Friend called last week and had me pick her up from the hospital emergency room, but whenever I asked what was wrong she broke down in tears. Didn't know how to handle that (typical guy I guess) so I pretty much just stopped talking.

So I get a call again today, she's back in the emergency room but they're keeping her there on morphine. Asked if she needed to be picked up, no, so then I offered to come visit. So what do I bring? I guess an apple or something; not much else around here I can bring 'cept maybe hard drive.

Maybe I'll see the FedEx guy on the way out.

On FedEx vehicle for delivery/SAN DIEGO CA 12/11/2002 03:40
Customer not available or business closed/SAN DIEGO CA 12/11/2002 16:19
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/SAN DIEGO CA 12/12/2002 02:36
Customer not available or business closed/SAN DIEGO CA 12/12/2002 16:33
On FedEx vehicle for delivery/SAN DIEGO CA 12/13/2002 02:23

I suspect the problem may lie in the driver's inability to get into my complex. But FedEx is supposed to be able get in here (maybe FedEx ground can't?). Not sure what I can do about this aside from waiting out in the driveway all day. We'll see how long many times this repeats.

But 2 days is more than enough.

2 scotches make a party
3 scotches make a war
4 scotches make an opera
and 5 just make you sore

(shamelessly stolen from some song about women nobody has ever heard)

Vegas was fun, and I like scotch. Especially when it's free. Too bad it has a tendency to make me pass out.

Yes, that's right folks. Ralph's has a sale going Friday (today) and Saturday for Bud and Tecate (maybe Coors too?) 30 packs of 12 oz cans for $9.98 with the coupon. It came in that annoying mail flyer for me, but it's a probably in the in-store flyer too. Yeah, yeah, give me hard time about drinking Bud. I don't usually, but the price is sooooo good. It's about what I usually pay for a 12 pack.

Reminds me of a funny story my dad told me. Some co-workers were visiting San Francisco from Ohio, and my dad recommended they take a tour of the Anchor Steam (which is the best beer ever!) brewery. So they took the tour and at the end bought a case of the beer. These guys were huge Bud drinkers, and for some reason they didn't sample on the tour. They all take one sip, decide the beer has gone bad, and throw the whole case out. D'oh!

I suppose this balances out with earlier this evening, when I received a call from someone asking that I donate more money to the ACLU. I sent in some a couple months back to become a member, so I guess that's how they got my name. Anyway, the guy had no conviction in his voice and I could tell he was just reading from a script. Maybe I would have signed up if he had sounded like he cared, but I specifically checked the "don't bug me" box when I sent them the money. Grrrr.

But the cheap beer does make it all OK. When I come back broke from Vegas, at least I'll have a fridge full of beer.

goin to vegas this weekend, first time going there since i turned 21

just got a call from a friend asking if i wanted to go, really cheered me up since i've been a little depressed lately

i'll be the drunken fool stumbling around the $1 craps tables if anyone's looking for me :)

The Friday After Next is a truely terrible movie, and I don't often say that. Un-called for stereotypes of homosexuals and women as well as a gratuitous amount of bathroom humor do not make for a good movie. Not blaxploitation in the Shaft sense and definitely not as close as All About the Benjamins, it was still offensive in a not funny sort of way. The only redeeming quality of this movie is that it's the inverse of The Transporter in that the final 15 minutes is its only tolerable content. Friday was funny because it was original and Chris Tucker is hilarious, Next Friday managed to be fairly entertaining for a sequel, but Friday After Next follows the tradition set by Alien 3, Godfather Part 3, and Jurassic Park 3. Definitely what I would consider to be the must-miss of the year.

But if you need some good East LA entertainment, look out for Gang Tapes, a Boyz n the Hood meets Blair Witch. Jerky and raw, it depicts the rough life of a newly initiated gang member in LA. Using the booty of a carjacking, a video camera, he offers a glimpse into his world. I'm not sure which was more disturbing; the simple lesson on how to bake cocaine into crack rock or the graphic portrayal of the virginal drive-by homicide done by our young protagonist. Though not for everyone because of its controversial nature, it is strangely self censoring with a conveniently timed low battery in what is possibly a commentary on socially acceptable content in film (sex vs drugs and violence). It's an exciting film that makes you think.

And if mindless speed is what you crave, check out Teckademic's Mischief 3000, the self purported documentary of the 2002 Gumball Rally, a nearly ruleless race from NYC to Hollywood modeled after that seen in The Gumball Rally. Featuring some of the world's most exotic cars, this film gives an in depth look at the race from the viewpoint of a Ferrari 360 and BMW M3 & M5. One of the most amusing parts is watching drivers' reactions to being pulled over at speeds in excess of 100 mph, the most noteworthy of which was the driver of a Ferrari F50 being clocked at 180+ mph that resulted in his arrest. Dangerous, brash, and over the top, this is not a good film for those that respect speed limits. Unfortunately this is one of those straight to video deals, so the only way to catch it is buy a copy from Teckademic's web site or find a video rental place that has it.

