d generation

It's Here

2005-06-27T21:30:00.000-04:00

Well my new post is up, with a new address to go along with it.

www.dgeneration.blogspot.com

This blog will stay active until I can figure out if I can merge the info to my new one. Hope you like the new entry, and yes I'll update it regularly.

Best,
Dan

Coming Soon!!!!

2005-05-12T20:50:00.000-04:00

Your mind is not playing tricks on you. I'm Back!!! After a winter break I'm ready to get back in the game. D generation is getting a make over for 2005. Currently I'm composing a new entry and will have it up soon. With the relaunch of d generation also comes a web new address. I won't reveal it just yet, but when it's ready you'll know. D Generation II Coming Soon!

Show and Tell

2005-01-09T02:14:00.000-04:00

Victory is Ours!!!
They said we couldn't do it!!! Brad and Jen happend to marry on the same date as Xia and I. All night during our wedding people were talking smack. "Ohh Brad and Jen are perfect", "They're such a great couple", blah blah blah!!! People were taking bets as to who would last longer, Bradiffer or Xiadan. Well guess what Dad, you owe me a C-Note. Never bet against a Diaz!!!

Orang Bowl Madness:
I worked the game on the 4th, and this is the view from my station. I wasn't cheering for Sooners or the Trojans, but there was a great atmosphere in and around the stadium. Congrats to USC, they beat Oklahoma silly.

Phones:
Xia purchased new cell phones for X-Mas / my Birthday. Its a sweet new camera phone we got through Cingular, the Samsung - E317. This phone is super light compared to my old one. The best is, we actually can connect from inside the house. Let me know if I didn't email you with our new phone numbers. If you ask nicely I'll send you a picture of Xia trashed after a heavy night of drinking during New Years. Ahh what the hell here's a preview. Remember only if you ask will you see the really good ones.

Hope you holdiays went well.
-Dan-

Tsunami Relief

2005-01-01T19:17:00.000-04:00

I know the New York Post is a safe haven for Bush supporter, but this article makes some valid points.

USA Today also printed an interesting piece on support coming from the U.S. citizens, and charitable groups.

On a personal note Xia and I made a donation to the Red Cross a few days ago. Watching the events unfold on TV made it seem so unreal, yet painful at the same time. I'm not writing this to bring praise or recognition for what we did. We didn't do it to make us feel better about ourselves. We did it because it seemed to us like it was the right thing to do. In all honesty I feel worse that we couldn't do more. I write this in the hope that someone, anyone who has never thought about donating funds before, (like myself) thinks twice about this situation.

-Dan y Xia

Can You Help?

2004-12-28T21:09:00.000-04:00

I'm listing a few sites and phone numbers where donations can be sent for the Tsunami Relief Fund.

American Red Cross
1-800 HELP NOW

Unicef
1.800.4UNICEF

NetAid
It looks like they will also match your donation.
Phone: 212-537-0500

Update

2004-12-01T21:52:00.000-04:00

Well, I've added two new links, Explodingdog and Boy on a Stick and Slither. I find both sites to be interesting in their own way. On the home front, everything is just peachy down here in the Wild Wild West. Christmas, New Year's, and my birthday quickly approaching. Boy, I hate this time of year. Hopefully tonight I will have posted on CBC.

-Dan

Comic Book Nation

2004-11-20T03:38:00.000-04:00

If your interested in comics, check out Comic Book Commentary. Its a new blog set up by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez. I was invited to be a contributor to the blog, and hopefully I won't f**k it up. It's OK to f**k up my blog, but someone else's, no way. You can read my new post there.

What do you get when you...........

2004-11-18T23:51:00.000-04:00

You are an OOMPA LOOMPA!
You are the most evil and foul being to walk this
earth. Get therapy! And stay away from my
family!

Monkey? Pizza? Death? Oompa Loompa?
brought to you by Quizilla

What is there to say.

2004-11-15T22:01:00.000-04:00

Its been ages since my last post, and I don't know were to begin. So I'm taking the easy way out, and making a list.

1. A major reason Nov. 2nd was a win for Bush and neo-con nation was disdain. Disdain for the DNC. The results on Nov. 2nd were more of an indictment of DNC philosophy/tactics, then a win for Bush.

2. Over the last 5 months at work, my mean streak has really come out and shined. At least 2 twice a week I'm ready to explode on someone. My biggest complaints....constantly answering the same questions to the same person asking them, and stupid questions. Who ever said there are so such things as stupid questions clearly wasn't asked, "Is there such a thing as a stupid question?" a thousand times a day. I guarantee his answer would be quiet different.

3. Work at the stadium has been fun. The team sucks, but its fun. Watching the fights in the stands is a favorite of mine.

4. Been going to the movies lately. The Grudge was really scary, but I don't think I can go much deeper than that. During 75% of the movie I had my eyes covered. The other 25% they were closed. Here is a review of The Incredibles in less than 5 words: smart......entertaining.....funny......alive. One last thing, if you haven't signed up for Netflix do it. $17.99, you cant go wrong.

5. On the comic front here is whats on the list. Marvel Knights: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, & Wolverine. I'm digging MK Spider-Man a lot. The story, art, and mood of the book fit well together. MK FF is my first venture into The FF, and Its early to tell If I'm gonna stick with it. I've always been kinda interested in The FF, and this is there shot to hook me in. The same goes for MK Wolverine, but I'm a sucker for John Romita Jr. An argument can be made that Spectacular Spider-Man is the best spider book out there. Jenkins and Ramos always deliver nuff said. Astonishing X-Men is very good. Its the only Xbook I read, and is should be on your list. On the DC side of things the Superman & Batman team up series is fun. Even though Michael Turner has some fucked up body proportions, his work is interesting. Batman has been OK. The revolving door or creative teams since last years Hush series is annoying, but overall the book has been good.

6. Here is a real quick rundown on the video games front. Spiderman 2 is a very fun game to play. Yes it repetitive, but its still fun. Swinging around is very very cool. I beat the game in 13 hours. I cant remember the last time I finished a game. Knights of the Old Republic is a top notch RPG. Even if your not a fan of Star Wars it worth picking up for $20 dollars. X-Men Legends is a solid game. Its a flashy beat em up with the X-Men edge, no complaints. NFL Street is great. Forget all the sim football games and play Street you won't regret it.

7. Work and the Florida situation has been stressing me out big time. Hence the heavy emphasis on entertainment. I consider the Florida Experiment a failure at the 1 year and 5 month mark. My emphasis now is on making the best of it, and not make this a total waste of my time. Xia and I have a few set goals that if they're accomplished by the time she is done with school we'll be pleased. 36 credits and counting. Can't wait for Xia to start.

Happy Thanksgiving
-Dan y Xia

One last comment. After looking at this picuture I just realized I'm a living TV sitcom. Here is a milky white, pastey looking overweight husband, with a hot tanned mama. I guess things aren't so bad after all. You can catch the show I'm referring to everynight on CBS. Just pick a night, you'll catch it.

A revolution in the music industry.

