The Year's End

I end this year as I ended the last: away from home. Last December 31st, I was celebrating (more or less) with my brother at my grandparents in Florida. Today (or tonight, rather), I'll be celebrating with my immediate family and the tour group, some of whom I've come to be on very good terms with, in Costa Rica.
The hotel has a whole shebang set up to ring in the new year. To be honest, I'd be content ringing in the new year back home with family friends, as we have in previous years. But ... *sigh* vacation before celebration, I guess?
Overall, I would say that 2009 was a great year for me. I started and ended two more semesters at college. I made a ton of friends around the country and around the world and I had a chance to meet some of them, which was quite nice. I got to see a few cool gigs and met a celeb or two or a few. And there's a whole lot more. But I'll save that for another time, I guess.
And I'll be beginning the new year as I did this one: away from home.
Happy New Year.

P.S. 2010 will be the start of my 1 year Photoblog experiment.

Movies of 2009

What follows is a list of all the new films I have seen in 2009. And by new, I mean films that I've seen in theaters that have been released in 2009. I was hoping to see more, but *sigh* things happen.

• Coraline
• Watchmen
• Star Trek
• Up
• Moon
• Transformers 2
• The Hurt Locker
• Julie and Julia
• District 9
• 9
• Zombieland
• Where the Wild Things Are
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 

My least favorite out of all of them is above and beyond Transformers 2. To put it simply ... it was a giant turd. That is all about that.
As for my favorite ... I can't decide. I'm split between District 9, Star Trek, and Moon for best Sci-Fi flick. I'm split between Coraline and Where the Wild Things Are for best adaptation. *sigh* If I had to pick 1 film and 1 film only ... I'd probably go with Up for being the most original, whimsical, up-lifting (no pun intended), emotional film I saw this year.
As for Harry Potter, which I saw on the plane ... it was meh. Yes, the story flowed, but some bits felt rushed and others were left out and some things weren't quite as I envisioned them while reading the novel a few years ago. I'll post a full capsule review in the new year.
Hopefully I shall see more in the coming year. And I most definitely will, seeing as one of the major summer blockbusters is Iron Man 2, which looks like it'll be an absolute thrill ride.
Until next year, multiplex.

Books of 2009

It is recommended that high schoolers read at least 25 books a year. I am not in high school. And when I was, I nearly read roughly double that amount. Yearly.

The yearly Nerdfighter book challenge is to read 50 books in a year. I beat that. ... Well, I didn't double it, but I came a few books shy of quartering it.

So, without further adieu, here is the list of novels (both graphic and not) that I have finished over the course of 2009.

1. Death: The High Cost of Living (Neil Gaiman)
2. The Graveyard Book (“)
3. Storm Front (Jim Butcher)
4. Fool Moon (“)
5. Death Masks (“)
6. Blood Rites (“)
7. Paper Towns (John Green)
8. Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth (Grant Morrison)
9. The Sandman vol. 1: Preludes and Nocturnes (Neil Gaiman)
10. The Sandman vol. 2: The Doll’s House (")
11. The Sandman vol. 3: Dream Country (")
12. The Sandman vol. 4: Season of Mists (")
    
13. The Sandman vol. 6: Fables and Reflections (")
14. The Sandman vol. 7: Brief Lives (")
15. Black Hole (Charles Burns)
16. Black Orchid (Neil Gaiman)
17. The Dark Knight Returns (Frank Miller)
18. Neverwhere (Neil Gaiman)
19. The Secret Agent (Joseph Conrad)
20. The 13 Clocks (James Thurber)
21. Batman: Hush Vol. 1 (Jeph Loeb)
22. Batman: Hush Vol. 2 (Jeph Loeb)
23. Journey into Fear (Eric Ambler)
24. Casino Royale (Ian Fleming)
25. The Human Factor (Graham Greene)
26. Welcome to the Jungle (Jim Butcher)
27. Mean Streets (Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson, Thomas E. Sniegoski)
28. Fragile Things (Neil Gaiman)
29. The Spy Who Came In From the Cold (John LeCarre)
30. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life (Bryan Lee O’Malley)
31. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (“)
32. Scott Pilgrim and the Infinite Sadness (“)
33. Scott Pilgrim Gets It Together (“)
34. An Abundance of Katherines (John Green)
35. Looking for Alaska (“)
36. Run For Your Life (James Patterson)
37. Scott Pilgrim vs. the Universe (Bryan Lee O’Malley)
38. Cross Country (James Patterson)
39. The Strain (Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan)
40. Turn Coat (Jim Butcher)
41. Max (James Patterson)
42. Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O’Reilly (Joseph Minton Amann and Tom Breuer)
43. Fair And Balanced, My Ass! (“)
44. Light House: A Trifle (William Monahan)
45. Breathers (S.G. Browne)
46. Schuyler’s Monster (Robert Rummel-Hudson)
47. Grave Peril (Jim Butcher)
48. The Da Vinci Cod (Don Brine)
49. The Dust of 100 Dogs (A.S. King)
50. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Apt. 3W (Gabriel Brownstein)
51. Fight Club (Chuck Palahnuik)
52. Y: The Last Man- Vol. 1 Unmanned (Brian K. Vaughn)
53. City of Thieves (David Benioff)
54. Shutter Island (Dennis Lehane)
55. The Sandman: The Dream Hunters (Neil Gaiman)
56. Anansi Boys (Neil Gaiman)
57. Good Omens (Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett)
58. American Gods (Neil Gaiman)
59. Cruddy (Lynda Barry)
60. Transmetropolitan Vol. 1 (Warren Ellis)
61. Transmetropolitan Vol. 2 (Warren Ellis)
62. Transmetropolitan Vol. 3 (Warren Ellis)
63. Runaways Vol. 1 (Brian K. Vaughn)
64. Aertheric Mechanics (Warren Ellis)
65. About the Author (John Colapinto)
66. I Am Legend (Richard Matheson)

So, what have we learned? That I read a shit-ton of Neil Gaiman? That's kind of a no-brainer. And what can I say? It's good stuff!
Now, since this post is being published while I'm away, there are a few books I'm currently working on that I'd like to add to the list, including Lewis Black's Nothing Sacred, Matt Ruff's Set This House in Order, and Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated. If I have completed those by midnight on January 1st, 2010, then I shall have read a grand total of 69 books in 2009.
I have 2 final things to say: 1) Get your mind out of the gutter. 2) I impressed myself. Will you accept this challenge next year? Read 50 books. Or more. It's on.

