explaining, nothing. The best we get is those sessions. Oh, I guess if you count these little interactive flash demonstrations and "lectures," there's some instruction. But those aren't made by the teacher or VV; they're made by other organizations. I won't even mention how completely dumb "online virtual labs" are just to save you guys the trouble of reading more complaining.

I can probably learn more from Youtube than Virtual Virginia.

I hope the guys from VV don't read this.

• [VIDEO] Still Alive typography - For those of you who know the Portal ending song, this will be the greatest thing ever since the invention of cake.


• [ARTICLE] Richard Wright dies at 65 - This piece of news was probably what has gotten me into a big Pink Floyd mood lately. Its always sad when a great musician dies. Although you can be safe and know that that will never happen to the Stones. Shine on.


• [VIDEO] Mrs. Meyer in her youth - Long lost archival footage of a young MJ Meyer lecturing at MIT. She's got the right clothes, the right style, and the impeccable West Massachusetts accent. Although it lists her as Prof. Sylvia Ceyer, we all know that that's just a few letters off from Mary Jane Meyer. She probably developed the dry sarcasm after this.

lhc web cams ftw

So I'm sure you've all seen the classic free hugs video showing the general insecurities of the public nowadays and lots of other deep shit you smart kids can figure out yourselves. It's also just a real feel-good video. Or maybe you're familiar with the video for Everyday by the Dave Matthews Band. You got that all down? Word.

Well there is a video contest online and the Chinese Stooges got together and made a short film inspired by those two videos. Well it pretty much is just a music video for Everyday made by us. So here it is. We have to get a lot of views, so watch it, spread it around to all your friends and stuff. It is also totally family friendly [unlike some of our other stuff...] so don't fret. Don't let our hard work be in vain!* Go! Go! Go!




*Although, getting hugs at the beach from some cute girls** was not a bad payoff...













**in bikinis

In case you have been living under a rock and haven't seen it, go watch Nik's ballad to Donita. Its pretty catchy. You're probably thinking to yourself, "Wow! This tune is so catchy! Its to catchy that I'm wondering if I can rip the audio out of the Youtube video, edit it as to cut out the excessive cheering, remix the audio so that the vocals and instruments are at their optimum settings, and convert it to MP3 format for my hip iPod!"

Well, I have you covered. Check it out: Chink in the Chain - Special Day (Live)

All I did was edit some settings in the track like turning up the treble and adding some reverb and echo. Not too bad sounding, I must say.

But wait! What if instead you thought to yourself, "This is pretty gay. But wouldn't it be pretty cool to edit it down to its essentials at about 34 seconds, convert it to an MP3 and then use it as my ringtone?"

You and I must think alike. I have you covered as well. This time I cropped it so that its just Nik singing and I changed some of the settings as to bring out the voice. Optimum ringtone settings.

I haven't done New Music Sunday in a while. Feels good to. Maybe I'll do one again next week with some of the stuff I worked on over the summer.

• [VIDEO] - Cops 'n Ducks - Quite possibly one of the funniest Who's Line bits ever. Its a sound effects one with a bunch of old ladies that don't really make sound effects. Hilarity ensues.


• [PICTURE] - OxyMORONic - They could buy at least 10 textbooks with that kind of money.


• [VIDEO] - OMG BECKY. Look at her - ... what? Somehow, this turns me off from the church more than it makes me want to go to one. What's next? "My crucifix brings all the boys to the yard?"

yum my ftw

No wai. Yes. This is worth making a whole entire other post for.

Here it is, Chink in the Chain featuring Heidi.
It's like an orgy in your ears.

Hey.
Check it out.
video.

I kept forgetting to post it, but now I have.
Yeah, I know "wtf?"
Where is the focus?

IB AP SAT MYP SOL PP SL EE DP HL CAS PSAT IA TOK

Anything I missed?

Comes the death of the other.

Since school started, Hublog's slowed down. The bloober's still pretty active, but the posts and comments aren't doing so well. Surprise? Not really. School's time consuming :\



And it kind of sucks.

Dunno if I ever posted this before, but whatever.
I personally think it lacks some emotion aside from the mechanical ritards and dynamic changes. Great technique though, but still

Heifetz does it better. Fo sho.

Tell me what you want.
What you really really want.
Is it too soon to post that again?

I tried out Pandora today. Pretty freakin' sweet if you ask me. It reminds me a lot of Yahoo! music/Launch/whatever they called it, but without music videos. Yahoo! Music was only music videos, and therefore only singles. You played a song and then after that, it would automatically play other songs/music videos in the same genre, and it was great because it featured a lot of lesser-known-but-freaking-awesome bands and also new and upcoming bands. However, Pandora is better in that it is more specific and doesn't feature only singles.

btw. Travis Barker still kicks ass:
indeed.
This is the only way you could make me listen to that song more than once.

Travis = awesome
Keith Moon = Awesome.
Actually, make that The Who = Awesome.
Buddy Rich = Awesome.
O, and Animal = Awesome too.

"I don't read the newspapers because they all have ugly print."
That line always makes me laugh.

Speaking of awesome quotes,
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known"
Sydney Carton :'(

Anyone want to go to the Dashboard concert this Saturday night?


Nice.

Gallop.

Last week "Hump Day" for me was on Tuesday instead of the usual Wednesday, due to an English test and other matters. It might be Tuesday again this week. Odd how the school year seems to shift the hump back. Although in China I completely lost track of the days of the week.

I really should be working on Chem or something besides making this post, but I realized that it is nearly impossible to read the data I hastily scribbled down on my sheet of paper. Incoherent numbers. Fun time I'll have trying to do this lab.

Screen printing. From the guys from Make Magazine and Esty. I found it interesting. Also, check the new Youtube player it plays it. This new player isn't site-wide yet, but it might be soon.

• [PICTURE] Driving test question - Its a trap! How would you answer that, really? Considering you're Dutch and can't even understand English.


• [NEWSPAPER OPINION COLUMN] Ignorance is bliss - Actually, intolerance is ignorance. "The United States is based on having freedom of religion, speech, etc., which means you can believe in God any way you want, but you must believe." Um, excuse me? The Constitution clearly entitles me to believe whatever I want, as the Constitution does not specify a God, let alone a Christian God. I for one do not believe it is atheists that are causing crime in America, it is uneducated twits like you, Alice Shannon. After all, one statistic that we call agree on is that the less education one receives, the more likely one is to commit a crime.


• [VIDEO] Family Guy's Star Wars parody - Catch it while it lasts! Alternate mirror. Click on "Blue Harvest." I really enjoyed the episode. Faithful parody. Funny how you realize how many lines from the original Star Wars you know when you watch this.

pub lic... um what...? ftw

Hey guys. Just to let you know.


My computer is messed up at the moment. So I won't be able to make art for while. Anyone know anything about "BIOS GUARDIAN" and how whenever you type, you get double the letters you typed? Yeah. That sort of problem. Sorry to disappoint you guys. It's gonna suck. Just like the homefront right now. :/ Really depressing.


Why, now?

I had a post yesterday but I lost it. It had some pretty good content too. But now I forget what was in it.

I've wanted to for a long time, and now I've finally done it. Our little "logo" shows up in the address bar as it did in Hublogs past - I was just lazy this time around and it took me over a year to put it in. New logo suggestions are always appreciated. Or, actually, new logos as well.

I take a theory class at 9am, I teach one at 10am. Today my phone ran out of batteries so my alarm didn't go off and my pop woke me up at 9:30am. FUN. At least I made it to teach on time.

I have a feeling today's Dailies are going to have a bunch of videos in them.

• [VIDEO] 6-volt battery hack - Instead of spending over $100 a year on AA batteries, this 6-volt battery hack will save you tons of money. Oh wait. WILL IT?? The parody is unbearable. Genius, and perfectly executed, the second video is.


• [PICTURE] Filter heart - Fill't 'er heart. I like it.


• [VIDEO] I want more time - I'm not sure if I've posted this commercial before as its kinda old, but it showed up again on Digg today and I just have to post it. It'll choke you up. There are also more from the same company, all equally moving.

d6, please. thanks. ftw

Two updates.

Love is in the air.

"It was simple making this, but I took some time positioning the lettering. I wasn't sure how I wanted it to look, but I think this is what I envisioned. I always enjoy doing things in a vintage-like style.

