Randomness From Work
- Blogspot and Haloscan (commenting) have been acting pretty unreliable lately. I've had trouble posting blogs, reading blogs, losing comments, disabled comments, slow loading, etc. I'm sorry if any of you have had problems with my page. With all the problems, I think I might have to switch it all over to Xanga eventually. Actually, a better idea would be for me to learn more HTML and web design, find a good hosting service, and start my own independent page. We'll have to see.
- This week could possibly be my last week of OT. Next week I'm doing this training class M-F so I won't be working any extra hours then. After that, I think I'll be able to go back to 40 hour weeks and get everything done.
- I think I have emotional issues, maybe to the point of having a physiological imbalance of chemicals in my brain. This morning on the way to work, I saw a duck crossing Hicks Rd. with his woman. Of course all the traffic stopped for them, and I was like "awwwwww, how cute". Nearly brought a tear to my eye, I'm not even joking. I don't know when I became such a weenie, but it must have been recently that it happened. It wasn't too long ago when I wanted to shoot birds of all kinds for taking their dumps on my car and waking me up in the morning with their stupid chirping.
- I'm psyched to play softball and/or football. Hopefully the weather is warm.
- We're gonna have to wait a couple more days for BASEBALL OPENING DAY 2003 because of the war and cancelling games in Japan, but I'll live. Especially with the BIG DANCE kicking off this Thursday - Illini vs. Western Kentucky, the first step on the road to Anaheim, and hopefully to New Orleans after that.
- As far as I know, March 25th is still the release date of Linkin Park's METEORA. I fully plan on getting this CD when it comes out, it should be a good one. As good as Norah Jones and ZWAN have been for the past couple months, my CD player in my car is long due for some fresh shiznit.
- I'm trying to decide whether or not to start a DVD collection. So far all I got are Crossroads (Britney Spears) and Once Upon A Time In China (Jet Li), both gifts from people. The 8 Mile DVD is tempting with the special features and all, but I know once I start buying, the floodgates will be opened and it will end up being like at least an average $50 drain on my credit card per month. If they come out with a Home Alone 1/2 box set with special features though... it's over. "A lovely cheese pizza, just for me"
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Monday, March 17, 2003
Weekend Recap
* Saw 2 movies with the woman. First was "The Hunted", which was basically a suckier version of "Rambo: First Blood". I thought it would be good cause Benicio Del Toro is cool, but unfortunately it didn't stack up to "Usual Suspects". I don't recommend this movie, there's no real plot or character development and the fighting is pretty weak.
The other movie was "Cradle 2 The Grave". I got carded twice for the stupid movie, once at the ticket window and another time by the guy who rips your ticket stub. At least they asked Olivia for ID too so it wasn't like last year's Sox game. As for the movie, it was aight. More entertaining and worth the admission than "The Hunted". Good fight scenes, even though they were pretty much recycled from past movies. DMX is a quality actor, while Jet Li speaks perfect English. (just kidding) You all might be surprised to hear me say this, but I don't think Kelly Hu is all that. She looks too stereotypically Oriental. Although she is better looking than Lucy Liu. Anyways, the one lesson to be learned from this movie: Don't Mess With Taiwan.
* I-L-L.... Went to the UC after work on Saturday for the semifinal game of the Big Ten Tourney. We got pretty good seats at the window, first row of 300 level with a decent view.
Dee Brown is the man. Beating Indiana was nice, but half the fun of being there was booing Tom Coverdale every time he touched the ball. I thought I was the only one who hated him, but I guess I was wrong.
Sunday, watched Illini finish off Ohio State to win the little tournament. Illinois got a #4 seed in what is by far the toughest bracket, which was kind of stupid. It's all good though. Thinking back to the start of the season, this team has really exceeded expectations all the way through and I'm glad we're here. Winning the big tournament would be nice though, really nice. Can't say I totally expect it, but I think at least we can hang with any team in the country. I'm already looking forward to a possible 3rd round matchup with Arizona. Who wants to fly to Anaheim next week? Too bad I probably can't, but it would've been nice. Who knows, maybe something will work out...