DVD Review: Everything is Illuminated, Wristcutters, Silent Movie, and Paris, je t'aime

Everything is Illuminated
This film was recommended to me by Sarah and Stefany after we discussed it in one of Sarah's Dailybooth threads a week or so ago. So I decided to check it out. I had heard about it prior to this, but I can't recall what I had heard.
So, I sat down to watch it with my parents and we all enjoyed it. A few brief things that I enjoyed:

• The music: The Eastern European songs just called to me.
• Alex: I didn't know much about Eugene Huntz, the lead singer of Gogol Bordello. I didn't know that he could act. But he left a great impression on me while watching this film.
• The transitions: I quite liked how the transitions made the film nice and chapter-like, with the fades to and from white.
• Elijah Wood: His face is just so expressive. And he portrayed Jonathan's quirkiness quite well!

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and I applaud Liev Schrieber on a well-done directorial debut.


Wristcutters
This was also recommended to me by Stefany in the same thread. I had heard of it within the last few years, but didn't make much of an effort to go out and find it. I should have sooner.
I thoroughly enjoyed a few things including Tom Waits, Will Arnett's cameo, Patrick Fugit, and the happenstance coincidences that make the movie work. Along with the death flashbacks.

Silent Movie
I'm a Mel Brooks enthusiast and I hadn't seen this one yet. So I did.
I enjoyed myself while watching this flick. Yes, it wasn't the side-splitting Mel Brooks that you're used to, but it is filled with chuckles and plenty of well-done celebrity cameos. And I quite liked the meta-breaking the 4th wall story.

Paris, je t'aime
Stefany also recommended this to me, but in another thread.
The film itself is a series of 18 vignettes, each with a different director and a different crew, so it's a little different to review as a whole. Some of the vignettes I enjoyed included the Coen Brothers's segment (I'm a Coen Brothers fan. What can I say?), the segment with the husband and his dying wife (Made me cry.), the segment with Elijah Wood (I loved the color and the look.), the segment with Bob Hoskins, and the segment with Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazarra.

A winter's day in a deep and dark December ...

I'm sitting here,
late at night,
on my bed,
more or less,
freshly back from college.
It's snowing,
and it has been for ten or so hours.
It just keeps coming.
We have,
I'd guess,

2 or 3 inches
at the moment

on the deck.
We should reach eight
to ten by mid-day tomorrow
which is now today

because of the hour.
I felt in the mood for some
Simon and Garfunkel,
so I popped on "I am a Rock"
which will be followed by
"A Hazy Shade of Winter"
and then sleep.
Glorious sleep.

It is when I am

at peace.

No chores,

no pestering,

no worries.

Bliss.

Or peace.

It depends on your definition,

I guess.

It's all up to you.

Now,

if you'll excuse me,

my batteries,

they need recharging.

Photo by Rinze van Brug on Behance.

Support Charities and Be Awesome (Because You Can) (#P4A)

In the world of Youtube, today, December 17th, is known as the Project 4 Awesome. What is it? It's a day during which the Nerdfighter community gathers to post videos supporting charities ... and to get them in the "Most Viewed", "Most Discussed", and "Most Favorited" sections. All for charity.

I have my video up.

And I'm glad to have friends out there participating.

But you should start here.

DFTBA and happy commenting!

A Time to Relax and Catch Up, or (Barely Any) Finals Week

So ... it's been a while since I did one of these "Hey, here's what's happening in my life," posts. I'd say that it's about time for one of those.

Since the last post, I finished classes and the play production I was in. That's essentially it. I'm currently in Finals Week (or Hell Week as some may call it). I consider myself lucky because I only have 1 test this week. And I say test because it's not a cumulative final. And it's on Thursday. So ... as it's the end of the semester, I thought that it'd be a good idea to do a semester-in-review type post.

Classes

Cinema: Overall, I enjoyed the hands-on aspect of the course, but I didn't really feel like I learned a lot. Sure, basic video editing is ... well ... basic. And Super 8 editing is tedious but worth it. And yes, the book we got for the class was interesting (The Filmmaker's Handbook), but the readings weren't always pertinent or applicable in the class. For example, one of the readings was on lighting. And we didn't really deal with lighting rigs and other such equipment. :P But I made some cool video and film projects. They can be viewed here, here, and here. (The last video has both film projects.) The prof did have experience in film and video, but this was his first year teaching here, so ... eh ... I mean, he was a nice guy, but ... I just felt that something was lacking.

Music: What can I say? I loved this class! Well, yes, the opening week or two or three were basic musical knowledge, stuff that you learn in band class in middle school. And the weeks leading up to swing and the music of the crooners were interesting, but not quite my cup of tea. I have nothing against jazz. Perhaps it was the prolonged discussion of it. But overall, I quite enjoyed the course. The prof was very into the course material and could probably talk for days on end about a genre!

English: This was overall a fun discussion course. We discussed a bunch of interesting things, like (recently) gay stereotyping and portrayal in movies and casting non-Asian actors in Asian roles (also known as yellowface). And we read some cool stuff, including a volume of The Sandman (*fanboy squee*), Y: The Last Man, and I Am Legend. And we had a cool video final project, which I had a ton of fun making. The prof was quite chill, down-to-earth, and open with us. And her dog was ADORABLE!

Journalism: This was a basic, yet good review-type course. I mean, it WAS an intro course. We went over such things as covering beats, writing survey articles, and good writing structures. The prof was a nice guy who had plenty of experience in the field, which was good. It's better to have a prof who has experience in the field as opposed to a prof who has little to no experience in the field.

Extracurriculars

Radio: I had a FANTASTIC semester with my radio show and I'm SOOO looking forward to continuing it next semester. This semester, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lauren O'Connell, Jack Conte and Nataly Dawn of Pomplamoose, Stephanie Anderson of Tonks and the Aurors, and Dylan Campbell. All of those interviews, along with the archived audio from the shows can be found on the radio show blog. And to stay up-to-date on when the show will be next semester, keep an eye on the show's Twitter.

Columns: This semester, I've written a total of 7 Op-Ed columns for the campus paper and a majority of them have been politically themed. It feels good to get my opinion out there. :)

Beyond Coal: The university has released deadlines to improve clean energy on campus. ... I think. I haven't been 100% up on the news about that. But I probably should be.

The play: Was "Noises Off!". And it went quite well, overall. It was a fun experience and a good community show. My cast mates were great and I had a great time playing an old, doddering, alcoholic actor.

****

And ... that's about it. Oh! Wait! Free stuff! I've raked in a good haul this semester, including Pirates of the Caribbean 3 on DVD (it was okay, compared to the first), a foam pirate sword, the Pirate Radio soundtrack, and a Star Trek communicator toy. (^_^) And yeah, I also got a few free books at the start of the semester. I'm still working on that Lewis Black book. Oh, and that iPod Nano I won? That went to my mom. She quite liked it. (^_^)

And as for gigs, I've been to a few good shows here on campus, including Gregory and the Hawk, Tonks and the Aurors, and Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Here is a song from the Tonks show and here are two songs from the SSLYBY show.

