Category: well?

all about me, is it just me?, venting, well?, wtf?!

to the sexist asshole at the liquor store:

by  •  • 5 Comments

No, I am NOT a woman; men can carry bags for their shit these days too. No, I will not leave my $400 bag with ipod, wallet, sunglasses, etc. behind the counter, because, if for NO OTHER REASON, women are allowed to carry their bags throughout the store; and therefore, so should I.

Basically, some guy who works at the liquor store came over to me, and bitchily asked me to leave my bag at the counter, to which I replied, “do you ask women to leave their purses at the counter?”. He replied, “no, but are you a woman?”. Clearly, I am not a fucking woman you asshole, but that doesn’t make any difference, I will not leave my bag behind the counter for the same reason that women do not have to. It is the same as a purse, so get the fuck over it. My bag wasn’t even big enough to put a bottle of alcohol in without it clearly being noticeable; so what was all the fuss about!?!

What I should have done was just put down my basket full of booze, and walked the fuck out, but instead, I just told him that he would just have to get over it, because I was almost done shopping anyway. What I found interesting, is the lady at the counter heard it all, and said that the reason he approached me, was because he must have thought it was a “backpack”; which interestingly enough, the woman behind me in line was actually wearing, and had carried throughout the store with no fuss.

Needless to say, I won’t be going back into that liquor store (Green’s on Buford Highway), and as such, won’t have to worry about whether or not I can carry my belongings with me; like all the women are allowed to do. Clearly, they don’t need my business, so I can go elsewhere!

movie musings, well?

what would you do in that situation?

by  •  • 8 Comments

Fair warning: I will be talking about a movie (The Reader), and discussing the plot, so if you want to avoid spoilers, do not keep reading after this sentence.

Last night, James and I watched the Reader. After the shock of the sheer amount of nudity there was in the film, I have to say, that I was struck by the way Michael handled his relationship with Hanna. It was made clear that he definitely loved her, but he was truly the only one that could have saved her from a lifetime in prison, and yet, he said nothing. Yes, she deserves a LOT of the blame; she committed herself to the SS and 20 years in prison because she was ashamed of the fact that she couldn’t read or write, but I couldn’t help find fault with Michael as well.

I can’t tell you what I would do in those circumstances; I didn’t live through the Holocaust. Do I grasp the enormity of the events that occurred during that incredibly dark time? Not by a long shot. When I try to wrap my head around the fact that the majority of a country stood by and assisted in the murders of MILLIONS of people, just because of who they were, my stomach turns. It is disgusting. With that being said, I felt it was clear that Hanna, while she was a part of the whole machine, shouldn’t have taken all of the blame; she was the only one who had the long sentence handed down to them.

If I were Michael, I think that I would have spoken up for her. Also, if I hadn’t of had the courage to do it when she was on trial (or if it was because he was too angry at her for being at part of the Holocaust), I don’t think I could have ignored her all of those years, and just “went on with my life”. Maybe I just have a big heart, but it would be hard for me to love anyone and let them rot in jail; even if they committed a heinous crime. I would at least visit. I thought that by sending those tapes to her, he was fully admitting the amount of guilt that he had; so why not visit? Yet, again, I can’t say what I would do in that situation for sure, because I wasn’t there, but I just couldn’t help but feel angry at him for not doing anything. I guess that was the point of the movie, so I guess that’s what I took from it.

What would you do under the same circumstances?

is it just me?, mixed media, movie musings, shiny stuff, venting, well?, wtf?!

sony fail: let me count the ways

by  •  • 6 Comments

So I finally caved and bought a PS3. I was hoping there would be a price drop announced last week at E3, which is what I have been waiting for before I bought one, but there wasn’t even a hint of such a thing happening any time soon. Since the PS3 is only $100 more than a Blu Ray player, I felt it would make more sense to get the PS3, so that I could have both, and so I did.

