Have any of you guys seen Swamp People? I may or may not have spent my day off watching a marathon. I'm completely fascinated.
Also enjoyable- Game of Thrones, both the tv show and the book (although there are things that George Martin does that I do NOT approve of). I'm pretty excited to read the second one.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Friday, April 15, 2011
Dropbox
In case you guys are interested, I mentioned this nice new program called Dropbox while we were in Chicago, here is the info: Always have your stuff when you need it with @Dropbox. 2GB account is free! http://db.tt/gboWABK.
If we all have dropbox accounts then we can share various files like Pictures and other fun goodies. If you sign up you can link to my e-mail address butler2011@lawnet.ucla.edu. You can learn more about it by checking out the tour here.
If we all have dropbox accounts then we can share various files like Pictures and other fun goodies. If you sign up you can link to my e-mail address butler2011@lawnet.ucla.edu. You can learn more about it by checking out the tour here.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Suite Soundtrack Addition
I regret to inform you all, we have a new addition to our Suite Soundtrack. We all know "It's The Weekend," because it describes the moment and gets the party started. But let's be real, is that really specific enough? We need to start breaking it down by days. Luckily, the lovely Rebecca Black has taken the liberty of breaking it down for us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0
Enjoy ... you will soon be infected with the "Black Plague" (distant relative to "Beiber Fever").
You're welcome.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD2LRROpph0
Enjoy ... you will soon be infected with the "Black Plague" (distant relative to "Beiber Fever").
You're welcome.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
I'm alive?!? I know, I'm surprised too...
So I may or may not have just read the blog for the first time in a couple of months. I should probably just cut my losses and move on, but I'm gonna backtrack a little bit to previous subjects (in no particular order).
Rant:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2114755097/
This infuriates me. We only use 20% of our brains? Bullshit. We use way more than that. I might buy it if someone said we can only exactly pinpoint the function of 20% of our brains, but really with imaging and technology these days, I wouldn't be surprised if it was more. This is my biggest pet peeve ever in the media. It's a hugely pervasive idea that is just so wrong it hurts my soul. I'm sure you guys have heard me bitch about this before, but I'm doing it again anyway. Also, Bradley Cooper- kind of annoys me these days. I don't know when that happened, but it did.
TV
Shows I hate: 30 Rock and Glee. 30 rock because I have these 2 friends who think it came from God himself and that it's just the best show ever when in fact it's a mediocre show with generally annoying characters that haven't gotten any new jokes in 4 years. However, I think I probably wouldn't hate it as much if they didn't love it so much; I kind of feel like I need to counter their undeserving love with my undeserving hate in order to bring balance back into the universe. As for Glee, it's just not my thing. I find it trite and cliche and the fact that it doesn't pull on my heartstrings makes me feel like I must be insensitive to bullying and the plight of gay teens or something. That annoys me.
Shows I love: Fringe and some BBC shows (Being Human, Sherlock Holmes, and Misfits). Fringe is awesome. There are alternate universes, doppelgangers, evil plans, humor, and something totally gross happens just about every week. How could I say no to these things? Answer: I can't. I don't know what's up with me and British television right now, but I like it. It has kind of a weird vibe so it always takes me a few episodes to get into it, but then I'm totally hooked. It's really annoying though that each season is like 7 episodes long. I'm never ready for it to be over.
Shows I love that you'll judge me for (and probably rightly so): The Vampire Diaries and Cougar Town. I'm going to refer you to this article (http://www.avclub.com/articles/ten-reasons-you-should-be-watching-the-vampire-dia,50681/) on The Vampire Diaries because it is so true. The pacing is great, the storyline is interesting, and Boone is beyond awesome. As for Cougar Town, I think it's light-hearted and fun. They've dropped the cougar premise of the show and now it's just a bunch of friends who hang out and drink wine a lot. I like it.
My Life:
Is boring. But has recently begun transitioning into boring and stressful. We're signing up for our 3rd year rotation schedule at the end of the month, and it's kind of freaking me out even though I know it shouldn't. Plus, I take boards (aka the test that will determine my future) on April 14th, and that is uncomfortably close.
Reunions:
Bum me out. I'm not going to be able to meet up with you guys because of boards, and I have a sneaking suspicion I won't be making it to Meem's wedding in June. Theoretically, I could be on an easier rotation with weekends off and fly into Naples, but I'm reluctant to arrange all my scheduling around 1 wedding. Plus, Meem says we should get there on Wednesday or Thursday and that definitely won't happen regardless of the rotation I'm in. So yeah. Bummed out.
And... that's all I got. My B for being long winded.
Rant:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2114755097/
This infuriates me. We only use 20% of our brains? Bullshit. We use way more than that. I might buy it if someone said we can only exactly pinpoint the function of 20% of our brains, but really with imaging and technology these days, I wouldn't be surprised if it was more. This is my biggest pet peeve ever in the media. It's a hugely pervasive idea that is just so wrong it hurts my soul. I'm sure you guys have heard me bitch about this before, but I'm doing it again anyway. Also, Bradley Cooper- kind of annoys me these days. I don't know when that happened, but it did.
TV
Shows I hate: 30 Rock and Glee. 30 rock because I have these 2 friends who think it came from God himself and that it's just the best show ever when in fact it's a mediocre show with generally annoying characters that haven't gotten any new jokes in 4 years. However, I think I probably wouldn't hate it as much if they didn't love it so much; I kind of feel like I need to counter their undeserving love with my undeserving hate in order to bring balance back into the universe. As for Glee, it's just not my thing. I find it trite and cliche and the fact that it doesn't pull on my heartstrings makes me feel like I must be insensitive to bullying and the plight of gay teens or something. That annoys me.
