tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77072508352592478292024-03-12T20:19:19.376-04:00A New Day Yesterdayit was a new day yesterday, but it's an old day nowUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger491125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-9858935278761445452024-02-14T02:14:00.000-05:002024-02-14T02:14:05.695-05:00Celebrity Crushes
At some point an indeterminate amount of time ago (the timestamp on a rough draft indicates early March of 2020, just before the lockdowns), I encountered a meme that involved posting pictures of your celebrity crushes to show if you have a type. It seemed like an interesting experiment (and who doesn't like spending time thinking about people they're attracted to?), but I refrained from Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-9816125462131380162024-01-21T19:16:00.001-05:002024-01-21T19:17:59.960-05:00No SympathyMoving out to the country has involved a lot of cultural adjustment. One thing I picked up on when reading the Kinsey studies, that I've found to be accurate, is that although some parents worry that sending their kids to college will open them up to more sexually liberated attitudes, the hard fact is that people out in the country (who are statistically poorer, and less educated) have more sex Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-15160995167565503682023-12-24T22:01:00.000-05:002023-12-24T22:01:47.937-05:00Jordyn Jones' Top Ten Music Videos
If you haven't heard of her, Jordyn Jones is a minor celebrity pop star/model/influencer. Born at the turn of the millennium in the vicinity of Kalamazoo, Michigan (yes, it's a real place, and I've been there :-p), she journeyed to Los Angeles as a preteen, already trained as a dancer and ready to pursue her dreams of pop stardom. I first became aware of this rising young starlet when she Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-29895079247081006682023-12-14T14:00:00.000-05:002023-12-14T14:00:02.730-05:00EncountersSo, I just watched a new show titled Encounters on Netflix, and it's got me thinking about UFOs.
Don't get me wrong, I'm fascinated by the concept, and love to watch both fictional entertainment and speculative documentaries on the subject, because I have a curious mind. But I don't believe in UFOs. Which is to say, of course people experience unidentified aerial phenomena, but I remain Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-20912726846193796782023-12-05T11:23:00.003-05:002023-12-05T11:23:57.944-05:00My Solipsistic Nightmare"Am I stranded on an island?
Or have I landed in paradise?"
- Paradise by Miley Cyrus
The list of social media sites I've voluntarily left keeps growing (who knew mainstream platforms like Reddit and Twitter were no less cesspools of immaturity than 4chan?), and the list of places that are left, for me to interact with people and express my ideas in a way that helps me feel like I'm not living Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-89401806776430742532023-11-19T16:46:00.000-05:002023-11-19T16:46:50.520-05:00NFTease
I'm humble enough to admit that I don't understand NFTs - neither how they work nor even what they are (consider the part in the video about "deliberate obfuscation" - 8:36-9:12). But I'm open-minded enough to have given them the benefit of the doubt, while networking with artists on Twitter. And I'm future-minded enough to buy (although not literally) into the promise of change, because the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-25620578666022742552023-11-07T13:26:00.000-05:002023-11-07T13:26:15.880-05:00Chains and Things
I'm not superstitious as you know, but in a lifetime, your mind is bound to wander. I'd just as soon curse God for the handicap I was born with, than view it as if it serves some greater purpose. The important point there is that it's a matter of perspective. Whether I'd be happier believing in a divine purpose isn't evidence for God, it's just psychology. And what if I simply don't have Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-59103286155736120642023-11-01T20:33:00.001-04:002023-11-06T00:03:09.499-05:00Demonization
Fire Dance
I saw this image posted online and immediately fell in love with it. In fact, I'm thinking about getting a reprint to hang on the wall right next to my print of Soulacroix's Spring. It's a lovely painting, evocative of a classical witches' sabbath - women dancing nude around a fire out in the woods as the devil looks on. It has a darkly festive atmosphere, and the glowing, orange Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-83379155851162200312023-10-20T13:08:00.000-04:002023-10-20T13:08:19.237-04:00Tumbling DownI guess this blog is becoming rants I wanted to post on Facebook, but changed my mind. I don't know what the right balance is between speaking my mind on issues that bother me (and talking to my friends and family has a greater chance of making an impact than random strangers), and holding my tongue, not rocking the boat, and letting people continue to like me. I really want to be liked, and I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-23542102345628644802023-09-14T19:12:00.003-04:002023-09-14T19:14:16.958-04:00Religion and PoliticsI'm caught in a bit of a tough situation, because I'm conscious of the fact that I don't want to court the reputation of being a judgmental bastard who never has anything to say except to rant about how much I hate people whose religious or political beliefs I don't agree with... but on the other hand, I feel my concerns are justified, and I've been told I'm good at articulating my thoughts (as Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-2288193679031687592023-09-09T00:00:00.001-04:002023-09-14T19:13:26.070-04:00Anti-Fandom and Hate MemesI remember in the '90s you would occasionally find entire Geocities websites dedicated to hating on fandoms (Sailor Moon was a popular one that I recall). I always thought it was a bit suspicious that you would put so much effort into exploring in detail something that you hate. "Methinks she doth protest too much," and all that. (And I say this as a boy who liked Sailor Moon but couldn't admit Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-21079361188046312812023-08-29T13:10:00.000-04:002023-08-29T13:10:26.794-04:00Demonstrating Full PLLThere's more than one way to solve a Rubik's cube, but typically, with the Beginner's Method, you follow these steps:
(first layer)
1. solve the edges (cross)
2. solve the corners
(middle layer)
3. solve the edges
(last layer)
4. orient the edges (cross)
5. orient the corners (face)
6. permute the corners
7. permute the edges
You can solve the first layer intuitively (without memorization) Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-58869790124751831822023-08-18T15:32:00.000-04:002023-08-18T15:32:44.023-04:00Girl Friends
I can't say whether I would have been a good parent (although I know I wouldn't have been the worst one out there, from what I've seen). I have a kind of passive personality that may be a liability, although I know from anecdote and my own limited personal experience that taking care of a kid has a way of pushing you to do what needs to be done, because it's for their sake, and not yours. IndeedUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-47170405499915046382023-07-27T13:57:00.001-04:002023-07-27T13:57:39.446-04:00Tekko 2023
Cosplay
After two vacations two weekends in a row, my photography is a disorganized mess. But here's my cosplay from Tekko 2023. Hard to believe it's been four years since my last Tekko, but it feels good to be back. I love what they've done with the rooftop patios. Technically, my cosplay isn't anime-related, but I really wanted to get some use out of my Luna Lovegood cosplays from that Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-55945381609684794842023-03-13T01:17:00.001-04:002023-03-13T01:19:37.078-04:00Void of ChristI don't think anything will change the fundamental irrationality of the god hypothesis, but this is what the church (and I'm leaving that term intentionally vague) must do to earn a modicum of my respect:
* Stop violating the Constitution, and get its grubby fingers out of politics. That means no laws predicated on moralism, and taking its name off of state property (including our national Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-32191782279116602032023-01-23T23:51:00.002-05:002023-08-29T13:04:44.688-04:00My Cubing Journey (So Far)or, An Introduction to Cubing
About five years ago, I was rummaging through the attic, and I found a Rubik's cube from my childhood. I picked it up and turned it over in my hands. I thought to myself, it must feel great being among that hallowed minority of the population that can accomplish the seemingly impossible. So I vowed to finally learn how to solve a Rubik's cube.
