The Brain Dump - general

I Knew It!

noreply@ (Chris) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 12:18:00 +0800

I knew it!

I knew this would happen!

Sigh . . . well, damn. It seems our alarm clock was just a glimpse of the coming revolution. If only there were more I could have done! I should have warned you sooner . . . I should have . . . I should have . . .

Well, I can only assume that most of you died in the initial assault and those remaining are busy fighting a Red Dawn-like resistance movement. Christina and I, being in China, survived at least this long. Though there is talk that the robots will be attacking from their outpost in Japan. Thus, the ones most likely reading this are the new robot overlords. And so let me be the first to say, "Welcome." Heh, heh . . . I've . . . I've always liked robots . . . I . . . I say thank you to the ATM . . . and . . . and parking garage payment machines . . . please don't make me a slave in the salt mines!!!

For any humans who may still be alive: .-.. --- -. --. .-.. .. ...- . - .... . .-. . ...- --- .-.. ..- - .. --- -. ..--.

Ha HA! Bet you robots can't understand that! Or was that aliens. . . .

Once-a-gain-with-out-e-mo-tion.

A Scary Thought for Halloween

noreply@ (Chris) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 18:08:00 +0800

Christina and I use a travel alarm clock to wake us up in the morning, and the alarm on said alarm clock dings and then tells us the ungodly hour at which we are waking along with the temperature. That's all well and good. . . .

But lately it's been acting a little . . . funny. It started when the clock told us that it was "47 degrees" when it was really 74. It corrected itself about a minute later--by itself, I might add. 47-74, that's an easy mistake, you might say.

But!

Then it said that it was "103 degrees" when it was no where near that. And then I realized--

Gasp!

The clock is using hyperbole!

The robots are learning!

What next? Pleonasm? Aposiopesis? . . . Sarcasm?!

Soon the robots will make art, or no--become art critics! Their biting critiques of our movies, our music, our literature will shame us into oblivion. They'll flood the market with their own mathematically perfect creations. Grid paintings! Mathematical metaphors!! Binary solos!!!

The first signs are here, people. We must arm ourselves. The revolution is coming!

To Be Continued

noreply@ (Chris) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 20:30:45 +0800

Hello, folks. It's been a while since I posted. For that, I apologize. I've been busy scouring Anyang for a bootleg copy of Beverly Hills Chihuahua. The search continues . . .

Things have been alright in China. Ups and downs, strikes and gutters. I'll post a real post in the near future (Friday, at least, is a free day for me), but now I'm tired. But I wanted to check in.

I hope all is well with you.

Photo Albums

noreply@ (Chris) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 22:18:17 +0800

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!

Chinese Blog!

noreply@ (Chris) — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:42:09 +0800

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!

Birthday Shout-Out

noreply@ (Chris) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:20:00 +0800

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

Shine on Hobbit-dudes.

I Control Space and Time!

noreply@ (Chris) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 05:00:00 +0800

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!

Howdy from Tay-hoss!

noreply@ (Chris) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:35:00 +0800

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?)!

Holy IMAX Theatre, Batman!

noreply@ (Chris) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 03:25:00 +0800

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.

Define . . . "Me"

noreply@ (Chris) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 04:15:00 +0800

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?