Shows I love: Fringe and some BBC shows (Being Human, Sherlock Holmes, and Misfits). Fringe is awesome. There are alternate universes, doppelgangers, evil plans, humor, and something totally gross happens just about every week. How could I say no to these things? Answer: I can't. I don't know what's up with me and British television right now, but I like it. It has kind of a weird vibe so it always takes me a few episodes to get into it, but then I'm totally hooked. It's really annoying though that each season is like 7 episodes long. I'm never ready for it to be over.
Shows I love that you'll judge me for (and probably rightly so): The Vampire Diaries and Cougar Town. I'm going to refer you to this article (http://www.avclub.com/articles/ten-reasons-you-should-be-watching-the-vampire-dia,50681/) on The Vampire Diaries because it is so true. The pacing is great, the storyline is interesting, and Boone is beyond awesome. As for Cougar Town, I think it's light-hearted and fun. They've dropped the cougar premise of the show and now it's just a bunch of friends who hang out and drink wine a lot. I like it.
My Life:
Is boring. But has recently begun transitioning into boring and stressful. We're signing up for our 3rd year rotation schedule at the end of the month, and it's kind of freaking me out even though I know it shouldn't. Plus, I take boards (aka the test that will determine my future) on April 14th, and that is uncomfortably close.
Reunions:
Bum me out. I'm not going to be able to meet up with you guys because of boards, and I have a sneaking suspicion I won't be making it to Meem's wedding in June. Theoretically, I could be on an easier rotation with weekends off and fly into Naples, but I'm reluctant to arrange all my scheduling around 1 wedding. Plus, Meem says we should get there on Wednesday or Thursday and that definitely won't happen regardless of the rotation I'm in. So yeah. Bummed out.
And... that's all I got. My B for being long winded.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Guess who's back
Hey hey,
So I am alive, checking the blog a little less frequently than uh, I should. School is going pretty well, I've gotten through 3 months of internal medicine, 6 weeks of psychiatry, and I'm currently starting my 6 week family medicine rotation. Psychiatry was actually a blast, I was told by one of my delirious patients that I was one of the "bad boys" of the hospital. I've also been called Doogie a few times, offered to be adopted by a nice old couple, and just yesterday a patient asked if I was 18 and called me "scooter" through the interview. No one appreciates boyish good looks these days.
Speaking of that, life on the lady front is currently nonexistent. Uh, so no update there.
Not quite sure that I want to be a neurosurgeon anymore, it seems like the closer I get to being done with med school the more I want to have a real job and not 7 years more of residency. I've also been told by basically everyone that I'd make a good internal medicine doctor. We'll see though, I have my surgery rotation next and I'll give it a fair shot.
Joseph, are they doing a VATS? Seems like that might give some resolution, sucks to have to go through that though. I have a good primary spontaneous pneumothorax summary article if you want.
Our 2nd REUNION is long overdue ~ So our 3rd year rotations are all set, but 4th year we get electives and time off. Plus I have spring break March 26 to April 3 (I think) if we're planning ahead
Okay, that's all for now; it is the weekend after all, I've got to go pick up my wages
Dan
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Fuckin A'
Hi...remember me?
First...where's my drunk dial, Robin? Its 10 pm EST...what the fuck?
Second, my life is a crazy mess of crazy. I did a (fake) rape trial this morning for a grade...and have been blowing off the extensive (read: paper due weds.) amount of work I have to do. there is rum in my glass...Jessie is asleep on the couch behind me, and I'm doing shitless, thankless work that I don't want to be doing right now because it means that I can drink while I do it and listen to the Inception soundtrack.
(COMPLETE sidenote...in hindsight, Inception was fucking awesome. Robin, I know we saw it together. I know that you had issues with it (because you're you) but a few months out--that was a fucking awesome movie. That's the kind of movie that I could grab a SoCo black and limeade to and watch on a projector wall after playing beirut...if you know what I mean).
Anyways...I have interviews with DA offices this week, so I'll be in NYC on Sunday-Monday and Chicago on Friday-Saturday, all in the hopes of protecting your safety for lower-than-deserved pay.
Oh...and next weekend, I'm probably going to get inappropriately drunk. Or watch as my immune system implodes. Haven't decided which yet.
I love you guys.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Cee-Lo
You should all find some way to listen to "The Lady Killer" by Cee-Lo Green (except Nick who I am sure already has). This album just dropped last week. It is awesome. http://www.myspace.com/ceelogreen
That is all.
That is all.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Joseph is Coming to Boston This Weekend. . .
The rest of you should expect to be drunk dialed gratuitously.
That is all.
That is all.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I do love ranting. . .
You know, in case you guys forgot.
Anyway, MIT has really been pissing me off recently, which we'll call excuse #1 why I haven't been posting on the blog. I was supposed to take the last part of my qualifying exam this semester, so I've spent most of the semester wasting time and telling myself I should start studying. They were supposed to assign me a testing committee with whom I would schedule my exam. Well it's been two months or so and I still don't have a committee, which means I still don't have an exam day. It's damn near impossible to schedule anything in December, and professors are so busy they can't be scheduled less than a month in advance, let alone three of them for the same time. All this together adds up to about half a semester wasted waiting for a committee assignment and no exam until next semester. BLAH. Also I apparently had a class I need for graduation listed as P/F instead of a grade for credit. After 6 months of hounding various administrative offices here I finally got them to switch it but god damn it was a lot of work. OK I'm done ranting for now.
