Home, Telemarketers, Politics, 2007 Review, Book Review, and Movie Reviews

Quotes of the Week:[From "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut"]STAN: "Hey, guys. Do you know where I can find the clitoris?"KYLE: "The what?"CARTMAN: "What, is that like finding Jesus or something?"[From "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"]JACK: "You know, for all that pirates are clever-called, we are an unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things."GIBBS: "Like?"JACK: "I once sailed with a geezer lost both his arms and part of his eye."GIBBS: "What did you call him?"JACK: "Larry."The last week of my break was a waste. On Monday, I ate food and watched movies. On Tuesday, I finished reading "Travels." And for the rest of the week, I mostly bummed around, reading a little and looking at companies that want computer engineers. I thought I would do some intense research, but looking at the list of 160 companies that came to the last career fair, I didn't know where to begin. I'll start researching once I know what companies have job postings this semester. The only companies I'm interested in so far are Google (although they probably want more CS majors) and the CIA. I don't know what I would be doing for the CIA, and I'd probably make less money in a government job, but saying I work for the CIA is its own reward. "What do you do?" "I'm a *mumble something* for the CIA."I've been having another telemarketer battle. Bank of America called to offer me accident insurance. The guy sounded inexperienced, like he was just reading off a script. I said I wasn't interested, and he said okay, have a nice day. A few weeks later, they call me again, different guy, same script. Except this guy is a lot smoother. The first guy said, "If something happens to you, we can offer you up to one million dollars." The second guy said, "If something happens to you, we can off you up to ONE…MILLION…DOLLARS," like I fucking won something. When I said I wasn't interested, the douche bag actually started an argument with me. "Why aren't you interested?" "I'm just not interested." "So you already have insurance." "No, I just don't want it." "Well, what if something happens to you?" "I don't care." "So if something happens to you, you're just going to roll with it?" "Yeah. Bye." I slammed the phone down. Can you believe this asshole? He calls me in the middle of the evening and then tries to make me feel like an idiot. I felt proud of myself for standing up to this guy, but I was still pissed off. The next day I get another call, this time from a girl. I didn't even say anything. I just hung up on her in mid-sentence. I sat by the phone for a couple minutes, waiting for her to call back, but she didn't. What pisses me off even more is that they're offering me one of those free trials where you have to pay if you don't cancel in a month (that's how I got duped into that identity theft protection crap). Why would I need a free trial of accident insurance? You can't test insurance. Insurance just sits there until you need it. Do they expect me to get hit by a bus within a month and think, "Wow, I really do need accident insurance!" It's amazing how ignorant my family is about politics. My mom likes John Edwards, my dad likes Hilary, and I like Obama. We have no idea what any of their views are; we just like how they act. But then I realized that maybe issues don't matter that much. Most of my opinions are half-hearted anyway. I'd rather have a good leader that I disagreed with than a bad leader that I agreed with. Most people don't care what their leaders are doing, just as long as they know what they're doing, and they look good doing it. Bush could deliver a speech about his cure for cancer, but he would fumble around and mispronounce a lot of words, and people would think he's an idiot.I didn't keep many of my resolutions from last year. I haven't been going to bed earlier (that makes two years), I haven't been working harder in school (actually did the worst in my whole life), I haven't been using my time more efficiently (except in the summer), and I haven't gotten laid (I've given up on that, although I never really tried), but I did think about my future a little, and I did write, not one, but four new stories. I had thought my imagination had gone dry, but publishing the book must have kick-started something. Since there was such a long hiatus of writing, the complexity and depth of my stories have decreased considerably ("Choices" is the longest, and it's only eight pages), but I think they've grown more mature. I'm still perverted, but now I don't feel the need to show it off as much.Things I Changed in 2007:[While my lifestyle hasn't changed much, looking back I realize that my beliefs and attitudes have changed considerably.]Global Warming – At the end of 2006, Al Gore had me shitting my pants about global warming. But after reading Michael Crichton's "State of Fear" and doing some other half-assed research, my shit crept back into my butt. Global warming itself is a fact. The average temperature of the earth is increasing, period. The questions are whether global warming is going to be catastrophic, and, if it is, whether we can stop it. I don't think we have enough reliable evidence to be so certain of the former, and proposed solutions for the latter seem sketchy at best. Fucking glaciers are falling apart, and coastal cities are going to be under fucking water, but supposedly, all