Don't hate me because of its simplicity."


This is not vintage coffee.

"It really isn't...? Do you think it's coffee?
Irony is a funny little thing.
Inspiration taken from modern art."

I believe that those of you who took Art History should see what I'm referring to.


In other news, should I start making designs for the Hublog logo? I'm suffering from an art block right now so I have no idea what to include on the design. What do you guys think? Most importantly, what does the owner of Hublog think?

Season premier of Avatar today. Yes, I watch Avatar. So what. Wanna fight about it?

Today, in Foods class [can I even call it a class?], we had to write an entry in our foods journal. Mrs. L-mb-rt is going down the list in alphabetical order to select students to come up with questions/topics to write about. I was chosen first since my last name is, Chen. Well I couldn't come up with something, so she helped me and came up with "Where was the most romantic place you have eaten and with who?" and she also said you could write where you think would be most romantic or whatever. I came up with an awesome story, but I was distracted by Matt, so I didn't really get to finish. Well, I'm not going to post any of my epic today, but, look out for it. Maybe tomorrow, maybe not. I am thinking of making it a series so it might span several posts. It's going to be the next Trapped in the Closet, except with Jessica Alba. And not R. Kelly.


And not suck.

I had one of those Starbucks Doubleshots before I left for school this morning. I don't think my heartbeat became regular until well after school. I was seriously buzzed during that math test and all during second block I was looking around the room as if Meyer was going to attack me from behind or something. She randomly pops in every now and then. I don't think I'm going to have another one of those.

In case you haven't joined in on our discussion of printing shirts, I encourage you to read up. It sounds like a terrific idea, in my opinion. Those of you who noticed Krista's shirt today would agree - awesome stuff. I personally think that Hublog shirts would be killer. If they work out well, who knows where we can expand to. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. People seem pretty interested and dedicated to this idea, so I think we're off to a great start. To whatever this will eventually turn out to be.

And seeing that Hublog has been expanding recently, I, as administrator, would like to take this opportunity to say a few things. First and foremost remember that I try to maintain this site democratically - voice your opinion and it will absolutely be heard by me, and time permitting, your suggestions and complaints will be addressed. However, there will be the occasional authoritative decisions that I will make regardless of public opinion for the general good. I can't recall making any of those decisions so far, though.

Secondly, I remind all the readers of this site that we are on the internet. Anything on here can be read by anyone. Anyone could stumble across this site, even teachers. I tend to think of this as a site for students, by students, (FSBS?) so it would be greatly appreciated if you would not reveal this domain (theblacktop.com) to any people you wouldn't be comfortable sharing private details of your life with. Tell your friends if you want, but your parents and teachers? Maybe not. Also try to remember to delete this site from your web browser's history if you access it at school - I believe theblacktop.com has made it onto the VBCPS blocked list already, though. For whatever reason. My worst fear is that this address will get into the wrong hands and this open community of free thought, off-hand banter, and uncensored (well, self-censored) speech will be stifled, or worse, shut down. I would truly hate to see that happen. Your thoughts?

• [PICTURE] Alaska grizzly bear notice - Bells & pepper. You don't say!


• [VIDEO] Robot Chicken's Zelda parody - 50 hours?!


• [ARTICLE + VIDEO] Bush got a B in Econ 101 - Actually, the equivalent of a C-. But I like it how our President justifies his lack of economic knowledge on even the most basic questions ("do you think there's a risk of a recession?") with the fact that he did poorly in a standard college course he took over 25 years ago. This is no excuse for presidential behavior, no matter how "down-to-earth" it is or how "real" this makes our President. Being just another old-fashioned guy is fine and all during the political season to get votes, but Bush is the damn leader of the free world. He should have a clue if there's a recession coming or not.

ma rio ftw

Jackie Chan + Jet Li = epic. AKA journey to the west. Story about the monkey king and stuff.

"The cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
~Oscar Wilde

Since everyone's posting Krista and Nik's stuff on here, I think I might as well join in the fun. This is some music by my cousin, James Nee. It's my cousin singing and playing guitar, and if there are female vocals in a song, then it's his girlfriend Brooke. It's acoustic-y stuff, so if you're into that, then check it out. If you like what you hear, you should check back often, because my cousin is really indecisive about whether or not he likes a song so he is constantly posting and taking off songs both old and new.

JESUS! Japanified.

Tee hee, rape.

I'm pretty sure most of you are computer savvy. Arr, do any of you know how to edit songs? Like change the length and stuff?

Yarr.

This is bangin', mateys!

If any of you land lovers were ever to ask me what I think is one of the greatest songs ever written, I would have to say this song. Yarr, indeed.

You know, school has really gotten to my head. Not only have I begun to loathe it on a level I never thought possible, but I am starting do extremely nerdy things. Now this is a totally true story. I was re-reading the latest Naruto manga just because I was bored and Madara looks badass. So what? I read manga, that's nerdy, and everyone already knew that. Well then I just started doing some character analysis of characters in Naruto, primarily Sasuke. Getting creepy eh? That's not the end of it. While thinking IB English-like about Sasuke, I FREAKING LINKED NARUTO TO THE SCARLET LETTER. I linked Sasuke to Chillingworth, living and thriving on only revenge, like leeches. Yeah, I know. "That's just sad." Indeed it is.

Funny.
Funnier.

You know, about t-shirt design and stuff,

I say we all work together. We can incorporate into one giant mass of a clothing company. Strength in numbers. We have a bunch of designs and stuff and we can have other people go out and promote and whatnot.

Plus, I need a job. I'm becoming broke :\
posted by chen @ 08:17PM on Sep 17 | permalink

Whoa. That would be really cool, Eric.
posted by krista @ 02:47PM on Sep 18 | permalink

Yes, it would be really cool. In fact, it would be freaking awesome. It could be a fruitful experience for all of us who get involved, both financially and as a learning experience. Plus, we could totally put on our resumes that we created and managed a kick ass t-shirt company. Since Krista, Nik, and I bet a number of others can design and create awesome images that could be used on t-shirts, why not all work together? Strength in numbers right? Krista has a screen printer [Am I right Krista? Or has Vincent lied to me :( ] that and some t-shirts is pretty much all we need. Together, we can all be assigned jobs and also together, we can have a cash pool so that we can get this business going. You don't make money without spending any right? We could make a website [David] and then we could go around wearing the shirts and getting other people to wear the shirts and stuff. We could also do publicity stuff like get stickers and posters to advertise. We could also go to local stores like Volume CDs and get them to sell our stuff. I think it could really work out and go somewhere. So, everyone, think about it.

Argh! Captain Chen out!

PS: Greg, the answer is the Volga River.
lol Moscow.

Try this one out.

O civile, si ergo,
Fortibus es in ero.
O Nobile,
Deus trux,
Vatis enim?
Causan dux.

Its pretty funny.

I won't post anymore. Its kinda late. I'm kinda tired.

Maybe I will write some more.

Maybe not.

Who knows.

Tonight I actually feel like sleeping. Maybe I won't toss around for hours. Hurray.

I thought I said I'd stop this.

I thought you did too.

Well why am I not stopping?

I don't know, I'm not you. You tell me.

How can I tell you when I'm the one asking the question?

Who knows, I'm not you.

You're not me?

No, I'm not you.

Why not?

Who knows.

Who does know, then?

Who knows.

This has gone on for too long.

I know.

You know?

Yeah, I know.

What do you know?

I know who.

You know who?

I know who.

Who do you know?

I know you.

You know me?

Yeah, I know you. Now stop.

Why should I stop?

Because I say so.

Okay.

MONSTAAH!!!

"Just a quick little thing. Wanted to play around with the concept of real and surreal life blending together."

It's simplistic, I know. The drawings aren't out of this world, but I think you guys get the point. Simplicity entering complexity. That sort of thing. Sorta reminds me of Godzilla. =p

In all honesty, I don't know where I found the time to do this. I'm suppose to be finishing up my Bio lab right now. Maybe I just needed to do this so I could take a quick break from all the work I need to do tonight. Another way to say "procrastinate" I guess.

So far this is what the matrix looks like:

Name Participations Participation Points Correct Guesses Fraction Percentage Total Points


Parth 1 1 0 0/1 0 1
Greg 2 2 0 0/2 0 2


Since I can't paste tables into firefox, you'll just have to get used to the notation. If you don't really care, the last number will be the one you should look at. It's who has the most points. This person is currently Greg. If no one gets the title today, I'm going to be displeased.