So, in conclusion, overall, I've had a fantastic and very fun semester. I even managed to keep up on my Youtube activities, posting a total of 23 videos, all of which are viewable on my channel, along with my 261 other videos. ... Don't ask.

Well ... I'll be home on Friday and someplace warm on or around Thanksgiving (Correction: Christmas Eve) through New Years or thereabouts. Allons-y, Alonso!

Fringe, or Damn Do They Know How to Write Cliffhangers or What?!

Okay, so earlier in the day, prior to the play and all (and while I had laundry going), I decided, "Hey, I missed last night's fall finale of Fringe! I ought to watch it!", despite having missed one or two other episodes so far this season and despite being WAY behind on Glee (I'll catch up on that over winter break). I was mostly up-to-date on the events of the season so far, so I was in the know. And needless to say, this episode packed a freakin' huge cliffhanger and left us (the viewers) with more questions than answers, as JJ's TV shows tend to.

(Note: SPOILER WARNING!)

The biggest part of the episode was Walter and his brain. Literally, his brain. Like the 3 pieces of the hippocampus that were removed. I had just one qualm about that whole bit. When Olivia and Peter are looking at the X-rays and Olivia asks something along the lines of "What's the hippocampus for?" ... Olivia, I'm sure that you went through high school and college and at least took an anatomy and/or psychology course and learned what the hippocampus does. ANYWAY ... my FAVORITE Walter moment in the entire episode was when Newton temporarily restored Walter's memories to his brain. For a short while, Walter was ... whole again. It was very satisfying to see him with all his marbles. How sad that it can't happen again.

But back to the title of this posting! We, the viewers, were presented with 1) the leader of the opposition who is in our world (Thomas Jerome Newton), 2) what he looks like, and 3) his overall goal. However, with Olivia's decision to save Walter, he escaped. As for his future plans, we don't know. But the ending tag of the episode really brought things full circle in a way: we now know why Walter isn't all there. It was a decision between Walter and William to protect the doorway to the parallel universe, but at what cost you ask? Oh, Walter will be not quite there. For the rest of his life. Yeah. It sucks. Royally.

Wait! Kind went off on a tangent there! Okay. While the end of the episode was as big a cliffhanger as the fall finale from last season (David Robert Jones's mysterious escape from a German prison) or the season finale from last season (in which Olivia met with William Bell in the still existing World Trade Center in a parallel universe), it was still ... unnerving, perhaps? We know Newton's motive, but we don't know his next moves. It's almost like a chess game. We took some pieces from the opposing player, yet we have a feeling that he has an ace up his sleeve and he's plotting our downfall somehow. We don't know when it'll happen, but we know that it'll happen.

So, what's to come in the second half of Fringe's second season? We don't know. But we're waiting with baited breath.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice Trailer

I woke up this morning to find this trailer had come my way via e-mail or Twitter or something like that. I watched it. I was ... horrified? Would that be the right word?
Let me preface this by saying that I do enjoy the occasional GOOD Nicholas Cage film. And when I say occasional, I mean OCCASIONAL! ... Which is rare in this day and age. Yes, I enjoyed The Rock. And Face/Off. And the National Treasure flicks. And Matchstick Men. But otherwise, of late, his film choices or roles have been ... type-casted, perhaps? Maybe it's just me, but that's how it seems.
This flick, needless to say, looks like a BAD Nicholas Cage film. It looks like he isn't even trying, really. I mean, from what I've heard, he is kickin' in Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans and Kick-Ass, but this ... *sigh*
And have you read the plot on the IMDB page for this flick?

A sorcerer leaves his workshop in the hands of his apprentice, who gets into trouble when the broomstick he's tasked to do his chores for him somehow develops a mind of its own.

SERIOUSLY?!?! That's the plot for the sequence from the Fantasia movies! That is SO not the plot that I gather from the trailer, despite the fact that it's the teaser trailer. I don't see any FREAKIN' broomsticks! Nor do I see any broomsticks caning Nicholas Cage for choosing this role! *sigh*
Maybe it'll be "Good." MAYBE. I'm leaning towards "No way."
So, here's the trailer, courtesy of Film School Rejects. I don't know whether or not to say enjoy, but ... enjoy?

UPDATE: I rewatched the trailer and saw the snippet with the brooms. Yeah. I'm guess that that's going to be ... 5, maybe 10 minutes of the entire film. :P

2 Posts in One: Weekend Past and Mid-Week

Sorry for the deal, friends and readers. Busy times, late nights, rehearsals, class work, you get the idea. So, on with the post!

The Weekend Past:

Friday was a very fun and enjoyable day, to say the least. I got up early and made my way into NYC via a Shortline bus to meet up with one of my good DB friends, Allyson. We had nothing short of a stellar day in the city, hitting up first The Met (checked out a Greek and Roman art exhibit, a Vermeer traveling exhibit, and the Temple of Dendur), followed by MoMA (checked out the Tim Burton exhibit, which was fantastic, an exhibit on album art and music videos called Looking At Music, and a permanent exhibit with, well, modern art), the Apple Store on 5th Avenue, Rockefeller Center, and Magnolia Bakery for a quick treat. This is more or less featured in my latest vlog.

We parted ways around 4 when we made our way back to our respective buses and our respective places of residence. The evening brought dinner out with the immediate family, my uncle and his family, and my grandparents.

Saturday contained a haircut and dinner out on Long Island with my other grandma. That was really it. But I did stop by my dojo in town to say hi to my sensei and see how his art gallery opening was going. You can check out some of his photos here, if you're so inclined.

Sunday was mostly the trip back up to college with Sam, Jim, Lorraine, and Hannah, 3 of whom made the trek back on Wednesday. The trip went smoothly, despite a spot of traffic as we got closer to college. And it was a tad bit cramped. Oh well. And I made it back with enough time in the afternoon and evening to finish up an assignment for my Journalism class and catch about 2 or so hours of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert, which was pretty sweet. And, of course, there was plenty of chatting with one of my new good DB friends, Danielle.

Mid-Week:

Let's see ... Monday was mostly class, down time, a new episode of House, and more rehearsal. We're nearing the end of things, both class-wise and play-wise. Set building is this weekend, tech week is next week, and we open next Friday. I have a feeling things will be all ready by then.

Tuesday brought an attempted rally to bring Colbert to campus next semester. It was kinda fail. Only 4 to 5 people max showed up, including myself. :P I left about 45 minutes in to take care of some shopping for a toy drive thing I volunteered for and for my Dailybooth Secret Santa. Class later went well. And rehearsal went well, too. But I need to check my lines and blocking. To be safe and all.

