Charles Melin's Blog and Neglected Outlet

Not quite dead

2005-04-23T18:02:00.000-06:00

Dear readers,

I'm not dead yet. Just busy. Preparing to move to Kansas where I will be a Jayhawk for two years while attending grad school.

Did you miss me?

Love,
E

Renaissance to go baseball

2005-02-20T21:05:00.000-07:00

well, it has come to this. i just cannot find time for this right now, with the work, the softball, the movie-editing, and the finding $800 to pay for the jerk that did a hit and run on me. so, for the time being at least, i'll move the focus to baseball. its not that other things won't be discussed, its that i need a muse that i can handle in small, quick doses. if baseball isn't your thing, then just look at it this way: its better than nothing.

super bowl

2005-02-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

i hate the patriots. the only good thing about this to me is that my team thumped them this year.

i'm back baby!!!!

2005-02-02T15:00:00.000-07:00

you know you missed me.

well, what have been up to? (aside from darts)

-more responsibility at work.
-assistant softball coach at school.
-still tweaking the new computer.
-hung out with my best friend, who was only here a week.
-watching football. (go eagles)
-procrastinating.

so i'm back now.

first things first- congrats to Iraq. they had elections, and there is a new group in charge. i hope this whole democracy thing takes.

-can any news outlet stop the presidential handjobs and think rationally?

-why isn't raising the retirement age a great idea?

-personal note: get a tivo or like device. they rock.

-don't play roulette with bloggers' next blog. it can get pretty ugly.

-to rich. hey. how has it been with you?

I'm not quite dead

2005-01-14T08:59:00.000-07:00

In fact, I think I'll go for a walk...

The ol' blog has slowed down it seems. Some of that could be blamed on me, I suppose. You know, since my content made up probably 95% of the site.

As you know, when Chuck takes a break, I post randomness.

So there it is.

Randomness.

See you next year.

where i've been and where i'll be

2005-01-10T17:27:00.000-07:00

took up darts. off until feb. peace.

phins and the holidays

2004-12-21T08:55:00.000-07:00

wow. what a great way kick off a holiday, phins 29, pats 28. tom brady just gave the game away. my bright spot: the tech connection. thomas, of course, but also morris getting the goalline carries and welker doing a great job in the return game. this win makes this season seem bearable.

on that note, i am off for the holidays. i will be back a the start of the new year, sometime around the third.

peace.

freaks and geeks

2004-12-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

i never watched this while it was on, but now that i have watched the series i have to say that it is great. while i found no group for me to truly relate to, one character truly resonated. ken, the asshole. this was a great show that should have lasted.

bonds

2004-12-12T19:30:00.000-07:00

i'm glad i'm not the only one seeing this thing this way. while you can chalk up my views to pure idol worship, i know for a fact skip is not the biggest fan of bonds.

isn't this just wishful thinking?

2004-12-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

the list of this year's most trustworthy professions has come out with nurses and grade school teachers leading the way. in fact, all the top professions are ones that people must truly depend on. does it really mater if your car salesman lies about the rust proofing? or course not. but you want to believe the nurse that it'll go away in two days.

you can make a whole book out of that?

2004-12-08T09:01:00.000-07:00

the book Grand Canyon: A Different View. has been getting a lot press lately. this is due to it being sold at the grand canyon. what is wrong with that? it is a creationist look at how the grand canyon was formed. they say it was noah's flood. no, really, that is how they explain it. well, wouldn't you know that those liberal science bastards would get all huffy about it. when will they just give into conjecture and follow the one true god?

ok, enough sarcasm. at texas tech about 4 years ago i attended a lecture featuring a leading creationist. his goal was to validate that life could only have come about by way of god, and that the earth was about 5000 years old. i was a 20 year old history major, and i saw how faulty the science was. our science professors were not kind, ripping gaping hole in all his points, from cells aligning in particular formations inn nature, to his "hyper-canyon building." the most glaring weakness of his position was the fact that at many points he had to go back to it being god's will. this is the problem with putting a creationist book in a national park. if little timmy picks that book out because of the pretty pictures, he might start getting a really warped view of the way science works. and yet, we haven't removed the book yet.

is this what we want america to be?

charles goes to the movies

2004-12-08T08:19:00.000-07:00

right off the bat: i went to both national treasure (reluctantly and closer and will relive the experience here. if i happen to give away plot elements or other such spoilers, i apologize in advance. to get them out of the way, the review grade will precede the needlessly inane story of my night.

national treasure: B-
closer: A

for those of you not in the know about the geography and movie locations of the delightful metropolis that is el paso, texas, here is a quick overview:

