general : The Brain Dump

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10/05/2008

Photo Albums

I added two photo albums to the blog--one for Pics o' the Week and another as my first batch of pictures from China. Unfortunately, there seem to be some technical errors with them. With the China one, for instance, when you go inside it, you can see the thumbnails for all the pictures but when you click on one to magnify it you only get a blank box. You can see most of them in the slideshow, but for whatever reason you can't see the last seven. It's all very frustrating. I'll try to get it fixed but until then . . . here are some nice thumbnails for you to look at!

The Pic o' the Week will continue now that I'm relatively settled and blogging on a regular basis.

OK, time for bed. G'night!

22:18 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) | Email this

09/21/2008

Chinese Blog!

Hello, hello, hello!

Christina and I have successfully made it to Anyang, Henan Province, China. Hoowah! It was a crazy long journey (we woke up in order to catch our 6:30am flight at 3:30am on the 17th, finally pulling up to our apartment in Anyang at 1:00am on the 19th--that is, after a flight to Toronto, a four hour lay-over, the flight to Beijing, and a six hour drive to Anyang--jet-lag doesn't even come close), but now we're finally starting to settle in and we have the internet working and I can update the ol' blog. I wanna give Christina a chance to putz around on the intertubes, though, so that's all I'll say for now. But there is much more to come, so check back with me tomorrow.

Yay for China!

08/23/2008

Birthday Shout-Out

How many people in the world do you think know that today is Bilbo's (and Frodo's) birthday?

Shine on Hobbit-dudes.

10:20 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: bilbo, frodo, birthday

08/08/2008

I Control Space and Time!

Well . . . time at least, though by extension of the theory of relativity that includes space as well . . .

Mwa ha haaaaaaa!

"How so?" you ask. I call upon you to look in wonder (and horror!) at August the 3rd. Has that blog entry always been there? Or is some strange ninja magic afoot?

Mwa h-h-haaaaaa!

When did I write this post? You cannot knooooow . . . though . . . I did just post this one right away.

Or did I?

Oogidee-boogidee-boooooooooo!

05:00 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: space, time

08/07/2008

Howdy from Tay-hoss!

Howdy, readers, from the Lone Star Repub--er . . . I mean, State. The Lone Star State . . .

Yes, I'm back in Texas, ever-awaiting my letter of invitation from the Chinese government. Christina is in Minnesota doing the same. Its hard being away from her. I've decided I very much do not like it. But how can I be blue when I've moved back in with my wonderful parents . . . my . . . my wonderful . . . oh-so wonderful . . . puuuuuh . . .

OK, so it has been difficult. I'm not the most patient person when I'm around my parents. It's just . . . good lord do I not want to live with them anymore! I enter their house, and once again I'm in high school. I suppose that's how it goes with most parents, right? Guuuuuh.

An upside is they hadn't seen The Dark Knight, so I got to see it with them, bringing my total viewings to 三。 <-- that would be "san1," or three in Mandarin. Oh yeah. I've been rockin' the Chinese lessons. Though I'm fairly useless when it comes to the doodles. I would be lying if I didn't say I had to look that one up. Doodles, though. Seriously, China? What kind of a country develops thousands and thousands of doodles instead of a much smaller number of letters? Maybe it's the bull-headed American culture talking, but letters are clearly the better way to go. Friggin' doodles. And it's not like China doesn't know about letters now. Yet they insist on the doodles. Sigh . . .

That was, of course, sarcasm for any Chinese official who might be reading. I greatly respect China's rich and wonderful culture and all of their . . . doodley goodness . . . yay, China (can I have a visa now, please?)!

11:35 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email this | Tags: parents, China, doodles

07/26/2008

Holy IMAX Theatre, Batman!

A great burden has been lifted from my shoulders. But we'll get to that in a second.

Hello, readers! So it's been over a month since my last post and for that I am sorry. I've been packing up and getting rid of all my earthly possessions (I'm down to books, DVDs, a couple instruments, and my bed) and Christina and I have been trying to do as much as possible in Chicago before we leave. She, however, has found the time to update her blog and even make a pretty design for it, so I thought I should pick up the slack as well.

