For Your Consideration

I think I’ll go ahead and sum up the past several days in one enormous blog for y’all. In a nutshell, finals royally stank. They seem to do that, it ought to be a written law. I guess I did alright on my Art class final. I say this because the teacher quizzed the class on stuff not covered in the final study guide. Unbelievable, isn’t it? Well, it’s OK because I know my film class final is going to turn out OK.

Wrong. Last Thursday, the teacher decided to play hardball with me the moment I walked in the door. After having filed a complaint against him several weeks ago for nearly throwing me out of class for touching his camera in the wrong way and a dozen other things, he wasn’t too pleased. He told me that he’s cleared it with his superiors and put a bunch of stuff on my report that doesn’t look good. According to him, I’ve been rude almost every day of the past semester. And yeah, I’ll give him credit there for my having brought in my bike on days I was late, but knowing this guy, it probably includes average mistakes I’ve made in class that are all part of the learning experience, like unplugging the light in an incorrect manner. So with this on my record, he’s thinking that every film class teacher I have at COM will treat me like dirt. We’ll see about that.

As for the Final itself, it was a mess. Our project was to recreate a movie scene and film it and everything, shot by shot. We spent all day last Sunday doing it, only to discover on Thursday that it was almost all out of focus. My two shots came out crystal clear though. I was proud of that. Not that the teacher’s going to take that into account. As for the editing job, the guy who opted to edit it did so on his laptop, but couldn’t get it to export at all into a viewable format. We spent hours trying to do that, and failed. I can guarantee, dear reader, that this would not have happened had I edited it. Next time, I’m editing no matter what. As for my teacher, I know he’s told me that he’s not the problem between us, that it’s me and that I would be fired the first day on the set, but since I’ve only seen him treat one other person in class any way similar to the way he’s treated me that really didn’t deserve it, I’m pretty sure he’s the one with the problem. After all, what kind of person waits for an opportunity to get someone else in trouble for getting them in trouble? That’s pretty darn childish if you ask me.

Finals wrapped up with my Music class final, but I don’t think I did so well on that. Another case of being tested on stuff not in the study guide, but I still had fun composing the tune I composed for studying it. When I finish it, I’ll post it up here. What’s even worse though is that that very morning, I called up a company I bought a video camera from two weeks ago and asked them why it hadn’t arrived yet. I was told the week before that it was there in the warehouse ready to ship out, but not according to them when I called them Friday morning. All the sudden, it hadn’t arrived yet in their storage yet. What’s up with that, you ask? They told me I’d ordered up the imported model from Japan…when they said NOTHING about that on their website. TCS Camera, folks. They’re the ones I ordered from. I ought to file a complaint against them for this, but… (gasp) It might show up on my record and they’ll tell every camera store across the nation to give me a hard time! Yeah right.

In better news, Friday night was spectacular. I graduated! I finally graduated, and boy did I feel great about it! I walked the walk, I even did a little dance turn as I crossed the stage, it was a blast. The only real downer of the evening was listening to an elderly speaker whining about how we’re destroying the world and global warming will melt ice all over the world and the only way to save ourselves is getting rid of our gasoline products and institute solar energy collecting and wind energy and stuff like that. The only real problem there is that he seems to ignore adding cost of implementation into that plan. We use gasoline, because it’s cheaper than solar energy. That being said, I still walked out of that building with my head up high and shook hands with many professors, one of them being my Polysci teacher. Here’s the amusing brief exchange we had:

Him: Congratulations!
Me: Thanks! See you next semester!

Yup, I’m returning for one more semester at COM next year, then it’s SFState all the way.

After that, we all went to party down at Max’s, a really nice diner in Corte Madera with terrific deserts. I also opened up some swell gifts there. My girlfriend got me this awesome singing teddy bear dressed in a graduation outfit that sings “School’s Out” by Alice Cooper. Way cute, way cool. I also got some terrific cards. My folks made a really clever card for me. They put a poster for the movie “The Graduate” on the front with my face pasted over the face of Dustin Hoffman looking at the scandalous leg of what I assume to be Anne Bancroft’s stocking leg double and a quote caption saying, “Ms. Robinson, I’m making a movie and I thought you’d like to try out for a part.” It was terrific. My mom said today it took her less time to design that card than to take the car to Rite Aid and get one off the rack. Welcome to the USA in the 20th Century.