Wednesday was all business, minus my Cinema class. Overall, this semester, I feel that, while the class has been interesting, I really haven't ... LEARNED much, I guess. Maybe next course ... Back to business! My group members and I got a bunch more of our English project filmed! Now all we need is the meatiest part, another 3 small parts, and little vignettes of sorts. The project should be up after all the editing is done this weekend. Hope to see it up on Monday or Tuesday. And the evening brought a Beyond Coal end-of-the-semester party and a Film Club meeting during which we discussed plans for next semester, watched one of our member's recent projects, and watched the opening montage from Up. Watching the montage after having seen the movie already ... brought crocodile tears to my eyes. And that was followed by rehearsal, which was fantastic tonight, filled with a few HILARIOUS moments that I didn't expect. To sum it up: pants and trays. That is all.

****

Alright. Regular posts should resume this weekend, provided that I have the time to do them. Now ... to hopefully do a spot of work and mail my DB Secret Santa package before class. TTYL!

P.S. If you want to ask me questions (anonymously if you would prefer), I have a Formspring, so either check the box in the sidebar or visit here.

Mid-Week: Happy OMNOMNOMNOMNOM Day!

Okay. Not much has happened really. But for the sake of recaps, here ya go.

Tuesday, I spent roughly 7 or so hours editing my 4th Cinema project. Super 8. Yeah. Tedious, but hopefully worth it in the end. I came back, heated up some eggplant from home, slightly burning/scorching a small bit on each thumb. Oh well. The rest of the evening consisted of shooting (or trying to shoot) a PSA that I wrote for the Beyond Coal campaign, taking care of the stage in the dining hall for the play, and catching up with web friends and such.

Wednesday was a shortened Cinema class and a trip home with Sam, Jim, and Lorraine. Pleasant times and good people. The family welcomed me back ... except for Thing 1. :P And the welcome back dinner was quite good. :)

And finally "Kill the Natives with Infected Blankets" Day ... I mean ... Happy Thanksgiving! Watching the parade was nice as always, but some of the performances this year were ... eh. The afternoon brought a trip to the main spot for big family gatherings, which is a very nice place to go to. The little ones were very fun to hang out with, despite some of their light switch antics. And it was nice to catch up with everyone older than me. All in all, it was a good time and I didn't turn into Creosote, thankfully.

Well, readers and followers and all, I hope you have a happy Thanksgiving and I wish all the best to you and yours.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need a spot of sleep for my fun-filled day in NYC tomorrow. Night, all!

The Weekend Past: Wow ... What a Whirlwind!

Whirlwind weekend recap! Let’s dive right in, shall we?

Friday brought nothing major to start. I took care of some radio station business in the early morning and picked up a package I received. That package? A mix CD from my friend Colleen, filled with fantastic indie tracks! And I ended up making a new video for my channel in which I discussed the CD and my passing 250 subscribers.

The evening brought me to a singer-songwriter showdown at the Undergrounds. There were 10 performers, 3 or 4 of whom I quite enjoyed and who made it onto the finals the next night. The first performer was Eliana Rampage Framm, a keyboard player. I hadn’t heard of her before, but she blew me away. If I were to pick a current artist who she is most similar to, I’d go with either Regina Spektor or Amanda Palmer. Seriously. She’s that good. The second performer was Dylan Campbell, a guitarist who has a fantastic indie sound. The third performer was Matt Camussi, a guitarist and a member of the campus comedy troupe, The Pappy Parker Players. He kept forgetting the lyrics to his Beatles cover and his original song, but he kept the audience attentive with self-deprecating humor and such. Eli, Matt, and Dylan were the top 3 on Friday, moving on to the finals on Saturday.

After the gig, I left with two friends, Greg and Dave, who I met up with there, but not before talking to Dylan about getting some airtime at the station. I migrated with Greg, Dave, Shaina, Sarah, and a few of their other friends to one of their dorm rooms, across the way from my place. Eli joined us and we all proceeded to chill and talk for the next hour and a half or so. Good times. I made my way back to my place and caught up with a few web friends and some web stuff for another 2 hours. And I turned in WAY past my bedtime. But it was the weekend, so all was good.

Saturday was a lazy day. I woke up late (for me, anyway) and grabbed some nosh from the pancake brunch in an adjacent dorm after filling up my wallet. Good stuff, not that there’s anything wrong with the dining hall food. The rest of the afternoon consisted of long AIM and MSN sessions with mostly web friends and a bit of Beatles Rock Band (which I hadn’t played in weeks!) with Tom from upstairs.

The finals of the showdown on Saturday were … interesting, for lack of a better word. Eli went on first and she did a fantastic job, but not quite as good as on Friday. She didn’t take it so well, to say the least. The guy who came in first walked on stage and stripped to his skivvies. … Yeah. Don’t ask. Matt and Dylan also did quite well, but Dylan came in 4^th and Matt tied for 5^th/6^th, I think. Apart from the performances, I ended up winning a Post-It pad collection for telling a blonde joke and an iPod Nano in a raffle. I spent about the same amount of time as I did the previous night with Eli, her boyfriend, and a few of her friends. We all did our best to get her out of her rut, and I think that we somewhat succeeded. Once again, I hit the hay around the same time on Saturday as I did on Friday.

Sunday flew by. Over the last few days, I had assembled a shortlist of stuff I wanted to play on the show, in addition to the interview with Dylan. I ended up playing most of it. The interview with Dylan went quite well, which I was pleased with, and he enjoyed himself, which I was also pleased with. The rest of the day comprised of an Op-Ed meeting, an activist training meeting, and lounging around, chatting with web friends on AIM, MSN, and TokBox. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll grab some much needed sleep.

But before I go, here’s Vampire Weekend’s latest single, “Cousins”. It’s kickin’, it’s addictive; Listen to it!

Allons-y, Alonso!

Mid-Week: Uneventful ... Screw that! Twilight Rant!

Okay, so nothing special happened on Tuesday, except for the discussion of acid/psychedelic rock in Music and the end and discussion of I Am Legend in English. And rehearsal went pretty smoothly.

Wednesday brought video type stuff. My idea for my last project in Cinema (which I've already shot and will be editing once I get the film back) was critiqued and it's kinda hard for me to shoot any more film, so I'll be scratching and coloring the film. Meh. It's an experimental/avant garde course. It works. And my group started filming our video project for English. It's going to be SOOOOO good! Rehearsal went well, too, despite two cast members being absent.