2004-10-30T15:18:00.000-04:00

Please check out the new IPOD. No pop star should be without this one.

Since the Baseball season has just ended....Lets talk politics!!

2004-10-20T21:54:00.001-04:00

I am a huge supporter of Colorados push for Amendment 36, and I wish the country would follow suit. Amendment 36 would allow a proportional allocation of the states electoral college votes. It would make your vote actually count!!! Basically Amendment 36 works like this. Colorado has 9 electoral votes. Under our current system if Kerry receives 51% of the votes and Bush 49%, Kerry receives all 9 electoral votes. Amendment 36 would split the votes proportionally and give Kerry 5 votes and Bush 4 votes. In essence it would eliminate the idea of a wasted vote. Currently if you live in a state that is a sure thing for the Republicans, a vote for Kerry is a vote of conscious, not impact. With proportional allocation of electoral votes, your votes counts for something. It counts directly for the candidate you voted for!! Isn't that what we want? Our voice being heard and an impact being made, because of it. I feel proportional allocation would invigorate the voting public. It seems to me this would change the candidates approach to campaigning drastically. It would force candidates to pay attention to the country as a whole, and not cater too heavily in small pockets of the country. In the limited research I've done it seems like a great idea. I'm sure there are draw backs, but what system doesn't have em? Just before I go, let it be known that I'm writing with a heavy heart. My beloved Yankees are losing, and are going to lose tonight's game verses the Bo Sox. If my Grandfather would still be alive I'm sure he would be going for a Cardinal/Yanks World Series, his two favorite teams. Sadly enough he is not around to see the post season action this year. Well, I'm pulling for the the NL Champ. Down with the Red Sox, the mini Evil Empire. Yanks in '05 baby!!!

Fox did what!!!!!

2004-10-04T22:44:00.000-04:00

I just can't believe it. Fox actually made up quotes concerning John Kerry. Whats next? Who knows? Pretty soon major networks may produce fake documents about Bush. That would never happen though, right?

Voter Rights

2004-09-22T13:33:00.000-04:00

I found this article interesting, hope you do as well. None of it surprising though, things like this have been going on for years.

I love the Yankees, but.....

2004-09-12T13:34:00.000-04:00

As a Yankee fan, you inherit your hero's early on. For me The Holy Trinity of Yankee favorites are Donnie Baseball, Willie Randolph, and Bernie Williams. Theses choices were made and in a sense I had no say in it. Growing up being a fan, your just attracted to certain players. Whether it be their style of play, batting stance, or just overall attitude toward baseball. I don't remember how, when, or why I fell in love with Donnie baseball, he is just there in my memory. The same goes for Willie Randolph. But Bernie Williams is another story. I remember the day as if it were yesterday. I was twelve years old going through a freshly unsealed pack of baseball cards. Scuffling through the pack of '90-'91 Topps cards I came across Bernie Williams. At this point in time, I have never heard of him. But instantly somehow I know something was special. I flipped the card over and saw that he was from Puerto Rico, and that was it. I said to myself "This is my new favorite player." I don't know if I was looking for a Hispanic role-model or something, but it happened that quick. Thinking back to that time in my life brings back feeling that I don't think can ever be reproduced by something else. I'm not exactly sure the cause for my resent sentimentality. Maybe the anniversary of 9/11 has something to do with it. Maybe the uncertainty of my future. Maybe my man-period is approaching, I just don't know. But I do know one thing. For all my sentimentality nothing will ever make me want to buy this memorabilia from Bernie Williams.

Hurricane Don't Hurt Me

2004-09-02T12:05:00.000-04:00

I've had my last supper, and I'm ready to die now. Ah Peace. I leave all my belongings to anyone in the street that finds them after the storm. Best wishes to all, and burn a candle for my family.

Dan

Say it ain't so

2004-08-21T10:21:00.000-04:00

1.Let me start off by saying that Kill Bill vol. 1 & 2 are great movies.............For Me To Poop On. I feel was falling asleep during the Vol.1 a few weeks back, and yesterday while watching Vol.2 it was no different. The sad part is I felt obligated to watch the second film. The reason being was, since I wasted my time watching Vol.1 I need to confirm my belief. My belief that the celluloid wasted on this film could have be put to better use. For instance it could have been used to film Scott Baio's comeback flick as an action star. I think American is due for a Scott Baio comeback, dont you? All kidding aside, it was a shitty movie of gargantuan nature.

2.What can I say I'm sucker for video games. I finally broke down, and purchased an Xbox. For those of you who don't know I vowed to never buy and Xbox. I'm no fan of Microsoft, which in this Windows world is a very hard thing to do. But I couldn't deny my primal urge to play on a graphically superior console. How could I say no to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Prince of Persia for $20 each. How could I resist with Xia's employee discount? She gets 15% off purchases at Gamestop. In FL that translates into offsetting sales tax, and 8% off the purchase price. My purchase was also partially spurred on by the fact that the next generation consoles by Sony and Microsoft will be way to expensive. The trend is to create consoles that are entertainment systems as well. You know video games, internet, TiVo, and HD compatibility in one machine. Thus making them a lot more expensive. Early word is next-gen consoles will go for around $500, maybe $400 if we're lucky. Anyone have Xbox game recommendations, excluding Football? NFL Street is all you need to get your football fix on. I got it for $20 on eBay. I'm looking forward to Fable, and X-Men Legends. Both of those games looks real good.

NJ Corruption

2004-08-16T19:40:00.000-04:00

Man Sought $50M From McGreevey, Aides Say
By JOHN P. McALPIN, Associated Press Writer
I just hope if the allegations of corruption are true, he goes down with the rest of his buddies.

Speaking of corruption in NJ, a few weeks ago I was show a little website called InsideUnionCity.com. I was informed that its basically a forum for residents of Union City to voice their anger toward current city officials. It turns out a portion of city employees are displeased with the current (corrupt) administration. Rumor has it this site is run by someone working for those officials. This is their way of voicing their opinion anonymously, for fear of retribution. The meat and potatoes of the site is the message board. I suggest you check it out if your looking for some insight on Union City politics.

Govener McQueery?

2004-08-12T21:34:00.000-04:00

I dont get it, why resign. Clinton had his affair, why can't you have yours? So you porked someone. Big Deal!! So he was a guy. Big Deal!! So this person was allegedly still on the state payroll after he left a position appointed by you. What's the problem, I say!! In fact nowadays it looks like par for the course for politicians!! All kidding aside, good luck Jimbo. Your gonna need it. Well lets put it in perspective. It's not like you tried to persuade you wife into having sex with you in plain view at an NYC club. Wait a second...I think that was me. No no, now I remember. I was at LimeLight fall of '97 and everyone but me was having sex in public. I was too strung out on Crystal Meth and Zima to remember much, but that sounds about right to me. On second thought though I did try to persuade my wife into public sex. But she was spooked out by all the vendors and costume goers at the comic con. Ohh who am I kidding that never happend. She was dressed as Leia in the Jabba slave outfit, and I was Luke Skywalker decked out in the black duds. I was grooving with my Jedi powers, and she was asphyxiating me with the chain. Ahh NYC, how I miss thee.