The silver lining in this exam being pushed back is I have more time to do actual research, which is actually going pretty well. I'm working on a paper right now that I'm hoping to get submitted some time this year. I still have a bunch of analysis to do, but it's some cool stuff. I'll be presenting some measurements on a new material we just reported earlier this year, as well as using those measurements to shed light on an interesting material that is as of yet not well understood. I'll have more on this as it progresses.
The other thing that's been absorbing my time is that I'm TAing this semester for MIT's freshman physics class. It's a lot of work, and grading is a bitch, but overall I'm enjoying it. I get to interact with students in class because the class is taught in this quasi-lecture quasi-group activity format. It's pretty cool. Also, the guy I work for has told me he wants me to give a lecture later in the semester, which I think will be some good experience, so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm also running a seminar for a small group of freshmen, most of whom are in my physics class. Most weeks I just line up professors to talk about their research (it's all cool futuristic engineering stuff), but some weeks I get to give little talks and do fun physics/chemistry demos. For example, a few weeks ago we did Mentos+Diet Coke, and I'm also going to show them how to light up a pickle, and why toast is more likely to fall butter side down. They're mostly pretty bright kids, so they're a lot of fun to work with.
Other than that, I still find some time for mountain biking on the weekends and some ultimate frisbee here and there. Add a smattering of TV and video games and some beer and that's my life. Kinda boring I guess.
Here's my TV breakdown:
Digging:
Dexter- This season has way less of Captain Dick Solomon's ass, which I think is a good call. Also machete-beheading plus Stockholm syndrome ftw.
The Event- This show is incredibly predictable, but it's still a good time and I like the whole aliens/future humans with magic powers thing.
Hell's Kitchen- Who doesn't love Gordon Ramsay screaming at people?
Modern Family- Hilarious every week.
Mildly Entertaining:
House, Chuck- Not as good as they used to be, but I'm still watching.
Oultaw- I'm a sucker for criminal procedure dramas, and I love me some Jimmy Smits, but honestly I'm surprised it hasn't been canceled already.
HIMYM, The Office, Community, and The Big Bang Theory- I think these are all on the way out, but they're still good for a few laughs.
Glee- Really I hate the ridiculous high school drama crap, but they have some interesting covers. I especially enjoyed "Losing my Religion"
Tumbs down:
Agreed on Outsourced and 30 Rock, although I did enjoy the 30 Rock live episode.
No Californication until January? BOOOOO!
I haven't watched any of the new South Park or Futurama, but I don't have comedy central and they're kind of bastards about putting stuff on the internets so whatever.
I've heard good things about Mad Men, but I haven't watched any of it yet.
I'm also interested in Treme, since The Wire was so good. Nick and Alan have you guys still not watched it?
So that's NUT(my life)SHELL. Hope you're all doing well.
P.S. Joseph get your lazy (or more accurately: overworked) butt up to Boston.
Anyway, MIT has really been pissing me off recently, which we'll call excuse #1 why I haven't been posting on the blog. I was supposed to take the last part of my qualifying exam this semester, so I've spent most of the semester wasting time and telling myself I should start studying. They were supposed to assign me a testing committee with whom I would schedule my exam. Well it's been two months or so and I still don't have a committee, which means I still don't have an exam day. It's damn near impossible to schedule anything in December, and professors are so busy they can't be scheduled less than a month in advance, let alone three of them for the same time. All this together adds up to about half a semester wasted waiting for a committee assignment and no exam until next semester. BLAH. Also I apparently had a class I need for graduation listed as P/F instead of a grade for credit. After 6 months of hounding various administrative offices here I finally got them to switch it but god damn it was a lot of work. OK I'm done ranting for now.
The silver lining in this exam being pushed back is I have more time to do actual research, which is actually going pretty well. I'm working on a paper right now that I'm hoping to get submitted some time this year. I still have a bunch of analysis to do, but it's some cool stuff. I'll be presenting some measurements on a new material we just reported earlier this year, as well as using those measurements to shed light on an interesting material that is as of yet not well understood. I'll have more on this as it progresses.
The other thing that's been absorbing my time is that I'm TAing this semester for MIT's freshman physics class. It's a lot of work, and grading is a bitch, but overall I'm enjoying it. I get to interact with students in class because the class is taught in this quasi-lecture quasi-group activity format. It's pretty cool. Also, the guy I work for has told me he wants me to give a lecture later in the semester, which I think will be some good experience, so I'm pretty excited about that. I'm also running a seminar for a small group of freshmen, most of whom are in my physics class. Most weeks I just line up professors to talk about their research (it's all cool futuristic engineering stuff), but some weeks I get to give little talks and do fun physics/chemistry demos. For example, a few weeks ago we did Mentos+Diet Coke, and I'm also going to show them how to light up a pickle, and why toast is more likely to fall butter side down. They're mostly pretty bright kids, so they're a lot of fun to work with.
Other than that, I still find some time for mountain biking on the weekends and some ultimate frisbee here and there. Add a smattering of TV and video games and some beer and that's my life. Kinda boring I guess.
Here's my TV breakdown:
Digging:
Dexter- This season has way less of Captain Dick Solomon's ass, which I think is a good call. Also machete-beheading plus Stockholm syndrome ftw.