* Dudo League Baseball Draft. Yes, Sunday was the day that 12 owners had been waiting for all winter. Unfortunately I didn't really prepare that much for this draft, but it turned out aight. I reunited my old pitching staff of Mussina, Kevin Brown, Greg Maddux, and Roger Clemens. Hey, 3 years ago they were awesome. This year, I just hope they stay healthy and put up serviceable numbers. My core is hitting anyways. I'm counting on repeat big seasons from A-Rod, Soriano, and Bonds. If that happens, my team should be a contender again this year, but of course there's no guarantees in baseball. That's all part of the fun.
* Craft. What weekend would be complete without its share of Starcraft? I feel the skills flowing back to me. Just need some more consistency and I'll be a force again.
Currently playing on my Winamp: Backstreet Boys - More Than That
Gotta love the 'Boys.
* Saw 2 movies with the woman. First was "The Hunted", which was basically a suckier version of "Rambo: First Blood". I thought it would be good cause Benicio Del Toro is cool, but unfortunately it didn't stack up to "Usual Suspects". I don't recommend this movie, there's no real plot or character development and the fighting is pretty weak.
The other movie was "Cradle 2 The Grave". I got carded twice for the stupid movie, once at the ticket window and another time by the guy who rips your ticket stub. At least they asked Olivia for ID too so it wasn't like last year's Sox game. As for the movie, it was aight. More entertaining and worth the admission than "The Hunted". Good fight scenes, even though they were pretty much recycled from past movies. DMX is a quality actor, while Jet Li speaks perfect English. (just kidding) You all might be surprised to hear me say this, but I don't think Kelly Hu is all that. She looks too stereotypically Oriental. Although she is better looking than Lucy Liu. Anyways, the one lesson to be learned from this movie: Don't Mess With Taiwan.
* I-L-L.... Went to the UC after work on Saturday for the semifinal game of the Big Ten Tourney. We got pretty good seats at the window, first row of 300 level with a decent view.
Dee Brown is the man. Beating Indiana was nice, but half the fun of being there was booing Tom Coverdale every time he touched the ball. I thought I was the only one who hated him, but I guess I was wrong.
Sunday, watched Illini finish off Ohio State to win the little tournament. Illinois got a #4 seed in what is by far the toughest bracket, which was kind of stupid. It's all good though. Thinking back to the start of the season, this team has really exceeded expectations all the way through and I'm glad we're here. Winning the big tournament would be nice though, really nice. Can't say I totally expect it, but I think at least we can hang with any team in the country. I'm already looking forward to a possible 3rd round matchup with Arizona. Who wants to fly to Anaheim next week? Too bad I probably can't, but it would've been nice. Who knows, maybe something will work out...
* Dudo League Baseball Draft. Yes, Sunday was the day that 12 owners had been waiting for all winter. Unfortunately I didn't really prepare that much for this draft, but it turned out aight. I reunited my old pitching staff of Mussina, Kevin Brown, Greg Maddux, and Roger Clemens. Hey, 3 years ago they were awesome. This year, I just hope they stay healthy and put up serviceable numbers. My core is hitting anyways. I'm counting on repeat big seasons from A-Rod, Soriano, and Bonds. If that happens, my team should be a contender again this year, but of course there's no guarantees in baseball. That's all part of the fun.
* Craft. What weekend would be complete without its share of Starcraft? I feel the skills flowing back to me. Just need some more consistency and I'll be a force again.
Currently playing on my Winamp: Backstreet Boys - More Than That
Gotta love the 'Boys.
Friday, March 14, 2003
"You know what you need? A little comic strip called 'Love Is...' It's about two naked eight-year olds who are married." - Homer Simpson
Maybe posting that pic will cause some people to consider me flamish, but oh well. I'm quite secure enough in my manhood and heterosexuality to include a "Love is..." thing in my blog, at least as just a one-time deal.
Anyways, you can ask me in private whether or not I think naked kids in a comic is "cute", but I definitely like what that one says. They managed to express something that I totally agree with so well, using only a few words and a cheesy little sketch. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I probably would have written pages upon pages of unnecessary verbage to try to say the same thing.