The card from my grandparents had a beautiful painting on it of a country road and mountain on it, but it wasn’t quite as breathtaking as the checkaroonie inside which should cover my education at SFState for the first year or so. There was so much fun this past Friday night, I felt like two days had past by the time the night was over. But the best graduation gift I got all evening, was just getting some private time with my girlfriend at home before she had to be picked up. I just love her so much, it’s amazing.

Saturday was an average work day. Ready for another major letdown though? I was ready and prepared to have my boss leave on vacation for four weeks next week, but his mom didn’t buy the plane tickets. That, and the woman going with him had to opt out at the last minute. And considering that he can’t do much of anything without an aide, He can no longer go on the trip. That REALLY pissed me off, but not as much as it did him. And if that isn’t bad enough, his mom, the one who pays me for working with him, now owes me two months worth of pay. I understand that she’s having trouble with the bank right now, but I also understand that I can’t work for nothing. We have a rule where if she doesn’t pay me for two months, I quit working until she can pay me, which sucks because he has to suffer from it. So you can guess what I’ll be doing about my work until I get paid.

As for today, Sunday, I had a fine time at church. Once again, pleasant times with my girlfriend seeing her there. Afterwards, we had a neighborhood party to say goodbye to some dear neighbors who are moving away in about a month. I’m gonna miss those guys, because I love their family so much. I’ve babysat for their kids so much, I feel almost as itf they’r emy little brothers and sister which I never had. I even bought them a going away present, “Sonic Riders” for the Gamecube. Had a good day today.

For the rest of the week, I’ll be busy again. Tomorrow is Memorial Day (Kudos to the troops!) and we’re celebrating at my grandparents house with a nice little barbecue. Then, Tuesday through Thursday (and maybe Friday) will be more Amber filming for me, during which I will turn this into a filmmaker’s blog, detailing the events going on. It’ll be a great chance for you, the reader, to get the inside details on filming a zero budget film project. Sound exciting? Well then, tune in later this week to the 411. And hope that everything goes well, too.

Seeya!

Pretty Much The Same

What are the Islamic radicals/Islamofascists comparable to? Well, it once was Nazism, but now it’s just about any other enemy we’ve ever fought against…and won.

President Bush, likening the war against Islamic radicals to the Cold War threat of communism, told U.S. Military Academy graduates on Saturday that America's safety depends on an aggressive push for democracy, especially in theMiddle East.

That’s what I’m talkin’ bout, Willis. The bad guys are bad guys, no matter which way you take it. The difference here is that whereas the Cold War ended with a falling wall and Gorbachev buddying up with Reagan, do you think that the same will come of a civilization that just wants us dead because they can kill us? Heck no.

The president took a subtle jab at Syria and the nuclear ambitions of Iran. He chided previous U.S. administrations, saying that decades of excusing and accommodating the lack of freedom in the Middle East did nothing to make America safer.

``This is only the beginning'' Bush said. ``The message has spread from Damascus to Tehran that the futurthe academy after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Bush recounted his strategy for fighting terrorism, saying that the U.S. continues to view anyone who harbors a terrorist equally guilty of being a terrorist. He received loud applause, muffled only by the cadets' white gloves, when he told of his doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, attacking enemies abroad beforethey can attack U.S. soil.

The greatest danger America faces is the threat from terrorists armed with weapons of mass destruction, Bush said. ``If our enemies succeed in acquiring such weapons, they will not hesitate to use them, which means they would pose a threat to America as great as the Soviet Union'' he said. ``Against such an enemy, there is only one effective response: We will never back down, we will never give in, and we will never accept anything less than complete victory''

THANK you, Mr. President. I couldn’t agree more. By the way, I know this is from KCBS.com, but I can’t find a link. Lucky me.

Bloggy Fun Fact

Before I head off to M’Lady’s house today for tea, crumpets and beans and bacon, I thought I’d scroll around Itunes a bit. Did anyonw else here know that John Lithgow has recorded CDs? I kid you not.

Click here to see his CD Bio. Actually, for what it’s worth, the guy sings pretty good. We can put him on the list of “actors who sing” alongside Adam Sandler.