Friday night I worked in the store. We were supposed to close at nine, but there was an incident with a Caucasian family. They rented a single bike at around 7:30. I told them that they had until 9, because that was when we closed. I said "have the bike back by nine." So nine comes around, and we've pretty much closed up. Nine thirty rolls around, and Rakesh is pissed. He goes "where is that MF?" So I go to the Day's Inn, where the family was staying, and called them down from the office phone. They thought that I meant heave it back by nine in the morning. So I took two bikes back and then we closed for good.

Donuts and Sprinkles.

Some last minute vectoring to end the weekend. Thank God for weekends. Or else, I wouldn't have the time to do any of this.

I'm thinking that this would make a sweet T-shirt design. Just a thought.

Before Hublog was theblacktop.com, it was hublog.net. One year, I had to switch servers and in turn, I got a new domain name, theblacktop.com, for free. It was stupid of me at the time not to re-register hublog.net for another year. Look at what's at the domain now. A mortgage ad hub. Its kinda depressing knowing that the domain where so much happened in our lives has now been reduced to nothing but mortgage advertisements. Puts a little pang in your stomach, doesn't it? As soon as its available, I'm buying it. I'm also going to purchase aweed.us soon - d.aweed.us, anyone? I'll probably use that for a CV and personal storage so that I won't have to accidently give out "theblacktop.com" to anybody I don't want to at school (i.e., teachers).

In the spirit of plugging Krista's stuff, her Xanga. Its on my feedreader. Should be on yours too. If you use feedreaders. Which you should. Makes life easier. Although mine is so backed up, I have over 1000 unread items. Damn school. What a time-suck.

• [PICTURE GALLERY] Chinese people got skills - No wonder we get perfect SAT scores. Last one is my favorite. I swear, that would sell so well to Westerners.


• [ARTICLE] Russia's sex day - Might be old news to some of you, but I didn't happen to post this all week. Basically, do it now, and if you pop one out on June 12th, your family wins a prize. Now wouldn't it be interesting if you're a first grader and getting to class and wondering why everyone has a birthday around June 12... Or when you're a child, and its that special moment when you learn why your parents wanted to have you. "Well you see, mommy and daddy really wanted this new car..."


• [PICTURE] OH GOOD GOD - ITS A CRAB!

hide me ftw

Don't Worry, be happy.


Yes, it's bit on the overly happy side, but I was inspired to do this sort of thing after messing around with vectoring in Illustrator. That stuff is fun to use, fo' sho.

I think there's something wrong with my eyes, a lot of things keep blurring for me for no apparent reason. Its like the effect of contacts in your eyes... without contacts in your eyes. Every time that I blink I take a chance that... I have to blink again. Who knows. It'll go away eventually. Hopefully.

Second week of school. I seem to be getting pretty used to the all-stressful-classes-in-one-day lifestyle. Although all we've been doing is review. Can't wait for that day when I have a test in math, chemistry, and history all on the same day. That'll be the epitome of fun. Although I can't imagine what missing 4 days of class for Thinkquest will be like.

These short(ish) posts are kinda cool. Maybe I'll make some longer ones when I have time.

• [VIDEO] Oh no, little Asian! - I feel for him. I really do.


• [PICTURES] Circular reasoning works because... - Well, I think its pretty self-explanatory.


• [ARTICLE] iPod touch review - Apple seems to have shipped the touch earlier than expected, some Apple retail stores are carrying them already. Kinda makes me want one even more. Although it does seem to have some a few flaws. The overall verdict seems pretty good, and I just might end up buying one. Who knows. My 2GB nano is pretty pathetic in terms of size; every time I get into a new song and want to put it on there, I have to trade off and take off an old one.

fi ght ers ftw

Angry all the time? Constant headaches? Try a visit to your counselor! Just mad at yourself? Try debate!

Wow. That really wants me to try debate. I stole one of the oh-so-awesome debate posters from school. Too good. Every time I look at it I laugh.

This year is proving to be harder than I thought it would be. Doing homework the day its assigned, obsessing over English, actually studying math - where did all the fun go? At least Euro IB Music Computer Science Study Hall is fun. Although I swallowed a dime in it today. Not so fun.

• Led Zeppelin to reunite - At a tribute performance, the legendary trio will perform together, perhaps for the last time. Long live Bonham.


• This is a big horse - The bushy tail! The big teeth! And oh, the hooves. Don't forget about the hooves. Oh. Oh what? It's a butterfly? Oh, well they still have hooves. Oh wait, a moth? They have hooves, right? And bushy tails?


• We will cut down on toxic emissions when pigs fly - Crap.

fir st men tal bre akd own ftw

My mom is going back to Taiwan Wednesday [today] and says she is going to bring back a crapload of different types of instant noodles [or ramen as you Americans call it]. So I decided I am going to write a series entitled the "Ramen Review," where I [duh] review ramen. This way, if you are ever stuck in a foreign country and don't know any of the ramens there, you can refer to this wonderful guide.




*snigger*

marriedtothesea.com

I think Magistra Agricola has every right to assume that we know absolutely nothing about Latin going into our sixth year.

[19:57] Xeno12527: hey greg
[19:57] icexoke: matt
[19:57] Xeno12527: have you done the adj/adv sheet?
[19:57] icexoke: yeah most of it
[19:57] Xeno12527: which word is the adverb
[19:57] Xeno12527: i cant tell :/
[19:58] icexoke: which one?
[19:58] Xeno12527: she said that one of the words is an adverb
[19:58] Xeno12527: or are there multiple ones?
[19:58] icexoke: oh yeah hold on
[20:00] icexoke: 3a
[20:00] icexoke: melius
[20:00] icexoke: but i left three others blank, 4a,5c and 5d
[20:00] icexoke: so they might be adv too
[20:00] Xeno12527: oh ok
[20:01] Xeno12527: how do you know tha tmelius is an adverb?
[20:01] icexoke: i dont know
[20:01] Xeno12527: lmao
[20:01] Xeno12527: so hwo can we tell
[20:01] Xeno12527: whyd you mark it as an adverb
[20:02] icexoke: context?
[20:02] icexoke: the endings mean its either a comparitive adj or adv
[20:02] icexoke: so
[20:02] Xeno12527: right
[20:02] icexoke: i dont care anyways
[20:02] Xeno12527: lol
[20:02] Xeno12527: ok
[20:02] Xeno12527: thanks
[20:02] icexoke: np

I also called Gabby Greer about this. Between the three of us, we had no clue which words were adverbs.

Keeping with the AIM theme, I found this particularly interesting.

[20:09] Rudre1407: 88
[20:09] Rudre1407: that is something to be proud of in her class
[20:09] Xeno12527: lol
[20:09] Xeno12527: i was happy when i saw it
[20:09] Xeno12527: until parth told me that he got a 94
[20:09] Xeno12527: considering he read it the night before
[20:09] Xeno12527: although his analytic discussions with me that night probably helped him get his a
[20:09] Rudre1407: probably
[20:09] Xeno12527: /brag
[20:09] Rudre1407: hahahaha
[20:09] Rudre1407: i won't lie
[20:09] Xeno12527: lol
[20:09] Rudre1407: gantt is a team sport
[20:10] Xeno12527: haha

Sadly, none of you got last time's song. "Just a little change" is straight out of Beauty and the Beast. "Just a little change/Small to say the least." Anyway, I suppose Parth was the closest, however the song he looked up contained the line "Just a little chance." I guess I'll award points based on participation alone...A matrix to be done later. However, to encourage beginning participation on this, I left you guys with an easy one this time. In case you forgot, you're guessing the song from which the post title comes from.

Nostalgia overwhelms me, drowns me, flows through my marrow. Not only do I visit KLMS frequently, my brother is walking down the same path I walked five years ago. He performed a D major scale for me today. My nostalgia is so great that my relationship with KLMS can be likened to one with a lover.

I try to say goodbye and I choke
Try to walk away and I stumble
Though I try to hide it, it's clear
My world crumbles when you are not near
-Macy Gray's I Try

Tomorrow after school is the debate informational meeting. Anyone looking for a great time should show up. We have plenty of singles looking for action tonight.