**Disclaimer**
Dan is in no way condoning or endorsing Gov. McGreevey's behavior. He just thinks its funny how easily you can turn McGreevey into McQueery. Thank you XD for pointing that out.

BBDW

Less is Moore Part 2

2004-08-01T23:12:00.000-04:00

I shamefully admit I have not seen Fahrenheit 9/11 yet, and don't know if I'll see it in the theater. But in the interests of starting up a conversation, I've decided to go back to a controversial subject. Below you will find two articles that dispute the so called facts of Fahrenheit 9/11. Lets say the following authors arguments are 100% correct. How will that affect Moore's film and future projects? The documentary status gets blown up right? His career is over, because of his lies in a movie about exposing lies of an administration? Nope, none of that will happen, and I'll tell you why. Moore's films are driven by human emotions, not facts. His film could be 100% lies and still be heralded for its content. I'm not saying Moore purposefully lies, but he aims for the heart and anything else is a miss. The goal of his films are to invoke emotion, anger, and then action. He is like that High School football coach everyone envisions in their mind. Standing on a stool in the locker room yelling and screaming at the team. Reminding them how their opponent whooped their asses last year, and he won't let it happen again, can't let it happen again. He gets the kids blood boiling before releasing them out onto the field, to kick some ass. Moore is that guy, firing up the troops against Bush and releasing them out into the streets and polling booths come Nov. 2nd. In the end Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 could be all lies, but if it strikes a cord with audiences then it has served its purpose.

"Warning, below may be the writings of two right wing nutbags. Proceed with caution. I've included an excerpt of each article"

Unfairenheit 9/11
The lies of Michael Moore.
By Christopher Hitchens

"More interesting is the moment where Bush is shown frozen on his chair at the infant school in Florida, looking stunned and useless for seven whole minutes after the news of the second plane on 9/11. Many are those who say that he should have leaped from his stool, adopted a Russell Crowe stance, and gone to work. I could even wish that myself. But if he had done any such thing then (as he did with his "Let's roll" and "dead or alive" remarks a month later), half the Michael Moore community would now be calling him a man who went to war on a hectic, crazed impulse. The other half would be saying what they already say that he knew the attack was coming, was using it to cement himself in power, and couldn't wait to get on with his coup."

Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit
9/11 By Dave Kopel

"2000 Election Night
Deceits 1-2
Fahrenheit 9/11 begins on election night 2000. We are first shown Al Gore rocking on stage with famous musicians and a high-spirited crowd. The conspicuous sign on stage reads "Florida Victory." Moore creates the impression that Gore was celebrating his victory in Florida. moor's voiceover claims, "And little Stevie Wonder, he seemed so happy, like a miracle had taken place." The verb tense of past perfect ("had taken") furthers the impression that the election has been completed.
Actually, the rally took place in the early hours of election day, before polls had even opened. Gore did campaign in Florida on election day, but went home to Tennessee to await the results. The "Florida Victory" sign reflected Gore�s hopes, not any actual election results"

Batsuit

2004-07-29T23:15:00.000-04:00

I don't think it looks all that great. I'll wait to make my final judgement. Who knows maybe this is a prelimenary outfit. You know what does look good though.....the teaser trailer.

Funny as hell, Part Deux.

2004-07-20T20:41:00.000-04:00

Part 2
This next animation is pretty good. I just makes me laugh. Lets get it on. Hope you like it. I don't know if its already made its way around the net.

Part 1
Apparently this animation has gotten a lot of attention. It's John Kerry, and Dubya's take on "This Land is my Land".

Did I miss a memo?

2004-07-19T12:32:00.000-04:00

When did it become OK to perform in white face. Recently we've had White Chicks hit the big sceen as well as Jamie Foxx on the Espy awards portray "stereo typical" whites. The Waynes brothers doing the rich white valley girl thing, and Foxx the trailer trash mullet hair cut hick. Maybe a studio should get Jamie Kennedy to do "Malibu's Most Wanted 2" in black face. You know to give it more street cred. Wouldn't it be great if Eminem, wore black face and replaced P. Diddy in Raisin in the Sun. That be something right? It doesn't sit well with me that in this supposed age of enlightenment and political correctness that nothing has been said. Black face is offensive for a laundry list of reasons, but white face is just good old fashion fun. What happened to "do on to others, what you would want done to you?" I would say a majority of Americans, and a significant majority of Black America find black face offensive. Yet it seems that we (America) readily accept white face performances. I found this posting by Bryan Thomas, and I believe his feelings on black face are held by the majority.
When I was young and fat, I hated being called fat. It hurt my feelings, and in many cases ruined my day. As a result, I would never call anyone fat. I knew what those words meant to me and I didn't want to put that on anyone else. Aren't black actors performing in white face doing the same thing? Maybe black face doesn't mean anything to those actors? I dont know, but it still doesn't make it right. Maybe this is a super simplified example, but I think it gets the point across. Call me what you like, I think it's just wrong.

Less is Moore

2004-07-09T00:01:00.000-04:00

The one thing that pisses me off about Farenheight 911 is its classification. Documentary, you gotta be kidding me. Look at the following definition of documentary courtesy of Dictionary.com Pay particular attention to the highlighted portion.

doc·u·men·ta·ry
adj.
Consisting of, concerning, or based on documents.
Presenting facts objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film.

doc·u·men·ta·ries
n. pl.
A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration.

I don't care what side of the fence your on, there are a few things that cannot be disputed. For the record, I have not seen the film. I'm going by what I've read and heard, mostly CNN commentary, and friends / co-workers.

Moore's film seems to be a quasi-documentary, combining elements of documentary, and personal film making. He presents things in factual, and informative manner, but editorializes at the same time. For me, as a wanna-be documentary filmmaker, that's a big no no. True documentaries cannot be skewed, in any way shape or form. The word "documentary" carries a weight to it on it's self. It must be presented in a manner showing all sides and blemishes. One must not be skewed during the production process of what to include/exclude. To be a true documentary you must remove one's own point of view as much as possible. The facts are what determine the outcome of your film. It's my understanding the Moore does enough in his film to throw that equation off. Documentaries are based on the totality of facts. Not some facts, not your favorite facts, the totality of facts. While Moore's film may be very good, and strike up conversations, in my view it is no documentary.

A few things I wanted to get off my chest.

2004-07-08T23:33:00.000-04:00

Miami is a strange town.
1. Its the poorest major city in the nation, yet I have never seen so many Jaguars on the road.
2. We are 1,500 miles away from NY, and every Italian restaurant is like a NY Italian restaurant. Shit I found one today that's better than any place I've been to back north.
3. The fastest cars on the road are the shittiest looking ones. I swear to you I saw a 1986 Honda CRX blazing by at 150mph.
4. McDonald's sell Cuban sandwiches. Wow...