el paso is at the western tip of texas, right where the rio grande really starts to snake north. the city has morphed into a sort of backward lowercase y with the southern border the rio grande and the whole in the middle the franklin mountains. I-10 runs the length of the city, connecting all areas much like an artery. from tip to tip el paso is approximately 40 miles wide, with another 15 or so lengthwise. i live on the far east side of town, 5 minutes from the biggest theatre that side of dallas. as of late critically acclaimed movies have failed to open at said theatre. on such movie is the excellent closer. to my surprise, however, the movie was opening in el paso. on the westside. i guess my theatre needed to keep alexander on 3 screens. so i trekked to the west, much like earlier americans looking for a new life. 40 miles later i arrived 20 minutes late for closer. that type of thing happens when traffic literally stops to see a traffic accident on the other side of the freeway. well, i was not about to walk in late to a movie i drove an hour to get to, so i bought a ticket to the best-movie-starting-in-less-than-five-minutes-that-will-be-over-by-the-time-the-movie-i-want-to-see-opens. in this case that was national treasure.
this is not a good movie. its views of history, science, cartography, personal interaction, washington d.c. and also eastern us geography, comedic timing, polar exploration, light, and physics are all depressing and ill-informed. that said, it was fun. not good writing, excellent character fun, but more pretty pictures when i turn my brain off fun. a side story: the opening of the movie is a cold opening of the protagonist as a child. he is looking through the attack for something. the problem? this part looks nothing like the rest of the movie and is edited in a way that makes it seem as if it might be a trailer. so about half the crowd talked through the whole thing, with the other half telling them to shut up. that is not a good sign. but beggars and choosers.
on to the reason for my trek, closer. i made the 10:25 with a half hour to spare. i found myself a great seat and watched the increasingly boring slideshow they put on before the movie starts. with about 10 minutes to the film, about 10 college-aged, frat-looking guys pile in. the same thing occurs with 5 minutes to go. i am now totally surrounded by couples (good), film buffs (like me, so good), and frat guys under the impression they will get to see natalie portman naked (bad). if you don't want to hear about the movie, you may want to stop now. well, the movie is about four sad people that care more about their own happiness than anything else. they invest their happiness in others and are disappointed. it was extremely sad, but in a very moving way. about two-thirds of the audience got that. i'll let you guess what third didn't. they other third watched the movie with a frightening detatchment that reminds me most of ebert's review of i spit on your grave. they cheered each awful thing the characters did to each other, getting especially excited by an act of violence. they even cheered at points. when the scene that could have shown portman naked did not, they booed. at the end most of the audience was left a bit numb by the experience, while a third went out happy, and no doubt looking for a traffic accident to gawk at.

happy holiday bowl

2004-12-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

tech catches a pissed off cal team. this could get ugly. i hope the O shows up. my pick: (and remember my extreme bias) tech 42-38.

crowd support redefined

2004-12-05T18:27:00.000-07:00

in a bad way. i had the pleasure of watching my texas tech red raiders demolish the utep miners in el paso saturday night. while the win filled me with pride, that was nothing compared to the pride i felt being a good fan. an explanation: if you go to a tech sporting event in lubbock, get ready to stand. you will only be sitting during timeouts and halftime. we love our raiders and show it to the bitter end. if you were to look at the crowd at the end of a game you'd be hard pressed to tell the outcome based on bodies: we won't leave if we are getting killed by kansas (again, and again, and again).

on saturday i stood at the beginning of the game, as did the rest of the crowd. after utep scored first, the crowd went nuts. i thought it might be a long night of hearing it from miner-faithful. then tech scored. everyone sat down and pretty much shut up. even the student section. after a half dominated by tech they took a 12 point lead into the locker room. well, the miners come roaring out of the gate and cut it to 3 points without tech scoring. the place is ridiculously loud and i wonder if this is going to get away from the raiders. well, after one tech basket everyone again sits down and stops cheering. tech jumps out by twenty and cruises in for a 15 point win.

if this is the support the miners always get, then i'm surprised they ever win any games at all. is it too much to ask that fans support their team no matter the score? in el paso i suppose it is.

bonds

2004-12-03T13:08:00.000-07:00

before i get to what i have to say, why not go check out what pinto and his commenters said.

first of all, i am sad. i was hoping bonds was innocent, and now i know i was wrong. as for his denial, i think he is splitting hairs. sure, he might not have known they were steroids, but i think he knew he shouldn't have been taking them. think ethan hawke in training day: he knew he shouldn't of smoked the joint, but didn't know it was pcp. either way, he will be held accountable. the question is how do they do that? none of what he did was against the rules in the time he did it. its the same with the giambis. how do they retroactively punish someone?

they part that stinks here is that mlb can know throw barry to the wolves and more easily deny the severity of steroid abuse in baseball. when an estimated 50% of big leaguers might be juiced there is no easy fix, yet punishing bonds will buy them time. this was a witchhunt that caught a witch and might pardon a coven.

that analogy really wasn't very good.

here is a good point.

i'm back, baby

2004-12-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

well, well, well. i'll bullet point these, so here are my thoughts on all sorts of things in the the order they occur to me.

-that pacers-pistons fight was crazy, but i won't be happy unless all fans involved are stripped of their right to enter an nba arena. as for the players, all the penalties seem about right, except for big ben, who got off light.

-now that ridge is gone i hope we scrap the color system.

-while i don't like rice taking over for powell, i will give credit to bush in his color blindness when appointing officials. now if only he'd allow dissenting opinion.

-cul at ratboy's anvil is a bit touchy on my commentary that his blog was suffering. well, seeing as it has weathered that storm, i take back the overreaching "death of a good blog" comment. really, i'm glad he took the time to look at my increasingly amateurish blog.

-bill simmons should stick with pop commentary, as his sports commentary is a little stale as of late.

-because i read him, for no other reason a link to the liberal antithesis.

-another link to ratboy, to show there are no ill feelings. you really should go check it out.

-the giants would sign willie mays, but he isn't old enough.

-all the new shows this year suck.

-you know a friend is worth keeping when you pick up after five years like it was five minutes.

-erik was much to kind to post while i was gone.

-the boondocks needs to find some direction fast.

-i really hate people that make every single conversation a political grudge match.

-we need good movie to come out asap.

-i do not get my students' love of ja rule.