Today was alright. I tabled a bit for the film club, learned about art/prog rock in Music, and we discussed vampires versus zombies in the book and the film version of I Am Legend, along with a possible cast if another adaptation was made, one that was truer to the story. Two potential cast choices: Paul Giamatti as Ben Cortman and ... gosh darn it, I don't remember who we thought of to be Robert Neville. Someone suggested Jeff Bridges, actually. The Dude as Neville. Nice! And we filmed another bit for the project after class had let out. The rest of the evening consisted of another BC group meeting, dinner, Countdown, a kickin' episode of Fringe, and good episodes of Daily Show and Colbert.

******

So ... that's really all I have. Umm ... so ... in anticipation of the release *fanboys* of Twilight: New Moon tomorrow, it's time for ... A TWILIGHT RANT!

I know that they're fictional characters and such ... but ... C'MON!

To Edward and kin: Vamps aren't supposed to be so emo and dramatic and such! They're supposed to strike fear into the hearts of their victims! Ever heard of Nosferatu? He was fuggin' creepy! You're creepy! ... But that's because of how you ACT. not how you LOOK and ACT.

To Bella: You seem so 1 dimensional! "Oh, I love you, Edward." "Oh, Edward, I still love you and I'm pining for you even though you said that you're leaving me." "Oh, Edward, let's get married and have babies, despite all of that previous business." "Oh, Edward, turn me into one of you so I can survive a horrible birthing process." SHUT IT, Bella! I've seen better from Hayden Christiansen!

To Jacob and kin: Since when are werewolves so buff and such? Have you seen The Wolfman? Or Teen Wolf?

To all fans: I hate to say this, but QUIT OBSESSING OVER THE BOOKS AND THE CHARACTERS! Yes, I was and still am a Harry Potter fan, but that's because the books and the characters were well-written! Your books are ... well ... drivel.

That is all.

(Note: The author of the rant has not read the books or seen the movies. And he has no plans too.)

******

Better not forget those two pictures! I took these the first on Tuesday and the second today.

And here's a great short I found the other day! Enjoy!

The Weekend Past: Downtime and DOCTOR WHO!!!!!!!

So, Saturday I awoke from staying up later than usual to finish up the previous blog post after filling up my health meter. After finishing that up, I rushed over to a living community on the other side of campus to catch a matinée of a Christopher Durang play, "Betty's Summer Vacation", with my friend Amanda. I got into a bit of Durang phase during my time at the EXPLO summer program at Yale back in the summer of 06, which was when I started this blog ... wow ... *brain 'splosion* ... so ... I quite enjoyed this play. I kinda have a thing for slightly sick and twisted humor that breaks the fourth wall. ;)

The rest of the day was filled with mostly chatting with a few web friends on AIM, MSN, and Skype.

SUNDAYSUNDAYSUNDAY! ... No, there wasn't a derby, but there was the new Doctor Who special! But first came my radio show. I had a good show. Thanks to all for listening in!

Now ... The Waters of Mars! I went over to Steph's (a friend, classmate, and project member) and Ari, a station friend and member, brought over a projector, which we hooked up to her laptop. We had the pleasure of watching it on the big screen ... in a manner of speaking. I quite enjoyed it, especially the bit with the speeding up of Gadget. And I really enjoyed the character development of The Doctor over the course of the episode and how it set things up for the 2 parter that will close out Tennant's reign as The Doctor.

And I did manage to get a little bit of reading of I Am Legend done.

Monday was ... relaxing, perhaps? Cinema was okay, but ... lights out = ZZzzzz ... I'm usually okay, but I felt like crap for that.

I had plenty of time afterwards to get my reading and other work done, seeing as my Journalism class was canceled. No clue why. So I finished up I Am Legend by mid-day. It was a good read. I haven't read much Matheson. Maybe I should. I have read a LOAD of Bradbury, who is quite good.

My Monday evening progressed as it usually did: BC Media Meeting, new episode of House, and rehearsal. We're starting to ask profs for support for our cause. I quite enjoyed last night's House, but I feel a tad bit lost. I need to catch last week's episode. And in rehearsal, we ran through act 1, with a few stops and such here and there. It'll take a little time to cut it down.

And when a castmate (and hallmate) and I got back to my room after rehearsal, we entered to see my roomie flicking through the channels. When we entered, he flipped to one of the many HBO channels on campus. What was on, you ask? Hint: ♫ Bow chika wow wow. That's all I'll tell ya. He quickly changed it. XD

Before I run off, here are two fantastic links for ya that I found and got quite a kick out of. Enjoy!

Pac-Man

Yes

P.S. No picture this post. I'll have one for Thursday.

End of the Week: Major Epically Late Post

Wow ... this is what happens when you stay up late trying to do some reading, get distracted by Misery on The Weather Channel, and AIM/MSN.

*****

Alrighty. Wednesday. Cinema was interesting. We watched some found footage short films. Like reworked and reedited films and stuff. One was footage from a porno with the women edited out, thanks to nail polish and bleach. It was ... interesting ... to say the least.

The rest of the day went as follows. I met with the group I organized for my English project. We went over the script for the short a bit more and we discussed getting a cast and props and such. Later in the evening, I attended the meeting for the film club. The adaptation we're working on seems to be going nowhere fast. I mean, I really like the idea of the club, but it's kinda running out of gas. I cut out a little early to make my way to a hall meeting. The main thing discussed at the meeting was the winner of the hall sweatshirt design. It's basically the Kanye meme. *sigh* It's getting old! *Kanye enters* Yo, Jason, I'm gonna letchu finish, but I just wanna say that - *I whip out my boomstick* You had better move those little legs of yours, Kanye! Hope they can support your ego!

Now ... where was I? Oh, right! Rehearsal went well. The pantomime is moving along nicely. Oh, and we had graham crackers with frosting as a little treat. Yum! ... And some sardines, too. Only one of the cast sampled them. Not for me, really. Tried anchovies once, and ... yeah. Not my thing.

Well, the Mother has been telling me to get off my ass, for lack of a better phrase, and get stuff done. I have been. I've been going to class. I've been talking with the profs. Over the last week or two, I started the motions usually seen in those trying to get internships. The one I was trying to get through the Rhetoric Department fell through, but I managed to get one with the Media Relations Department on campus. Doing video stuff. And I'll be getting credit for it. I mean, it's a hobby and it's something that I enjoy doing, and I'll be getting credit for it ... Win?

Music went well. The 3rd song ID quiz we had went quite well. Piece of cake, really. But I was kinda freaking out that there would be one or two heavy metal songs on it. I mean, there's nothing wrong with heavy metal, but it's not my scene. Later that evening, I was planning on meeting up with the prof at his office hours to get his opinion on a few groups, including Owl City and Amanda Palmer, to name a few. That was pushed back to Tuesday.