The Event- This show is incredibly predictable, but it's still a good time and I like the whole aliens/future humans with magic powers thing.
Hell's Kitchen- Who doesn't love Gordon Ramsay screaming at people?
Modern Family- Hilarious every week.
Mildly Entertaining:
House, Chuck- Not as good as they used to be, but I'm still watching.
Oultaw- I'm a sucker for criminal procedure dramas, and I love me some Jimmy Smits, but honestly I'm surprised it hasn't been canceled already.
HIMYM, The Office, Community, and The Big Bang Theory- I think these are all on the way out, but they're still good for a few laughs.
Glee- Really I hate the ridiculous high school drama crap, but they have some interesting covers. I especially enjoyed "Losing my Religion"
Tumbs down:
Agreed on Outsourced and 30 Rock, although I did enjoy the 30 Rock live episode.
No Californication until January? BOOOOO!
I haven't watched any of the new South Park or Futurama, but I don't have comedy central and they're kind of bastards about putting stuff on the internets so whatever.
I've heard good things about Mad Men, but I haven't watched any of it yet.
I'm also interested in Treme, since The Wire was so good. Nick and Alan have you guys still not watched it?
So that's NUT(my life)SHELL. Hope you're all doing well.
P.S. Joseph get your lazy (or more accurately: overworked) butt up to Boston.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Excuses
Joe makes a good point. This blog has been quiet for far too long. I am as guilty as everyone else. It only took me ... two weeks to respond to this post! Maybe we should all take 5 minutes and share a little mini-rant about why we have been blog-less for so long. Basically what is going on in everyone's life right now?
I am finally finding time to relax, which is strangely stressful in its own way. After spending my summer in San Francisco working for an intellectual property law firm I had a few weeks of vacation and traveling before jumping back in to the glory that is law school. Somehow I decided it was a good idea to take two of my four classes in a concentrated format (which means they only meet for 7 or 8 weeks, instead of 15). As a result, I had a very busy first month of school. On top of the busy schedule I found out during that month that my previous employer was not interested in hiring me for a full time position afte school, so I had to start my job search. This job search included applying for judicial clerkships, which Nick can attest to as a huge pain in the ass waste of time. Two weeks ago I started studying for the final exams in my concentrated classes, and last week I finished. Now I have one class a day, four days a week, and a resaerch project to work on, so yay free time!
In response to Joe's TV breakdown, I am behind the curve and slowly catching up, but:
Digging:
Modern Family -- this show is just great, period.
Chuck -- I am a sucker for Yvonne Strahovski and the show is generally witty and fun
Venture Bros -- This show is random as always, but it has its charms
Mildly Entertaining:
HIMYM -- The gimmicks are old, but the cast is still great; how can you say not to Barney?
Family Guy -- The first episode this season was pretty great, even though the show in general is hit-or-miss
South Park -- I anticipate great things as always, but from what I saw of the first episode I wasn't blown away (I was really hoping for a Ground-Zero Mosque episode)
Glee -- Nicolle likes it...and so do many others I have talked to. I've only seen a few minutes of it, but it seems alright.
Entourage -- This show is on a downswing, but I still get a kick out of it.
Thumbs Down:
Gossip Girl -- Nicolle's roommate watchese this, and I don't understand. I really really don't.
Eagerly Awaiting (haven't watched yet) --
Dexter
Californication
Weeds ? -- I heard that this season is really strange, but Mary Louis Parker...so hot
Thoughts?
I am finally finding time to relax, which is strangely stressful in its own way. After spending my summer in San Francisco working for an intellectual property law firm I had a few weeks of vacation and traveling before jumping back in to the glory that is law school. Somehow I decided it was a good idea to take two of my four classes in a concentrated format (which means they only meet for 7 or 8 weeks, instead of 15). As a result, I had a very busy first month of school. On top of the busy schedule I found out during that month that my previous employer was not interested in hiring me for a full time position afte school, so I had to start my job search. This job search included applying for judicial clerkships, which Nick can attest to as a huge pain in the ass waste of time. Two weeks ago I started studying for the final exams in my concentrated classes, and last week I finished. Now I have one class a day, four days a week, and a resaerch project to work on, so yay free time!
In response to Joe's TV breakdown, I am behind the curve and slowly catching up, but:
Digging:
Modern Family -- this show is just great, period.
Chuck -- I am a sucker for Yvonne Strahovski and the show is generally witty and fun
Venture Bros -- This show is random as always, but it has its charms
Mildly Entertaining:
HIMYM -- The gimmicks are old, but the cast is still great; how can you say not to Barney?
Family Guy -- The first episode this season was pretty great, even though the show in general is hit-or-miss
South Park -- I anticipate great things as always, but from what I saw of the first episode I wasn't blown away (I was really hoping for a Ground-Zero Mosque episode)
Glee -- Nicolle likes it...and so do many others I have talked to. I've only seen a few minutes of it, but it seems alright.
Entourage -- This show is on a downswing, but I still get a kick out of it.
Thumbs Down:
Gossip Girl -- Nicolle's roommate watchese this, and I don't understand. I really really don't.
Eagerly Awaiting (haven't watched yet) --
Dexter
Californication
Weeds ? -- I heard that this season is really strange, but Mary Louis Parker...so hot
Thoughts?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
ECHO ... ECHo ... ECho ... Echo ... echo ...
Hey, I miss you guys. The blog has been quiet for too long. I thought I’d share what shows I’m watching and liking these days because I’m curious about your list:
Digging:
Community – Last season had some good episodes so anticipation has me excited for if they can do it again this year.