I think the idea applies to all relationships, not just between a boyfriend-girlfriend, husband-wife, or naked kid-naked kid. Another nice little saying I like is "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I'm not".
I mean, everyone has faults, and to some point, it can be reasonably expected of us to change and improve ourselves over time. But what it all really comes down to is, we should all worry less about what you would change about other people, and be more concerned with what you need to change about yourself.
Other than that, all I can say is, life is short so appreciate everything for what it is. For me, I think there is already plenty to love about basically every single person I know, and I want everyone to know that I love you all.
Hugs and Kisses,
Joe
*****
Ok, hopefully that blog wasn't too gay. By the way, if anyone reading this happens to have a copy of my original essay on Britney Spears, could you send it to me? It was originally posted on my students uiuc .plan and I had it saved as a text file on my computer, but that was lost when I botched up formatting my hard drive last time. But I think I sent it as an email attachment to some people. If I can somehow track it down, I wanna re-post it here on this blog.
*****
Currently playing on my Winamp: Ben Folds Five - Brick
For some reason I went back through my collection last week and started listening to this CD again ("Whatever and ever amen"). Not a top 10, but definitely still good. So now my Winamp and my Rio are loaded with Ben Folds Five songs. By the way, I gotta say there's something about this song that is just a bit eerie to me. If you see abortion merely as a one-time act of removing a fetus, and nothing else, you should listen to this song. Really makes you think a little differently about it, that's all I can say.
Thursday, March 13, 2003
Hip-hop
Has anyone heard the Jay-Z remix of Aaliyah's "Miss You"? Apparently it is all the rage on GCI. Well, maybe I'm just grumpy, but I could not imagine a crappier song. It sounds like it took him all of 5 minutes to put that together. Just cause it's a "nice thing to do" don't mean we gotta like the song, you know?
Hip-hop is annoying me. There's a remix of everything - last week I heard a remix of R. Kelly's Ignition Remix. A remix of a remix, what the hell? And pretty much every song is sampled. It's so ridiculous that 2 of the top songs in today's rotation sampled the same beat (Smilez & Southstar "Tell Me", Ja Rule & Ashanti "Mesmerize"). All of the "collabo" business is out of hand too. When was the last time Ja Rule did a song on his own? And who's the next rapper that's gonna do a song with J-Ho? Only a matter of time...
Has anyone heard the Jay-Z remix of Aaliyah's "Miss You"? Apparently it is all the rage on GCI. Well, maybe I'm just grumpy, but I could not imagine a crappier song. It sounds like it took him all of 5 minutes to put that together. Just cause it's a "nice thing to do" don't mean we gotta like the song, you know?
Hip-hop is annoying me. There's a remix of everything - last week I heard a remix of R. Kelly's Ignition Remix. A remix of a remix, what the hell? And pretty much every song is sampled. It's so ridiculous that 2 of the top songs in today's rotation sampled the same beat (Smilez & Southstar "Tell Me", Ja Rule & Ashanti "Mesmerize"). All of the "collabo" business is out of hand too. When was the last time Ja Rule did a song on his own? And who's the next rapper that's gonna do a song with J-Ho? Only a matter of time...
Questions ... to no one in particular
- Is the "white person trying to talk ghetto" joke ever gonna get old? I swear, there's some form of this joke in every movie or every sitcom on TV. It's becoming more prevalent than the Mastercard thing ("priceless"). With that said, I saw a preview for a Chris Rock movie coming out and I will probably end up going to watch that anyways. Gotta love Chris Rock.
- Any good books out there to read? I haven't seriously read a book in a long time, maybe since the Choose Your Own Adventure days. Haven't been to the library or anywhere other than the magazine section at Barnes in a while either. I feel like I should pick up a quality non-fiction or classic fiction book and read it in my free time before I go to sleep every night. Damn, I really am getting old...
- If Gwen Stefani didn't wear so much makeup, would I like her more? I think I would, but I don't know. Must say I'm not a big fan of girls with makeup. A little bit is good sometimes, but moderation is key. And, I think in many cases it borders on false advertising.