The first thing I Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-83892632393079336942022-12-04T00:54:00.000-05:002022-12-04T00:54:09.080-05:00PrecipiceTo live is to stand on the edge of a precipice. All it takes is one slip, and down into eternal darkness we fall. So we cling to the ledge with all our might. But the longer we hold on, the weaker we get. And eventually, inevitably, our strength gives out.
Faced with this stark reality, it's no wonder that man invented a loving God. "I give to you life, as a gift and a test. Struggle, and thriveUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-83646779461329270012022-05-17T22:17:00.002-04:002022-05-17T22:17:30.955-04:00Cat DemonsI'm glad I'm not superstitious, because there's nothing quite like waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of cats in heat to convince you that demons are real and they stalk the earth looking for victims to torment and devour while most people are asleep.
They sound like children screaming in pain, yet... wrong, like a Cronenberg'ed facsimile. I swear one of them was repeatedly makingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-80904230424530360212022-04-27T13:52:00.000-04:002022-04-27T13:52:27.084-04:00Self-WorthPride has thus far prevented me from internalizing my own self-identity as a person who is mentally handicapped. But I wonder if I wouldn't feel so much better about what I have, and less worse about what I don't, if I started thinking of myself as a high-functioning handicapped person, instead of a failure of a human being. I didn't fail at life - in fact I've done pretty well within my Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-9750564816644685922021-02-09T00:57:00.000-05:002021-02-09T00:57:10.452-05:00Subtraction by AdditionI know affirmation has real psychological value, but I'm a realist, and it's really just a well-intentioned form of lying to one's self. I've never believed the adage, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." I appreciate the sentiment behind it (wisdom DOES often come from experience - although there are wise children and idiot adults), and maybe people's bodies are different. But I'm not a Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-45953629890831866872020-12-20T13:54:00.000-05:002020-12-20T13:54:37.303-05:00Anxiety MosquitosGrowing up, I was the quiet kid. Still am, in fact. I've learned how to express myself when I feel sufficiently motivated only after decades of life experience. But I'm still more likely to do it in the impersonal forum of social media than in real life. And although I overanalyze my words before posting them, I am always racked with shame and self-doubt after the fact. And I still can't decide Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-69023252799470794302020-11-01T14:36:00.000-05:002020-11-01T14:36:39.781-05:00Pandemic BluesI don't look at it in terms of, "how much normality can be preserved?" but more,
"how much normality am I able to sacrifice?" And I don't understand why we're so
attached to celebrating a holiday in a certain way, that we can't give that up,
even just for one year out of our whole lives. You could probably go out
trick-or-treating, wearing a mask, and socially distancing, and be okay. That's
justUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-25602623012559113792020-06-14T16:36:00.000-04:002020-06-14T16:36:56.013-04:00BubblesI have, in the past, been accused of living in a bubble. First, while growing up in a nice, suburban community. And again, while attending a small liberal arts college. But while modern society is more connected than ever, thanks to the internet, I believe we are all living inside of bubbles - the walls of which are formed by the people we follow on social media. Before COVID-19, I'd never been Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-18227010941025268682019-11-03T01:05:00.000-05:002019-11-03T01:05:14.599-05:0010 Things You Might Know About MeBecause I thought this could be fun, and I've gotta post something on this blog between Tekko reviews, amirite? :-p
Anyway, this is supposed to be "ten things you don't know about me", but I've been around for a while, so it's possible you might already know some or all of these things. And anyway, I don't keep a lot of secrets, except for private stuff the internet doesn't need to know about meUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7707250835259247829.post-62185091288057309792019-04-18T11:23:00.000-04:002019-05-08T10:36:31.491-04:00Tekko 2019
Tekko 2019 (Apr 11-14)
I'm going to try (no promises) to keep this con journal shorter than some of the others, which have a tendency to drag on (I actually typed "dragon" the first time, lol) through several pages. Not that my enthusiasm for the experience has waned, but I have been doing this for twelve years now. Also, I wasn't at 100% health this year. In God's cruelest irony, the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0