..Really, though, anyone looking for a nice college application booster should show up.

That's how extensive my advertising for the debate team goes.

I'm serious as cancer when I say that Voltaire looks like Snoop Dogg.

So I taught my first music theory class yesterday. The class was full of little second and third graders, although there is a fifth grader in the class as well. The class went well, I guess. I'm just a very boring teacher. At that age, all they probably care about is their Gameboys and the cartoons they're missing by going to music class. I know that all I cared about. It was an easy class though; all we did was review - and didn't cover everything! Maybe we'll end up doing two review lessons, which might put us a little behind schedule.

Teaching does get me a little depressed, though. Maybe more than a little. Maybe its just the feeling of everyone leaving the class and you staying behind to do housekeeping (cleaning up, putting things back, etc). You have no idea how put of a pang that puts in you until you feel it. I think I'll say "bye" to my teachers when leaving class from now on. Or maybe I get a bit down in knowing how boring of a teacher I am. Or maybe how isolated I feel now from the rest of my own classmates - that I'm somehow "better" than them now.

Maybe its because my teacher drove to my house - I'll repeat that - she drove to my house to track me down. Our house phone has been down since Verizon has been working in our neighborhood, and without any means of content in this digital 21st century, my teacher drove to my house to let me know I have class. I just assumed that I did. But my teacher was born before the Cold War and thinks that when we say "personal computer," we have a gigantic machine in our garage that we issue commands to with punch cards.

Or maybe its all this Michael Wong (otherwise known as Guang Liang) I've been listening to. Who knows.

Damn, this would make a good college admissions essay. I got the annual "America's Top Schools" Us News edition yesterday. And read some books about colleges and admissions and stuff. Berkeley, here I come. I asked this in the Bloober today, but I'll open it up to comment here as well, in case you aren't Deeva. What's your dream college? For me, it would probably be Berkeley or Stanford, although having those two is a bit of a paradox since their rivalry is legendary. How about you?

• The world's shortest international bridge - House? Canadian. Back yard? American. I wonder if you need a passport to pass between the two. Or if your friend was American and you're Canadian and he came to visit, would have have to get searched for contraband? It would depend on where he docked his boat, I guess. Then the point of the passport gets raised again.


• A bunch of triangles that follow each other - Genius! I really wish I were able to think of nifty ideas like this. I did have an idea to make an elevator sim a while back: think about it. It's more complicated than you think. But we'll be making one in AP Computer Science... albeit a lamer version that I would have been able to make. But that'll at least scratch and itch thats been itching for a while.


• An IM Infatuation Turned to Romance. Then the Truth Came Out. - Who says riveting journalism is dead? When I read this in my issue of Wired, I couldn't put it down. The entire narrative is incredibly gripping and resembles a soap opera or TV drama very much. A very worthy (although long) read.

sle epl ess ftw

I love how whenever I look up a live guitar solo it almost always turns out to be a concert in Japan. Japan loves hardcore guitar fo sho. But who can deny the awesomeness that is "I'm Alright."

If you noticed my mood, then good for you. If you didn't, you probably just looked up to see what it was, good job. If you didn't then you probably just read that last sentence expecting me to tell you what it says, you lazy ass. Well I was pretty pissed off today. I usually have a lot of anger pent up inside, but it's never really that big of a deal. Today, was crazy. I didn't even know I could get this angry. It's a long story, so I'll just tell you what I did. The climax of my anger was when I ran into a classroom [at ODU, Chinese School] where 4 kids were. Little kids. Like 5-8 years old, but don't get me wrong, these kids misbehave a lot, so they got everything they deserve. So I yell at them probably the loudest I ever have in my life, trying as hard as possible not use profanity. Then, still not getting what I want [which is my wallet btw], I throw/slam a desk right in front of them and shout some more. All despite the fact that there were like 6 parents right outside. Today was just a straight up shitty day. I think I still have veins bursting from my neck and my blood pressure is still at the level of a morbidly obese 60 year old. That is, if morbidly obese people lived that long. But, damn, why is it no matter how nice you try to treat people, some people just always have to be assholes? You always try to give them a second chance to show a good side, but they just keep on spitting in your face. Some people seriously need to get their asses beat. Hard. I actually thought my anger issues would lighten up since my sister left, since she is one of the people. She is the kind of person who I just think wouldn't learn some things if you loaded it into a shotgun, shot 6 rounds of it into her face, speared her through with it, then drowned here in a pool of it. When she recovered from this metaphorical barrage, she would be just as oblivious as ever. That's what those kids are like. My sister has gotten better over the years. These kids haven't.

Wow, this post went an entirely different direction than you would have expected eh?

First one to find these pictures gets a prize.

=O


MY LOVE. =O

The typical "first post after school starts" post. This is it. Except, not. Glad to see the other authors supporting site content when I'm too tired.

Obviously to be discussed here: how was my first week? Well, for starters, my car got hit in the Junior lot on the third day of school. Thats always encouraging. I got pulled out of English class (with that major scarlet letter test looming - good thing i didn't miss any of that), walked to the security desk, and the conversation proceeded something like this:

"You drive a Honda Civic?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Parked in the Junior lot?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Could you go outside and see if you see any new damage on your vehicle?"
"OH GOD!!"

I was actually dumbfounded after she asked me to see the damage, I didn't know what to expect. Basically what happened was a girl was backing out (in her ginormous toyota tundra) and had a friend watch the back of her car. She had, lets say, according to her friend, "enough room." Evidently, she didn't. Her end hit the front of my car. There is a fairly sizable dent, scratches, and a warped hood to prove that. It all should be taken care of by insurance and stuff though; what sucks is that I'm going to have to lose my car in a bit for a few days for assessments and repair and whatnot. At least my insurance company will provide me with a sweet rental car. I hope it'll be green. I've always wanted to drive a green car. I kinda do feel bad for the girl though - obviously a large dent on her record and their insurance will go up from the point of robbing them to robbing them with guns.

I also jump-started Rochelle's car today. Pretty exhilarating, even though we did it wrong. For the record, this is the proper way to jump start a car; you do not connect the negative to the negative of the bad car. I think I may have just won a bet. Our way did work though, so at least things worked out well.

I'd go into other mundane details about my first week but they're irrelevant. Its only the first week.

• [WEBSITE] iPod touch - Meet the iPhone without the phone. I. Am getting one of these. Although with the cheapest iPhone being only $300, it might be a better deal to go with the iPhone; but I have a better phone already. And a worse iPod. Logic.


• [VIDEO] Impatient kitty - I like it how the guy goes through all that trouble to make the kitten let go, but just ends up dumping the food in another bowl. Why can't he just eat out of the tin like any other civilized animal?


• [VIDEO] Ghost Ridin' Grandma - Well, there's one thing we could do... ! We could ghost ride the whip! Specially requested video. I actually think I may have posted this previously. But pay special attention to the goofy way the grandma dances. Remind you of anyone? Like, our age?

asi ans ftw

With all the brilliant scientists in the world and all the problems we have today, wouldn't you think that all possible resources would be spent on researching... useful things? Seriously, wtf?

With shit like this, I bet I could get a grant for a study about why hungry people eat. I mean, it is a serious issue that millions are dying to know the answer to. Why is that a large majority of people who eat food are hungry at the time? Is there some sort of connection between the two? If so, what is it? This is huge, I mean this could potentially lead us to further understanding the inner secrets of the human psychology. It would be revolutionary.

Then, after I get my nobel prize for that, I would go on to study why short people can't reach the top shelf.



Guys like hot girls. No shit. So what? What was the point? To figure out if people judge others by appearance? Once again, no shit. We are all shallow to a certain degree. As I often like to say "The first thing I look for in a girl is her face, but the first thing I see is her chest/body/butt/ass/boobs/foot/shirt/shoes/hair/ear/mustache." [Whatever body part floats your boat, if you catch my drift. ;)] That reminds me of this article.

I just finished reading the Scarlet Letter. I just started the book last night and just finished 8 hours before the test. Well, now I should get started on all my other homework due tomorrow [I have all core classes on A day :(].

If you haven't heard, I got a new cellphone number:
288-7591.

In an effort to keep the blog alive during the school days, I decided that I show something I made a bit before I made that "Imagination" piece.