we have to do to stop it is change our light bulbs and drive hybrid cars and go to U2 concerts. We shouldn't ignore the issue of global warming, but we shouldn't start freaking out either. I like Crichton's idea: let all the climate models run for ten years, and then see which one works the best. In the meantime, let's sit back and enjoy the 70-degree winters.Apologetics – I once said, "I'm glad that there are theists out there who have really examined their beliefs, rather than just accepting on them on faith. I still think they're wrong, but at least they're wrong for a good reason." I take that back wholeheartedly. People who justify their beliefs in God with pseudoscience are, in fact, the worst type of believer. They're trying to combine religion and science, but they're really doing a disgrace to both. If they were truly religious, they wouldn't need science, and if they were truly scientific, they wouldn't need religion. If you want to believe in God, fine, but don't go around pretending that it's reasonable and scientific. An intelligent, all-powerful, self-existing entity will never be rational, no matter how many gaps there are in the fossil record, no matter how many examples of irreducible complexity you find (neither of those arguments hold water, by the way). So stop trying to rationalize the irrational. I prefer a crazy person who knows they're crazy over a crazy person who thinks they're sane. The only theist I can respect is one who says, "I believe in God, not because it makes sense, but because I have experienced God personally." Such a person does not believe out of pure faith or flawed logic, but through direct observation that they cannot deny. Their observation may be wrong, but it is a better reason than any other to believe.Atheism – My beliefs about God haven't changed much over the years, but what I've labeled them has. I used to think that atheists didn't believe God existed or could exist, while agnostics didn't believe in God yet didn't deny the possibility of God. For a long time, I claimed to be an agnostic because I had no opinion about God. But even if I didn't admit it, I did have an opinion, indicated by the fact that I was opposed to theism much more than atheism. Now I've learned that agnosticism deals with knowledge, while atheism deals with belief. Technically, knowledge is just a strong form of belief, but here's how I look at it now. If you don't believe in God, then you're an atheist whether you "know" He doesn't exist, or you just "think" He doesn't. In addition, "weak atheism" is the absence of belief in God, while "strong atheism" is the explicit denial of God. Your confidence level (whether you "know" or "think") is indicated by whether you're an agnostic. From what I understand, all weak atheists are agnostics. If you lack belief in God, and knowledge is a degree of belief, then you must also lack knowledge of God. So now I consider myself a strong atheist for specific gods and a weak atheist/agnostic for gods in general. All of this sounds like pointless bullshit, and I'm usually not a big fan of semantics, but I think it's important to agree on certain definitions before you start arguing with someone.Theism – I used to think most people believed in God for superficial reasons (upbringing, comfort, etc.) and not through direct experience. But then I discovered that people actually claim to have interacted with God. These interactions are usually abstract and indescribable (I still don't get it) but apparently very convincing. Additionally, I discovered that there were also believers who lacked these experiences and consequently believed God was ignoring them or didn't love them. It seemed that believing in God (i.e. religion) and experiencing God (i.e. spirituality) didn't always go hand in hand. This is how theists become atheists, and atheists become theists. The spirituality element (or lack thereof) is what converts people. I used to believe in God, but I was never spiritual, so it was easy for me to become an atheist. All of this supports the paper I wrote a few years ago on the God gene. Whether or not God exists, some people have the spirituality gene and some don't. It's assumed that spiritual people are usually religious, but not much thought has been given to religious people who aren't spiritual. All geneticists care about is the spirituality, and all atheists care about is the beliefs. Maybe I'm the first to connect the two. I'll call it Richie's Theory of…something.Abortion – I never really had an opinion on abortion. Since I never got a girl pregnant, it didn't really affect me. But after writing a story about abortion and looking at the arguments of both sides, I consider myself pro-life now. Pretty much all the pro-choice arguments are bullshit. Even if you get raped, it's not the baby's fault you got raped. And even if you don't consider it life, it's at least potential life. However, in practice, I don't really care if people get abortions. I'd probably get an abortion. It's one of those things where I think it's wrong, but I don't care that it's wrong. In other words, I'm a hypocrite.Celebrities – I've stopped caring about celebrities. Unless a celebrity story raises an issue worth discussing (such as the Michael Richards and Don Imus controversies), I don't give a shit what they're doing, especially if it involves Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton making asses of themselves. If Spielberg gets a DUI, my