And the joy of writing this entry twice is brought to you by Open Sores Software. Lucky for you I didn't feel like sleeping :] Okay, I'm just bitter that Phoenix crashes all the time for me (usually just as I'm about to submit a length composition), but I think I figured out the problem. I tend to not enter the subject until after I try to preview, and if I start to enter a title that autocomplete thinks is familiar, the browser crashes. Off to bugzilla I go, but first I must disable autocomplete!

An article appeared in today's paper that lightens the world's gloomy political situation.

Two candidates for Esmeralda County (pop. ~1000) commissioner tied in the election at 107 votes each. To determine the winner, they drew cards from a new deck, the highest card determining the winner. The funniest part is they both drew jacks, and the winner had to be determined by suit. If only more political deadlocks were resolved in this manner.

watching tv after an evening of out this ..er evening, there was an interesting thing on the news about... Realdoll! For a while it was popular for trolls to link to the site on slashdot a few months ago. The story piqued my interest because it seemed quite trollish in nature, so of course I had to check out the site. My main beef is that the reporter treated the manufacturer like a child pornagrapher, the story was about the outrage we should express in that the manufacuring facility used to er.. manufacture these sex dolls is in a regular commercial neighborhood in San Diego. The main complaints listed in the story were the fact that these dolls degrade women and prevent people from integrating into society by providing an alternativ,e then they proceeded to make fun of a realdoll fanboy with a website dedicated to his "girlfriend".

I do find the whole sex doll thing rather creepy, but this whole article seems to be done in bad taste. A major fact they neglected to mention is that this same company also manufactures male dolls, so the female persuasion is not the only group they degrade. Also, they emphasized the fact that none of this is yet against the law in an ominous tone.

So the main complaint seemed to be the location chosen by the manufacturer, which is the only complain I dont really understand, it's not like they even sell these dolls from this locataion. But the strangest part was the fact that they chose to air a quote from the UCSD feminist group- something to the effect of "It's probably good that these men have sex dolls so they won't end up going out with real women." Kind of surprised a feminist group makes a generalization like that.

Anyway like I said I find the entire thing quite creepy but hardly think it deserves a spot on the whatever o'clock news. If something like Cherry 2000 happens, now that should be a front page story. Did I mention I think this whole thing is really creepy?

As for my personal life (of course you need to knw ;]), too much drama. I'm thinking about putting a sign on my door that sats NO DRAMA! PErhaps I will speak more of this later.

Adendum- Sorry this is not hte most eloquent of journals but. meh you probably know why... felt the need to write something after the tvnews

My hair was getting a little too long, so I decided to give myself another haircut today.

If I ever said that professional haircuts cost too much money, I take it back.

So I've got a new hair style now...

I was using the electric hair trimmer I have, and I screwed up one side. I thought for a while and decided that the best thing to do would be to even it out by giving myself a buzzcut, around 1 inch long all around. Being the genius that I am, I managed to put the blade guard on wrong and wound up putting a big bald spot in the back of my head. I tried to make up for it by making the rest of my hair a lot shorter (two or three mm now!) but it's still noticeable.

So I figure I have two options. I can suck it up and wear a hat for about a week until the hair grows partly back, then even it out. Or I can take a razor to my scalp and shave myself completely bald so my hair starts growing back evenly right away. I'm not sure which one I'll do yet.

It's a bit of a change considering that my hair was 4+ inches before I screwed it up.

On the bright side, I get to laugh uncontrollably every time I walk by a mirror.

for drugs. Besides caffeine and alcohol, to the best of my knowledge I rarely ingest any other substances that I would consider drugs. But lately my allegies have been acting up, so this afternoon I took a couple of those allegy medicine I got from Costco.

Anyway, just taking the normal dosage I get all loopy, which although fun is not the desired effect. And I get really sleepy too.

There was a point I was going to make, but it seems to have slipped my mind. I think ti was a good one too.

I'm not a big fan of Halloween but I love a good horror/thriller film. Here's a list of some of my favorites, hopefully I'll get to watch at least one of them today. Yeah, I know I left out Hitchcock, but I never really like his movies... Anyway, I tried to include some variety. Plot outlines stolen from IMDB, click on the links for more info.

Spoorloos (The Vanishing) (1988)- Rex and Saskia are on holiday, a young couple in love. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia disappears...
not the crappy Hollywood version, but the original Dutch version. Some people say this is the scariest film they've seen, and that's damn respectable considering not an ounce of blood is shed (no special effects either).

Phantom of the Opera (1925)- ased on Gaston Leroux's novel, a disfigured phantom terroizes a Paris Opera house in order to get his beloved singer Christine.
The only production of this film to stand out (in a good way).