Monster Mistake

Sony Pictures has just given us what might be a very bad omen:

The official website for Sony Pictures Animation's Monster House currently showcases an interesting rating box for the creature feature. While the film has been rated "PG," for "scary images and sequences, thematic elements, some crude humor and brief language," its rating box displays the "PG-13" suggestion "Parents Strongly Cautioned," instead of the usual "Parental Guidance Suggested." Time will tell if the suggestion was placed accidentally or if the film almost did not receive "PG" approval.

In response to this oh-so- horrendous disaster of poor rating, the news changed to this today:

After yesterday's story that the official Monster House website had a PG-13 warning listed in a PG rating box, Sony Pictures Animation has had the error corrected and confirms that the film will be rated PG - Parental Guidance Suggested.

Could it also be a sign that this film royally sucks on so many levels? Oh no, of course not. CGI films are never bad and will ALWAYS guarantee a box office smash hit, right Dreamworks?

Safeway Sue-age

I’ve been meaning to blog on this one since I got it in the mail last week. A “Notice of Collective Action” is wanting to know if I’m interested in participating in the following lawsuit:

Two former employees of Vons stores have filed a complain against Safeway, Vons and Pak’N Save, on behalf of themselves and all hourly paid, store-level employees of these companies, who worked at stores located in the State of California on or after March 18th, 2002, and who were not paid overtime compensation. The case is currently pending in the United States Disctrict Court for the Central District of California; Western Division (the “Court.”) The name and case number of the lawsuit is “Stevens, et al. v. Safeway Inc., et al., Case No. CV 05-01 988 MMM (SHx).”

Plaintiffs allege that during thei employment with Vons, they regularly worked “off the clock” during weeks in which they worked more than forty (40) hours per week, but were not paid overtime compensation. Thjey are suing under the Fair Labor Standards A (“FLSA”) to recover overtime wages for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per week, as well as liquidated damages and reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in pursuing their claims. Safeway Inc. denies these claims, and maintains that it has never caused any employee to work “off the clock.”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was always under the impression that working off the clock didn’t count for extra cash. At least that’s the impression I get from working a different job from a Safeway courtesy clerk now. I never worked overtime, I worked part-time, I even worked less then that...only to discover that that was a mistake. I guess I could sue them on my own for being bossed around by a grouchy manager and not being notified of my overdue union dues until they amounted to $360 dollars (I kid you not.)

What gets me the most here is that these employees for Vons, not Safeway, not Pak’N Save but Vons alone, are suing all three of these companies. For what? Nothing. And what’s more is, I’m being invited to join in on this lawsuit which doesn’t pertain to me the least! Hah! This one goes in the shredder.

What are they going to say when this one goes to court? “We’re suing under the clause of section C22, Paragraph 356, phi beta cappa of the ‘Suing because we can’ Act?” Ridiculous.

Web-Tastic

How many people get to say they got a webcam for a work present? Well, there's me for starters:













You are all now cursed with the image of me in the early morning. Mwahahahaaa!

Para-Murder

Another stunning story from my little angel reminds me of my weekend job. As a caretaker for a handicapped gentleman, I can tell you that there are time when things get really friendly, aka most of the time, and other times when I want to wring his little neck. Ok, not me, but this guy sure did:

A man who slit the throat of a tetraplegic he cared for has escaped the term of life imprisonment normally imposed for murder.
The 12-year jail sentence handed down to Eric Neil Smail, 48, in the High Court at Christchurch yesterday has angered the family of his victim, former Paralympian Keith McCormick.

For those of you who don’t know, a “paralympian” is a paraplegic Olympic athlete. This guy must’ve been amazing.

Smail must serve at least seven years for killing the man he had flatted with, cared for part-time and called his "best mate", instead of the minimum non-parole period of 10 years in a life sentence.

The only thing that could make this more tragic at this point is if the poor guy literally turned out to be his “best mate” with an emphasis on “mate,” but that would be too difficult to explain.

Crown prosecutor Phil Shamy had sought an even greater minimum non-parole period of 17 years, because Mr McCormick was vulnerable, and because Smail had targeted the one area of his body where he had feeling.