Xia is a blogging machine. I've been telling her about blogging for months saying that she would love it. Well about two weeks ago she tried it out, and is hooked. Check it out xiadiaz

Someone in our Louisville office tried to throw me under the bus for something they fucked up on. After a day and a half of going back and fourth via email, I was cleared of all wrong doing. I don't mind if people lie to cover their ass. But when you put the blame on someone else on purpose, that pisses me off.

If you haven't been to atomfilms in awhile, you gotta stop by. They have some good stuff, and I think they're running a Star Wars Fan Film Festival.

Been a Long time....

2004-06-23T16:36:00.000-04:00

Lets see whats been going on lately. Well work at the stadium has been fun. Last week I worked 5 of 7 games at home. Needless to day I was tired as hell when that streak went by. Looking forward to that check coming next week. Last Saturday, boy did I party. After a rain delayed game, Xia and I went to Ft. Lauderdale to hang with a coworker of mine. Had a great time, cant remember much, but a great time nonetheless. I do remember one thing, and today it pissed me off. After the bar we went to eat at a diner. When I went up to pay, the lady said they didn't except credit cards. She suggested that I pull the money from an ATM. An ATM that was convent's located right behind me. Today the ATM fee showed up on my bank statement online. Combined it was a $3 charge to use that ATM, but something else really got to me. The diner owned the ATM. So they're making money, by having an ATM in the diner, and not excepting credit cards. That shit pissed me off.
I've come to the conclusion that I will only go to see two types movie at the thwarter. Event films, in which you'll miss out by not seeing it on the big screen, and comedies. Any other genre of film, I'll wait till it gets to DVD. Movies are way to expensive now. The way studios advertise via trailers and cross promotion, they make shitty films look really good. I not willing to waste my money on films that don't lose anything by being seen at home. I've been following this mantra for some time now, and its worked great. As a result the last bunch of movies I've at seen have been: Troy, Harry Potter, and LOTR 3.
Its been a long time and their is more to come....

Lets give thanks to D-day and Reagan

2004-06-07T19:26:00.000-04:00

If it wasn't for the 60th anniversary of D-Day(I had a ball watching History channel all weekend), or Reagans passing, this weekend would be different. This weekend we would have been bombarded by images and interviews about J.Lo's and Marc Anthony's wedding. So I salute you, soldiers and President Reagan. I salute you for having the foresight, and saving American from the media overload that would have been if not for your efforts. Maybe the US Navy can resume the target practice from Puerto Rico and aim for J.Lo's ass, and Anthonys ego. Here is a quick article on Reagan.

This post wrote itself

2004-06-03T22:33:00.000-04:00

This was the response to a question a friend asked in an email.

> 4. How goes things?

Other than Xia hating her job, pretty good. :) Xia and I are getting looks when we're going out. Me, the only brown haired albino, and Xia the female equivalent of George Hamil. I worked my first Marlin game a week or two back. Got chewed out in the control room for fucking up. It was a big mess. I was pretty embarrassed. The producer came downstairs and yelled a lot, and all I remember him saying was "Do you want me to get fucking fired?" If you would have heard the chatter on the headsets when I sent the wrong clip on screen..Well let me put it this way, I sounded like I just launched an inadvertent nuclear strike on Miami. Their was a lot of "What the fuck", and "Holy Shit". It was like in the movies where total chaos has begun and everyone is talking at once. Its funny now, but while it was going on, it was bad. Basically it went down like this. The guy who was training me, Mario, just learned how to use the system the night before. They called him in to show me how to do. During pre-game he fucked up a couple of times, by not bring it clips on time. When the game started he posted a few batters late. So by the third inning the producer, had already made a few comments over the headset to tighten it up in Ad-Serv. After watching Mario for all this time I jumped in sometime after the third inning. During the fourth, I posted a batter to the scoreboard too quickly. Your supposed to wait till the PA announcer call the next batter or wait till the directors que, whichever comes first. When I posted the batter it was about ten seconds after the previous out, but before anyone called it. The producer questioned why Lorreta was posted, and asked what was going on. He was annoyed at that point. The fire and brimstone rained upon me during the 5th inning break. I sent a video clip to the scoreboard way to early. I thought I heard my que, and I clicked on the icon. Well it was a get ready que, not the go que. That is when the shit hit the fan.

So how was your week?

Bloginality

2004-05-30T15:41:00.000-04:00

My Bloginality is ISTP

As an ISTP, you are Intraverted, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving.
This makes your primary focus on Introverted Thinking with Extraverted Sensing

This is defined as a SP personality, which is part of Carl Jung's Artisans (Sensation Seeking) type, and more specifically the Crafters or Mechanics.

Because of your desire for action and independance, you will change the format of blogging or design frequently to keep it interesting and different. Your loyalty may have you reading the same blogs over a long period of time. Even though you could be easily bored with blogging, you might find that because you like following a project through, this is a good way for you to use your alone time to sort the facts you pick up through the day.

Let me be very clear on this..

2004-05-30T15:24:00.000-04:00

I love Netflix. Netflix is the place to go if your a movie geek. You name it, they have it. Their are very few movies that I've wanted and have not been available through them. I've been a subscriber for two months now, and am super happy with it. The turnaround time for me is very fast. Usually if I mail back a movie on Monday, by Wednesday, sometimes Thursday I have my next movie. No late fees, keep them as long as you want, I've had Capturing the Friedmans for about a month. For $22 a month you can have up to three movies in hand, and as you mail them back, you get your next on one your list. Right now I've got about 45 flicks listed.

Warning...For comic book fans only

2004-05-30T15:10:00.000-04:00

I found this article on Newsarama regarding variant covers. I love comics, and if I had the dough I'd fork over the cash for the variants. But unlike "collectors" that killed the industry a few years back, I'm in it for the love, not money. If I buy a variant I do it for the art and writing. I'd never spend money on a variant if it took away from my normal buying list. The article gives a nice insight on how the industry works, and how it affects dealers.

Keepin it light.

2004-05-13T00:28:00.000-04:00

First off the new blogger is the shit. Hopefully I'll be able to find time to integrate my favorite links onto my new page. Taking a quick look at the html code, off the bat I'm intimidated. It seems to be a little out of my league but I'll still give it a shot. I'd like to publicly admit to a problem I've been struggling with for some time. Writing is extremely hard for me. When I do things that I care about, and are important to me, I do them slowly. Its been this way all my life. For example, when I played basketball back in the day I earned a nickname, "Slo-Mo". (I emphasize earn, because I was given my nickname, by peers. Unlike that punk Deion Sanders, who gave himself the nickname "Prime Time". You gotta be full of it to give yourself a nickname and talk about yourself in the third person.) I had a devastating underhand, across the lane, scoop shot. That shot was, dare I say unstoppable. It was my signature move. And like a signature moves in video games(anyone remember Mike Tyson's Punch Out Blink, Blink), you could see it coming a mile away. It was a slow, longwinded move, but it couldn't be stopped. Hence the name Slow-Mo. Back to the subject, I'm a slow-mo writer. When I write about something I care about it takes forever. I've had a blog entry about Pat Tillman as a draft for well over a week. I just can't find the time to put the energy into writing something meaningful. It takes to much time out of the limited "freetime" I have. As a result I've been keeping my entries light hearted over the last few months. Those are the only types of blogs that I can sneak in between the work day. Now looking at this entry, it took me 30+minutes to write. Its late 1am, I gotta go. Quick update on the job situation. We acquired our biggest competitor in the Miami market, on Wednesday. They had a staff of eight people and we took on 5 of them. They've been moving into our offices, and its been super crazy. I have another editor to work with so that's very cool. Downside though, he talks way to much.

best,
dan

Hello, Hello

2004-05-07T06:06:00.000-04:00

I'm getting my ass kicked @ work. Lotta shit going down. Leaving home @ 7am, and getting in @ 8pm. More to come over the weekend. Shit I got to work today @ 4:30am, hopefully I can get out early.