-gta:sa is almost too much. i never thought a video game would overload me with options.

-tech had a pretty good year. i hope they destroy whatever team they meet in their bowl.

-willingham was let go too soon.

-the holidays would kick ass if you could cherrypick the relatives you had to see.

-I read the comics so you don't have to is a good blog.

Submission

2004-11-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

I don't like to judge people by their beliefs. I try to be a very open-minded person when encountering new people, new situations, and new cultures. But one culture I don't think I will ever understand is the Islamic fundamental types.

We all know that Islam is a peaceful religion, but like any other religion, there are asses out there who will take what it teaches and use it to create a culture of fear and hatred. People say that this film is an attack on the Islamic faith. I don't think that is the case here. I do find that the culture of these fundamentalists does require this kind of attention.

The director of this film, Theo van Gogh, was killed on November 2 by a muslim extremist. The video itself is quite moving, I thought. Check it out.

Guess I better pull up the slack

2004-11-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

Since Chuckles is on hiatus, I guess it is up to me to pick up the slack with the randomness, huh?

Here we go...

So apparently some guy down in Blair, Nebraska took some pictures of the Northern Lights. The way I figure it, I'm farther North, so I have an even better shot of seeing these things. I think I'll go for a little drive and see what I can come up with to throw into the Photo Gallery.

Peace.

on hiatus

2004-11-23T13:59:00.000-07:00

i'm sure that anyone that reads this finds this as no shock, but i haven't osted recently. this is due to several job related craziness. to fight this sudden swell in paperwork i have declaired myself on hiatus until december. now i know it'll be hard to deal, but i'm sure you'll make it. feel free to visit other great sites and come back in december to hear from me. erik may post, but you never know.

looking for religion?

2004-11-12T09:16:00.000-07:00

of course you are! check out landover baptist. you won't be disappointed.

question

2004-11-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

for the sake of debate, what is the single biggest problem facing america that could be reasonably addressed in bush's second term. by being addressed i mean that actions could be taken to remedy the problem. i'm guessing my answer of better looking cabinet members will only garnish minimal support.

wannstedt out

2004-11-10T08:35:00.000-07:00

in a season with very very few bright spots, the dolphins got rid of their dreadful coach. actually, he was only an awful head coach. as a defensive coordinator he was pretty good.

ashcroft

2004-11-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

i think he left to make a cd of his greatest national hymns. probably not, but a guy can dream can't he?

the change

2004-11-09T19:26:00.000-07:00

i'm going to "Mr. Melin" instead of charles not because i don't like my name (i in fact really like it), but because i am using the same account to run this blog and one i am starting for my students, and i'd like a least a little authority there. if that blog works out i'll be linking to it here. if you want to check it out right now, go to mrmelin.blogspot.com. it will probably be slow for a few days, though.

arrested development

2004-11-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

a highlight of the new season's premier had to be the moore moment. i think this will be another great season.

death of a good blog?

2004-11-06T18:58:00.000-07:00

i loved ratboy's anvi l. i really did. i still do enjoy cul's commentary, but his comments are getting painful to sift through. while there seem to be only two egregious offenders, their rants are less cohesive than many of my students.

owens

2004-11-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

this a good article on "terrible" owens, a player i instantly started disliking after his actions in texas stadium. if a guy who hates the cowboys as much as i do thinks you went too far, well then you must have.

news from kazakhstan

2004-11-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

It seems that, after an extensive poll conducted over a period of almost 3 months that not many people in Khromtau, Kazakhstan wanted Bush to win. But since Kazakhstani citizens of Khromtau cannot vote in America, they didn't have a say in the election.

Shane

well, i'm glad our nation is in line with the kazakhstan populous.
i guess

why the hell are we

2004-11-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

supposed to listen to ron silver, but not other celebrities?

does anyone else think that

2004-11-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

matthews will orgasm if this thing goes to court? he is getting way to excited about the election perhaps lasting deep into the night. i wish a speedy election would equal dollars for the press. this almost feels like they'll force a long process just to cover something.

can anyone explain to me...

2004-11-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

why the hell so many conservatives wear the US pissing the world off as a badge of honor?

finally

2004-10-27T22:14:00.000-06:00

the bosox bitching will stop. onto the chisox (last world series win 1917) bitching. don't they have more to be worried about? the cubbies have the billy goat, while the chisox have the black sox scandal. now that is a curse.

metric system

2004-10-27T15:28:00.000-06:00

the onion has a story on this, but i think we should really take this more seriously. just think about how fast it will seem you are going if you were using kilometers.

sullivan endorses

2004-10-27T15:09:00.000-06:00

conservative andrew sullivan has decided to back kerry. why the hell would he do that? read it for yourself.

Rallies, protests, and bears.. oh my!

2004-10-26T15:00:00.000-06:00

I don't know if it's just that people are just whiny bitches when it comes to not being allowed into a Republican rally, or if it's only happening to those people, or if it's just the media that is hyping those instances. The way I see it, it's their party and they can invite who they want to... I guess.

Then again, if I'm an undecided voter, I'd like to go to these rallies to see if someone can change my mind. Bringing only Republicans or only Democrats into your party rally is really just preaching to the choir isn't it? They're going to vote for you anyway, so why are you still trying to convince them to?

I do understand that keeping protests down isn't good for the ol' image and they might want to keep that to a minimum, but let people in!