"I'm devastated. I thought it was ghastly. I expected he would get 17 years non-parole," Mr McCormick's mother, Dorothy McCormick, told the Weekend Herald. "Everybody that was [in court] for Keith all felt the same."

Justice John Fogarty said Smail had been under a high degree of "accumulated stress" and exercised his discretion to give a lesser sentence.

Just so you know, this isn’t the John Fogarty from CCR. That’s John FogERty.

He told Smail: "The evidence is that you thought you were doing an act of mercy in a way that minimised any awareness that he was about to die and was being killed."
Mr McCormick became a paraplegic in his early 20's when he dived into shallow water to help someone he thought was in trouble. He led an active life, winning medals at the Paralympics, but a second accident in January 2000 left him a tetraplegic, able to move only his neck and head.
This left him totally reliant on carers and his health had deteriorated in recent years.

Since November 2004, Smail had been his flatmate and part-time carer. Based on a psychiatrist's report, Justice Fogarty said the pair had an "extremely close relationship" and had discussed Mr. McCormick's future and desire to live. Smail became aware hisfriend was in considerable pain.

Extremely close? How about at each other’s necks?

But Justice Fogarty said the evidence did not show Mr McCormick wanted to die or there was any suicide pact.

On the day of the murder, July 28 last year, Smail was off work and had drunk for several hours at bars and told colleagues of his intention to kill Mr McCormick. However no one believed him.

He found Mr McCormick sitting in his wheelchair watching TV and stabbed him six times in the neck before slitting his throat. Smail then phoned friends and told them what he had done. He stayed at the house until police arrived and said several times: "I murdered my best friend," and "I just killed my best mate."

In a statement read to the court, Mrs McCormick said she never trusted Smail. "It is quite ironic that Keith took more care of Smail than Smail looked after Keith. What right did this man have to make the ... decision to do this to my beloved son."

John Durning, a longtime friend of Smail, said his friend was the kind of person "who took a lot on board".

He believed the sentence was appropriate.

"As Eric has said in the letters to me: He's done the crime, he has to do the time. Being a caregiver, and probably not having the formal training that a person should really have ... it's a lot of stress to put on a person."

But is that any excuse for murdering someone? I started my job as a caregiver and I had absolutely no experience prior to that job. I’m a part-time caregiver too and I feel really sorry for the guy I work for sometimes, but I don’t go killing him over being handicapped. I wouldn’t even do this if he begged me to do so. So if Smail is going to jail over this, then so be it.

Saving My Religion

Remember those good old days hundreds of years ago when people lived in fear of the Catholic church? The good ole glory days of the Spanish Inquisition? The Salem Witch trials? Yessir, there was once a time when killing anyone who didn’t believe in Christianity was as right as rain. Ah, those were the good ole days…NOT! Quite frankly, I think it’s sick when I think of any religion prosecuting people for not believing in them. And very idea that people nowadays actually stay away from Christianity because of what happened with the Catholic Church hundreds of years ago makes me feel sometimes like I’m surrounded by fools. OK, so that’s an exaggeration clearly.

This brings me to my point: How has history turned on its head? Now we’re the ones getting killed just for being Christian. It’s no joke, check these websites out:

www.persecution.com
www.persecution.org
www.releaseinternational.org

I just got these URLs last week at a church service. I’ll spend more time buzzing through them myself, but it kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Many people remember what happened hundreds of years ago as a crime, so what do they call this? Where’s the huge uprising from most non-religious folks over these travesties? They can’t all not know about them. We Christians are now the ones being killed and tortured just because. And by Islamic folks to boot.

If you’re reading this and you have a heart, go to these websites and sign the petitions, make donations, do whatever you can to help these people. If you don’t have a heart, just take a look anyway. One day, these could be people like you.

Saving My Religion

Remember those good old days hundreds of years ago when people lived in fear of the Catholic church? The good ole glory days of the Spanish Inquisition? The Salem Witch trials? Yessir, there was once a time when killing anyone who didn’t believe in Christianity was as right as rain. Ah, those were the good ole days…NOT! Quite frankly, I think it’s sick when I think of any religion prosecuting people for not believing in them. And very idea that people nowadays actually stay away from Christianity because of what happened with the Catholic Church hundreds of years ago makes me feel sometimes like I’m surrounded by fools. OK, so that’s an exaggeration clearly.