The Wolf Man (1941)- When a man is attacked by a werewolf, he finds to his horror that he now becomes one himself under a full moon.
Not the first, not the last, but certainly the best werewolf film.

Even a man who is pure at heart
and says his prayers at night,
may become a wolf
when the wolfbane blooms
and the moon shines full and bright.

De Lift (1983)- A lift begins displaying some erratic behavior, like trapping some party goers and nearly suffocating them...
Another Dutch film, this one about (what else?) an evil elevator. Pretty cheesy, but entertaining nonetheless.

Final Destination (2000)- After having a vision of his friends crashing in a plane, he tells them not to get on only later his friends start getting killed one by one.
Definitely mainstream, but such a cool plot that I couldn't leave it out. IMHO, even bad acting couldn't ruin this; I finished watching it thinking "I'm gonna freakin' die!"

Fallen (1998)- A serial killer, who may be a fallen angel, is chased by a lone police officer.
Another mainstream, but very cool plot. And how could a film with Denzel Washington be bad?

The Cube (1997)-A group of people awaken in a strange environment that resembes a maze of cubes.
The best sci-fi/horror. Completely original plot.

Nosferatu (1922)-Vampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife. Silent classic based on the story "Dracula."
How could you not like vampires?

Cannibal Holocaust (1979)- In the beginning of this film we meet a documentary team of three young men and a young woman. They are heading for the south-American jungle to search for real cannibals. After a while the crew is reported missing and a rescue team is send from the US. This team gets in touch with an amazon tribe called the Tree-people. The tree-people gives them the only remains of the first crew - the filmrolls containing the material this crew shot during their search for real cannibals. Back in the US we get to see these films. We now get to see exactly what happened to the first crew.
Any list of horror films needs to include at least one cannibal flick. But if you are offended by anything, you will probably be offended by (parts of?) this film, the second most graphically violent film of all time (Cannibal Ferox being the first, but I can't really recommend that one. Not that everyone should see this one either ;) )

The Shining (1980)- A young boy and his parents become caretakers of a isolated and haunted hotel over the winter..
Because Kubrick is the man. 'nuf said.

Props to Tim Shively for introducing me to some of the more obscure films of the genre.

And of course Blockbuster will be out of the few copies they have of any of these today :(. Any more that should be added?

Yes, Divine Divinity is much better in the final version. Just started playing it and it looks like I will be occupied for quite some time. The navigation is still a little dodgy, hopefully it just takes some getting used to. But it has the coolest skill system ever!

And slashdot appears to be borked, oh well. Hopefully it will get better soon. And I'm not sure if this journal entry will be posted anywhere...

I managed to make a digital copy of the TV movie Saint Sinner the other day. I decided to share it on usenet (ethical reasoning aside), splitting it up into parts and tediously posting it. Then I woke up this morning to find a ton of emails complaining about a missing second half and thought "what?" So I extracted the file, took a look at it, and found that the final 15 minutes is missing. Needless to say there are undoubtedly dozens of leechers quite angry with me now.

I find the entire incident amusing. I don't think I could have annoyed people more if I had tried.

Anyway, I'd recommend the movie if you're into the sci-fi horror type (though it won't do much good because it doesn't look like they're going to air it again and you can't buy it yet). But why did I like it, if the plot was formulaic and the acting merely par? Well, it was beautifully shot, if that counts for anything. And the whole idea is pretty cool- time travelling monks hunting down demon succubi with a dagger? Whoa.

I had the opporunity this evening to watch the film "Devil's Advocate," and once again I was ipmpress by the acting ability of Al Pacino. He has the ability to skirt the line between simply playing a role overacting. This threshold is what separates tje perfect from suvlime and distinguises the lieks of Al PAcino from such actors as Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, and Tony Ho[lkins.

Which of course reminds me of my past, tje desire to embrace the ill, contrasted with my current desire to be good. What a difference a few years makes,, yet even my moniker contains evil. The Mepfistophelean* essence triumphs/

Cooincidence or not? Two of my favorite songs at the moment are "It's a Fine Day" by ATB and featuring Miss Jane and "Un Bel Di Vedremo" as performed by Victoria de Los Angelos.

And on a slightly related note, why do I find Latin languages so much more simple to understand when my native tongue is Romantic?

And no one should be denied the ablity to experience high fidelty audio. For some reason alcohol has the abilty to embellish the auditory sense while simultaneosuly diminishing the olfacere and tangere. And for some reason specific alcohols seem to increase my intelligemce (while decreasing my spelling abilities and dissapting my anal retentiveness) as opposed to the expected effect, perhaps it has something to do twit h reducing my inhipbitions?

*I apologize for the spelling, but after viewing the Giants' dismal performance this evening I felt it necessary to indulge myself in a round of the "empty the liquor cabinet" game.