Modern Family – It does have some pretty funny moment.
Pawn Stars – I’m kinda addicted to this show. It’s like antique road show but awesome.
Mildly entertaining:
Castle – This show is not that great but I miss Firefly.
The office – It’s good that this show is in its final season. Less funny moments these days.
House – The first episode was not great but they use to have good ones so I’ll watch a few more.
HIMYM – This show is on the way out for me.
Burn Notice - I have a soft spot in my heart for this show even though the plot is pretty similar one episode to the next.
On the way out:
Raising hope – This show is bad but a few rare moments have tickled me. I’m sure this will move to the bad list soon.
Thumbs down:
The Event – I watched the first episode because I saw Robin saying he was going to. It was pretty damn bad.
30 rock – I was never a big fan of this show but I am really indifferent to it now
Outsourced – The movie this is based off of a movie that was pretty good but I watched part of the first episode and it was bad
Cougar town – Yeah this show was never good
Glee – Andrea likes it.
Running wilde – I never quiet understood why people like arrested development. This show is even worst.
I imagine Dexter is good but I don’t have showtime. I am renting last season soon.
Anybody seen mad men? I heard some people at work saying they like it but the people I work with tend to watch stuff I like less.
Digging:
Community – Last season had some good episodes so anticipation has me excited for if they can do it again this year.
Modern Family – It does have some pretty funny moment.
Pawn Stars – I’m kinda addicted to this show. It’s like antique road show but awesome.
Mildly entertaining:
Castle – This show is not that great but I miss Firefly.
The office – It’s good that this show is in its final season. Less funny moments these days.
House – The first episode was not great but they use to have good ones so I’ll watch a few more.
HIMYM – This show is on the way out for me.
Burn Notice - I have a soft spot in my heart for this show even though the plot is pretty similar one episode to the next.
On the way out:
Raising hope – This show is bad but a few rare moments have tickled me. I’m sure this will move to the bad list soon.
Thumbs down:
The Event – I watched the first episode because I saw Robin saying he was going to. It was pretty damn bad.
30 rock – I was never a big fan of this show but I am really indifferent to it now
Outsourced – The movie this is based off of a movie that was pretty good but I watched part of the first episode and it was bad
Cougar town – Yeah this show was never good
Glee – Andrea likes it.
Running wilde – I never quiet understood why people like arrested development. This show is even worst.
I imagine Dexter is good but I don’t have showtime. I am renting last season soon.
Anybody seen mad men? I heard some people at work saying they like it but the people I work with tend to watch stuff I like less.
Friday, July 2, 2010
That's a Negative, Ghostrider, the pattern is full.
Yay Joe!
SO...when Marine One flies in, it always has a decoy. Today, when I was running on the Arlington Bridge, the decoy peeled off as they entered DC airspace.
It's 4th of July weekend...I think they let the guys go a little bit...because this guy BUZZED the fucking bridge. It was fucking sweet. I felt like he was going to knock me over.
I later learned there was an Admiral's daughter stuck in traffic. I hear he now, apparently, wants some butts.
Happy Holiday, ladies and gents.
'Merica...fuck yeah.
SO...when Marine One flies in, it always has a decoy. Today, when I was running on the Arlington Bridge, the decoy peeled off as they entered DC airspace.
It's 4th of July weekend...I think they let the guys go a little bit...because this guy BUZZED the fucking bridge. It was fucking sweet. I felt like he was going to knock me over.
I later learned there was an Admiral's daughter stuck in traffic. I hear he now, apparently, wants some butts.
Happy Holiday, ladies and gents.
'Merica...fuck yeah.
A rolling stone gathers no moss
FYI I'm moving into a new apartment with Andrea (Robin it's the place where we went to the Christmas party). She got a job with a private school here as a college councilor. She is driving down right now and will be here Saturday.
I said goodbye to my brother yesterday. He is leaving mid-July for American Samoa where he is going to live for a year and teach math.
Work, school and everything else is about the same. Hope everyone is enjoying there summer.
I said goodbye to my brother yesterday. He is leaving mid-July for American Samoa where he is going to live for a year and teach math.
Work, school and everything else is about the same. Hope everyone is enjoying there summer.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Gangstagrass
For those of you who thought rap and bluegrass couldn't go together, check these guys out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy09F1cUIrA
also, watch Justified.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy09F1cUIrA
also, watch Justified.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Stuff
Hey,
This is Lost related and is funny if you haven't seen it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di3w1yV4Ehg
This is a good cover that grows on you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0z1Mo7O6dE
And this was kind of a bad-ass Mythbusters I saw last week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAKS3VkPfD4
Enjoy
This is Lost related and is funny if you haven't seen it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di3w1yV4Ehg
This is a good cover that grows on you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0z1Mo7O6dE
And this was kind of a bad-ass Mythbusters I saw last week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAKS3VkPfD4
Enjoy
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
**SPOILER ALERT** -- LOST: An Epilogue
Rather than reject the current Lost ending outright I will attempt to write my own 'Epilogue' describing events that happen after plane leaves the island but before the "eternal journey" begins.