only concern is whether his next movie will be delayed. I don't understand why people are so obsessed with people they don't know. What, because they're famous? Shows like TMZ piss me off. They have the nerve to make fun of celebrities, and yet they're the ones stalking them all day. Get a fucking life! "The Daily Show" did a great bit where they went up to paparazzi and took photos of them. I wish I had thought of that.Racism – Speaking of Richards and Imus, I used to abhor racists, but now I think the word gets thrown around way too often these days. You say the N-word on camera or on tape, and you're labeled a racist and ostracized. I'm not going to use Carlos Mencia's "freedom of speech" argument. Freedom of speech wasn't invented so you can insult people who don't deserve it. I would use the argument to defend people who really are racists, but here I'm just talking about people accused of racism. Saying a word doesn't make you racist. Racism is a belief system. You can't base someone's beliefs on a word without taking it into context. Saying "Jesus" doesn't make you a Christian, and saying "nigger" doesn't make you a racist. It may make you an asshole, but not a racist. Words mean what you want them to mean. I say "nigger" and "faggot" all the time, not out of hate for those particular groups, but because they're funny words to say. I would never say the N-word to a black person if I knew it would hurt them. This reminds me of the time Mandi's mom grounded her for calling me a chink. Mandi: "She said calling you a chink would be like if she had a black friend over and called him…and then she said the N-word." I was there and a black person wasn't, yet she had trouble saying "nigger" and not "chink." That always makes me laugh.Life and Death – It's been a long time since I've believed in an afterlife, but the absence of an afterlife hasn't really sunk in until recently. The whole "if you're a good person, you'll live on in people's memories after death" is mushy bullshit. My reality is made up of my consciousness and my own memories. When I die, my reality disappears, and from my perspective, my reality is the only reality that exists. Who gives a shit about whether people will remember me if I'm not around to appreciate it? The finality of death makes life insignificant. If all of your memories will one day disappear, then what's the point of doing anything? It's like reading a book knowing that the instant you're done, you'll forget everything you've read. It doesn't matter that other people will remember, because to you the book never existed in the first place. I've concluded that life is just entertainment. Everything we desire—love, happiness, orgasms—is just stuff to pass the time. Like the narrator says at the end of "Fight Club," we're not special, and we're not trash. We just are, and what happens just happens. This idea can be depressing at times, but it can also be very liberating. Whenever something bad happens, you can just say, "Fuck it. A hundred years from now, it won't matter." Whether you're good or bad, happy or sad, the end result is always the same.Schoolwork and Naps – I've become lazier and more apathetic about schoolwork. I went from completing every assignment even when it meant staying up until three in the morning, to skipping whole assignments because the material was too frustrating or I just didn't feel like doing them. In some cases, this was a good thing; I shouldn't waste time doing one assignment when I'm better off working on something else. But for the most part, this was a very bad thing. It mostly came from a lack of energy. After dinner, I'd feel so tired and unfocused. It would take me an hour just to read one problem. This might have been a psychological thing (I didn't feel that tired when doing nonacademic stuff), but thinking back, I realize I stopped taking naps. Ever since middle school, I've been taking after-school naps so I can have enough energy to do homework in the evening. For some reason, I stopped doing that this year. I would lie down and watch TV, but I wouldn't fall asleep, and if I did, it would only be for a few minutes. I can't remember the last time I took a good one- or two-hour after-class nap.Routines – I'm very habit-forming. If I do something once or twice, I have to keep doing it. It's part of my obsessive-compulsiveness. But lately, I've been able to loosen up and free myself of unnecessary and burdensome routines. I used to feel guilty about my accumulating stack of unread magazines, but now I don't read them if I don't want to, and I also didn't renew any of my subscriptions. I used to rent movies just because they were critically claimed, but now I only rent movies that I really want to see. I used to rent movies when I didn't have time to watch them, but now I cancel my membership if I need to catch up. I used to check websites that no longer interested me, but now I skip them when I feel like it. Routines are supposed to make your life easier by relieving you of decision-making. I wear my clothes in a certain order so I don't have to think when getting dressed in the morning. But when a routine ceases to be enjoyable, beneficial, or necessary, then it should be shed immediately. For example, I'm no longer going to force myself to put pictures in this journal. It was fun at first, but now it takes up too much of my time.Things I Did in 2007:[This felt like an uneventful year, but I accomplished more than I'd thought.]