John Kerry is coming to Sioux City tomorrow, and I want to go to the rally. Not because I'm going to protest (like the rest of the GOP of Sioux City is). I want to go hear what the man has to say, take a few pictures, and come home. It's called having an open mind. Dick Cheney is coming to Sioux City on Thursday and I want to go to that event, too. My vote is up for grabs folks. I don't do the party-line voting crap.

I vote for who I believe can do the best job, not on what party you belong to.

wow

2004-10-24T21:22:00.000-06:00

so this is how the world is going to end? i never would have called it.

sports

2004-10-23T20:57:00.000-06:00

i hate the university of texas

have the bosox ever played a game that hasn't gone 4 hours?

and now the biggest reason for this post:
can we agree to forever stop singing "god bless america" during the seventh inning stretches of baseball games? i get how it made religious/ uber-patriot-types feel better in 2001, but baseball already has a song for the seventh inning stretch. how about a "needless nationalism" stretch after the fourth? i just want to go back to hearing "take me out to the ballgame."

when religion becomes the problem and other observations

2004-10-18T20:50:00.000-06:00

*note, there is a curse word in the line after mentioning the progressive blog alliance and the liberal slayer. if you don't want to see it, skip it.

i know i seem rather totally against religion at times, but i really do see the positives it brings. this article, however, highlights many of my fears about this new trend in religious politics.

encouraging news from the classroom: my students are finally getting that homophobic remarks are silly. i have totally wiped out the term gay being used in the negative, and did it only by discussing the the situation rationally. not a small feat in a sophomore class.

if you haven't seen jon stewert on crossfire, go check it out. i saw it at ifilm.com. i have to say that tucker carlson needs to refine his debate style.

the mary cheney topic was also addressed in class, and i decided to defer to what andrew sullivan had to say. the basic idea is that is isn't insulting to call a lesbian a lesbian.

i was reading net politik today and noticed i was listed under his shameless self promotion. i felt honored. i'll also ask you now to check out the progressive blog alliance and then, in the spirit of opposite spin, go look up the liberal slayer at the liberal antithesis, who is again posting.

also, fuck the yankees. though, after a friendly wager in which i took the yanks, the bosox have taken two. if i lose the wager it would be worth it to see the yanks go down.

is it weird that i'm hoping a little for a 1-15 season from the phins? (the only win coming over the pats, ruining their bid at a perfect season)

man, i hope the cards take out the 'stros. i hate jeff "porn star" kent. he's an even bigger ass than bonds. (on an aside, why are the only people saying they have dirt on bonds also the only people on trial? also, why is bonds the only player getting accused of steroids when another superstar much more easily fits the classic steroid mold? sosa, even giambi?)

for anyone that doesn't know, i went to texas tech. don't feel bad for me, as i have decided to be proud of it. well, here is my prediction for the game this weekend: tech 52, texas 28. just wait.

when did U2 start sucking so bad?

wow. all of this and i didn't mention team america? for shame. the movie was great, though i don't like vomit humor. parker and stone do what they do best: piss everyone off. it was well worth it. grade: B (lose the potty humor and it would have been B+) ebert totally blew that one.

finally, congrats to the slayer's son and his football team. .500 and looking to improve is a good place to be, especially with a growth spurt just around the corner.

it's not everyday when

2004-10-15T11:55:00.000-06:00

you are accused of partisanship towards both candidates. we have been discussing the debates and the campaigns in my history classes for the past two days. yesterday a staunch kerry supporter said i was filling the students' heads with republican propoganda. this mourning the teacher hoping to start a republicans club said i was a whore for kerry, tainting all the issues. i guess i'll be hearing from the nader-heads and libertarians next week.

baseball

2004-10-12T19:57:00.000-06:00

goddamn i hate the yankees

another ask charles

2004-10-06T21:03:00.000-06:00

What is the process when hydrochloric acid 

removes impurities from the surface of metals?



well, i'll say pickling

vp debate

2004-10-06T15:19:00.000-06:00

i have to say that this felt like a wash to me. they both came off as vindictive, with neither one really scoring points. kerry-edwards were shown to be perpetually absent from their obligations and bush-cheney came off as totally inept. yipee.

iran

2004-10-06T13:08:00.000-06:00

this is scary, yet we're not hearing that much about it. at least we know exactly what is happening in the scott peterson case.

review this

2004-10-05T11:17:00.000-06:00

this part is acting up, too.

anime: overrated

ask charles

2004-10-05T11:05:00.000-06:00

my site is having trouble, so i'm going to update it here:

where were u born?  el paso, tx







I can understand everything else everyone has asked you.

But I don't think anyone's asked you this yet:

Why did you become a teacher?

Why El Dorado High School. Mind you, Mr. Melin,

I have absolutely nothing wrong with you working there.

But why? I mean. You went to ... that... place.. college thing?

Isn't there anything else you wanted to.

(This not including your video career!)

i became a teacher for the vacation time. actually,
i love to see people when they finally start thinking,
so why not lend a hand? el dorado because they we hiring.
i'd like to get money for nothing, but paris hilton took that one.

Why the hell do you have a website you egotistic freak!!!!!!!!!:

well, because i'm an egomaniacal jerk.

i'm back

2004-10-05T10:56:00.000-06:00

finally i'm back. the home is set up and work is good. i am here again to enrich your lives.

quickly

politics: kerry won the debate, but i like bush's reactions

baseball: i f-ing hate the dodgers. post season pick: sox over cards in 6

football: will the phins go 0-16?

is god pissed at america?

mr. show's 4th season came out, i hope you got a copy

well, that good for now. peace.

assault rifles

2004-09-15T11:47:00.000-06:00

finally, a classroom alternative to detention that is guaranteed to work.

bush memo

2004-09-15T11:45:00.000-06:00

this is ridiculous. why not come up with something real, instead of going the swiftboat route? i hope that the memo was leaked by a smart bush supporter, because all it has done is cast doubt over real evidence, or lack thereof, of bush's duty records.