South Park

2004-04-28T18:05:00.000-04:00

I've been wanting to talk about South Park on this blog for some time now. But never really got around to it. I have talked about it with Xia, and just today she sent me this article from the NY Times. Basically this is my stance. If you can't recognize the brilliance of South Park, you need your brain examined. Of course some people will be turned off by its vulgarity, and not see anything going on other then fart jokes. But I'm not talking about them. I'm talking about people who watch it, and dont get it. People who walk away mildly amused after watching an episode, and not get it. What is it, well South Park has it, and its not easily described. But, Virginia Heffernan gets it, and nails it right on the head.

American Idol

2004-04-22T21:30:00.000-04:00

Let me throw my 2 cents in on the controversy. The two most prominent theories I've heard as to why the girl was kicked off yesterday are as follows.
1. The voters are racist, and don't want another black winner.
2. The voters are stupid.
Both of those answers could be true, but I offer a theory that I haven't heard on radio and TV. Could it possibly be that the three girls cancelled each other out in the voting? Think about it. They, by many accounts were the best three, and all are black females. Ryan did say it was the slimest margin ever, on who would go home. It wouldn't be that much of a leap, to assume (I hate that word, but it works) that the first girl of the three who was safe was close in the voting as well. Think about it, JPL's votes would must likely go to the red headed step-child. Everyone else would most likely keep their core voters. But the three divas would have to share the voters who would must likely vote for any one of them individually if the other two weren't in the competition. They are essentially fighting for the same slice of the pie. Everything will fall into balance once again when only one of them is left. I'll go out on a limb and say that the winner of the "diva vote" will win the competition. You can see where I'm going with this, I don't need to explain myself anymore. Throw your 8 cents in, and go buy yourself a stick of gum. I'm done.

"Looking for Fidel"

2004-04-20T18:58:00.000-04:00

This documentary is directed by Oliver Stone, and is a follow-up to his 2003 film, "Comandante". I caught the last 10-15 minutes of it this morning before going to work. The film looks very interesting and I'm super eager to watch it in its entirety. "Comandante" has never been aired for various reasons, but word on the street was that Stone was way to easy on Fidel. This time around, according to The Hollywood Reporter Stone has a different approach. I think its called, NOT BEING A ROMANTICIZING CLOSET COMMUNIST FUCKER. That being said I'll wait to watch it myself before coming to any conclusions. I'll say one thing about Stone with certainty, after watching an interview he did with Charlie Rose. He seems to be of the mind set that other countries due worse, and Cuba isn't that bad. He said things along the lines of "Argentina and Guatemala have committed a lot more atrocities toward its people, and Cuba pales in comparison." He goes soft on Cuba because other countries have a worse record. That's like justifying a rape, by saying,"well at least he did kill her". Bottom line, I'm gonna watch it, and I hope you do as well. Here is the schedule.

PS I think Stone reads the "The Daily Worker". If anyone can tell me what I'm referring to, you are officially the man.

You gotta see this

2004-04-20T14:54:00.000-04:00

I've heard of this site in passing, but today I checked it out myself. Behold the glory of the subservient chicken.

Enjoy

A Fair and Balanced look at internet spoofs

2004-04-16T17:42:00.000-04:00

This first one is called Bush Shoot-Out: Starring President Bush and Condoleezza Rice. You can find it at Miniclip

For the Kerry fans, or should I say Bush haters you can go here.

They are both very funny.

Tag Board

2004-04-14T12:36:00.000-04:00

Looks like we are back up.

Tag Board is down..

2004-04-13T23:03:00.000-04:00

I'll try to get it back up ASAP, but it all depends on customer support.

One more thing

2004-04-13T16:18:00.000-04:00

I hate the fact that my blog looks different on each computer I've viewed it on. On my mac @ home it looks perfect. At work the two different computers look totally different. The fonts on the left column are way to big. Does anyone have suggestions for a solution? I bet it has to do with screen resolution.

A couple of things..

2004-04-13T15:52:00.000-04:00

1. A fucking roach, the size of a cat, just crawled across my office. I'm really grossed out. The thing was huge. That mother eats with a fork and knife, no joke.

2. The Tag Board doesn't seem to work from my computer @ work. Does anyone else have this problem?

3. When did poker become such a bigtime "sport"? It seems like everyone and their mothers are playing on TV. It making my feel like I'm missing something I should not be without. Damn TV advertising, they've got my soul.

new blog, new game

2004-04-11T23:06:00.000-04:00

As you can see I'm in the process of changing up my blog. The colors aren't permanent, just dont feel like finishing up tonight. But before I go, I'd like to start up a new game. You'll notice a cool new tag board on the left of the page. Well it comes with a feature to block whatever words I deem to be off limits for my board. This is your challenge, you must find the curse word that I have blocked.
Here are your clues....

1. Its a two word curse ie. fuck face
2. My friends and I have used it, and laughed our asses off when we first heard it.

You'll know when you've won when you cant post the words on the board. Just repost with dashes replacing some of the letters ie. fu-k fa-e, or post it in my guest book. Hope you have as much fun playing, as I did thinking it up. :>

best
dan

Jim Lee's Superman is a bad ass

2004-04-11T22:31:00.000-04:00

If he can't get you to buy Superman books, nothing will.

A quick confession

2004-04-11T15:34:00.000-04:00

I've keep this secret long enough. I am Eddie Veder. I am Freddie Mercury. I am Miles Davis. I couldn't resist, it was a slow day at work.

dan

I need your help.

2004-04-08T15:01:00.000-04:00

Anyone who spots something on Che Guevara please inform me. I don't care if its on paper, TV, DVD, or web. Let me know. If you see a TV show and somebody's wearing a Che shirt, make a note and drop me a line. Even if its Che like, ie Madonna's last album cover, or mock up of a picture of Che with a different face. I've seen it a few times using Cher, and Margeret Cho. Their are even Che and Jesus comparisons out their. I've been collecting news clippings, TV clips, etc. since my senior thesis. I'm in the process of going over everything I have and it dawned on me to ask friends and family to keep an eye out for me. I don't care if its pro or anti Che, let me know. I can obtain a copy of just about anything on TV through a service. I'll I need is date/time/station. I'm starting to warm up again with my project, any help is greatly appreciated.