- Do news anchors like Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, or Suchin Pak (haha.... ewwww) ever get sick of reporting the same exact story every day? They should probably have the reports memorized by now. "Today, some people died in a suicide bomb in Israel. In other news, France opposes the US stance on Iraq. Meanwhile, inspectors say that Iraq is partly cooperative and partly not cooperative. On the Korean peninsula, the North is pissed at America and they threaten to make nukes. The South wants a peaceful solution. Finally, in sports, Tiger Woods wins the latest golf tournament." I could've turned on CNN a month ago and heard basically the same thing I did this morning. We shouldn't be calling it the "news" anymore, it should be called the "olds". har har har
- If it took 3 years for Brian Cook to get good in college, is he ever gonna be good in the NBA?
- How cool is Bill Self? I hope he stays at Illinois forever, but I don't know if that's gonna happen.
- Is it even possible to survive an early zealot/marine rush when you're zerg? I get lurkers about as fast as I can, while still having a few sunkens behind buildings, but if people decide to team up on you early, you're pretty much porked.
- What is DMX gonna do now that he's officially retiring from hiphop? Oh wait, he hasn't put out any good music since his first 2 CDs. I guess he's probably just gonna continue making movies with Jet Li.
- When is Britney's next album coming out? I'm feeling deprived. Someone told me October, but that's way too far off for me. >:-O
- Are there any good wing places around here? Such as BW3 maybe? I feel like having a nice big plate of wings. My craving for sushi has turned into craving for wings, I think. Hooters is not bad but I miss BW3 in Champaign. One of these Tuesdays I think I'm just gonna drive down there after work by myself and have some. Seriously, I will.
- Is the "white person trying to talk ghetto" joke ever gonna get old? I swear, there's some form of this joke in every movie or every sitcom on TV. It's becoming more prevalent than the Mastercard thing ("priceless"). With that said, I saw a preview for a Chris Rock movie coming out and I will probably end up going to watch that anyways. Gotta love Chris Rock.
- Any good books out there to read? I haven't seriously read a book in a long time, maybe since the Choose Your Own Adventure days. Haven't been to the library or anywhere other than the magazine section at Barnes in a while either. I feel like I should pick up a quality non-fiction or classic fiction book and read it in my free time before I go to sleep every night. Damn, I really am getting old...
- If Gwen Stefani didn't wear so much makeup, would I like her more? I think I would, but I don't know. Must say I'm not a big fan of girls with makeup. A little bit is good sometimes, but moderation is key. And, I think in many cases it borders on false advertising.
- Do news anchors like Peter Jennings, Tom Brokaw, or Suchin Pak (haha.... ewwww) ever get sick of reporting the same exact story every day? They should probably have the reports memorized by now. "Today, some people died in a suicide bomb in Israel. In other news, France opposes the US stance on Iraq. Meanwhile, inspectors say that Iraq is partly cooperative and partly not cooperative. On the Korean peninsula, the North is pissed at America and they threaten to make nukes. The South wants a peaceful solution. Finally, in sports, Tiger Woods wins the latest golf tournament." I could've turned on CNN a month ago and heard basically the same thing I did this morning. We shouldn't be calling it the "news" anymore, it should be called the "olds". har har har
- If it took 3 years for Brian Cook to get good in college, is he ever gonna be good in the NBA?
- How cool is Bill Self? I hope he stays at Illinois forever, but I don't know if that's gonna happen.
- Is it even possible to survive an early zealot/marine rush when you're zerg? I get lurkers about as fast as I can, while still having a few sunkens behind buildings, but if people decide to team up on you early, you're pretty much porked.
- What is DMX gonna do now that he's officially retiring from hiphop? Oh wait, he hasn't put out any good music since his first 2 CDs. I guess he's probably just gonna continue making movies with Jet Li.
- When is Britney's next album coming out? I'm feeling deprived. Someone told me October, but that's way too far off for me. >:-O
- Are there any good wing places around here? Such as BW3 maybe? I feel like having a nice big plate of wings. My craving for sushi has turned into craving for wings, I think. Hooters is not bad but I miss BW3 in Champaign. One of these Tuesdays I think I'm just gonna drive down there after work by myself and have some. Seriously, I will.
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