OH MY.
I attempted to create something from Illustrator. Some abstract deformity that somewhat resembles a familiar form. A Rabbit? I guess. Dead? Probably. But nevertheless, I made this quickly because I wanted to test out some textures with the added vibrant and possibly blinding colors. Enjoy.

I also mentioned that I would also showcase Krista's deviantart account, if she doesn't mind. And I'm sure she doesn't. So here it is.

Taken from Krista's description on DA:

"Within each color lies the psychological potential to influence our mood; however, perhaps the most magnificent characteristic of color how it forms everything we see. We are color and we make color. We breath color and we forget color.

Color is a great tool that allows us to distinguish between objects and it is a great tool for memorization. There's something about certain colors that each of us can identify ourselves with- in fact, there is a certain theory that each person has a faint aurora of color that can be seen in bright light against a white background.

What color is your soul?"

You can see the individual pieces of the quilt in greater clarity by clicking the link I gave above and reading the rest of Krista's description. I enjoyed seeing the individual pieces and seeing it as a whole. It was really well thought out and visually appealing. You really put in immense amounts of effort to fulfill the concept. Great work, Krista.

In an effort to keep attention equally balanced between the bloober and the posts, I'm going to keep track of points for a game. The game will be picking out the name of the song from which my post title comes from. Depending on how many of you play, I may or may not keep doing this. If enough of you play, I'll keep a score chart in excel. First to the tenth odd number wins a prize. Or first to 100. I guess for now it'll be first to 25. Today's is kinda hard, so i guess its worth 4 points.

Speaking of prizes, David has finally divulged the reward for the first schedules post.

[23:22] Xeno12527: by the way
[23:22] Xeno12527: whats my prize
[23:23] David: for what
[23:23] Xeno12527: first one to have a schedules post
[23:23] David: haha i dunno
[23:23] David: i'll get parth to blow you or something
[23:23] David: i'll get you the hook up with steven's little sister
[23:24] Xeno12527: wonderful.

Just note that I will keep my promises, if enough people play.

Before Deeva and I left (she was taking me home [she also gave me a ride to school]), she stopped to talk to Grubb. After the conversation, Deeva mentioned to her that she wanted me to do foreign extemp for forensics. Grubb was pretty much like 'you're going to end up doing it, so why protest?' I'm seriously unsure about doing it, though.

My brother's first day of KLMS was today. Stupidly, he forgot to tell Mr. Baird that he doesn't have any experience with any orchestral instrument nor does he even possess one. When my brother got off the bus, I did the worst possible thing I could have done. With the eighth graders watching, I hugged him and yelled at him 'how was your first day?' Then my mom took a picture of me hugging him and holding up a one.

It's times like this that I agree with levinas' ethic. I feel so compelled to share my wealth with others. But whether or not this is the sovereign influencing me or another method of biopolitical control is unknown to me.

Season 3 of Desperate Housewives came out today on DVD. I haven't gotten it yet. Honestly, I'm not too excited about Private Practice.

Lastly, tomorrow is the KLMS debate club meeting. I don't have a ride, so I probably won't be there. I might just ask Patrick for a ride. Then he can take my brother and I home.

I came up with this post in the car a few days ago.

SPECIALIS, Latin for secret.

Biologists would say that we are social beings; made for action and interaction. We are made for communication. To think and to reason and to work things out. Secrets, it would seem, are selfish and inherently detrimental to such a purpose.

Let it out.

Speaking of action (and just as a corollary), "We are men of action. Lies do not become us." - Wesley, The Princess Bride.

We all have purposes and goals; loves and aspirations. Lying is one of the worst ways to get there, because it almost always backfires. We're starting a new year, and I think that now, more than ever, it is supremely important that we all start with a clean slate. David talked about creating a 'biography' of sorts just from this site. I should think it very possible. Therefore, I think that we probably don't want to be libeling people on this site. Even saying bad things about them in conversation is not very nice. David's in charge, here, so that's just my suggestion. But, back to my first statement, I think it best to accept our differences and attempt to reconcile them, rather then simply complaining about them. What do you think?

Leave me one. ;-)

P.S. Just in case anyone is wondering, this is not in response to any events of any kind--I just felt like writing about it.

Wooowee. This took a bit of a time to make. All in all, it's basically a plethora of random drawings. (both hand-drawn and digitally drawn) I took my inspiration from MEAD folders I bought at NEX one day. It was filled with sort of the same style with the separate images...so I decided I try and mirror that, as well as adding in my own input to the whole piece. :P

Do you think it's a good idea to update you folks or not? If so, I'll be willing to update you guys with what Krista has to offer as well.

While researching some causes on why this site has been crashing more often lately, I had sudden attacks of dizziness. Can't explain why. I still kinda feel it now. Tells you something about my physical shape. Sexy.

I had a plan to post up some new music today, but I never had a chance to record it. Well, actually, I probably did have some opportunities, but I got lazy. It was just going to be two tracks playing on top of each other, with one delayed by about half a beat. Some interesting fugal elements arise with such a set up, especially when using a Bach as your base. But. Again, lazy. And tired. Maybe I'll get some motivation next week.

Oh, and I got a haircut. This time I think I'll be prepared for the usual onslaught of women/lesbian jokes. I actually think it looks quite terrible. At least it has time to grow.

Maybe I'll shave my mustache too. Wow, my posts haven't gotten this personal in years. I can say that now. Years.

Hublog. Going strong since 2004. And life beats on.

Thats funny. Beats on. That might be a new slogan. "And life beats on." At least it rhymes with "theblacktop.com." Better than "theblacktop.com for fun." Or something. Actually.

Slogan contest. Just comment as many slogans as you wish and I'll put up a post of the best few - if I get that many - and you guys can vote on a new slogan. Or I'll just pick the best. Or no one will comment about this and I'll just stick with beating off. I mean on.

Here, I'll even go and find a picture and put a witty caption on it just to draw attention to the fact that I'm holding a contest. But you've already seen that funny result because its at the top of this post. (thanks for taking the picture, 8th grade krista. i think i'm going to start headlining all my posts with embarrassing pictures from the past.)

And while I'm at it, I'm going to predict some things that will happen on the first few days of school that I wish would not happen anymore.

• Pre-tests
• Jokes about my name
• Assigned seats
• Nametags
• Icebreaker involving getting signatures of people who fit the particular attribute in the box they are signing

Actually, if someone experiences all of these, they win a prize as well.

The contests are on.

• Sued by the RIAA? Read this - Its no secret that we (our demographic) fits perfectly into the profile of an illegal file-sharer and copyright-infringer. A lot of us even admit it. And a lot of us admit to buying the CD afterwards as well. Either way, you need to know your rights online if you get sued by the RIAA or MPAA. That is, if we do these illegal things. Which. We don't. Read this in case you friends. Do these things. Which they. Might.


• At the end of the day, he's retarded - Guy gets "trendy" tattoo in Chinese, you know, how everyone always does. Guy gets totally pwned by culture. Way to show it to the white man, Chinese girls.


• Waking up an elephant seal - Tip of the day: Don't.

con an ftw

Shameless plugs never hurt anyone, right?

Please enjoy browsing over Krista's fantastic art and maybe look at mine's too. If you want, that is.

Well, yesterday, it was. But I fell asleep and didn't have time to update. However, even though today is Saturday, its not Saturday. Huh. Very interesting.

Well I went to meet with my MYPPP mentor yesterday and out of nowhere in Plaza she pulls out Mrs. Winn. Uh oh. I had previous told my mentor that I was a bit confused and stuff so the first thought I had when I saw her was what she was going to tell Camper. Which, I hope, the answer is a prompt "nothing."

And to make a long story short, I slept from 10-1:30 last night on the couch. I missed Conan. Brar.

• All the Futurama episodes - I know I've posted this before, but now I'm actually watching them. I hope I don't waste too much time like I did streaming Family Guy.


• What schizophrenia does - Four chilling images that sums up quite well what schizophrenia can do to the brain. An artist drew his perceptions of a cat throughout his progression into madness. The last image is especially frightening. It makes you think a lot.


• indexed - And finally, ending on a higher note: indexed. This guy draws graphs and charts on index cards and the data is actually quite humorous. I would add this to my "daily reads" list next to, of course, 9legged.

pants ftw

School blows.

It's a pain in the ass.

Ha.