Condoleezza Rice what a..........

2004-04-08T10:15:00.000-04:00

I'm watching the 9/11 commission, and I'm reminded of something from a year or so ago. At NJCU Amiri Baraka was giving a performance/discussion concerning Somebody Blew Up America , and I attended. Baraka criticize Rice, among others. Watching this just reminded me of that day, and his catchy phrases. I'd figure I'd throw it out their if anyone is interested. The following is the excerpt, you can find the whole thing here SBUA.

"Who do Tom Ass Clarence Work for
Who doo doo come out the Colon's mouth
Who know what kind of Skeeza is a Condoleeza
Who pay Connelly to be a wooden negro
Who give Genius Awards to Homo Locus"

dan

SI Link Wireless

2004-04-05T18:39:00.000-04:00

SI Link Wireless FM Music Adapter is a must have if you own an mp3 player. Basically its a FM transmitter that plugs in through the headphone jack of any CD/MP3/Cassette Player. You then tune in your home or car stereo to the corresponding FM frequency you set on the transmitter. Magically you have your tunes being broadcasted through your home/car speakers. Product description and FM stations available are listed below. Don't buy if you have a strong signal on the stations listed. You'll probably have difficulty getting good reception. If your OK on the FM end, SI-Link gets my thumbs up.SI Link

I'm Back

2004-04-05T17:39:00.000-04:00

In honor of a one month absence from posting to my blog, I am returning. Much like my college days, I'm not keeping up with my assignments. Now lets get back into the action. First off some review that I've been lagging on.
Lost in Translation has gotten a lot of press and praise, and deservedly so, if you like being bored during a movie. The movie does a great job of making you feel like the characters on screen. The problem is nobody wants to feel that way. Coppola beautifully projects the characters feelings of isolationism/boredom onto the viewer. Is a riveting story? NO. Are the locations and cinematography beautiful? Yes. Is the acting good? Absolutely. Is the script top notch? For the subject matter, Yes. But I feel this is a movie where its parts are greater then its sum. Pick it up if you wanna marinate in depression.
Bend it Like Beckham, simply put its a great movie. Anyone in one form or another can relate to this film. In general the film has gotten its due, but you gotta go and pick it up. Bend it is a feel good movie.

Here's some good news.

2004-03-08T19:06:00.000-05:00

Today I officially started full time at VMS. I'm working 9:30 to 6pm. By the time everyone (sales/production) gets their shit together I'll be leaving around 6:30 if not later. On Friday I was hired by Pro Player Stadium, home of the Florida Marlins, and Miami Dolphins. My official title is Scoreboard Tech/Operations. Basically I'll be cross trained to work in a few different positions. I'll primarily work the Main and auxiliary Scoreboard. I will be responsible for posting player stats and promos for the stadium. My secondary position will be replay operator. I have two video feeds to work from, each having a different angle of the game. The stadium is going digital with their editing. When an exciting play happens, I edit the play together and send it out to the scoreboard. Lastly I'll be a back up cameraman. I'm really excited, they pay well, and I get to watch games. Best of all its a night and weekend gig, so it fits nicely into my schedule.
Best,
Dan
BTW I still haven't posted my movie/product reviews. I promise tomorrow I'll post my reviews of Bend it Like Beckham, Lost in Translation, and a wireless music adapter that is a must for MP3 player owners.

Hope nobody saw me.

2004-03-01T21:06:00.000-05:00

For me the best part of the Oscars was the death tribute piece. You know the part were they display all the people in entertainment who died over the last year. The best part was when Leni Riefenstahl came up on the screen. The crowd was clapping for the person just before her. When Leni came up, I think it took awhile for them to realize who she was. The applause quickly faded, and then abruptly started again once the next person was presented. Those Hollywood liberals ;>, must of been like "oh shit I'm clapping for a Nazi, let me stop. I hope nobody saw me." Here is a quick little article about Leni.
Just last week a saw a documentary about Riefenstahl on either History channel or Discovery. Between what I've learned in school and what I've seen on TV, can't nobody convince me she didn't know what was going on. For Pete's sake, she help design her "future film studio" that was to be located in Germania,(present day Berlin) the "future capital of the world."

I'm done with the GOP

2004-02-24T21:00:00.001-05:00

For the record I am a registers Independent. My political views don't fit in any cookie cutter description of a political party. Recently though I can honestly and without shame say I was Republican Lite. Not Lieberman lite, super ultra light, with extra large filter. Historically I've identified more with the center/left of the Republican Party. But as of today I've lost any feelings I had for the GOP.
This ban on Gay marriage is the last straw for me. Government should not be involved in the business of whose marrying who. Last I checked this is a free country, and gays marrying has no adverse affect on anybody. It just blows my mind when people say shit like,"Gay marriages devalue my marriage." What devalued your marriage is the fact you fucked your mother, married her and now that kid is your half brother and son. Now thats devaluing marriage. Two queers getting hitched has no negative affect on Americans. Where as the mother-fucker in the above example, can cause serious damage in society. And Ohh by the way, its legal cause its a man and woman. Gimme a break I'm tired of the bullshit.
I do acknowledge that when America was founded its laws and values were Judeo Christian based. But that was over 200 years ago, the beauty of American is its ability to evolve and reshape to the peoples needs. If I remember my 3rd grade history correctly, isn't the Constitution a "Living and Breathing Document". For all intensive purposes this proposed amendment is legalized discrimination. This country was founded for the purpose of non-discrimination. As long as your not interfering with anyone else, do whatever the hell you want. Doesn't this amendment contradict that notion? Let me add...has in it crossed anyones mind that the notion of defining marriage in the Constitution is utterly ridicules to begin with? While we're at it, why dont we pass and amendment the defines what the definition of "sexual relations" is. Cause I've been really confused since the whole Clinton thing a few years back.

Horns & Halos

2004-02-22T12:17:00.002-05:00

This is what CineMax has to say about the film. Use the following link to get the scheduled show times, by typing in the name of the film in the search field at the top of the page.

This award-winning documentary captures the unlikely connection between the U.S. President, a discredited author and an underground publisher whose paths to power and popularity crossed over a book: Fortunate Son, J.H. Hatfield's unauthorized biography of George W. Bush. The odyssey of Hatfield and underground New York City publisher Sander Hicks to get bookstores to carry the tome--and get much-needed publicity to help drive sales for the new edition in the 2000 presidential election year--is the focus of this entertaining and ultimately shocking verite film.

I hope you can catch it, cause its worth your while.

Dark Knight

2004-02-17T09:45:00.001-05:00

I found this article about Frank Miller's Batman. Specifically his two books The Dark Knight Returns and The Dark Knight Strikes Again. I've read this books myself and I highly recommend them to any fan of comics. But these books go beyond the "comic book fan". Batman and the "superheros" of the books are used as a medium to tell a story, and make a point. If those who dismiss comics as juvenile, took the time to look beneath the surface. They may come to realize what many of us already know.
Eventhough the article by Peter Sanderson sometimes reads like a research paper, I loved it. He did a great job of breaking it down. I warn you though, his article is full of spoilers. Hope you like it, cause I sure did.