After un-boxing the mammoth console, I got my first taste of what will surely be a long list of Sony FAIL. The PS3 has been, and continues to be touted as THE system for HD; and it continues to claim itself as a revolutionary system with the highest quality video for games and movies. Well, some of that is true… and some of it is not. First of all, I think that it is almost a slap in the face of the consumer to ask them to pay $400 for a machine that will revolutionize their HD experience, and box the motherfucker with composite cables; which any A/V geek knows does NOT have the capability of displaying HD! Additionally, the companion HDMI cable marketed and sold by Sony for the PS3 is $60. For shame, Sony; you expect me to shell out ANOTHER $60 just to get the HD quality you promised for $400? Assholes.

Luckily, I have an HDMI cord that I wasn’t ass raped for (ahem, I didn’t buy it at Best Buy), and I just used it to connect the PS3. Crisis averted… HD was mine; and you know what, it is impressive. We played a few Blu Ray movies, and they were impressively crisp. I really can tell the difference in standard DVDs being upscaled, and a true Blu Ray HD DVD. Again, very impressive, you break even, here Sony.

Now comes FAIL #2. I bought Little Big Planet, and Resident Evil 5 (RE5 was for James, and I figured, since the PS3 is new, why not get it for that system?!) because I wanted to have at least a couple of games for the PS3. LBP is really cute, but I noticed the graphics were a little rougher than I was expecting; after all, it is plugged into my TV through HDMI, so it should be just as amazing as the Blu Ray, right (ESPECIALLY on a title like LBP, which is exclusive to the PS3)? WRONG. Turns out, Sony doesn’t really have the goods to back up their claims. The best they can do is 720p on most games, and the two that I got both fall into this category. Even though I have the PS3 output set to 1080i, and my TV can display 1080i, it can only display these games at 720p (this is a known, but quiet, issue). I wish that I would have gotten RE5 for the Xbox, because even my Xbox 360 exceeds the PS3 by upscaling everything to 1080i, and I can bet the graphics would be a little better. FAIL FAIL FAIL. Sure, it is only a minor thing, but when you buy something that expensive that is supposed to be so “AWESOME11!!1!!”, then disappointment is pretty much the word that comes to mind when you think about the whole scenario. When it comes right down to it, Sony, you do not have the HD system that you claim to; at least, you aren’t letting us use it to its full potential, anyway.

Needless to say, I am a bit disappointed. I will be making sure I keep a close eye on games that I get for the PS3, because if I can get a better version of the same game for the Xbox 360, Xbox will win this battle every time. Also, as of writing this, my Xbox 360 is only hooked to my TV through component cables, and the games look better than the 2 PS3 ones I have tried. Sure, there are some out there that will do 1080, but I am just shocked that PS3 doesn’t upscale ALL games like the Xbox does; especially when they claim the PS3 is so much better than the Xbox 360 (which, judging by the two titles I have, certainly isn’t true game wise).

As far as I am concerned, while I am glad I got the PS3, I can’t believe how much fine print, and blatant trickery Sony has instituted into their “AMAZING!!! SYSTEM!!1!11!!!!”. Seriously, Sony, you need to really get over yourself and stop the quick slight of hand, which I am sure has made customers other than myself more than a bit peeved as well. This leaves Sony with a score of negative one; let’s hope that time will allow them to break even, and make this consumer happier with his VERY extravagant and expensive purchase.

UPDATE: HOW COULD I FORGET THE LACK OF SUPPORT FOR PS2 GAMES?? Epic fail continues…

home improvement, well?

another little “snag” in the bathroom renovation

by  •  • 8 Comments

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE: I managed to squeeze out enough tile I already had to make the original plan work; I just used one less row. That one inch won’t matter anyhow. Sorry for all the commotion folks… move along now, nothing to see here. Pictures are forthcoming though, so do come back now, ya hear?!

So we thought we bought enough tile.

We didn’t buy enough tile.

Unfortunately, they are out of this tile, and will be out until almost the end of May. Not cool.

