Guac Block

My friends in general are pretty crappy wingmen. Granted, the majority of the people I surround myself with are either tied down in an 8 year long relationship or just have no desire to wing. Every now and then, however, they get it in their minds to help. And this tends to be worse than their not helping at all.

When I'm talking to a woman, it is actually counterproductive to be interrupted by constant high 5's, questions on which one I'm working on so you can talk to the other (in hearing distance no less!), or lap dances because "it'll show them that girls like me!" Surprising, I know! And I usually have no problem if a friend wants to join in the conversation, so don't stop to ask me if it's ok! I have been known actually to shove friends away saying "not now" if he is manifesting as a cockblocking.

Let me do my own thing, fellas.

1000 Words or Less

The IRC channel I frequent has been abuzz about the new Canon MkII. I will then take this opportunity to state how much I dislike digital cameras. It's not what they do that I dislike, it's the idea of nigh unlimited picture taking capability.

Back in the good ol' days, one had to cherish each shot, as film was limited. Thus, my suffering through pictures could be limited to group posed shots that one could place in an album or on the mantle to savor the memory forever. Giving the ability to take and retake as many pics as possible turns everyone into an amateur professional photographer. Not a good thing. The digital camera is responsible for all the high-angle or in the mirror MySpace pics, LOLcats, and drama of Facebook party pics.

I can't go anywhere or do anything without anyone pulling a camera out of his pocket or her purse (not trying to be sexist, could be his purse too)! Taking pictures becomes such a priority that these wannabe shutterbugs don't participate in the fun activities they want to "remember forever"! Isn't that ironic (don't you think)?

And the worst example to date? My friend's wedding, where the ratio of people on the dance floor to people taking pictures of people dancing was roughly 1:20. By the way, I was the only dancer. Come on, people! Oh, and video capability does not help the situation.

High School High

I'm digging this PV/song/lead singer: Girl Next Door - Drive Away

Fall Lineup

TV triumphantly returns tonight! Much for my own benefit, I am going to list what shows I am currently following:

Summer Shows
-Psych: On it's mid-season break, but easily one of the most enjoyable shows week to week
-Eureka: Mid-season finale tomorrow night, and even halfway through season 3 it keeps me liking science
-Stargate Atlantis: This new season has been a bit weak so far, but it's still good

Starting Up Again
-How I Met Your Mother: I feel like this needs to wrap up this season lest it jumps the shark
-Heroes: Looking forward to great things from Season 3 (saw the premiere at Comic-Con)
-30 Rock: Perhaps the most consistently funniest show ever
-Big Love: It's been so long that I can't really remember where last season left off
-Spectacular Spider-Man: At least as fun as the old Fox series

Playing Catch Up
-It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia: I feel like such a saint after watching this show!
-Dexter: Holy shit, I marathoned season 1 this weekend. It is un-fucking-believably amazing. The season 2 DVDs can't arrive fast enough, and I'm putting the book series on my To Read list.

Waiting For 2009
-Lost: I get shpilkes waiting for this show to return; it's become really good again despite the first few episodes of season 3!
-Battlestar Galactica: Dammit, just reveal the final cylon already! For a show with such great potential it has just dragged on and on through too many court and union episodes without exploring the more interesting parts of its universe

Ganug (Yiddish for "enough already")
-Weeds: This fourth season was just too weird and lacked a lot of the magic from the previous ones. The shiva episode, however, was a singular beacon of humor.
-Entourage: Egads I hated last season too much
-Big Bang Theory: Ye gods I don't think I ever liked this show. Every episode seemed more painful than the last, and I'm fairly sure I only watched it out of camraderie with my department.
-Legion Of Super Heroes: Not as fun as Teen Titans was, but not bad either. Just blah.

As I look over this list it seems daunting, but minus the DVDs it boils down to my watching under 3 hours of new TV a week. Of course, I'm sure to slip in some guilty pleasure reality TV, but I'm making good headway on cutting down on my "second job." My To Read list, however, should occupy me for the next 6 months at least. Some would say that's healthy, but it feels a tad onerus.

Gone To Shit

I have fond memories of Carl's Jr. Many a sleepless night during college saw the 5 block jaunt over to the nearby Carl's Jr. for a mid-problem set refueling or replacement for whatever uninspired dorm meal I had earlier avoided. Having never eaten at Carl's Jr. (or Hardee's) in Texas, it was a welcome fast food experience after moving to California (and no, I am not a In-N-Out fan, but that's for another day).

But in the past couple months, the franchise has changed. The fries, which rated in my top 2 or 3 favorite fries of anywhere, went to natural cut. Not that that in itself is bad; in fact, I quite enjoy such fries at Jack In The Box. But Carl's Jr. batters theirs. My aunt, a self-proclaimed french fry connoisseur, swears against battered fries to this day. And while most of the time I dismiss her ranting or raving about whatever, on this subject she has a damn good point. These new fries are awful. And tonight I tried their chicken strips for the first time in a while; the once beloved snack--which my friends and I had jokes must've had crack in the ingredients! (real original, we know)--is now some generic bland fried embarrassment that I would not serve in an inner city elementary school.

Sorry, Carl's Jr., your burgers are still good but I will not be frequenting you in the future. I need to cook more; if only it weren't such a pain in the ass.

Olympic Mount

Finishing a book is always bittersweet; I'm sad the story's over (or at least postponed until the next part), but I'm excited because I get to go buy a new book. There's some feeling about buying a book from a bookstore that amazon.com just doesn't replicate. But more importantly, in addition to the tactile knowledge that they curve in an intriguing way, smell good, and are soft, TV has taught me one more important "fact" about women: they love bookstores.