Well maybe you've heard my "school is rape" metaphor. It is. Right when you think everything is over, they just shove more homework into you. Bigger, longer, harder homework. It really is a pain in the ass. Maybe it's just my bad planning, but I haven't found much time to do stuff, other than Saturday nights, but I end up having lots more homework to do on Sunday. I even tried not to procrastinate this year. [See? I told you I would work hard this year.] Which is crazy. I still end up finding out we have more homework or we have to study for something. At the WORST times. Like 10pm. Well. I am doing alright though. Which is good. This week was the beginning of some homework issues though :\. I am going to make up a bunch of homework this weekend Sunday. Two Art History assignments, bi-weekly, possibly math, and all my B-day homework that is due Monday. Too bad my Saturday is packed with Chink school stuff. Maybe I am too involved this year. Last year I didn't do shit. Other than homecoming hallway. I said I would this year. I did. Yesterday, I went back to school at 6:30 - 8:30. Pretty tired after that. Maybe because the day before that I stayed at school/the mall/Barnes and Noble the whole day, until like 9:30. Stayed up till 1 doing homework. Tried to do homework last night, but fell asleep :\. Too bad. Well, I also tried to re-adjust my sleeping hours. However, I just keep getting raped in the ass by homework. Well whatever. That's what I get for going to IB I guess.

I realize I may be just bitching about school, but that's over for now in this entry. But, isn't that what a blog is for? I just hope no teachers read this or anything...

Wow. Well now that Greg is visiting hublog 9legged by Hu, there seems to be much more activity on this site. It has been revitalized. There is a thin ray of hope. We should get crackin' on new stuff for the marketplace.

"I also tried to re-adjust my sleeping hours."
Almost 11. Obviously that isn't working out for me.

You jacking it? From the Daily Show.

I started watching Lord of War today but I was too tired and fell asleep halfway through. So I did the smart thing and stopped it and flipped on CNN. Totally slept for maybe 3 hours this afternoon.

So I can stay up. Like now.

• Full Musharraf interview with Stewart - This aired a few days ago. The President of Pakistan sat down on the Daily Show, had tea, and twinkies. Oh, and he doesn't know where bin Laden is. Just for the record.


• Conan's Car - Funny old bit about Conan trying to sell his car in Manhattan. One of his "in-the-field" bits.


• Boys must sit down to pee - In Kristiansand, Norway, boys in schools are being forced to pee sitting down. ... um, I never know when its the proper time to say this, but, WTF. Opponents argue that sitting down is against the will of God. I think that sitting down is just gay. Proponents argue that guys can't aim. Okay. Well. Maybe I'll give them that. But that still doesn't mean that guys have to sit down. Just build wider toilets or stalls. Seriously. This is actually going on. Its complete bull. I guess in Norway, men are used to being treated as women. Ouch. Or maybe they'll fight the power.

Whoops. My foot is bleeding.
OOOHH! And Steve Wozniak is Colbert's show. The Woz is one of the founders of Apple Computer and one of the greatest contributors to the Apple II, a breakthrough in personal computing. Steve Jobs is the only Apple Steve getting attention, but the Woz has a huge history. k. Now let me watch.

woz ftw

Everyone, if you didn't go to Homecoming Hall today, go.

GO AND HELP OUT

Come join the That 70's Show group. I'm in it. And theres only three other people. We could really use your help. I haven't seen an episode of that show but it doesn't matter. You don't have to. Come help.

• 25 signs that sadly, you've grown up - Thank the lord I am the complete opposite of that list.


• The Science of Sleep (youtube alternative) - I really want to see this movie. Really bad. Its got the same guy that did Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Another really good movie. Too bad its only in LA and NY right now. It was originally French. And some parts are actually still in French. Eternal Sunshine was one of those movies that right after you watch it, you immediately like it and want to watch it again. Partly because of how confusing it is. And another part is how real it was in a totally unrealistic way. Using the abstract to describe the real. Now thats art.

She'll drive you crazy. I never get the one I like anyway.

So last night was another one of those 'wow i really dont have too much homework so ill just relieve myself by passing out at 10:30' nights. i figure. i can do the math in the atrium. its not that hard. you should come and join the party. dressed to kill. i participated in the young libertarian's club yesterday. its more or less one of those ib clubs that gets established so that people can say they were president of a club. some tenets of libertarianism do appeal to me, though. and other times i think libertarians are so stupid. i havent made up my mind on them.

so ive gotten in the habit of watching the factor every night at 8. the first thing i want to share with you is a 'poll,' since liberals like to represent what they believe to be the will of the people. when asked on how the cia should treat prisoners to get information out of them, (this is a fox poll) 5 percent said that we should give them geneva convention rights, 65 said we should use forced coercive methods, and 31 said we should use torture. secondly, juan aquento i believe is his name. juan is his first name. he hopped the border, raped a 12 year old girl, pleaded guilty to it, got out of jailtime by serving out a probation sentence, the feds put him back in mexico, then he crossed back over and gunned down a cop. and this happened in houston. supposedly the most conservative city in the nation. i dont understand why people arent marching in the streets.

i do have to shower though, and label who's next so i can put it on my ipod. farewell, then. yes, i realize eminence front isn't on who's next. it just kept on showing up when i tried downloading who's next stuff. so i figured id download it and athena.






Townshend has introduced the song in live performances with the words, "this song is about what happens when you take too much white powder. It's called 'Eminence Front'."

The drinks flow
People forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget
Forget they're hiding
The news slows
People forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget
Forget they're hiding.

makes sense, in a metaphorical way.

I watched Cinderella Man today; not a bad movie. Really not a bad movie. Very dramatic at parts. I'd say maybe even moreso than Million Dollar Baby. I think its more of a guys movie than Baby was. Russell Crowe didn't do an exceptional job, but his supporting actor, Paul Giamatti, was excellent. That was also the bald guy in Sideways. Which was too slow and boring for my taste. But Cinderella Man was good. I'd score it a 9/10. Thats a A- or B+ on a Tens system.

Doing backwards ordered lists is too painful. So I'm just gonna do dots. Best ones at the bottom.

• Can anyone see whats wrong with this picture? - I really like this game. I really do. I'd like it better if it the subject matter wasn't this grim and saddening.


• Trunk Monkey - A series of commercials featuring, well, the trunk monkey. He's pretty cool. If he came in my car, I'd probably keep it. Oh, and they're also funny commercials.


• Musical stereotypes are true - New scientific evidence suggests that the people who listen to classical music as opposed to rap are smarter. Um. Duh. Its not that the people who listen to classical music are nessecarily smarter, its just that the people who listen to rap music has lower IQs. Thats my opinion. Check out the short article; its a good quiz. Also don't forget to contribute to the research and take the survey at the end.

cc ftw

Are you going to go to the place thats best?

I had Spirit in the Sky stuck in my head all day yesterday cause I had that scene from Waynes World 2 stuck in my head where they shoot tennis balls at the roadies. Cause I got nowhere else to go.

Since I added RSS feeds for 9legged comments and posts, its been very convenient for me. I have a feed reader that checks feeds for me ever 5 minutes so I can keep tabs on the site. If something happens, I'll know within 5 minutes. I didn't bother adding one for the bloober cause, well. Its the bloober. Comments > bloober. I recommend you guys read up on RSS and what it is, but you guys probably won't.

3. Hows your neighborhood real-estate doing? - Type in your zip code and this thing'll cleverly integrate the Google Maps API with real estate facts and figures. Virginia Beach is currently HOT. Houses in my neighborhood are selling for $400,000+. Can't imagine why. They suck.


2. Is it Friday? - Best. Site. Ever. This is my homepage. Make sure you guys donate towards the costs of running the vital service. Also, be sure to make sure if its 5:30pm or not. Again, I cannot stress the importance of donating to the vital service.


1. Travis Barker talks trash about Tom - Everyone knows about the "indefinate hiatus" Blink 182 took a while back. And everyone that knew just a little bit of detail (or read the wiki page one day) knew that Tom was one of the biggest factors contributing to the break up. Now it seems that Tom Delonge and his managers are the sole contributors. A bunch of managers and higher-up people told Barker to keep it cool and act like the band was fine, and thats how the "indefinate hiatus" came about. However, it really was a "conspiracy" of Tom quitting. "[I'm] coming out a year later and telling the truth. About being like, 'Yeah, we were on our way to go play a tsunami benefit (Music for Relief: Rebuilding South Asia)', and Tom didn't call, but his manager did, and he said that Tom couldn't contain his shit long enough to play a song for people who were suffering, which was pretty sad to me."