I'm not a whore!

2004-09-15T07:42:00.000-06:00

Apparently, Britney Spears' mom has felt that it's her duty to tell the world that her daughter isn't a whore. If only my mom would do the same for me....

open source politics

2004-09-03T13:31:00.000-06:00

these guys are interesting, and i love kenneth quinnell's looks at ann coulter. you should check it out.

also, i'm moving right now, so sorry about the sporadic posts.

hero

2004-09-03T08:45:00.000-06:00

grade: A+

this movie is the penticle of historical fairy-tales. it tells a story more with visuals and emotions than with words or actions, but exceeds at both of those as well. this is a film that transcends the genre and captures the imagination. unless you are scared by having to read subtitles, you need to go to this movie.

created from nothing

2004-08-22T18:31:00.000-06:00

seeing that swift boat veterans for truth needed only to have been in the same general area at the same general time as kerry to justify their smear campaign, allow me to launch my own politically biased, and fictional story:

Bush had Homosexual Affair with Texas Tech University Student

Lubbock, TX- President George W. Bush had a brief affair with a male student at Texas Tech University reports the University Daily, Texas Tech's campus newspaper. The student, identified only as Blake, tells of a three day affair in the fall of 1999, a year before Bush was elected President of the United States. Blake tells of the weekend he spent with Bush following a Texas Tech- Texas football game. "We met at a bar, then asked to see my dorm room", said the then junior. Blake said that dildos were used and that Bush was a gentile lover. While all records show that Blake is lying, Charles Melin, a student attending Texas Tech at the time, says Blake is telling the truth. Melin is quoted as saying "Just because the facts say I'm wrong and I'm politically biased against Bush, feel free to quote my wild speculation as fact." He followed up with this: "Besides wanting to harm Bush's re-election bid, why would I lie?" Seeing as we're too lazy and incompetent to fact-check, we'll assume that Bush is in fact a filthy sodomist.

vote for sale

2004-08-22T18:18:00.000-06:00

i have put my vote in the hands of my students. whoever gives me the best argument for their candidate will sway my vote their way. seeing as i'm in texas, this will mean little in the overall scheme, but i hope it gives me a little insight into how these guys feel about politics.

seeing as i haven't been keeping up lately, how about checking out ratboy's anvil. he has touched on my two latest peeves: the kerry "scandal" (i knew dole was funny, but not this funny) and anything to do with punishing anti-bush protestors.

kazakhstan update

2004-08-16T15:59:00.000-06:00

from shane

I've got a new little peice of info for your blog. It turns out that
the people of Kazakhstan are not the biggest fans of those loveable chewy
cinnamon candies from the Just Born company, Hot Tamales. Well, take
care,
and thanks again.

does anyone like those things?

new worries, just what i needed

2004-08-11T14:03:00.000-06:00

so we are now publicly sizing up iran. great. to put a face on this issue, my co-worker will probably be called back into service if we go to iran. is this when i'm supposed to say god bless america, and god bless gwb?

kazakhstan update

2004-08-08T10:46:00.000-06:00

from kazakhstan, via the slaus, the favorite color seems to be "babyish royal blue." so there you go: not all ussr satellite states go with red. more as it comes on kazakhstan life.

jobs suck

2004-08-07T21:42:00.000-06:00

it is amazing how little time you have to surf the blogshere when you have a 8-4 job to go to. i apologize for updating sporadically and then usually only with movie reviews (i take time out to feed my main vice, and the others suffer) but i will try to get better. in the mean time i'd check out the boileryard where nick from net politik contributes. it is worth the read and pays homage to baseball. how can you go wrong?

by the way, my job doesn't really suck.

collateral

2004-08-07T12:36:00.000-06:00

grade: A

this is a really good film. while i am not a fan of cruise, i can respect his work, and in collateral he plays a superb villain. foxx brings a humanity and depth to a role that you'd never expect from the star of booty call. with excellent supporting roles, this film is cast as well as a coen brothers film, and the plot works well. while the ending and plot twists are obvious from the beginning, you really enjoy the ride. go see it, its one of the best this year. mann is the, well, man.

bush

2004-08-06T16:56:00.000-06:00

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

preach it, brother man.

views from the classroom

2004-08-05T14:01:00.000-06:00

after polling my classrooms (8th and 10th) i have found that they, too are split on who should be the next president. they are also evenly split on gay marriage, which does surprise me. it is amazing to see how much some of these students know about the issues. my biggest goal is to get them thinking about the issues without besieging them with my views. hopefully i'll get them to care about politics more than my generation does.

the village

2004-08-01T11:17:00.000-06:00

grade: B

this movie was ok, but shayamalan seems to still be in his rut. in other words,you know that there will be a twist and that you'll see him in there eventually. i did like the aspect of the 1800's as a utopia, even though i am totally against that personally. if you like his stuff then check it out.

harold and kumar go to white castle

2004-07-31T20:04:00.000-06:00

grade: B+

i have to admit to be a fan of both the leads in this film, as well as a fan of many of the cameo-stars. this movie is a buddies-on-the-road formula film that works because it knows how far to take the joke and when to play serious for the laugh. neil patrick harris' part was particularly nice. if you are looking for a good clean fun stoner film, harold and kumar is for you. i recommend it.