So we have 6 inches between the aqua glass tile, and black river rock tiles. They had this mosaic that has the same aqua tile in it, so I got to thinking, and here is what I came up with in shitty MS Paint:
basic layout idea

I think that it would actually look really good, and kind of retro. Thoughts? Your feedback is DEFINITELY welcome. Thanks!

"pointless", well?

what’s going on with you?

by  •  • 6 Comments

I find myself sitting here this morning, thinking about life and whatnot, and just wondering what everyone else out there is up to these days… It seems that I am struggling to get most things done these days, and despite many set backs, I somehow keep moving forward (even though it is at a snail’s pace). It just seems that I let my frustration rule my world, but honestly, it is hard not to sometimes.

So, since I seem to be stuck, I was just wondering what was going on with everyone else? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of chatter out there (other than twitter), so I was just curious. What’s going on with you?

hmm interesting, mixed media, tragic, well?

troubled times for satellite radio ahead?

by  •  • 6 Comments

I couldn’t help but be intrigued by this blog post that I read this morning, which if you are too lazy to read (it’s short!), suggests that satellite radio will not survive our current recession, and in fact, may be gone before 2009 comes to a close. I find myself wondering if I should fish or cut bait with my subscription, because I doubt they will refund people once they go under. Additionally, I have wanted to install an iPod adapter for my car ever since I got it, and through internet research, the best option (especially in radio-heavy Atlanta) is to get an installed option. However, there is a catch; it requires the XM/satellite radio link for my car’s model, and I would have to give up XM radio. So… should I just go ahead and give up satellite radio and get my iPod ready for the drive, or should I wait and see how things pan out? I am not going to make any decisions today, or even this week, but I will be watching XM/Sirius to see what happens with them officially in the coming months. I may finally get my wish of iPod functionality in my car!!! But at a price… no more BBC Radio 1; I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.

civil rights, is it just me?, listen up!, that is so gay, tragic, venting, well?, wtf?!

WTF Out magazine? Katy Perry as musician of the year? Are you JOKING?

by  •  • 21 Comments

Well, Out, you’ve gone and pulled another “WTF” moment on us with your recent choice of Katy “UR So Gay” Perry as MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR!!!!?!?!?!??! Regular readers know that I was been pissed at them before for outing celebrities (one of which has come out on her own since), so I guess that I should just expect stupid shit from one of the only gay magazines that we have in wide circulation. Seriously Out, what is going on with your writers and staff that has them so in the dark? Do you not realize that Katy Perry is perpetuating (without apology!!!) a negative gay stereotype; one that I am sure many of you had to overcome and deal with as kids in school? I just don’t get blatant stupidity like this. I have made my opinion about Perry known before on this blog, and it is still getting attention (thanks to links on wikipedia… wtf!?). I can only wonder where things will go now that I am calling spades again on Ms. Perry?!

After seeing the cover and reading the awesome post over at Dorothy Surrenders, I had to go and see what saving grace Out was sure to have in it’s interview with Perry; surely, they would confront her, right? Well, they didn’t (figures), but out of everything I read in the interview with Perry, and this was a gem for me:

Some of the opinions are just from people who are unhappy in their lives, or critics that wanted to be musicians but never fucking made it. We all know that. Unless there’s an amazing, legitimate journalist I respect, I don’t really take any of that shit to heart.

REALLY Katy? So you know what it is like to be a gay youth who gets called “gay” and “faggot” every day at school, and how that fucking hate and verbal abuse leads many gay youth to commit suicide? You know all about that, and we are all just bitter bitches, right Katy? Fuck you. FUCK YOU and your self righteous “I’m an artist so I don’t have to be socially responsible, and I don’t have to apologize for what I say” bullshit. You don’t deserve your 15 minutes more than anyone else, and I for one will be glad when the light dims over your pathetic career.

Shame on you, Katy, and shame on Out magazine for picking some dumb bitch like you as their freaking musician of the year (because clearly, there are NO LGBT artists out there worthy, right?). This is just one more reason that I will NEVER have a subscription to that piece of fluff “all about the abs, and all for show” Out Magazine. Clearly, they have their heads so far up their own asses that they are willing to just hop in bed with the same fuckers that picked on them on the playgrounds; all while laughing off the harassment that was slung at them.