To briefly recap: Ben, Hurley, Jack, Desmond, Rose, Bernard and Vincent are still on the island; Kate, Claire, Sawyer, Miles, Lapidus, and Richard Alpert are on Ajeira flying to somewhere. Boone, Shannon, Libby, Charlie, Sayid, Sun and Jin are dead on the island (along with some others, but we don't care so much about them). We also have some Lost diaspora unaccounted for: Walt is somewhere around Manhattan, Aaron is either in Los Angeles or Australia with his grandmother, Ji Yeon is in Seol Korea with her grandmother, Clementine (Sawyer’s daughter) is somewhere, and Penny and Charlie Hume are somewhere. There are some major questions that have been left unanswered at this point (some of which are likely unanswerable): (1) what is the island? (2) What happened when Juliette activated the nuclear bomb at the end of season 5 in 1977? (3) Does the island require some sort of balance between benevolent and malevolent forces in order to exist? (4) What ever happened to the Dharma Initiative? (5) Who were the others and where did they come from? (6) Why are the numbers significant?
Hurley has now taken Jack's place as protector of the island with Ben as his "number 2." However, it is unclear what Hurley’s role should be and the ending is ambiguous as to when Jack dies. Let’s say the island heals jack’s knife wound and he wakes up in the bamboo field, now what? I say Hurley’s first move is to get Desmond off of the island so that he can return to his wife and child. Desmond gets on his old boat and Hurley sends him on his way (discovering his new-found Jacob powers in the process). After parting ways with Desmond, Hurley has to do something to pass the time on the island, so he begins to investigate the numbers again. He talks to dead people some more (except Jacob, who is gone for good) and he sets up shop with Ben in the old Dharma town. One day Jack wanders into town and finds Ben and Hugo; they exchange excited hugs but there is an unmistakable tension between them. Hurley realizes that he has the power to send Jack back to the real world where he can be happy and live a complete life; he tells Jack about this idea, but Jack has made his choice and insists on staying on the island. Jack walks away and Hurley calls after him “you have to go back!” What ensues is a constant game of cat-and-mouse between Hurley and Jack on the island, with Hurley trying to get him to leave and Jack stubbornly insisting that he stays (inverting the Jacob—Esau tension).
In the meantime, the plane passengers manage to find their way back to civilization without making a huge scene, and Kate is forced to take on a central leadership role as Claire’s life-counselor and Sawyer’s therapist. She reunites Sawyer with his long-lost daughter and brings Aaron and Claire back together. At some point she manages to resolve most of what was unsettled, and she finds herself longing to find Jack. She turns to Richard, who has sought out either a life of seclusion or a fast-paced city life to complete his temporal journey, in hopes that he can guide her back to the island. But Richard has severed ties and is just living out the end of his life, so she eventually finds Desmond who has inherited Widmore’s fortune and connections to the island and the Dharma initiative. Clearly there is a lot of time and drama here, but the real question is do Kate and Jack ever find each other? My answer not until they meet in “purgatory” aka sideways timeline.
Answers to other questions … The Island is exactly what Jacob said…the cork in a bottle full of good and evil. Juliette never activated the nuclear bomb in 1977, instead the island “flashed” them back to the present right when she tried to trigger it. The island always has good and evil aspects represented, so there will always be tension and a struggle for balance. The Dharma Initiative faded years ago, but what remains of it is probably owned by Charles Widmore or Ben’s contacts in the real world. The others were another group of stranded travelers that Jacob brought or allowed to come to the island in search of a replacement, he allowed them to live on the island and communicated with them through Richard, and eventually they were well established as a Jacob-worshipping cult on the island. The numbers are a representation of the essence of the island and thus have strange powers and effects just like the mystical electro-magnetic properties; Hurley’s unfortunate fate is that his life will be guided by the numbers until the day he dies. But before Hurley can die, he must find a replacement! My nomination Walt! Hurley needs someone to keep him company on the island (and play white-and-black metaphorical board games with him), so why not bring back his long time mind companion Walt (he probably hates it in NYC anyway).
Also I would like to note that Ben is the only one of the “main” characters (not including children) who is not present in the church at the end of Lost Thus he is going to hell (and he knows it!).
That is all…
To briefly recap: Ben, Hurley, Jack, Desmond, Rose, Bernard and Vincent are still on the island; Kate, Claire, Sawyer, Miles, Lapidus, and Richard Alpert are on Ajeira flying to somewhere. Boone, Shannon, Libby, Charlie, Sayid, Sun and Jin are dead on the island (along with some others, but we don't care so much about them). We also have some Lost diaspora unaccounted for: Walt is somewhere around Manhattan, Aaron is either in Los Angeles or Australia with his grandmother, Ji Yeon is in Seol Korea with her grandmother, Clementine (Sawyer’s daughter) is somewhere, and Penny and Charlie Hume are somewhere. There are some major questions that have been left unanswered at this point (some of which are likely unanswerable): (1) what is the island? (2) What happened when Juliette activated the nuclear bomb at the end of season 5 in 1977? (3) Does the island require some sort of balance between benevolent and malevolent forces in order to exist? (4) What ever happened to the Dharma Initiative? (5) Who were the others and where did they come from? (6) Why are the numbers significant?