English was great. We started watching I Am Legend instead of a documentary about people in LA/Hollywood who dress up and pose as superheroes and such. I'd seen I Am Legend when it was out in theaters in 07. I thoroughly enjoyed it. While we were watching it, I took notice of a few things that made the film so good. In fact, after we finish it up, I'll probably write up a little post about it. Perhaps a review. Or perhaps what I loved about it. We'll see come Tuesday. Or Wednesday.

Following that was another meeting. I'm now also helping out the Grassroots arm of the Beyond Coal campaign. We're going to be canvassing in classes to get more petition signatures of the next week. Shouldn't be too hard.

I made it back with a little time to spare before the new episode of Fringe, which was fantastic. I could kinda figure out the main twist about 15 minutes in. But the ending ... OMFG! This is one of the reasons why I love this show. So much more mystery! Gah! I wanna learn the entire mythology NOW but I can't! The suspense is killing me! ... And it's also why I keep tuning in.

Friday was ... Friday. I helped out a bit with more tabling for the station. And I met a band called Love and Logic that came to perform on air. They seem cool. Picked up one of their CDs. I'll have to sample a few tracks and maybe play some on tomorrow's show.

After that, I met up with my friend Jared (the one with the demon puppet) and we finished editing the script for the project we're working on. Let's just say this: it's going to be hilarious and it's going to be ... okay, that's enough.

Later on, fun Skype times ensued. I chatting for a short while with Ilse, who is making her way back to the Netherlands, about differences between the US and the Netherlands, as she spent a few months couch hopping across the US. After that, I hit up my good friend Ally, who I got my painting from. She's been quite well, which makes me quite pleased, despite receiving killer bruises from rugby.

After that (and some ramen ... what? The dining hall had breakfast for dinner. Not really my kinda thing now.), I discovered that Misery was on The Weather Channel. It was good. Hadn't seen it before. And I'm a Stephen King fan and all ...

Before, during, and after that, I was on AIM and MSN with a load of web friends, as I have been for the last few weeks or so. I have met so many fantastic and caring people over these last few months. God, I love social networking. Thank you, Janeen, Dave, Michelle, Gia, Spont, Michelle (another Michelle, mind you), Rich, Dustin, Erin, Danielle, Anne, Janelle, Ikirak, Ally, Ally (yes, another Ally), Brian, Ilse, Lidewij, Travis, Liz, John, Rachael, Lori, Chris, Bryn, Allison, Chris (yes, another Chris), Erika, Anna, Kayla, Paige ... everyone. Thank you all for the fantastic, fun, and humorous chats we've had so far. I await even more.

Later, everyone!

Oh, and before I forget, here's the entertainment of the day.

Mid-Week: SLEEEEEEEP ZOMBIE!

Sunday was all business. Prior to the show, I edited a few bits of my column before turning it in. It's viewable here. After that, I Skyped with one of my many new friends, Belle, and IMed with the Chatters. They're all fantastic people. The show went well. The podcast is up on the blog. I finished up writing the obit on my grandpa for my Journalism class after the College Humor Live show, which was cool.

The Pappys, the campus improv troupe, were hilarious as usual. Streeter and Jeff, two of the main CH people were quite good. They lectured the audience on the 3 rules of submissions (I don't quite remember the title they gave it.), which were embarrassment, pain, and shame. ... Or something like that. They proceeded to show some photos and videos as examples. This, which I found to be quite hilarious, was one of them. The stand-up comedian, Dan Levy, was cool, but his material wasn't as ... forceful? ... passionate, maybe? ... as someone like ... George Carlin, so I was kinda passing in and out. After he was done with his set, Streeter and Jeff came back on and had dare giveaways. They would show something on the screen (like a picture of "Weird Al" Yankovic or Miley Cyrus) and ask if someone in the audience could do a deed that went along with the picture (like name 5 "Weird Al" songs or sing a Miley Cyrus song). I stood up on my chair and quoted Gandalf the Grey. My prize? A "Viva La Evolution" shirt and College Humor's Guide to College. I think that that cements my geek status. Yes? No?

Monday was good. Cinema was okay, but I felt kinda neglectful because I was lacking a bit in the sleep department. I got a few more details for the obit, finished the darn thing and got it ready to hand in. I got to class with everyone else. The prof wrote the numbers 1 through 3 on the board. Item 1: Turn in obits. Item 2 remained blank. Item 3: Read 2 chapters in the textbook. He then went back and wrote in item 2, "Go and enjoy the rest of this Indian Summer evening." Thanks a ton, Prof! Just the relaxation I need!

After a bite and a short bit of chill time, I went to do some more phone banking for the Beyond Coal campaign. I was feeling out of it, so I left after about an hour or so of calling, in hopes of taking a short nap before rehearsal, but I got a slight bit sidetracked. What? It happens. Rehearsal was ... exhausting. But we almost got all the way through the pantomime. *phew* The only bad thing about the day, besides the not being fully there, was missing a new episode of House. Thank God for the internet.

Tuesday was, for lack of anything else, BUSY! In the morning, we had a Beyond Coal rally/news conference in front of the administration building to get the university president's attention to switch from coal to cleaner forms of energy. It went well, but it was a bit chilly, so my fingers started to look a bit like those of He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named. Long ... spidery ... yeah. A bit later, I had the chance to register for classes. Didn't get into two of my first choices, but I was able to find 2 temporary placeholders. If I can petition into one class and get one of the internships I'm hoping for, then those two are going goodbye.

Both classes were good. In Music, we discussed the beginning of the folk revival with Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez. And the prof can do a humorous Dylan impression. :D I'm hoping to stop by his office hours to chill and get his opinion on a few groups that I've gotten into over the last year or so. Just to see what he thinks. We finished discussing Grave of the Fireflies in English and I got a look at the script for the faux infomercial that we'll be shooting. It looks good and I might have a trick or two up my sleeve as to how to find a certain person for a certain role. I won't say anymore about that now. After a bite and some more down time, I went to the showing of Coal Country, which was an interesting documentary, despite the fact that I had decent knowledge of mountain top removal coal mining. After a bit more down time, I made my way to rehearsal. There, we finished and ran through the pantomime. *phew* Hallelujah!

Now, if you'll excuse me, my bed is calling. I think that I need to heed its call a bit more. Enjoy the following video (which I got linked to by my mom. I love getting these chain-type e-mails from family. So touching!)!

Half Done with the Weekend: Non-Motivation

Hanging around the radio station for a handful of hours on a Saturday isn't the best way to be productive.