That Blinks news puts a whole new spin on things, don't it?

wii ftw

"What you lookin at you fag???"
"That thing between your legs. It's like a penis. Only smaller."

From The Covenant. Maybe it's just me but I found that part hilarious.

Review time.

First I should give you guys a quick overview of what it is about [without spoiling anything of course]. So I won't. Go imdb it or something.

Well like I said last night, I felt this movie had a lot of potential, but left a bit more to be desired. The movie is about 4 guys, who are called "The Sons of Ipswitch" [sp?], but throughout this whole movie, you barely see much about the sons. Just one, Caleb. He is the main character [duh.] of this movie. The whole movie just focuses on him too much. So what about the 3 other guys? Well they show up often enough to not be just side characters, but barely anything happens with them throughout the movie. They are caught in a limbo between supporting roles and extras. There is absolutely no character development with them. Well with anyone really for that matter. They spent so much time during the first half of the movie showing the guys and some little scuffles between them. Nothing more than a "Ha, he totally got the girl and you didn't. Here's some Kleenex's, and they aren't for your tears." So what was this time spent doing? Some plot development. Key word being some. So how slowly does the plot develop? You don't really find out the real conflict and antagonist until the second half of the movie. Sure, that seems alright, you don't find out the true mastermind until the very end right? Wrong. There isn't much of a feeling of their being a "mastermind" at all in the first half of the movie. Just this girl getting some freaky hunches. Which they don't really even elaborate on. Well anyways. They dragged things on too long. The second half is where it starts getting exciting. Maybe a bit too exciting. So excited the ending just came quickly. Ha. Did ya catch the sexual innuendo? In maybe 30 minutes or less, the bad guy reveals himself, his true goal, and totally owns one of the sons of Ipsbitch, while the protaganist, Caleb, gets owned kind of, devises a plan, gets in an epic battle, gets saved, and defeats the evil sonofabitch. O yea, and did I also mention he gets the girl and all is well with everyone? Well almost everyone... Sure, it was all good. Just too short. They dragged out things that shouldn't have been dragged out, then compressed all the important stuff in a short time. Maybe there were time constraints. Maybe this is just one of those movies that doesn't have much plot. Maybe it was just because I was dissapointed by the lack of action. There were some intense parts with some action-packed music at the beginning, this made me want more. More didn't really come until the final battle at the end :\. They could have over-dramatisized some parts. I can't believe I actually even suggested that. I am serious though. Could have made it more intense with the self sacrificing and stuff. Well anyways. It was a good movie though. It was kinda like a blend between the movies I don't like, which is just filled with "omg H4w7 GuR1z" and "*squeee* hot guys!!!!!" and lots of nothing, and Underworld [which kicked ass]. Maybe they were trying to stray away from it being to overdramatic. Overall, it was good. 4 out of 5. 4 being "Wow, I would seriously consider watching this again." instead of a 5, being "Dude, I just came in my pants." "Same here man. Same here."

Annnnyways. Racism in the theater!!!
Alex Ma [Eric Ma's younger brother] and I sat in the 2nd row from the front. Five [insert race here] girls sat in front of us. O. My. God. I wanted to just teach them a lesson so badly. So did everyone else in the theater. I was seriously considering my "Accidentally spill large soda on douchebag" tactic. Serious. Just, they don't make a soda large enough to span 5 seats. Too bad there wasn't a 7-Eleven around. Well they were so loud during the movie. When something happened, like maybe a spider crawled out of someone's forhead, they would laugh. The WHOLE THEATER would be consumed by their sound. I couldn't hear the couple next to me talking cute to each other. Then during this one part, where a girl in the movie screams, a girl in the front screamed a long [not out of fright, just for the hell of it]. She was LOUDER THAN THE SOUNDTRACK. They were giggling and talking and everything. They were so f-ing loud. Then the guy next to me [1/2 of that aforementioned couple] told them to shut the hell up. I wish they would have too. Well then they said something which I didn't quite catch. Basically a "no." Then they started saying stupid stuff about the mall being Lynnhaven and [insert their race here] and stuff like "This ain't Pembrooke" or whatever mall they said. Man, you could tell that guy was pissed. They kept saying stuff and he was just making sounds to mock them. Like you know when you are trying to piss someone off and you make a weird face and make like "Nyeh" sounds. Yea. That. Well then this lady in the back of the theater was like "You guys need to be quiet in the front." Well anyways. I bet everyone in the theater just wanted to say the same thing. Not because of the guy, but because of those girls. Well anyways, our savior came in later. Security guard! Well he looked more policeman like. They were talking still and he just stood next to their row [they were on the edge]. Then they slowly got quieter, then he told them how they had to stfu before he pwn3d their asses out of the theater. Well then he left to stand at the entrance of the theater. Was it over? To an extent. They were softer. For a while. The guy left. They got louder again at times, but not as constant. What they did do though was throw something behind them and hit Alex in the face. Then they threw gum onto the screen. Seriously. right on the movie.

So how racist are you really? Everyone has some racism in them. Prejudice is human nature. So what race were they? You tell me. What do you think? I bet you $20 that you thought they were of African American descent.

It's just the way we are. We are all a bit racist.

Wow. What a long post.

So I was talking to Greg today and then he vocalized some complaints about 9legged, and I'm going to repost them here to see everyone else's input and comments on them.

1:04:51 PM icexoke: First the negatives: the overall tone as eric said is pretty depressing, atleast as ive been reading it. Then, the subject matter. I dont generally read blogs, so mayber they are all like this but
1:05:33 PM icexoke: the talk of macs and getting new computer screens and stuff and what not, that bores a casual reader
1:05:44 PM icexoke: i understand that this is a pretty tight circle blog
1:06:39 PM icexoke: so maybe the people in the circle would like it and appreciate it better, but the ppl outside the circle who kind of look in and read it, they will be like "what the hell? who uses a mac these days?" well maybe they wont
1:06:45 PM icexoke: day that but they will be pretty bored
1:06:49 PM icexoke: *say
1:07:08 PM icexoke: however it isnt all that bad
1:07:13 PM dude5756: valid points.
1:07:19 PM dude5756: yeah, the site has its moments
1:07:26 PM dude5756: what kind of content do you want to see more of, though?
1:08:33 PM icexoke: well, at times you can be pretty clever, and that is cool. and also i dont think you should try to appeal to readers, atleast not directly. I know that doesnt make sense because i just finished telling you that readers will be bored by this content
1:09:19 PM icexoke: what im saying is, you need to keep to your own thing, and not try to please people, you should be funny and clever for your own pleasrue(did that ryme?) and just

Addressing the depressing tone, yeah, sure. I was having my moments. But I think loyal readers know that its not always like that. And about all the Mac crap I write about, well, if that wasn't there for filler, the site would be empty kinda. What do you guys think, though? Greg and I talked some more later and I decided I should start doing dailies again. Wee. This time in a more logical 3-2-1 order with 1 being the best link of the day.

3. Nintendo yourself - Putting your name into the Nintendo logo, pretty cool. I'd use it to make a Hublog/9legged logo, but when you put those into the box the result is dumb.


2. Every single freaking episode of Futurama, streamed! - Need I to explain more? I haven't exactly watched any because I fear that if I start, I wouldn't be able to stop. If you have some time to throw away, I recommend you guys check this out. You guys also might want to check out all the episodes of The Simpsons and South Park.


1. All Look Same? - Take the test. You get a series of images and have to tell if the person is Korean, Japanese, or Chinese. I scored a pitiful 6/18; below average. I'm curious to know what everyone else gets.

I also had a New Music Sunday planned for today, but the thing I wrote yesterday was pretty terrible at only 12 measures long. Plus, I'm using a demo version of GP5. I don't know what I'm going to use when I have to write stuff for my MYPPP. My mentor still hasn't gotten back to me about meeting =x.

I guess dailies will be shorter from now on. I already kinda miss doing posts with small chunks of content.

Like this.