Our departure date draws ever-closer, though not as close as you might think. Unfortunately, due to the Olympics, China is restricting the number of people it is allowing inside the country, which means Christina and I will be going there in the middle of September now--not August as originally planned. Alas, our leases are still up come August 1st, which means we will now be spending six weeks--not two--at our respective parents' houses (hers in Minnesota, mine in Texas).

So that blows.

However.

All is not gloomy in the Land of Chris, for, as I stated earlier, a great burden has been lifted from my shoulders. You see, ever since nerding it up with Batman graphic novels, I have grown ever-more dissatisfied with the Dark Knight's portrayal on that silverest of screens. Yes, Burton's was good--great, even--but it was also cartoony and lacking the depth that many of the better graphic novels have achieved. And so, I resolved myself (I'll say, around the release of Batman Forever) to writing the Batman I wanted to see on film. This even went so far (and I am sadly serious) as to sketching out a prologue and loose plot structure for said film.

Then Christopher Nolan started making them. I remember walking into the theatre for Batman Begins and knowing (having never seen the movie) that it would be the best Batman movie ever made. Similarly, I remember this past Tuesday, walking into the IMAX theatre at Navy Pier, and knowing (having never seen the movie) that The Dark Knight would be the best Batman movie ever made.

I was right. On both counts.

The Dark Knight is literally everything I have ever wanted in a Batman movie. So much so, that I can't imagine any other movie (even one made by Nolan) doing anything more to top it. They understood, on a fundamental level, the relationship between Batman and the Joker. They understood Harvey Dent. And they didn't pull any punches. Oh, the spoilers I could sing!

Heath Ledger is as good as everyone is saying. His Joker erases all others from existence. It is incredible how scary and funny--he's really, really funny--he is able to be.

I also had the pleasure of seeing the film on a screen six stories tall. That certainly added something to the experience.

I love this movie. I no longer have to write my own Batman movie--one that does justice to all of the character's potential--because Christopher Nolan did it first. And better than I could have ever possibly hoped.

See this movie. Seriously. See it twice. You will want to.

03:25 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (4) | Email this | Tags: dark, knight, china, burden

06/18/2008

Define . . . "Me"

My friends and I decided it would be fun to exchange mix CDs with songs that “defined” us. Obviously, these songs are not meant to be definitive in the strictest sense, but I chose songs that point to a kind of person/philosophy that I think I am, hope other people see, aspire to become . . .

So I thought I would share the tracklist with you. My iTunes tells me that I have fifteen days of music, and how I went about initially choosing songs was simply scrolling through all of that and grabbing a song that, in turn, grabbed me. I ended up with a mix three hours long that way, but I managed to whittle it down to a lean one hour. I’ll include my rationale for including each song.

Here we go:

Common People, William Shatner – I knew I would start off with this song from the get-go, though I wasn’t sure which version to use—Pulp or the Shat-man. After a short deliberation, the Shat’s off-beat, emotional delivery (buttressed by Joe Jackson singing balls-out and Ben Folds’s music) won me over. This song rox my sox.

Do You Realize??, the Flaming Lips – I love this song—from its lyrics that juxtapose the heartbreaking and ironic aspects of life with those that are beautiful to the almost orchestral instrumentation to Wayne Coyne’s ethereal voice—I love love love this song. It chooses complication over Romance and still manages to be beautiful. I wish I could do that.

Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta, the Geto Boys – Hell’s Bell’s it feels good to be a gangsta! I actually got into a “passionate” discussion with one of my friends about this song. Quoth my friend, “They can’t even get the definition of ‘gangsta’ straight!” Which is of course why I love it. The song doesn’t give one definition of “gangsta,” but four—four that I think speak to a different part of how people, in this case gangstas, react to life. Plus it’s bad-ass.

Watching the Wheels, John Lennon – My favorite Lennon song—it reminds me to simmer down when I’m freaking out about work or money or writing, etc. The world could use more people who let go of the merry-go-round.