******

Thursday mostly contained going over notes for my Music test, which went pretty well, except for one or two identifications. We finished watching Grave of the Fireflies in English. The Pop meeting in the evening went well and I met another cool apprentice. And I learned about media advisories and releases for my new position in the Beyond Coal campaign on campus. :D And I made it back in time for the new episode of Fringe! Alright! People turning to dust! Licorice! Oh, and Jon Stewart did a fantastic and hilarious job lambasting Glenn Beck on The Daily Show. XD

Friday was decent. I took care of the usual Friday chore, as well as making a new video (involving Jack, the pumpkin I carved about a week and a half ago) and doing a few pieces of station business (the weekly PR meeting and making a promo for the Pop Department). The evening brought the station post-Halloween Halloween party/mixer. Costumes were optional. But people still dressed up and it was quite fun. I went as The 10th Doctor again. And I won "Most Fitting Costume". :D And I did catch most of Army of Darkness. ... With riff tracks provided by station members. I'll catch it in its entirety sometime soon.

Well ... here we are. This post has come full circle. So. Today. Yeah.

I spent roughly 5 and a half or so hours chilling in the radio station. I listened to a handful of CDs from the New Bin, looking for stuff to play on tomorrow (well ... today, now that you think about it). I ended up taking another listen to Wolfmother's new album (Cosmic Egg), which is good, but doesn't quite have the hard driving 70s sound that their debut album had. The new Weezer (Raditude) is okay, but then again, I haven't heard a whole lot of Weezer, just a few songs here and there. I haven't heard much Flaming Lips either, so their latest album, (Embryonic) isn't as accessible to me as it probably would be to a dedicated listener. But I did find the new Carbon Leaf (Nothing Rhymes with Woman) and the new Noah and the Whale (The First Days of Spring), both of which sound quite cool.

While there, I chatted with the members of the Chat, who are a fantastic bunch of people. I also Skyped a bit with 2 wonderful web friends, Michelle and Alisdair. This is honestly why I love Skype. You can talk instantly with friends in all parts of the world for free, as long as they have an internet connection and a computer. And a webcam for face-to-face chats never hurt.

The rest of the night was dinner, a bit of Dirty Jobs (one of the recent episodes in which Mike went to Hawaii to do window washing), more time in the Chat, some column writing (maybe I'll pound out the rest of it before turning in), and a bit more researching for the obit I'm writing for my Journalism class.

And SNL, which was a bit better, but still ... meh. The Fox News cold open was well done, except for the fact that Shepard Smith was portrayed as more in the favor of the other anchors and personalities at the channel. While I'm not a fan of Fox News by any stretch, I do applaud Shepard for being more rational than, say, Greta Van Susteren or Glenn Beck. ... But then again, anyone is more rational than Glenn Beck. As for Kristen Wiig's character Penelope ... she's just dull and not humorous. Like Jean K. Jean. I just don't find them funny. Maybe it's a difference of opinion. Or sense of humor. Meh. Taylor Swift did a good job hosting and performing, though. Maybe I'll check out some more of her stuff.

Also, during the day, I came up with a new idea for my final project for my Cinema class. All I need now is the camera. Which I'll most likely get tomorrow. Then, I'll need to reach out to a whole lotta web friends ... and some IRL friends, too. What's coming? You'll see ... eventually. ;)

******

*yawns* Okay, it's late. I'm beat. Let's see if I can quickly wrap this thing up and hit the hay so I can be awake enough for a Skype call, my radio show, and the College Humor show tomorrow.

Allons-y!

(Note, I didn't take this photo. I found it here.)

Mid-Week: BUSYBUSYBUSYBUSYBEE!

You know that your day is off to a good start when you wake up to your alarm, get ready to get out of bed, then look at the clock again to see that somehow it jumped ahead by 50 minutes and you have to rush to get out and on with the day. [/sarcasm]

So ... on with things, shall we?

*****

Monday:

We got back our 1st Super 8 projects and I was one of the few to present. I got some good feedback on mine. And I'm trying to find a way to record it to post it to the webs. That might take a little time.

We discussed obits and life stories in Journalism. Nothing really special, except for one or two humorous anecdotes. And we have to write on for Monday. On a real, dead person. Not a real living person. Not a fictional person. Not a fictional dead person. Just an ordinary dead person. Someone who you wouldn't see too often on the news. So no Michael Jackson or Billy Mays or Farrah Fawcett or anyone like that. I'm most likely going with my grandpa.

Paper-machéing at Beyond Coal meeting. God, I haven't paper-machéd since ... 7th grade? Mr. Lima's Social Studies class? Wow ... that seems like such a long time! Anyway, we started working on a paper-maché coal plant to bring to media events and such. My hands got quite sticky and hard awfully fast. ... Get your minds out of the gutter! Christ! ... But at least we got to listen to a fantastic Beatles playlist while working. The Beatles make anything better.

We actually got start rehearsing on stage for "Noises Off!" And the pantomime, which we

started, is making more and more sense ... logistically ... I think. It basically looks like organized

chaos. And we went late. :P

Tuesday:

The lecture topic in Music today: THE BEATLES! ... That's all, really. All you need to know

about The Beatles in an hour and 15 minutes.

We started watching an Japanese animated flick called "Grave of the Fireflies". I think that

the new topic in class is differences between war in the US and in Japan. But sadly, the prof had

to leave early to get a chest X-ray. She hasn't been feeling that well over the last two or so weeks.

And we went late again. But at least we got farther along in the pantomine! ... But I was SOO

TIRED. :P

Wednesday:

We learned about splicing and developing film. Kinda simple and methodical. Nothing exciting.

I hung around the station for a few hours today, took care of some stuff possibly for next

semester (maybe an internship), as well as listened to some new CDs, including Wolfmother's

newest album "Cosmic Egg." It's a cool CD, but I might have to take another listen.

I met with most of the group that I gathered for the "Robby's Kill Box" short film project for my English course. We tossed around a few ideas. I threw in what I have so far, which is a re-working/adaptation of sorts of the story for a college level. I don't know if we're planning on going with it. It sounds like we're going with an infomercial angle. Should be interesting either way. But I'll keep working on it as a contingency plan.

During each semester, the dining halls have theme nights throughout the months. Tonight was California themed food, including mako shark steak, fish tacos, crab cakes, and potato risotto for some of the main dishes and Ghirardelli chocolate cake for dessert. The shark steak was ... dry-ish? Tough? Not too flavorful? It didn't come apart as easily as something like swordfish. Kinda disappointed me. The crab cakes were decent, but then again, I haven't had crab cakes in a while. And as for the chocolate cake ... it was dry. And I might've tasted a hit of Ghirardelli chocolate. But then again, I haven't had Ghirardelli in a while.

We wrapped shooting for the 2nd episode of the current campus TV show that I'm on that's

not on hiatus. It's called "This Isn't Gonna Work". It's kinda like Seinfeld/It's Always Sunny in

Philadelphia. But on a college campus. It's alright. We've shot 2 episodes and we're hoping to

shoot a 3rd soon before we begin actually editing them.