Hurley has now taken Jack's place as protector of the island with Ben as his "number 2." However, it is unclear what Hurley’s role should be and the ending is ambiguous as to when Jack dies. Let’s say the island heals jack’s knife wound and he wakes up in the bamboo field, now what? I say Hurley’s first move is to get Desmond off of the island so that he can return to his wife and child. Desmond gets on his old boat and Hurley sends him on his way (discovering his new-found Jacob powers in the process). After parting ways with Desmond, Hurley has to do something to pass the time on the island, so he begins to investigate the numbers again. He talks to dead people some more (except Jacob, who is gone for good) and he sets up shop with Ben in the old Dharma town. One day Jack wanders into town and finds Ben and Hugo; they exchange excited hugs but there is an unmistakable tension between them. Hurley realizes that he has the power to send Jack back to the real world where he can be happy and live a complete life; he tells Jack about this idea, but Jack has made his choice and insists on staying on the island. Jack walks away and Hurley calls after him “you have to go back!” What ensues is a constant game of cat-and-mouse between Hurley and Jack on the island, with Hurley trying to get him to leave and Jack stubbornly insisting that he stays (inverting the Jacob—Esau tension).
In the meantime, the plane passengers manage to find their way back to civilization without making a huge scene, and Kate is forced to take on a central leadership role as Claire’s life-counselor and Sawyer’s therapist. She reunites Sawyer with his long-lost daughter and brings Aaron and Claire back together. At some point she manages to resolve most of what was unsettled, and she finds herself longing to find Jack. She turns to Richard, who has sought out either a life of seclusion or a fast-paced city life to complete his temporal journey, in hopes that he can guide her back to the island. But Richard has severed ties and is just living out the end of his life, so she eventually finds Desmond who has inherited Widmore’s fortune and connections to the island and the Dharma initiative. Clearly there is a lot of time and drama here, but the real question is do Kate and Jack ever find each other? My answer not until they meet in “purgatory” aka sideways timeline.
Answers to other questions … The Island is exactly what Jacob said…the cork in a bottle full of good and evil. Juliette never activated the nuclear bomb in 1977, instead the island “flashed” them back to the present right when she tried to trigger it. The island always has good and evil aspects represented, so there will always be tension and a struggle for balance. The Dharma Initiative faded years ago, but what remains of it is probably owned by Charles Widmore or Ben’s contacts in the real world. The others were another group of stranded travelers that Jacob brought or allowed to come to the island in search of a replacement, he allowed them to live on the island and communicated with them through Richard, and eventually they were well established as a Jacob-worshipping cult on the island. The numbers are a representation of the essence of the island and thus have strange powers and effects just like the mystical electro-magnetic properties; Hurley’s unfortunate fate is that his life will be guided by the numbers until the day he dies. But before Hurley can die, he must find a replacement! My nomination Walt! Hurley needs someone to keep him company on the island (and play white-and-black metaphorical board games with him), so why not bring back his long time mind companion Walt (he probably hates it in NYC anyway).
Also I would like to note that Ben is the only one of the “main” characters (not including children) who is not present in the church at the end of Lost Thus he is going to hell (and he knows it!).
That is all…
Monday, May 24, 2010
Dan this is a LOST plot spoiler
Before I start, I have a way of sounding like I hate everything because I analyze things very critically so let me state that I enjoyed the finale of Lost and it was a lot of fun having everyone (except Dan) together for it. Having said that:
So after I went to bed last night I was considering that last episode and I came to a conclusion I'd like your opinion on. It seems to me that that last episode indicates that the writers hadn't planned from the start how they would end the show. My reason for thinking this is that in the season 2-3 time frame lots of viewers started supporting the "current reality is purgatory" theory. In the final episode they turn the flash sideways world into limbo. The flash sideways reality didn't exist back when the purgatory theory started and there was no indication that the show would have to end with limbo being a theme. So it seems to me that the writers changed course at the end and came up with an ending that didn't really call on the story line from the rest of the show in terms of the fundamental plot (the plot associated with the island history not the character personalities). I don't read the Lost websites out there so maybe this is already common knowledge. What do you think?
The ending was kind of weird considering the kind of show it was in the past. The final season built up this island mythology storyline that really seemed to be going somewhere and then turned out to be completely irrelevant like it was a storytelling inconvenience to be ignored as gracefully as possible. If there was any warning signs of this coming it was that for the last few seasons the show had been getting less deep in terms of having less layers. Gone were the subtle Easter eggs like seeing the numbers, the dharma marked shark, the oceanic symbol etc. I just really feel like that element was really toned down at the end. I also feel like plot developments were really shoved in your face like "do you get it? Bla and bla was the one who did it!” All of this leads me to believe the show was dumbed down for a larger audience. The fairytale ending that was entirely character driven was just the continuation of the giving-the-average-Joe-what-he-wants as opposed to exercising anybody’s brains.
I was thinking about how I would have ended it and my first ideas were:
Jack = Jacob, Ben = Smokey (If you wanted smokey to be bad) This time have it be that for some reason for the safety of the island they need to keep Ben off the island instead of keeping him on.
Jack = Jacob, Desmond = Smokey: If smokey doesn't need to be bad.
But I have to admit we would have seen those coming so to be true to the original spirit of the show where we were really surprised by plot twists I tried to come up with something really out there:
It turns out Widmore has brought along Aaron and Sun’s baby as leverage on Jack, Kate, Sun, Jin and anybody else with a soul (we'd have to rewrite a couple episodes). Widmore gets wacked by Smokey, Claire finds a way to steal the kids after Smokey does his thing meanwhile the rest of the Lostees finds Widmore and the rest of his posse and think the kids are dead. Most people leave the Island, maybe the plane goes down as its leaving, Claire takes out some people (at the very least kills Kate) ... Anyway, it ends with Claire and the two babies being the only two on the island (Rose and Bernard can stay). Flash forwards: The kids are 11-12 and Aaron is staring out to sea (maybe Aaron starts having visions of Kate who tells him there is a world outside the island, that she raised Aaron and that Claire killed her. This makes Aaron the new Esau and give credence/explanation to the fortune teller’s insistence that Claire raise the baby) and Sun’s girl is helping "mom" like a momma’s girl. Aaron, Claire’s favorite of the two ends up being the bad one and Sun’s girl is the future Jacob. That ending has the advantage of being a snake eating its tail ending but I feel like someone could come up with something better that uses ever more of the island mythology (black vs white, Egypt, super electromagnets etc) to really tie up a nice satisfying interconnected type of ending.