Knock Yourself Out, Jon Brion – This song, in addition to having a folky, laid-back feel to it and lyrics voice my personal mindset in regards to the metaphysical nature of the universe, has the added bonus of being on the soundtrack of one of my favorite movies. I saw Mr. Brion live and got to go on-stage, touch him, and personally request this song—which he played. As some will tell it, I also pushed over a pregnant woman causing her to lose her baby in order to get that chance . . . but she probably didn’t want that baby anyway . . .

Dance to the Underground, Radio 4 – This song has a kick-ass beat and attitude. And like its singer, every now and then I take refuge in the underground (be it in music, philosophy, or literature).

Dear God, XTC – Dear XTC, Thank you for saying in lyric-form many of the reasons why I don’t believe in a conscious, personal god and why, even if I did, I would not worship it.

Better Son/Daughter, Rilo Kiley – Rilo Kiley remains one of my favorite bands and, after just blasting god and religion, this seemed an appropriate follow-up. It’s hard to be a good (or better) person sometimes, but the song’s building drum march beat helps keep me going. May I also say how ridiculously perfect this music video is for the song . . . Ah, crazy Japanese movies, how I love you . . .

Space Dementia, Muse – Then again, sometimes I just want to disappear into oblivion. My girlfriend, Christina, told me after I put this on my mix that she rejected the message of this song (even though Muse is one of her favorite bands). What can I say? Sometimes I’m just cynical enough to prefer it if peace arose and tore everyone apart and made us meaningless again . . . and the music video includes Cowboy Bebop, which—regardless of what Christina says—still inspires me to write my own saga on Mars.

Mad World, Tears for Fears – So follows Tears for Fears, in a less intense fashion at least. I dig this songs catchy music coupled with its bleak lyrics. Truly, we live in a mad world.

Suicide Is Painless, The Ventures – He he he . . . This one sounds worse than it is. First off, this version has no lyrics and so is not explicitly depressing. Secondly, The Ventures gave it a catchy disco feel that I interpret as saying, “Life can really shit on you sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dance.”

Korobeiniki, Ozma – And with new life given to me by The Ventures, I’m able to roxor nerd-style with Ozma’s Nintendelicious cover of the Tetris theme. Plus this video utilizes Captain N: The Game Master, which is a blast from my cartoon past. Pure sweetness.

Murder the Government, NOFX – Ozma’s nerd punk leads to what I feel is one of the best punk songs out there. This song lays out an anarchist manifesto at break-neck speed (once it gets going) and, though I usually identify as a kind of socialist, this song certainly calls to the anarchist lurking inside me.

Oo-de-lally, Roger Miller – I felt it fitting to follow that with the most laid-back song on the mix, a song from one of my favorite childhood movies, Disney’s Robin Hood. The juxtaposition reminds me that human beings are irreconcilably complex. I couldn't find a suitable English version of this song on youtube (stupid Disney with their stupid copyrights) but I did find this sweet Swedish version. "Oo-de-lally, oo-de-lally, hopsa linkin dahhhhhh."

Revolution 1, The Beatles – Out of NOFX’s anarchist spirit and Roger Miller’s country sensibilities arises an acoustic call to revolution, sung in muted, wispy tones and appealing to a rational, practical revolutionary. I’d like to think that describes me. I’d also like to point out that I put this song here by total accident, but since I thought of a reason for it to belong here I turn it from impulsive accident into artistic statement.

Philosophy, Ben Folds Five – In case you haven’t picked up on a theme here . . . although this was a last minute addition. I knew I wanted a Ben Folds Five song on here but couldn’t decide between this and Best Imitation of Myself. Well, Best Imitation of Myself gave the mix a particularly depressing turn, so I went with this one instead. By now I think we’ve had enough existential doubt for one mix . . .

Chicago, Sufjan Stevens – This song is perfect for a couple of reasons. One, I live in Chicago, I was born here, and—for the first time since moving all across the country during my childhood—I feel like I’ve found in here a region that I can call home. Second, its music is inspirational, while its lyrics are humble. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes,” indeed—but the song also offers a complicated and determined message of hope. Christina told me that this song felt like me, and I took that as one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me, musically speaking, of course . . .

That’s it. Fittingly, I started listening to it as I began this post, and I have finished it as Sufjan brings it home for me. I hope you enjoyed reading about it. What songs would you have included on your own mix?