the manchurian candidate

2004-07-31T19:59:00.000-06:00

grade: B

this is yet another remake, a movie based on a screen play based on a novel no less. let's face it: denzel is just good. the rest of a cast does well, but knowing what was going to happen put a damper on the experience for me. it is still worth a look, so i'll say go see it.

in america every, well, most votes count

2004-07-28T14:45:00.000-06:00

it seems that the electronic age of voting has had some casualties in florida (of course). while only back up data was lost, it shows that the system is not as secure as is claimed. also alarming is the report that touch-screens register 6 times more no votes than optical scan ballots. take the threat of postponing elections, the knowledge that we might not count all of votes due to electronic oversight, and to that disenfranchised minorities and i can't wait for election season!

new paper source

2004-07-26T15:37:00.000-06:00

now i can tell the kids that their paper is a piece of shit without getting in trouble!

i, robot

2004-07-26T15:15:00.000-06:00

the grade: B

this is a movie based on the summary of a dust sleeve of the book. if that. but as its own movie it is entertaining, and it takes some nice steps in dealing with the three laws of robotics. this movie should have had another name, as it is judged (fairly) by the book. just don't name a movie after a book if it isn't going to be anything like it, or take the family guy avenue (peter griffin presents the king and i). as a stand-alone flick it left me with good vibes and no regrets. a solid summer choice that you should give a chance if you like will smith movies (though this one is the slightest bit smarter than most of his big-budget work).

ricky

2004-07-25T18:31:00.000-06:00

i don't need this right now. ricky williams has retired from the nfl, leaving the dolphins beached. while i respect his ability to walk away from the money, i wish he wasn't walking away from the team. also, doesn't he realize i have to start work tomorrow? on that front, what is more fun than a 30 student classroom? that's right, a 40 student classroom!! joy.

bourne supremacy

2004-07-23T18:33:00.000-06:00

grade: A-

this movie was very good at being a spy thriller, which is good because that is what it is. while the twists were obvious, they still delivered. so did the chase scene, at the end of which i realized i was holding my breath. my only complaint is the seemingly total lack of steady-cam. while i appreciate the hand-held feel, it was done to excess. that alone nearly took it down to a B+, but in the end i had too much fun to go that way. as long as you're not prone to motion sickness, you should catch this film.

family time

2004-07-18T16:58:00.000-06:00

my extended family is in town this weekend, and to help them feel better, i attended church. we looked at 2 kings 13. my favorite verses of the bible are in 2 kings, so i'll share those with you here:

KI2 2:23 And he (elisha) went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

KI2 2:24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the LORD. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.

if i don't update regularly this week it will be because i'm at in-service for the new school year. peace.

god and republicans

2004-07-15T17:14:00.000-06:00

candace at the christian agnostic has some thoughts on the subject, as well as a post showing how bush contradicts jesus.

stupidity

2004-07-15T16:46:00.000-06:00

nick lewis is tackling the subject as it relates to history. do i agree with everything he's saying: not really. but it is worth the read. really, it is. go read it now. go.

what women should wear

2004-07-15T16:43:00.000-06:00

do women look any hotter than when they're wearing glasses? i don't think so. i ran into an old high school friend and was taken aback. it lead me to this question, though: am i the only one from high school that let themselves go?

political puns

2004-07-15T16:38:00.000-06:00

my dad told me one today i hadn't heard. he was very proud of it, so i'll share it here: the democratic party: so full of crap they need two johns.

5 great movies you might not have heard of

2004-07-13T11:10:00.000-06:00

knowing that everyone is always on the lookout for a great movie, here are some of my favorites (in no particular order) that have not garnered much attention:

the minus man B+ owen wilson stars as a a serial killer who fancies himself an angel of mercy. brian cox (i love that guy!) co-stars. it has a dreamy feel to it and is hauntingly low key.

vulgar B a sick, sick movie from view askew (kevin smith's production company) this dark film tells the story of the clown from the opening of clerks. not for everyone, but interesting.

zero effect B bill pullman stars as a sherlock holmes-type trying to solve cases without interacting directly with the outside world. ben stiller plays his representative, a watson-type.

run ronnie run B this movie is based on a running sketch from "mr. show." it follows the life of a man that makes a living out of being arrested on reality cop shows.

scotland, p.a. A- it's macbeth set in a 70's fast food joint. the sound track is almost all bad company, and it works fabulously.

baseball

2004-07-12T11:49:00.000-06:00

i am giving my friend in kazakhstan a crash course on baseball. his position is that baseball is a great medium to stay in touch with america, and maybe he'll even teach the game to his students. while he favors the rangers, i'll let that slide. it's great to see baseball acting as a banner for america.

gay marriage

2004-07-12T11:38:00.000-06:00

Many thanks to the liberal slayer for sending me this story on the subject.

If two adults want to wed, let them. If they find a cleric to grace their nuptials, hallelujah -- although signing a contract should suffice. Clergy and laity should decide who may and may not marry in America's religious institutions.

i have to say that that about mirrors my views on the subject. another point touched on in the article that has bothered me is the notion that marriage is about having babies.