I just want to say that I personally feel sorry for anyone that has to endure the bullshit that people throw at them in the form of verbal abuse; especially when it uses a word that describes them as a synonym for bad. I went through HELL in school, and I wouldn’t wish that one anyone, not even Katy Perry. Katy Perry perpetuates that very same hateful mentality in her song UR So Gay (I even gave her a lenient benefit of the doubt for I Kissed A Girl), and after hearing that she doesn’t give a fuck about what she is saying, I want that bitch to know that people like me aren’t just unhappy with our lives, or just “didn’t make it” like “she did”; we went through a fucking LOT to get where we are, and we don’t need more bullies out there being told that it’s okay to make fun of the gay kid, because hey, it’s funny anyway, right? Fuck you Katy Perry, and fuck you Out Magazine. It’s more than annoying when our own community turns a blind eye to those that will make fun of us to our faces, and then say it’s no big deal when confronted with the accusation; especially in a time that we are fighting for our rights. Way to accept second class citizenship guys… seriously. Ugh.

is it just me?, mixed media, music musings, venting, well?, wtf?!, you tube

embedding disabled by request

by  •  • 6 Comments

As I was thinking up the list of songs that I will be featuring on tomorrow’s 5SF, I pondered the potential of at least one of said songs having a video on youtube, as I always do. One song in particular (which I will not name, because I have to have some secrecy to bring you kids back, don’t I?) has a fantastical video that I would love to post, but due to the nature that it is by a major artist, I am sure that the video will be either yanked off of youtube soon, or it will have the lovely “embedding disabled by request” where the code to embed said video on my blog should be.

Now, I have to say, that I really do not understand this move by record companies at all (this assuming that they are the reason, since I can think of no reason an artist would want to restrict the viewing of their video to youtube). Correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t a video practically a commercial for a song; it represents the artist, and provides more incentive to listen to the song, and more likely than not, increases interest in buying the artist’s CD when it hits stores? So, when you put the video on youtube (especially since the “usual” way to see videos has drastically changed since MTV doesn’t play many these days), aren’t you attempting to put this piece of work out there for all to see? By the same logic, one would also think that by allowing that video to be reposted (through embedding youtube links, of course), that you would be increasing exposure to the video and the song, and there by, allowing FREE publicity for your artist. But no. For whatever reason, many major labels insist on keeping the content “safe”, and will not allow you to embed any of their videos. Again, this makes no sense.

If I posted a commercial, or an advertisement on my website for free, and received no income from having the banner on my site, I would be providing FREE PR for whatever the advertisement was for. I would think, again by that same logic, that the company that sold that product would be more than happy to have me do such a thing, since again, I am publicizing it for free.

I guess my rant is just a venting of the frustration that continually comes from dealing with the recording industry (DRM, lack of embedding, piracy issues, etc). They try so hard to lock down everything, that many artists have a hard time releasing their music, and even the ones that manage to get it out there have a choke hold placed on their material; which is interesting, because without them, the record industry would be nothing. I say, that if you are going to even post a video on youtube in the first place, that allowing people to embed it on their websites is just a common courtesy to your artists, and at a minimum, a free advert for your product; after all, it is again, FREE PR!!! I mean, it’s not like youtube is so secure that I can’t use a software to gank the video, and post it from my own server; which is actually “stealing”, and what I am assuming you are trying to avoid, right? Because that is easier than actually changing the code to make the video fit into my page parameters, just so you know.

Ridiculous much? Methinks so. /rant

get involved, is it just me?, listen up!, politics, tragic, venting, well?, wtf?!

how much further to rock bottom?

by  •  • 8 Comments

Gas is pretty much coming up short here in ATL; it is getting hard to find gas at most of the gas pumps that I have seen around town. It just makes me wonder, just how prepared are we for disaster? I mean, this shortage is because of two hurricanes in the gulf coast… that happened over a week ago. We aren’t talking months, just a handful of days, and we are already out of gas. That is just scary, isn’t it?