04:15 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (3) | Email this | Tags: me, mix, tracklist

06/13/2008

In the Words of Mel Gibson

07:10 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: Master's, attained, Freedom

05/29/2008

The Wrong Damn Day to Get Out of Bed

Let me tell you about last week.

OK, so it's Tuesday. At least it ain't Monday, right? I wake up and . . . oh, I can barely open my eyes without wanting to scratch them out of my face. Allergies, how I love you. But that's pretty par for the course (thank you, springtime), and I have medication for it.

I walk dogs this day, as I do all that week and did the two weeks before that (one reason I found little time to post here) and so I set out on Christina's bike, Calexico, which she was kind enough to lend me. It is not the first time I ride Calexico to the puppies, and I find the exercise, fresh air, and lack of four dollar gas needed to get from point A to point B refreshing. And so I pedal my way down Clark St, a busy road that runs much of the length of the entire city. Here I am, cruising down the bike lane, when a man in a parked car on the side of the street flings his door open without a care for anyone who might be biking up beside him.

A choked, "Whoa—" escapes my lips, then Calexico's handlebars collide with the door and I fly off, land on my back, and thunk the back of my head against the asphalt. Luckily, I am wearing Christina's helmet. Luckily, there are no cars driving in either direction. Luckily.

So I find myself sprawled on my back in the middle of Clark St. staring at the sky, thinking such Zen thoughts as, "That's the sky," when the man scrambles out of his car saying, "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm from New York. I'm sorry. Are you OK? I'm really lost . . ."

Somewhere in there I think to pick myself off the ground and realize with joyous glee that I still can. So I do. My right leg stings, along with my left elbow and my right shoulder, my head doesn't feel great, but Calexico's OK and all I can think is, "Well, it could've been worse." Plus, there are cars coming. I seem relatively fine so I tell the guy to be more careful and continue down the street.

In the coming days I will find all manner of happy bruises across my body allowing me to recreate what actually happened. As far as I can tell, the force of the handlebars jerking sharply to the right pulled a muscle near my right shoulder and I think that shoulder hit the door, giving my a huge bruise there. The handlebars hit my right thigh hard enough to give me a big scrape (and bigger bruise) and making it a little difficult to walk. I twisted in flight so I landed on my back, probably whacking my left elbow on the asphalt, along with the back of my helmeted head. That's what I've pieced together. I felt like shit the next morning.

But Tuesday isn't over. Oh no, no it isn't. I continue to the first two puppies, explain my tardiness to the owner, and walk the two dogs. I lock Calexico to her gate and when I return to him afterwards, I pull out the lock key, insert into the keyhole and twist . . . only to watch the key snap in half. Glorious. So now my girlfriend's bike is locked to this woman's gate and I still have four dogs to walk with no bike or car to get to them. It also hurts to be alive.

I call my boss. I explain what happened, everything that happened, and tell her that I'm stranded in Lincoln Park with no bike or car. She's very nice. She tells me I can use her bike but I have to take a cab to the office because she's late for an appointment. The office is on Irving Park, which is . . . I think seventeen blocks north of me. So I get a cab. She gives me her bike and I have to ride her bike all the way back down to Lincoln Park. I'm loving life, I'll tell you.

My boss's bike: In some circles, this bike is known as The Most Annoying Fucking Bike in the History of the World. First of all, it is smaller than Christina's and hurts my back to ride. Second, the chain constantly wants to jump to the neighboring gears, regardless of how carefully you set the gear shift. Third, it has this fucking bell on it that ding-a-lings every time you go over a fucking bump. This is what I rode for the rest of the day.

I ride back down to Lincoln Park, taking Lakeshore this time, a bike/jogging path on which cars are not allowed, even though it adds a few blocks to my journey. I go to my next dog (number three of six—halfway done). She's excited to see me, jumps up on my aching body, etc. I give her a walk and take her back. My boss had warned me that this dog "gets fussy" when people leave—abandonment issues, I guess—but not to worry because she's all bark.

Wrong.