As for child-rearing, same-sex-marriage opponents should explain why couples who fail or refuse to reproduce or adopt may enjoy matrimonial benefits. If "the core purpose of marriage is to bind children to their mothers and fathers," as Stanley Kurtz argued July 1 on National Review Online, marriage licenses should expire after, say, five years if husbands and wives neither bear nor adopt children.

a fair point. you should read the whole article. let's look at this subject rationally and figure out what is right for america before we butcher the constitution.

god stuff

2004-07-11T20:51:00.000-06:00

i have been shouted down many times of late in many places about my unwillingness to accept religion as anything other than widely accepted superstition. so i pose these to questions: what differentiates a religion (in most of these debates christianity) from a superstition? and, what proof tangible proof do you put your faith in?

worrisome

2004-07-11T14:21:00.000-06:00

this story bothers me on two levels: first, isn't this the kind of action that shows that "the terrorists have won?" and in the extreme this seems like an attempt to justify holding power in the face of losing an election. think about it: bush is set up to lose the election, then word comes of a possible attack and the vote is postponed indefinitely.

griffey out of all-star game

2004-07-11T12:06:00.000-06:00

you really have to feel bad for the guy. he had a chance to be the best ever, and now he get hurts every year like clockwork. while this throws a damper on the 500 hr outfield, i still hope that this all-star game will highlight what a great career this man has had. on the topic of his injuries, could it be that the reds' medical staff dropped the ball? he never had this many injuries in seattle.

rating the coen brothers

2004-07-11T00:01:00.000-06:00

these guys rock. they are masters at weaving stories that a quirky yet magical. who wouldn't want to live in the worlds they create? here is my ranking of their films:

the big lebowski. A+ i love this movie. while it gets downright weird at times, this film has moments of pure genius, and at no point does it disappoint. while some people think there is much too much cursing in this film, it doesn't bother me.

fargo. A+ this is my favorite movie that centers around a murder plot. from the characters to the settings this film paints a funny and poignant picture of desperation and hope. a great, great film.

o brother, where art thou? A+ one of the best literary translations you're likely to see, this film is fun and timeless. it also makes light of texas politics, and that is always fun.

miller's crossing. A the hardest of the films, this is a great gangster film with solid performances by everyone. a gangster film that gets slighted when naming great gangster films.

barton fink. A- i just love the leads. goodman is always great with the coen brothers.

the man who wasn't there. A a great film noir turn for the brothers. i have a soft spot for black and white films as well. this film sticks out for being stylistically separated from other coen films.

the ladykillers. B+ while this wasn't there best work, tom hanks is great and i love j.k. simmons. this movie was fun, but isn't as good as most of their work.

raising arizona. A- i know a lot of people would put this higher. this movie is great, but doesn't work for me as well as some others. it was still a great film that really put these guys on the map with most people.

intolerable cruelty. A- i like this film. it was light and fun, but it felt a little like the brother's were mailing it in. it was good, but you get a feeling it could have been better. still better than 90% of the movie out there.

hudsucker proxy. B definitely not for everyone. this film was stylized within an inch of its life. many characters came off as a bit cartoony. despite all this, i like it. you know, for kids.

blood simple. B the only thing that hurts this film is the volume of great films that came after. a great suspense film that is all the more noteworthy considering this was their first film.

rating wes anderson

2004-07-10T23:50:00.000-06:00

this is another one of my favorite directors. i love all three films. here is my ranking:

bottle rocket. A+ i love this movie. this just might be my favorite film of all time, and most of it has to do with dignan. this is sublime "dumb" comedy that is much smarter than most films. i tend to judge people on how they feel about this movie.

rushmore. A this film works the whole time and looks about as good as a movie can look. there is nothing i don't like about this movie.

the royal tenenbaums. A this film looks great and is very well done, but seems too unique at times. regardless, i do love this film. an aside: my best friend's mother hated this film so much she stopped it about thirty minutes in and refused to finish it.

while these are listed in chronological order, they are also in order of my preference.

looking back at kevin smith

2004-07-10T23:46:00.000-06:00

today i watched all of kevin smith's movies, and i have to say that jersey girl is a really great film. i rated his films here, and while i guess i'll stand by there rankings, i'd take any of his films (well, maybe not jasbsb) over almost any film out there.

bad political move?

2004-07-10T10:52:00.000-06:00

not that i'm on the fence about bush, but bringing up a marriage amendment again rubs me the wrong way for two reasons: the obvious homophobic nature of the bill, and using amendments willy-nilly. but won't this hurt him with people that are on the fence? i know many republicans that are not excited about the prospects of changing the constitution, so why mention it now? i am not seeing any political upside to this move.

video games and parents

2004-07-09T23:30:00.000-06:00

read the f***ing title of the game, moron! if you buy your kid a game named slugfest or grand theft auto, then don't be shocked if there is violence involved. also, there is a rating system. use it. above all, just think!

bonds

2004-07-09T23:28:00.000-06:00

not only do the giants win, but bonds ties the all-time season IBB record held by bonds. think about that: we're not to the all-star break and bonds has tied the season record. wow.

banished

2004-07-09T22:49:00.000-06:00

i've been kicked out of the outlaw republican blog for basically being a big bastard. guilty? anyone that knows me knows the answer to that. (yes) my only gripe: how little orange fox (head blogger, then only blogger) kept bashing people she didn't agree with in petty and irrational ways, then was shocked when those that disagreed with her sounded off on her. i can't count the number of times she'd post something only to take it down when it was shown to be a weak or flat-out baseless attack. where was the accountability? oh well. as long as the fox is happy, it's in the past as far as i go.