Also, our seriously fledgling economy took a MAJOR hit last week, and in a half-assed effort that one can only see as a move to save his rich friends from being held responsible, our own president is trying to shove the tab on the back of already struggling Americans. Nice. I thought that people that said they were Republican but not conservative said so because of “fiscal responsibility” and “less governmental control”? What is going on then? This plan, being put forth BY Republicans is going to cause even further fiscal irresponsibility (which these companies started in the first place) and more governmental control over our money (by making us pick up the tab)? Do you think that saving companies that prey on the American public makes any fucking sense at all? I don’t… and I’m a Democrat. The government never should have been involved in making corporations something that are an entities that exist outside of the rules and regulations of basic business; if a small business makes mistakes, it has to pay for them. However, if you are a corporation, apparently, you can just be excused of that debt, and have the government take it for you (and then quickly put it on the backs of their citizens, or you, me, and every other tax paying American). Why don’t we get a say so in this decision? Isn’t our government supposed to represent us? What do we get to do when it clearly goes against our best interests? The more I read the news, the less I feel like I live in a democratic society; the government makes decisions, and we follow along without any of our needs even being heard. It sounds more like a dictatorship to me, which again, is supposed to be the opposite of the fundamental Republican, or even the financially concerned Libertarian beliefs, right? I may be wrong, but giving 700 billion dollars to these companies to save them just seems like robbing the poor to feed the rich to me. I can bet money that the money will be used to save executive jobs, while the working class will get shit on again. Fuck yeah… I’m proud to be a (probably soon to be starving) American. We get fucked, and the rich get richer… that seems to be the new Republican way.

Sorry for the ranting, I just feel so powerless; I invest money and try to save as much as I can, and things like this come along, where the government allow these companies to take it away, even though they are the ones that made the mistakes! I don’t understand why they have more rights than I do. I don’t think it’s fair, and in fact, I don’t think it should be legal. The only hope that I am clinging to at this point, is that Obama gets elected, and can do something better. Things are only getting worse, and worse, which really does make you wonder where the bottom line actually is. How bad is it going to get?

all about me, hmm interesting, is it just me?, well?

existential thoughts

by  •  • 6 Comments

This morning on the way in to work, I think I starting thinking about things, and really started observing everyone around me. We were all on our way somewhere… but why? What was driving us (not the car, I’m not being that literal)?

What drives us, everyday, to stay in the same job, live in the same house, and keep getting back up and going, day after day? I don’t often talk about what I do, but everyone knows that reads this blog, that I am trying to go back to school for nursing; which would certainly mean a change in career at some point. However, this morning, I am thinking to myself; what is driving me?

I thought about this yesterday when I read about the stock market crash, and I really thought about how much money people were losing; money that we are all scraping and saving to put away for that day when we can “finally retire, and start to enjoy life”. Fuck that! I am a realist, and I don’t foresee a time that I will be able to ever afford to supplement the amount of money I make right now with just savings, unless I win the lottery. The only way that I am going to be able to make it, is to work my whole life (which is the story for a lot of people), so retirement is really this “dream” that I am living my whole life for, working so hard for, and I will probably never see it.

So again, I ask myself, “what drives you?”. What is it that keeps you from opening a record store, or having a bakery, or having a website that actually makes money? What drives you to stay on the course you are on, and prevents us from deviating? People have businesses for everything; why not me? I’m not really trying to get an “answer” here, I am just reflecting, and I thought, why not see what other people think about this… what drives YOU? I mean, what makes you go down the path you are on, and what do you think prevents you from changing course, direction, or even stopping right where you currently stand?

Surely, fear cannot be the only thing that drives us… I know that is it in part, but it cannot, it just cannot be it. If it is… I think that I am going to work on having another driving force in my life; overcoming that damn fear.

(side note: I just noticed that this was my 1001th post; interesting.)