Bitch fucking bites me! Clamps right down on my right forearm. Luckily, I'm wearing a coat, and so it just hurts like hell and doesn't actually break the skin. Luckily, I let go of the doorknob out of shock and the dog, upon seeing this, lets go of me. Gets fussy, does she? All bark, is she? She'll growl when I try to go? Jump up on me? Fucking bite me?! AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I beat her back with Christina's helmet and scurry out. Gahhhhh. It is then that a thought I occasionally have pops back into my head and causes me to pause and ponder the metaphysical nature of our universe. The thought is this:

Maybe there is a god after all, and, in addition to many other things, it is and ever shall be omni-mischievous.

To recap: My eyes are raw from allergies, my body aches from getting thrown off Calexico, Calexico hates me and is locked to a gate in Lincoln Park, my boss's bike blows, this one dog is a super-bitch, and I'm tired and hungry and all I want to do is cuddle into the fetal position with Christina.

I finish the day out, my body growing ever-achier over the course of the remaining dogs. I make the twenty-seven block bike ride back to my apartment and collapse on my bed, falling into the merciful hands of my subconscious. I wake up a few hours later and take the train to a pizza place called Crust where I meet Christina and my two friends, Anthony and Richard, for dinner. The pizza is good, the drinks, sedatives, and I'm able to vent about the events of the day.

That was Tuesday. Wednesday was a confrontation with the brutally fragile nature of the human body. I ached, I was bruised, the scrape on my leg opened back up. But I didn't get bit by that dog, so I guess it was a pretty good day. I also drove my car to the dogs. Thursday was much the same. Friday finally saw my body getting some relief. The bruises turned yellow, like someone spilled highlighter all over me, and my shoulder and elbow hurt a little less.

All in all, I'm gonna say it was a pretty good thing I didn't have access to an uzi.

01:50 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (0) | Email this | Tags: bad, day

05/17/2008

An Open Letter to You

Dear Readers,

I wanted to thank you for taking the time to read my inane little blog. I know that you have lots of other things that you could be doing with your time, like reading a book or solving our geo-political problems. However, I noticed that because I have started posting so often, my posts have now overtaken in number the comments left on those posts, and that makes me a little sad. After all, I'm doing this . . . well, mostly for me but also a little for you. My statistics page tells me that I've had one hundred and seventy unique visitors to my blog this month alone, and yet so few comments . . .

I'd like to hear what you think of my little operation. So I wanted to ask: Whatcha thinkin'? Have you been reading any of my short stories? Do you like my Pics o' the Week? Should I just shut up already?

If you can answer any of the following, or comment about anything else, in a respectful manner, then I'm sure we can be friends. And if you have a blog I promise to read it (at least a couple times) and leave comments of my own just for you! Then we can make a little blogosphere all our own! Doesn't that sound fun?

Anywho, I should get going. But I hope to hear from you soon!

Bloggity-blogging,

Chris

06:35 Posted in General | Permalink | Comments (1) | Email this | Tags: open, letter, you, blogosphere

All the posts

The Brain Dump

My blog about me

Categories

Recent Posts

Archives

October 2008

Writings

Photo Albums

Blogroll

Recent comments

Last updated weblogs

10/05/2008

Photo Albums

09/21/2008

Chinese Blog!

08/23/2008

Birthday Shout-Out

08/08/2008

I Control Space and Time!

08/07/2008

Howdy from Tay-hoss!

07/26/2008

Holy IMAX Theatre, Batman!

06/18/2008

Define . . . "Me"

06/13/2008

In the Words of Mel Gibson

05/29/2008

The Wrong Damn Day to Get Out of Bed

05/17/2008

An Open Letter to You

The Brain Dump

My blog about me

Newsletter

Categories

Recent Posts

Archives

October 2008

Writings

Photo Albums

Blogroll

Recent comments

Last updated weblogs

10/05/2008

Photo Albums

09/21/2008

Chinese Blog!

08/23/2008

Birthday Shout-Out

08/08/2008

I Control Space and Time!

08/07/2008

Howdy from Tay-hoss!

07/26/2008

Holy IMAX Theatre, Batman!

06/18/2008

Define . . . "Me"

06/13/2008

In the Words of Mel Gibson

05/29/2008

The Wrong Damn Day to Get Out of Bed

05/17/2008

An Open Letter to You