-Discovered Louis C.K. and Demetri Martin.-Started watching CollegeHumor (I don't know how I lived without it).-Debated Christians.-Turned 20.-Published my first book.-Helped Alyn publish his first book.-Started my fifth website.-Got my first camera and started making videos.-Made fourth runner-up in Scott Adams's book blurb contest.-Got my first D.-Got my first airsoft gun. -Let this journal become the least funny and interesting it's ever been, and lost most of my audience as a result.-Saw 131 movies, saw five TV series, listened to three CDs, read 12 books, and wrote three stories.New Year's Wishes:[I've resolved that New Year's Resolutions are pointless because I'm going to do whatever I'm going to do when I do it. So instead this is a list of stuff I wish I'd do.]-Make school my main focus again, rather than treating it as a nuisance. (I don't have much time left, and I can't fuck it up.)-Go to bed earlier. (And by earlier, I mean at least one o'clock. Third time's a charm.)-Read more. (It's hard for me to read during the school year. I just need to work in a little bit every day.)-Spend less money. (According to my checkbook, I spent $1903.94 this past year. Even after subtracting school stuff, that's still about $900. All the little things I buy add up fast.)-Don't do things I don't want or need to do. (See "Routines" above.)-Try new things and hobbies. (Make more videos hopefully, and maybe take up badminton again.)-Be less of a pussy. (No more letting credit card companies push me around.)-Try not to kill myself. (It's tempting, but I'll try to resist.)Top Books of 2007:1. "Atheist Universe: The Thinking Person's Answer to Christian Fundamentalism" by David Mills2. "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut3. "Travels" by Michael Crichton4. "On Writing" by Stephen King5. "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton6. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. RowlingTop Music of 2007:[I didn't get many albums this year, and I didn't really listen to all the ones I did get. The following are albums where I actually sat down and analyzed each track.]1. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank ("March into the Sea")2. Johnny Cash – American V: A Hundred Highways ("God's Gonna Cut You Down")3. Clint Mansell – The Fountain ("Death Is the Road to Awe")Top Movies of 2007:1. Crank2. Jackass Number Two3. The Prestige*4. Stranger Than Fiction5. Blood Diamond*6. The Last King of Scotland*7. Children of Men*8. Die Hard*9. Bobby10. Smokin' Aces11. Letters from Iwo Jima12. Breach13. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels*14. Battlestar Galactica15. Zodiac16. The Host17. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer18. Planet Terror19. Reign Over Me20. The People vs. Larry Flynt*Must-seeHonorable Mentions: The King, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, The Fountain, Knocked Up"Travels" might be the best thing Michael Crichton has ever written. The first part of the book is about his time in medical school, and the rest is about his journeys, experiences, and observations. As with his fiction, many of the chapters build up to some life-threatening situation. Some have complained that he comes off as a whiny pussy, but I think his fear and vulnerability make him seem more honest and ordinary. He could have made himself out to be Indiana Jones, but instead he's very willing to expose and confront his weaknesses. The most interesting chapters are about his experiments with paranormal phenomena, such as psychic powers, auras, charkas, and spoon bending. I used to think most of that stuff was hippie bullshit, but Crichton's accounts are pretty convincing, as he approaches everything with a scientific mind. I expected the book to be an amusing but somewhat dry travelogue, but it's much more meaningful than that. Each story has an insight about human nature or the world around us. If you don't like his cliché, one-dimensional techno-thrillers, you should check this out instead.Movie Reviews:"We Are Marshall" (3.5/5) – Has a few too many uplifting scenes, but still made me tear up."American Gangster" (3.5/5) – Good acting, but the ending felt rushed, and the plot lacked energy and depth."South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" (3/5) – Not funny enough and too many songs. Wish it were less of a musical and more of a comedy."Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (3.5/5) – Overcomplicated and not as fun as the first two, but still great action and effects."Eastern Promises" (3.5/5) – Good little movie. Viggo is great. And lots of Viggo penis if you're into that."The Kingdom" (3.5/5) – Takes a while for the action to get started, but it's worth the wait.Other Shit:-Alyn: Don't knock it until you've tried it. These things are pretty fun and not just by nerdy Asian standards. Now, just target practicing because you're too much of a pussy to have battles with people (that's me), yeah, that's pretty lame. But considering what happened to the last nerdy Asian who had a gun, you're lucky I'm a lame ass.-My school-weather theory was verified. It got cold during the break, and then I come back to school, and the temperature suddenly shoots up to seventy degrees again. This is starting to scare me. Is winter still coming, or is it already over? Al Gore is probably at the beach right now, laughing his ass off, that bastard.-I know this update is ridiculously late, but it's better late than never.