This brings me to my point: How has history turned on its head? Now we’re the ones getting killed just for being Christian. It’s no joke, check these websites out:

www.persecution.com
www.persecution.org
www.releaseinternational.org

I just got these URLs last week at a church service. I’ll spend more time buzzing through them myself, but it kinda makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Many people remember what happened hundreds of years ago as a crime, so what do they call this? Where’s the huge uprising from most non-religious folks over these travesties? They can’t all not know about them. We Christians are now the ones being killed and tortured just because. And by Islamic folks to boot.

If you’re reading this and you have a heart, go to these websites and sign the petitions, make donations, do whatever you can to help these people. If you don’t have a heart, just take a look anyway. One day, these could be people like you.

The Buttpoke Posse

Since my girlfriend likes me so much, she likes to send me tons of MP3s and articles of really disturbing stories to blog on. I’ve gotten so many e-mails on that Mussoui creep this past week, so I’ll give you my opinion on that dude in a sound byte: an idiotic, murderous cretin is he, no less and most likely more. But she sent me this one article that I just had to make time to blog on this evening on glorious Mother’s Day. Unfortunately, I have no link to any source, so you’ll just have to trust my word on this one.

Two teenagers were sentenced Friday to at least a month in jail for poking young boys in the buttocks with broomsticks while working as counselors at a summer camp.

Clifton Bennett, 18, and Kyle Wheeler, 19, were accused of poking the boys over their clothing with broomsticks, a flashlight and a cane as a punishment or just because they were in a bad mood.

Now, they refer to it as “poking,” but considering that they’re getting in this much trouble for it, I think “jabbing” would be a more appropriate term to use. Anything worse and it could be called “impaling.”

Bennett, the son of a powerful state senator, was sentenced Friday to 30 days in jail. Wheeler received 45 days. Bennett apologized, telling the judge he had compromised the campers' ``ability to live their lives’'

The teens pleaded guilty to assault last month. Prosecutors dropped more serious charges of kidnapping and aggravated assault, sparing them from the possibility of decades in prison.

Although the 18 victims wore underwear or swim trunks during the so-called ``broomings'' photos taken by fellow campers showed them grimacing in pain.

Prosecutors rejected demands from parents that they press sexual assault charges, saying there was no sexual intent or penetration. One prosecutor called the attacks ``hazing gone wrong''

Some parents suggested the plea deal was tied to Bennett's father, Ken Bennett, president of the Arizona Senate. The elder Bennett and the prosecutor denied the presence of any political pressure.

Like father like son? Let’s hope not.

In addition to the jail time, the two teens were ordered to perform 200 hours of community service and spend three years on supervised probation.

The victims, ages 11 to 14, were junior high school standouts and student council officers from across Arizona who had been hand-picked to attend a weeklong leadership camp.

I say the sentence serves them right. Maybe we should just make a summer camp for teenagers who like to “poke” little kids in the butt and have them sentenced to that instead.

Storytime

Once upon a time, there was a boy and an angel. The boy was very shy and afraid to show people his talents for fear that he may be mocked and scorned by his peers. The angel was unlike any other angel particularly because she could fly without wings. This incredible uniqueness didn't lead to attractiveness to the other angels, but it did manage to attract the boy somehow. The boy and the angel knew each other and were friends for many years, but the boy couldn't work up the courage to say that he was that attracted to her. And so, as the years went by, they became slowly seperated and the crush he once felt slowly began to drift away.

However, the angel could not be alone. Having left the boy without saying goodbye, she went on to see other men. She went through many relationships and would have many interesting stories to tell afterwards, but none of the men would prove themself worthy of being someone who she could love for life.

One day, an odd stranger came to town: a beast. Like most beasts, this one was rough around the edges, but had the intentions of being very kind. When the wingless angel met the beast, she took great pity in the the poor thing and decided to eventually be a part of his life.

An interesting couple they were, an angel and a beast. They had many good times together that lasted. However, the roughness around the edges really began to show when the beast revealed his true nature. He had good intentions, but bad ideas. He decided that the angel needed his protection, even if it meant barring her off from everyone else she knew. So one day, when the beast was most furious with the angel, he shackled her to a post and told her that she couldn't go anywhere.