What the fuck!?!?

2004-02-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

I saw this article, and was like "No". Then I mentioned it to Xia and she was like "No Way". Then we mentioned it to a friend of ours and she was like "Get Out".
Finally after all of us read the article we were like "What the Fuck!?!?"
Rabbi Urges Pig Fat on Buses to Stop Bombers
I dont need to add anything more to this. You can come up with your own conclusions.

Lets Get Rollin Again

2004-02-16T21:43:00.000-05:00

Don't know if anyone knows or cares for that matter, but its been way to long inbeteen post. But alas their is good reason. After my last post I burned the knuckle on my index finger, with hot oil making French fries (I wonder, where have I heard this story before?). Nasty burn, with nasty results. As a result of the ensuing boil, it was a pain to type. A few days later after the burn healed, and I was able to type something worse happened. I caught a case of the "baugities". For those of you out of the loop "baugities" is a bad case of laziness. I didn't want to touch the internet let alone this blog. Sometimes I get into those funks were, everything I love, I must leave for extended periods of time. Its has happened to just about everything that I like, except of course for Xia. This time it was the internet. Over ten days without the net, and I'm refreshed. I most be going through some sort of emotionally cleansing, or something. Well its over now, and I'm back. I got something to talk about and some reviews to give, so this week should be good.
best,
dan
PS Lets send some love to Cal, Star, and Yola, and hope all is going well. We've been calling for the last couple of days and nobody picks up. Drop me a line. We don't have your cell phones #'s.

Hey Now

2004-02-02T22:03:00.000-05:00

Houston......,We a have nipple.

(Foxsports decided to blur the nip out.
When I posted the pic, it was full frontal nipple.)

Microsoft knows no shame

2004-02-02T21:58:00.000-05:00

This is proof that Microsoft will do anything
to promote the sales of XBOX in Japan.

Where else on the web?

2004-01-26T20:47:00.000-05:00

Where else on the web can you find such a meandering blog? Over the last few weeks I've written about Dean, Kucinich, posted an Ultimate Challenge, linked up with Halo animation, followed a series of articles by Nat Hentoff, posted a discussion on 7 dirty words, posted a couple of quizzilla quizzes, linked you up to itunes, hooked you up with movie and product reviews, and created my own fucking terror alert game. So show me some love and let me know how I'm doing.

Site Update:

-Question of the week will be posted by the 27th, be prepared. Xia told me not to ask the question, but I feel it will get great responses once you hear mine.

-Ultimate Challenge is still on, Guy is winning by default, but I'm expecting a strong entry (Cal).

-If you have Cinemax, watch on Feb. 13th great movie called Horns and Halos. I have a link on the right.

BTW:
Not to long ago I finished reading Animal Farm by George Orwell.
Do yourself the favor and read it, you can't go wrong.

The Blood Gulch Chronicles

2004-01-25T00:27:00.000-05:00

On the right hand side of this blog you'll see an updated version of
do yourself the favor. It will be featuring an internet based series called The Blood Gulch Chronicles. The Chronicles are a collection of animated shorts using Halo (yes, Xbox's Halo video game) to tell the gap story in between Halo 1 and the soon to be released Halo 2. The website redvsblue is bare bones and a little hard to navigate through, but you should be able to find your way to the episodes. Currently they are up to episode 22, and you have a choice of viewing them in either DivX or Quicktime. My understanding is that the site posts news episodes every Sunday, and will soon feature an archive for season 1 episodes. So far I've seen 2 or 3 episodes, and I must say they have their high and low points. Overall, if your into media/film, you should definitely check it out. BTW, I also posted two articles related to The Blood Gulch Chronicles, one of them is from the one and only Ed Halter

The Power of Guy

2004-01-24T22:57:00.004-05:00

Not only does my man have his own blog, www.loudpoet.com. He comes through with an entry for mine. Here is his submission for d generation's Ultimate Challenge.

10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR GEORGE W. BUSH

1. Because you'd like to see him elected legitimately this time.

2. Because women have too much control over their own bodies.

3. Because affirmative action is reverse racism and slavery was a long time ago.

4. Because you are a CEO or other high-ranking corporate executive.

5. Because you're single with no kids and drive an SUV.

6. Because you can afford your own health insurance, have significant money in the stock market and/or send your kids to parochial school.

7. Because those uncivilized Arabs need a Starbucks, Wal-Mart and McDonald's on every corner.

8. Because the Pentagon is strapped for cash.

9. Because Corporate America has the people's best interests at heart.

10. Because it will take at least another four years to find those weapons of mass destruction Saddam used against us on 9/11.

Ultimate challenge

2004-01-22T23:55:00.000-05:00

I challenge any one of my faithful readers to write a paragraph/essay on why I should vote for George W. Bush. I don't want Bush hate mail on why not to vote for him, thats to easy. I want reasons to vote for dubbya. So pretend I'm an undecided voter and convince me. The winner will receive a real prize, something that I will ship to their household. I'm looking for quality answers. I encourage all to participate. You have one week to send in your entries. You can email them to me or leave your entry in my guestbook. All entries will be posted for all to see. Good luck.
-El Diaz-

I couldn't agree more.

2004-01-22T23:10:00.005-05:00

The following is a response from Salome Gonzalez on my post entitled
The Problem with Dennis J. Kucinich

"Nothing in this country's history has radically developed and change the structure of our society. Ever meaningful change has bubbled up slowly, years and years in the making, building more and more pressure"

I have to disagree.� I think FDR and his New Deal completely changed the structure of our society. Going from "everyone for himself" to a social welfare state in about 4 years' time is a HUGE change in an incredibly short period of time that totally deviated the�direction in which the country was going. However, I think as bad as we like to say things are in this country right now, they're nowhere near as bad as they were when�FDR took over and 75% of the population was living well below the poverty level.� And as we all know, its desperate times that call for desperate measures and the country just isn't ready for a Kucinich.� Of COURSE we all want universal healthare and a universal kindergarten programs, free education, free this, free that, duh!� But so much of the country's economy rides on those issues, how are you going to barge on in and revamp the economy like that without sinking the country?�Sure it'd be great, but its completely unrealistic.� So yes, I wholeheartedly agree that Kucinich is just an extreme�that won't work.� In the beginning when Guy introduced me to him, he was so annoyed when I'd tell him that (cute as he may be) a vote for him was a "wasted" vote.� (I'm talking foaming at the mouth furious).� But, DUDE!!� Are you frickin kidding me?� If the goal is to get a Democrat back in the White House (and not another fucking millionaire, thankyouverymuch Mr. Kerry and Dr. Psycho), how the hell are you going to throw your vote away on someone who's ideas are so extreme that they don't have a shot in hell?� Anywhooo, those were my two cents.