Every time I go to Borders or Barnes and Noble, a sliver of hope begins to shine--the hope that I will meet a gorgeous girl who enjoys reading, and maybe she's browsing the Sci-Fi section as well! It's happened once that I can recall, and I, dumbfounded by the moment, let opportunity slip through my fingers. I keep trying to recreate that chance encounter (it's why I buy books only one at a time despite a long To Read queue), but recently I've only been able to find male employees that like comics. Geez, I hope that doesn't mean that fate has given up on my heterosexuality!

I've been meaning to buy this nice, hardcover mythology collection at the UCLA bookstore. Mythology has always fascinated me, and tonight I was inspired (by the muse!) to try my hand at sculpting a mythos. I've got some ideas down but instead of writing those, I'm writing here. Go productivity!

Part III

Trilogies rock. It's the natural extension to the three act story that is canonical these days. Of course, there's the fabled trilogy of trilogies that Star Wars was "supposed" to be, but that's crazy talk. But when I'm reading a trilogy, nay, the first book of a trilogy that was just released, my impatience takes over. I just started The Dreaming Void, the latest release from Peter F. Hamilton (one of my favorite sci-fi authors). It's his latest release, but also first in the trilogy. That means I must wait over 2 years to finish this story! And I love his stuff, but his writing is so incredibly dense with description and characters that I tend to skip over a lot of detail, as I'd much rather read dialogue and introspection than a passage on how pretty the architecture is. By the time I read subsequent books in the trilogy, I am positive I will have forgotten what's going on (I am already very rusty on the Pandora's Star duology, which is a prequel of sorts to this one). But that's why I buy to own and reread books! (Also, it's 7 chapters for 600 pages, which I'd call ridiculous if I hadn't been reading Terry Pratchett, who dispenses with chapters altogether!)

Also, champagne makes me sleepy.

Last Dance

I don't understand the usage of marijuana. It smells godawful and descriptions I've been told of the high don't seem so appealing. I've seen how people act on the stuff and that doesn't help my impression of it. Not that I'm going to stop anyone from smoking nor would I narc, but I don't like to be around it and luckily my friends and family are understanding.

But in the Rose Bowl student section, surrounded by 1000s of other people, where does someone get the nerve to smoke up? For an entire football game no less. From what I understand, that must have been some really weak shit else smoking that much would've had you either really paranoid or too far gone to pay attention to the game. Had I had a beer for every bowl the assholes in front of me smoked, I'd be dead and buried with a liver that rates a 9 on the Mohs scale. It definitely didn't help my headache (and might've caused it). I guess they were actually from UCSB, so what did I really expect?

Duress

I have a lab mate named Matt. I hate Matt. He makes up these "games". One such game is called "Hey, Scott, update your blog!" Thus I dedicate these dancers to Matt:

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Craft, It's The Cheesiest

Wooooo! UCLA beat Tennessee! I almost didn't go to the game, either! With a new coach, a true freshman QB replacing our 2 broken veterans, and a less than shining past record, I was not expecting a grand performance in our season opener. And the first half of the game truly belonged to our defense, starting with an amazing punt block for a TD and then forcing several turnovers to prevent the Volunteers from getting way ahead.

But in the second half, our QB Craft really turned it around after giving up 4 interceptions in the first half. Marching it down the field not once, but twice, for clutch TDs in the 4th quarter brought us ahead, although Tennessee was able to tie the game with 5 seconds left. Their kicker really sucks, and we probably owe a good bit of our win to him. Sorry, Volunteers, but the combined Bruin forces needed to decimate your BCS ranking!

The game gave me a good opportunity to practice my staring with sunglasses technique. It was quite the sausage festival but I found 2 good pieces of eye candy near us. One girl had perhaps the most gorgeous green eyes I've seen in a good while, and the other was showing off great sideboob. Hoorah for sideboob!

Cash, The Game, And Other Things Related To Monopoly

Whew, I just got back from Las Vegas. It took me for a bit of a beating this time around. Well, had we stayed only one night I would've come back the victor, although it took until 6 AM to reach that point. But I get easily bored when not playing blackjack, and you gotta pay to play. And there's the appeal and problem with Vegas: you need to have money.

I don't mean just with the gambling. Getting drunk? Bars aren't the best place to accomplish this, and to get an appreciable buzz from the free drinks while gambling, you'll have to sit a while and bleed some cash (especially if it's busy, good luck finding a waitress). Would you like to go clubbing? That'll be at least $20 with the half-off promotion. Want to go clubbing where the girls number at least as many as the guys? At least $50 if you'd like to wait in line. What about bottle/table service? That, my friends, gets into the hundreds. But females can get into clubs for free, right? Ok, go drop a few grand on breast implants.

And the worst part is that it seems that the ladies playing Vegas can smell whether or not you have the cash on you. Not that I'm the best by far at playing the game, mind you, but in the movies when the hot chick hangs off the arm of the hottest roller at the high stakes craps table, it's not much of an exaggeration. In fact I saw the very same scene a couple times this weekend. My buddy even got snubbed for not wanting to play at a $45 minimum bet poker table.

There's always hookers, right? I don't have any moral objection to it; it's sometimes worth it to skip the game all together and get to the winner's circle. But, again, you have to be able to afford it.

Damn you, graduate school salary!