It was now that the angel decided she could no longer love this creature, that he really was a beast and that she couldn't escape from the shackles. The only way she could escape was if someone else came along to set her free. But the beast had intended that. He still loved her and told himself that she would perhaps one day understand and grow to love him again. To make matters worse for the angel, he placed a bush over the shackles so no one would see them and cast a curse on her so she could never tell anyone about the shackles.

However, his plans for the angel were ruined when the boy the angel once knew happened to come to her. He was not a boy anymore though. Over the years he'd grown into a man, still looking for someone that he could love. This man had no special powers, or so he considered himself not to. Just an ordinary man. But when he saw the angel, he knew who she was but he couldn't see the shackles, just as the beast had planned. The man and the angel realized they could still be friends, but the beast still had other ideas.

One day, the man saw the angel with her beast. He thought nothing much of the beast and decided still to talk to his friend, the angel. But the beast could still sense that there was something about the two that would endanger his plans. He knew that the man could potentially take away his angel and demanded that she never talk to him again. But that couldn't stop the man and the angel from being friends.

As time went by, the angel and the man continued to become good friends. And strangely enough, they both began to care very strongly for each other. But they couldn't say anything about it because the man was shy arather afraid that the beast might hurt the angel if he said that he liked her. And the angel couldn't tell him about the shackles because she was still under the curse of the beast. As for the beast, he had devised another plan to get the angel to love him. In his daily travels, he met a witch.

Now, it is little known that witches can disguise themselves to appear ordinary with their magic. They can also sense things beyond the flesh. They have an ability unbeknownst to themselves in which they can detect and attract themselves to the wrong kind of person. In this case, it was the beast. The beast noticed this and decided to to use it to his advantage. He would date the witch instead in an attempt to make the angel jealous. But he got more than he bargained for when the witch revealed that she had more curses up her sleeve than he did.

Knowing no one else to go to, the angel saw the man again and told him that the beast was dating the witch. Neither the angel or the beast could recognize her as a witch, but the man did for he had met her once before and been the victim of many of her curses. When he told the angel of her powers, she in turn warned the beast. But the beast couldn't listen. He knew at this point that there was something between the man and the angel that neither of them could see and he knew that because of this, his angel could never love him again.

And so it was decided. One day the beast called a meeting between himself, the angel and the man. He asked the man if he'd ever had feelings for the angel. Surprised and someone caught off his guard, the man admitted that he did. In return, the beast did the most sensible thing he could: he lifted the curse from the angel and removed the bush, exposing her shackles. He told the man that he could set her free any time he wished and left them there.

Both the angel and the man were very surprised at each other. It wasn't just the shackles, but the very idea that they both had feelings for each other and they'd never suspected the other of feeling the same. And so, the man cut loose her shackles and set her free.

After he left, the beast went on to meet other people. When he grew tired of the witches curses, he overpowered her and threw her to the side. The witch left them all alone after that and the beast continued making new friends, realizing that he was better off without the angel.

As for the man and the angel, their story still continues. They began talking to each other, dating, sharing more special moments and all in all making their relationship stronger than ever. And at this point, neither of them know if they'll live happily ever after, but they both pray for the best.

The End

She Had It Comin'

"'Single', she told me? Single my ass:"

ROSEVILLE, Mich. A man who met his wife on the Internet says he's just now learned he was "only one sucker in a bunch."

Police in Roseville, Michigan, say a 46-year-old woman was married to three men at the same time -- and may have left behind a trail of at least 15 husbands.
A judge is expected to decide today whether Kyle McConnell should face trial on felony polygamy charges.

Detective Tim Donnellon says McConnell "has a talent for finding lonely men, marrying them, and stealing their money."

He says police don't know how many men she's conned.

Anyone ever see that Steve Martin movie "The Man With Two Brains" where he's a world class brain surgeon married to a woman like this and winds up replacing her brain with the brain of someone he truly loves? They should try that kind of experiment on this woman. Although then again, if you just google this news story and get a good look at her mugshot...Maybe it's not such a good idea after all.

Jerry Ford

If this isn't the coolest Ford advertisement ever, then I don't know what is:
http://www.tomandjerryonline.com/Videos/Ford%20Mondeo%20-%20Tom%20and%20Jerry.mov