We were split into two groups in the ever-dwindling film club to adapt an old poem about a butcher who takes a neighbor's sheep and returns it in various ways to his neighbors, like a sheepskin coat, a nice meal, etc. I haven't read through it yet because of all this other stuff I've been busy with ... maybe this weekend, if I'm not too busy.

Well ... we had only about an hour today. :D One cast member was out because he was feeling under the weather and the director decided to end early so we all could catch up on sleep and stay healthy and all.

... Which brings me to ask the question ... why am I still up this late writing this? It's almost 1:15, according to the clock. Well ... I don't have class until mid-afternoon tomorrow. ... FINE.

Night, readers. Sleep tight. Stay warm. Get enough sleep. Eat your fruits and veggies!

Allons-y!

This was taken on the 25th on the way to the station. ... I might post more of these nature shots either as posts or at the end of posts. You guys like the idea?

The Weekend Past: ♫ This Is Halloween ♫

What a whirlwind weekend! Let's start, shall we?

Friday:

Friday was essentially an "Under The Weather" Day. The morning was fine, except for a slight sore throat/cough. The PR meeting was non-existent. As the day wore on, I started feeling a bit headache-y and such. Not necessarily a good sign. I then found out something about a friend that

I didn't know beforehand ... and it kinda brought me down a bit. I won't go into the details. I talked it out with another friend and it made me feel a bit better, like I got a bit of it off my chest.

I was feeling well enough to make my way over to the Nosferatu-Shadow of the Vampire double feature that the Cinema Department was showing as part of a semesterly film series. Nosferatu was interesting, primarily because of the similarities to Dracula, which (as you can so tell) it is based off of. The character of Knock showed similarities to the novel's Renfield. Hutter and

Ellen, his wife, showed similarities to the novel's characters of Jonathan Harker and Mina Harker. And Count Orlok ... yeah, that's a no-brainer. However, the detractor was that we saw a more or less fully restored version, so the overall color kept changing from yellow to a bluish tint to a red-ish/grey-is

h tint. And it seemed to drag on. And it also seemed to stray away from the vampire tropes, which I found intriguing. The two main points: traveling over water and invitations. One of the pivotal points of the film is Orlok's travel by boat to Wisborg. According to vampire lore/trope, vampires can't cross moving bodies of water (i.e., rivers, oceans). This, well, confused me a bit. And the other point is at the end of the film. Orlok enters the house of Hutter and Ellen to feed on Ellen, who sacrifices herself to save the town. And again, according to vampire lore/trope, vampires must be invited into a person's place of residence. Again, this did not happen. Shadow of the Vampire was also an enjoyable look at a "What if?" situation regarding Nosferatu.

I noticed it on one of the 7 or so HBO channels we get on campus a month of so ago and didn't think more of it until I saw it again on Friday. I didn't expect to see Eddie Izzard and Cary Elwes in it, honestly! They were warm surprises. Malkovich was also good, but his accent seemed to falter a bit. And

Dafoe essentially disappeared in the role ... although you could slightly tell that it was Dafoe under the makeup and prosthetic ears.

... Moving on! Enough of that vampire talk! Got back to the dorm after the flicks ended, got a Tempa Dot thing or two from the flu station in the RA office. Apparently, the campus couldn't get seasonal flu shots this year. :P Glad I got mine mid-October! I didn't have a fever, thankfully. I brewed myself some tea (which I've been doing for these last few days) and sat down to relax with some good friends. Overall, a decent Friday.

Saturday:

I woke up feeling slightly better. The cough and sore throat were still there and the headache was on the

back burner. Regardless, I soldiered on through the day, dressed as The 10th Doctor.

... The current incarnation of The Doctor. ... Are you still scratching your head? I hope to God not. ... *facepalm*

Okay, ever heard of a show called Doctor Who? ... Yes? Good!

Well, if you DIDN'T happen to know this, the show was revived about 5 years ago and it has been going

strong. The show is currently on it's 10th incarnation of the character, soon to be the 11th. That's who I went as.

I was recognized by ... around 10 people. 5 or 6 of them were Nerdfighters (People who fight for nerds and to

decrease world suck. And who would love to have puppy sized elephants.) who I met at the Wrock (wizard rock,

for those uneducated in the genre) show on campus.

Prior to the Wrock show, I hung around the dorm and the radio station, entering a costume contest at the book

store for a small shopping spree. Between that and the show, I went to a Halloween party in an adjoining dorm

building, where I met up with some friends, including a good buddy of mine, Jared, who went as a demon with a

Siamese demon named Bill (who was a puppet).

At the party, I also met someone dressed as House (minus the scruff and a bit of the essence of the character)

and someone dressed as Sherlock Holmes (minus the hat, the pipe, and the *coughcough* paraphernalia).

Candy count for the day: 1 small Hershey's bar, 1 small 3 Musketeers (my favorite), 1 Tootsie Roll, 1 Reese's,

and 1 Milky Way (Also a favorite. And a favorite of my grandpa's. He enjoyed his a bit frozen.)

Sunday:

The main focus of my Sundays, as it has been for the semester, was my radio show. I was originally planning on interviewing Stephanie, the main member of the wrock group (Tonks and the Aurors) that performed on Saturday, but plans kept changing, so we decided on a phone-in interview.

Then, while attempting to air the soccer game, I discovered that the phone section on the control board wasn't working. So we didn't air the game. So I kept my regular time slot, instead of taking what would've been the remaining hour of mine and all of Ari's show. This meant that the interview was essentially off because of timing and such. But thank God for e-mail and text interviews. I'll get on that tomorrow.

Anyway, the Halloween show went well, except for the fact that Thriller and The Sorcerer's Apprentice were SKIPPING! GRRRRRRR! I should've checked them beforehand! :P Oh well. It happens.

The rest of the evening was good. I made my way to the weekly meeting for the media arm of the Beyond Coal campaign that we're running on campus. Today was phone banking. I made ... 20 or so calls, reaching 2 friends from home who go here and one person from the Film Club, I think. All in all, a good night.

But before I head off for the night, folks, a few things (WHAT?! HE HAS MORE TO SAY?!?!). 1) Don't underestimate the power of a good cup (or cups) of tea! 2) Value the time you spend chatting with your friends. 3) Don't OD on candy/sugar/chocolate. You WILL get cavities. ... Unless you practice good dental hygiene. That includes flossing, too, mister!

Oh! Also! I'm one of 5 finalists in a video contest! You can view my video here and vote here. It'd mean a lot if you slipped my name in there!
And last, but not least, a joyful video to end the weekend!


The Return from Iraq - More free videos are here

From Neatorama

I'll be back on ... Wednesday with more. And I'll hopefully have the Halloween show up on the radio blog by the end of Monday.

Allons-y!