But who says they're going away?


rss ftw

It is kind of ironic how the update page has a link labeled "make new funny." All we have been doing lately is making new emo. Well other than my post about the immaturity of American drivers. David has been pretty down it seems. I have been just a bit worried and a bit down. Worried mainly about school and stuff. Also about many other things in my private life. It's just that it seems that all my life, when I have a goal to achieve, all that is thrown in my way is doubt. I mean, sure there are people out there who will support me and stuff, but, there is still a lot of doubt. Well, some of it wouldn't really be doubt, but more like things people say to me that cause me to develop this doubt. It's like some people throw some chains on me and others toss them to me and I put them on myself. So why can't I take them off? Well of course, self-doubt. It's just real hard for me to be optimistic or self-confident with all the experiences I have gone through. I am optimistic, but not openly. I know that if I am openly optimistic about something, and it doesn't turn out well, the effect will be worse. I shield myself.

I have to cut this short. Time for my 11PM Nazi bedtime.

Watched The Covenant today. i give it 4 stars out of 5. Pretty good overall. Had good potential. Just left more to be desired though. In my opinion, they could have done so much more to make it better. Well since I have to cut this short, I will provide details tomorrow. Bad directing? Time constraints, good parts cut off? Or racism in the theater? More tomorrow night, on 9legged.

captain chen out.

This message brought to you by headon! Apply directly to forehead!

Christmas came a bit early for me this year, I guess. I got a new setup with my computer since my old desktop got fried and my dad said my laptop's screen was too small. Not bad of a setup. It makes me feel guilty talking about it, so, I won't. I think we're rich now. Either that, or I seriously underestimated that grant my dad got.

I just finished watching that movie Duplex with Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore. Earlier in the day I was watching something on Youtube and thought I was going to be laughing. But, I didn't. And then for the next half hour I had to laugh really bad. I searched Youtube for Celebrity Jeopardy, Conan, Colbert, anything funny. Nothing would do it. So I went through the list of stuff I got from China. Duplex seemed appealing. I think I'm mental. Not for selecting Duplex but for having the need to laugh.

Anyway, on Duplex. It wasn't really that good, but it wasn't really terribly bad, either. Actually. It was more bad than good. But maybe that was because my DVD skips at the climatical parts. A theme of the movie is devilish irony and well... skipping at climatical parts is a bit... ironic. Devily. There was a bit twist at the end but its not like I didn't guess that about 3/4 into the movie. And its got one of those "oh, don't let that happen... that can't happen" overtones. Out of a comedy movie. Shouldn't be there. Score: 6/10. That'll be an E if we were grading on the oh-so-mighty VBCPS grading scale.

If colleges look at GPA's with 4 being an A, 3 being a B and etc., doesn't VBCPS put us at a disadvantage when our standards for A's and B's are higher? Maybe thats just a perk of being ahead of the curve.

Yeah. I just Wiki'd it.

Usually, though, primary and secondary schools use fixed systems. The traditional system is the "Tens System", written as (90/80/70/60). In other words, the lowest A (or A/B line) is at 90%, while the lowest D (or D/F line) is at 60%. In order either to set a higher standard or correct for grade inflation, however, some schools use the "Nines System" (92/83/74/65) or "Eights System" (either 93/85/77/70 or 94/86/78/70). Usually, the system employed does may make grading easier, since difficulty of exam questions may be calibrated to the grading system; indeed, exams in a school using the Tens System are often more difficult than those in schools using the other systems.

I guess our Eights System is just easier.

One funny thing is that "[u]sually, the system employed does may make grading easier" phrase. I guess our English teachers have always been right about people like Nelson writing things on Wikipedia. =\. I actually read a little blog post about being wary of Wikipedia a while ago. Well, it was titled "Students warned to be wary of Wikipedia," at least. The article actually ends up praising it and comparing it to Britannica. I guess the student does only use Wiki as his souce if he makes those kind of mistakes.

So in conclusion, if we were on a Tens System like the rest of the world, Duplex would have gotten an F. Although it seems that the Eights system is gaining traction.

In conclusion? Sorry to turn this into a term paper, guys.

captain dave out.

I don't know whats wrong with me. One minute I feel fine, the next, elated, and then seconds later I'll be totally down as ever. Whats going on?

Do you ever get into the shower, finish washing, then just kinda stand there in the water just letting it hit you? And you just kinda stand there, thinking?

I think I've wasted at least an hour this week doing that.

Why does Patience end happily? They got what it takes to make it, they won't take it. Yet they still got divorced.

Aren't all songs like that? They get you damn depressed at the start until the end where it ends happy. Its never like that.

Damn. Talking like that Catcher in the Rye guy again.


I guess Captain Dave is out. He doesn't want to be out of it, but does he have any choice?

I'm out of it.

(For now.)

Woa. This is totally off topic, but I found a bug on my laptop monitor not to long ago that was like the size of 1 pixel. Pretty fucking crazy if you ask me. I was going to take a picture of it, well what I could of it, but when I came back with my camera, it was gone. Well anyways. It was pretty fucking small. It is smaller than one of these periods. or the dots above the i's. It just looked like a tiny pixel slowly making it's way across my screen. It is pretty amazing how there are creatures of so many shapes and sizes in this world. It is a wonder how they survive. How does a bug like that find it's way around? How does it survive? Ah, the wonders of nature. Anyways. Enough entomology for now. Ha. Entomology. Trees? Wha?

Well yesterday I went to school at 6:30 and got picked up around 9-ish. Props and running. It was pretty fun and stuff, just I didn't get any of my homework done :\. Shame. On the way there, my dad pissed off this guy on the road. Well, it involves a mistake on my dad's part and the total immaturity and retardation of the other driver. My dad was going to switch lanes, but he did not realize the car was almost next to us, it looked to him as if it was behind us [in that lane]. Well my dad goes for it, then swerves back out and we hear honking. Well then the guy shows up next to us a couple of times [because we were approaching an intersection with traffic lights and we had to slow down/speed up]. First time I see him just staring at us with a "O no you didn't just do that girlfriend." face. Then I see him mouthing something. What he was saying? I have no idea. I can't hear through car windows. I hope the bastard wasn't saying any fucking curse words because he had a little girl sitting next to him. What a bad fucking example. Well what was hilarious was at one point along that road he decided to swerve toward us and away as a "Oooo how do you like that, bitch?" kind of move. Christina and I were just laughing. O yea, did I mention Christina was on the car in the backseat? Anyways. I just found that immature. Well then he shows up again [his window is partly down this time] and I heard him politely ask "YOU THINK THAT'S FUNNY!?!?" Well not because we were laughing, but yea. What my dad did wasn't that funny. What he did was. Well my dad was waving my hand in a "sorry" gesture and then after he did the swerve at us thing, my dad was like smiling and pointing his index finger at him in a "Ahhh hahaha well played." kind of way. Made me laugh even harder. Well anyways. Nothing else really happened other than the fact that he kept staring at our car the WHOLE TIME. Scary ass shit. Everytime we neared him we would check if he was still looking. I was just waiting for us to stop and him to rush out of his car and do something crazy. Like talk about how great Sony has been doing lately. Well anyways. We turned at the intersection, he stayed to go forward. Stared at us the whole time while we turned...

Maybe it is just because of driver's ed class, maybe I thought he was being immature, or maybe I'm just racist, but I feel that he was a very bad example, both as a liscensed driver and an adult. First of all, he didn't pay attention to the fucking road half the time. Am I really that good to look at? I can see why he got worked up about it, but not to his extreme degree. He had a child on the car and it was a pretty scary situation, but nothing very drastic could have happened. Well second thing is the child. He is shouting and everything. This happened to us once on the bus at ODC. Some lady cursed out my bus driver, because she stopped somewhere [even though she was allowed to], while her daughter was on the car. The kid wasn't too old either. Great parenting indeed. Well anyways the guy's kid was what really made this more serious. If it was just him, he can just be a douchebag, but I mean he has to worry about the safety of a passenger. One who is sitting in the front seat and head does not even reach the headrest. Seriously. What if his little "How do you like that bitch?" really got us in an accident? Well whatever. Maybe that is just the way middle-aged, caucasian males are. Lots of middle-aged angst yo, stickin' it to the man. Well what was funny was he wore sunglasses and his facial expressions just reminded me so much of Mr. McGrath.

And parents try to blame video games,
like Mario, for the bad things kids do...

Ha, the tags turned out pretty funny. Kind of.