mclawsuit

2004-07-09T18:53:00.000-06:00

as much as i hate mcdonalds, i think anyone suing them for having fatty french fries should be drawn and quartered. it's a french fry. what did you expect?

anchorman

2004-07-09T11:54:00.000-06:00

the grade: C

this movie doesn't come close to working overall, but it does have it's moments. i have never been a will ferrell fan, but i have appreciated him in certain roles. this role could have worked in a different movie, or this one if the focus had been on the rivalry with other networks instead of inner-office turmoil. the movie worked best when supporting actors were on screen. steve carell is by far the best of the main cast, and jack black has the funniest role in the film. too bad he had less the four minutes screen time. the other network anchors (vince vaughn, luke wilson, ben stiller, and tim robbins) all work better than ferrell, and even the dog comes off funnier. my favorite part was in the outtakes when they threw in an outtake from smokey and the bandit 2, or the afternoon delight moment. this film would be good for the dollar theatres, or maybe a rental. a disappointment.

swedish connection

2004-07-08T09:47:00.000-06:00

my personal website gets much traffic from that great land to the north. i have never met a single person from america that shares my surname. could it be they all went back to sweden (or up to canada)?

king arthur

2004-07-07T19:44:00.000-06:00

the grade: B-

this film was long on action and very short on plot. in this case it works. the movie bastardizes the traditional tale, but tries to bring to life the origins of the traditional story. the film is carried by the performances and a nifty scene taking place on a frozen lake. keira knightley only helps the cause, as does her outfit later in the movie. some questions: what the heck are woads, and what was up with stonehenge? if it looked interesting then catch it, but if the trailers didn't get you excited, then nothing else in the film with either.

bush b-day, kerry vp day

2004-07-06T11:06:00.000-06:00

kerry names his vice president (edwards) on george w.'s birthday. conspiracy? my father seems to think so. (i don't)

first cockroaches, now this

2004-07-05T13:43:00.000-06:00

you'd think living in a metropolis would keep you free from leopard attacks, but you'd be wrong.

the shane pettit update

2004-07-04T18:38:00.000-06:00

the number of people i know in kazakhstan is now officially one. my good friend shane pettit is there teaching english for the peace corp. i wish him the best of luck to make a difference and hopefully avoid diarrhea. i am hoping he will give insights into the kazakhstan way of life while he is there, and if he does, i'll share it here.

happy birthday

2004-07-04T10:46:00.000-06:00

to america. 228 years young.

pat buchanan

2004-07-03T11:43:00.000-06:00

is he a prick for the sake of being a prick? he was talking to the founder of 'black cops against police brutality' (a policeman himself) last night, and instead of talking about the problem of police brutality, he touched on it and then attacked the guy. here are the talking points, with answers in bold:

why black cops and not cops against police brutality? i created the group and i wanted to call it that.

would you help people that aren't black? yes. we helped a white guy that got shot a hundred times recently, and help people of all colors.

look at this video (of a cop hitting a guy on the legs with a flashlight). is that police brutality? yes. if you strike with the flashlight it is automatically police brutality, as we are trained not to use it as a weapon. (pat: i can't tell if it's a flashlight)

so why don't you go after the real problem of black-on-black crime? because my group is committed to stopping police brutality.

so you don't think that black-on-black crime is important? i didn't say that. of course it is. my group speaks to another problem.

so black-on-black crime isn't as important as police brutality? i didn't say that. they are both important problems. my group focuses on police brutality.

well i don't see why you ignore black-on-black crime. gotta go.

while not verbatim, this was a good representation of the event.

and you think your co-workers are bad

2004-07-02T14:07:00.000-06:00

don't you just hate when this happens?

to saturn

2004-07-02T09:20:00.000-06:00

cassini has made it to saturn. after studying the ringed planet, it's onto some of its many moons. there was a time when this story would have risen above all the crap we usually cover and lead the news. unfortunately, we have lost our love affair with exploration. The world, for the most part, is known. there are no more continents to discover, no lost cities of gold. space, though, represents a practically untapped arena to reach out and discover. will the world care about taking a larger step into space without pressing reasons forcing them to? i do not know. i hope we realize that exploration is its own reward. and yet every time we have ventured into the great unknown we have found riches beyond what we could have hoped for.

giants

2004-07-01T11:27:00.000-06:00

seeing as i live in texas, i don't get to watch many giants games. yesterday, though, they were on espn2, so i got to see them rip the hated dodgers 7-1. bonds homer was insane. giants up 2.5 on the padres, 3.5 on the bums.

spider-man 2

2004-06-30T13:43:00.000-06:00

the grade: A+

-sploilers ahead-

first: another bad audience. two kids kept yelling and making a general rukus, a bay cried most of the time, and some morons applauded the credits.

this movie was great, much deeper than the standard summer fair. alfred molina proves he is one amazing actor yet again, and cameos by bruce campbell and hal sparks add humor to an already funny, yet dramatic plot. even the cheesy "united we stand" scene was much better than the first movie. was it perfect? no. but it sure was close. this movie shows just how good a comic book movie can be. the title credits were particularly nice, with the first movie shown in graphic novel slides. my main problem? heavy-handed foreshadowing for a sequel. go watch this movie.

giants

2004-06-29T15:22:00.000-06:00

they open up their series tonight at the dodgers. these teams have split the series so far this season, both going 5-5. a look at their head-to-head stats shows that perhaps the dodgers should be in first, but they are in third at 3.5 back behind the padres and giants. an interesting stat is the giants' lead in walks at 341. bonds has 109 of them.