So my challenge to you guys is to come up with your own ending that would have been better than the real one but it has to be a nobody-would-have-seen-it-coming ending. And then share please.
Alan the eye closing call was badass.
So after I went to bed last night I was considering that last episode and I came to a conclusion I'd like your opinion on. It seems to me that that last episode indicates that the writers hadn't planned from the start how they would end the show. My reason for thinking this is that in the season 2-3 time frame lots of viewers started supporting the "current reality is purgatory" theory. In the final episode they turn the flash sideways world into limbo. The flash sideways reality didn't exist back when the purgatory theory started and there was no indication that the show would have to end with limbo being a theme. So it seems to me that the writers changed course at the end and came up with an ending that didn't really call on the story line from the rest of the show in terms of the fundamental plot (the plot associated with the island history not the character personalities). I don't read the Lost websites out there so maybe this is already common knowledge. What do you think?
The ending was kind of weird considering the kind of show it was in the past. The final season built up this island mythology storyline that really seemed to be going somewhere and then turned out to be completely irrelevant like it was a storytelling inconvenience to be ignored as gracefully as possible. If there was any warning signs of this coming it was that for the last few seasons the show had been getting less deep in terms of having less layers. Gone were the subtle Easter eggs like seeing the numbers, the dharma marked shark, the oceanic symbol etc. I just really feel like that element was really toned down at the end. I also feel like plot developments were really shoved in your face like "do you get it? Bla and bla was the one who did it!” All of this leads me to believe the show was dumbed down for a larger audience. The fairytale ending that was entirely character driven was just the continuation of the giving-the-average-Joe-what-he-wants as opposed to exercising anybody’s brains.
I was thinking about how I would have ended it and my first ideas were:
Jack = Jacob, Ben = Smokey (If you wanted smokey to be bad) This time have it be that for some reason for the safety of the island they need to keep Ben off the island instead of keeping him on.
Jack = Jacob, Desmond = Smokey: If smokey doesn't need to be bad.
But I have to admit we would have seen those coming so to be true to the original spirit of the show where we were really surprised by plot twists I tried to come up with something really out there:
It turns out Widmore has brought along Aaron and Sun’s baby as leverage on Jack, Kate, Sun, Jin and anybody else with a soul (we'd have to rewrite a couple episodes). Widmore gets wacked by Smokey, Claire finds a way to steal the kids after Smokey does his thing meanwhile the rest of the Lostees finds Widmore and the rest of his posse and think the kids are dead. Most people leave the Island, maybe the plane goes down as its leaving, Claire takes out some people (at the very least kills Kate) ... Anyway, it ends with Claire and the two babies being the only two on the island (Rose and Bernard can stay). Flash forwards: The kids are 11-12 and Aaron is staring out to sea (maybe Aaron starts having visions of Kate who tells him there is a world outside the island, that she raised Aaron and that Claire killed her. This makes Aaron the new Esau and give credence/explanation to the fortune teller’s insistence that Claire raise the baby) and Sun’s girl is helping "mom" like a momma’s girl. Aaron, Claire’s favorite of the two ends up being the bad one and Sun’s girl is the future Jacob. That ending has the advantage of being a snake eating its tail ending but I feel like someone could come up with something better that uses ever more of the island mythology (black vs white, Egypt, super electromagnets etc) to really tie up a nice satisfying interconnected type of ending.
So my challenge to you guys is to come up with your own ending that would have been better than the real one but it has to be a nobody-would-have-seen-it-coming ending. And then share please.
Alan the eye closing call was badass.
MIA
Hey kids,
Once again, my bad for not picking up the phone/watching Lost with you guys. My only excuse is I'm studying basically 6 to 8 everyday (that's 14, not 2 hours) and then go to bed... I catch my TV in study breaks and meals, so I'll be caught up hopefully soon. I miss you guys/having a life; maybe we can all swing a winter break get-together? I'm gone all summer studying/in Japan, but we need another reunion!
I'm not so good with picking up the phone, so start posting on the blog with what the heck is going on in your lives! Alan/Nick, you guys figured out what kind of law you're going into? Rissa, what're you doing with your last summer off ever? Robin, how was Europe? Joseph, do you have free time yet or are you still wall to wall work/school?
Okay, still feel guilty about ditching you guys, but i think that's all this Catholic influence at Loyola.
Cheers,
Dan
Dan
Thursday, May 6, 2010
*tear*
For all the fabricated, cookie cutter moments that Lost has generated over 6 seasons, they still have the ability to generate truly awe inspiring moments. This episode contained at least one such moment (Sun and Jin going down with the ship Titanic style). There are moments when I am staring at the screen and wondering why the hell Claire here and who even cares? My current theory is that they signed Emilie de Ravin to some long-term multi-year contract a few seasons ago and they've been kicking themselves ever since because they have NOTHING for her character to do, so they gave her a bad hairdo and made her play with a fake doll-baby in hopes that she would quit.
Thoughts?
Thoughts?
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