Add one more to the long list of distinguished and well thought out remarks from NJCU (or if you prefer Jersey City State College) Alum.
-El Diaz-

New Article by Nat Hentoff

2004-01-22T23:09:00.000-05:00

This is another great article from Mr. Hentoff, about Castro's Cuba.
Bill Moyers Practicing Dissent

The problem with Dennis J. Kucinich....

2004-01-21T19:51:00.002-05:00

I have a feeling I'm gonna hear from a couple of people after this entry. My commits are derived from readings on his website. Not this new version 2.0 that is now up, but the older one which in my opinion was more to the point on his stances.

Simply put, at this time our country is not ready to go in a quasi-socialistic direction. Kucinich wants to do too much, too fast. I'm not saying I disagree with the fellow, but his stances will fundamentally change America. Kucinich is not leaving a trail of crumbs for people to follow down his path. He's throwing the whole fruitcake at you, and tossing the decorative tin container it came in. Some people will go for this blunt approach, but most would prefer a gradual escalation. It's like getting your first driving lesson on the turnpike. Yeah, it's a hell of a way to learn, but you end up resenting being put in that situation for the rest of your life. You may have learned faster, and ultimately be a better driver because of it. But in your heart, you know eventually you would have gotten to that point without the stress and anxiety involved. That's Kucinich, pushing you into the express lane of the turnpike into socialism. As well intentioned he may be, it doesn't sit well with me and I'm sure with many others as well. Nothing in this country's history has radically developed and change the structure of our society. Ever meaningful change has bubbled up slowly, years and years in the making, building more and more pressure. Until one day, the bubble bursts and the supposed radical change occurs. The only thing radical about the change is that it really happened. It's been brewing and headed in that direction for years. So Mr. Kucinich I applaud you, and encourage you to keep reaching for your ultimate dream. Because as each day goes by, more and more people will copy your ideals and blend them into our society. Much like Microsoft copying the innovators at Apple. Come on, did you really think Microsoft thought up the idea of windows. Apple had it first, and does it better.

Howard Dean

2004-01-14T21:29:00.002-05:00

This is the Cliff Notes version of Howard Dean's campaign.

Dean
"You see, I'm a doctor. So right off the bat, I'm smarter than you. So listen up and listen up good. Remember, I'm an outsider, and they are insiders. Outsider....Insider......Outsider......Insider......I'm the outsider, they're insiders. Right there, that says a lot about my candidacy"

Man in the back row
"Mr. Dean, what is your stance on..."

Dean interrupts his question
"Sit down, and shut up!! Thats enough out of you. You've had your say, now let me talk. First off its Dr. Dean, and don't forget it. Secondly, remember I'm the outsider. Ohh yeah, I said no to Iraq. Most of the other candidates said yes. No....Yes....No....Yes....I said no to Iraq, they said yes.

"Woman in front row"
"Dr. Dean, I'm a hispanic woman who would like to know your take on......

Dean interrupts her question
"Look I said it once and I'll say it again. I've got a black guy on the 5th floor of my building, and after doing some research. I found out the guy who makes my sandwiches is half Cuban. So your answer is yes, I will continue to help the black and hispanic people in our country achieve greatness. By the way Miss thank you for calling me Doctor."

Dean wrapping up his discussion with the audience
"So when you vote for Howard Dean, you vote for....
Doctor
Outsider
No to Iraq
Black Men on 5th floor, and latinos making sandwiches.

One last thing, I hate Bush and so should you. So vote for me!"

His personal opinion.

2004-01-13T21:22:00.000-05:00

This is the response my friend wrote, replying to an email I sent him. The original email link he sent me can be viewed below "GOP Reps. bans dirty words". What follows the link is my response to the article and his subject line:
Why I hate Republicans

I don't fully agree with his stance, but he makes a valid point or two.
My friends a good guy. I just have to remember never to let him babysit.

Why is anyone still afraid of these seven "dirty" words? Why are we
still assigning them any kind of power? Hopefully, if and when I have
kids, they won't be so dim-witted that they wouldn't be able to understand
that they can use these words whenever they wish, but if they care to
appear "civilized" before certain small-minded people and avoid being
penalized by conservative teachers, they should refrain from using them
until they are around a group that doesn't see the harm in seven silly
words that merely describe human functions. They would be able to weigh
the pros and cons of employing their use. If they were to hear them a
couple of times on a TV show, I dont really see the big deal. If a
parent feels the show is stringing together too many obscenities, they
can change the channel. Believe me, I've heard much worse than the
phrase fucking brilliant from kindergarten through high school.

Again, these are merely words. I would not freak out if I was at a ball
game with my kids and someone was shouting profanities. I almost expect
that sort of thing to happen at a sporting event where overzealous,
screwbrained fans get drunk. I'd rather they hear dirty words from a
crazy, drunken fan than kkk-lite race theories from a conservative
drug-addict commentator. I have to clarify my original statement: I don't
really hate all Republicans -- just the ones trying to impose
puritanically-rooted limits on my life.

My personal opinion

2004-01-13T00:13:00.000-05:00

The following is a response to an email I received today from a friend. The subject line was
Why I hate Republicans
In his email my friend provided this link.
GOP representative would ban dirty words from TV
My stance is, it's not a political thing, it's a people thing.
Here is my response.
Hey ---,
Your kidding right? Are you really upset about this proposal? According to this article this is a basic/status quo tightening of current law. Yes, you are correct that this is Censorship. All humans should have a fundamental right to free speech. But people seem to forget/neglect the existence of a fundamental rule of being part of a society. To be in/join a society, you must give up certain rights deemed uncivilized by that society. Currently in our society it is deemed as inappropriate to say fuck,cock- sucker, cock, shit, mother-fucker,etc.(piss, is stretching it, in my opinion) And it isn't a vast right wing conspiracy that proclaims these words as inappropriate for public airwaves. Its good old mom and pop, your local teacher, a guy @ a ballgame drinking a beer, with his kid sitting next to him.
You'd be hard pressed to find a 8th grade teacher not reprimanded a student for saying one of the 7 dirty words in class. I cant recall how many times I've been to games and heard people curse, and then other people shout back and ask them to cut it out because kids were around. I dont recall any person or parent taking care of a child correcting the kids pronunciation of cock-sucker. "No silly, it's not cook soccer, its cock-sucker. You have to emphasize the K sound." I seriously doubt these words have ever come out of a guardians mouth. The law applies to public airwaves, not HBO, not comedy clubs, public airwaves. The people setting the standards should not be interest groups for or against the use of this language. It should be regular everyday people. Writers,actors,radio personalities, and the like stand to gain the most. No restrictions give them a larger area to work in. The reality is their are plenty of areas to express your urge to curse. The public airwaves should reflect the populous opinion, and unless something has changed: shit, fuck, cock, mother-fucker, cock-sucker,etc. are considered words inappropriate in certain area's. In 20 years things might be different. Until then, watch your fucking language on the air. I'm tired now and going to sleep. I think I properly stated my opinion. I'm to tired to go back and re-write.

These articles are great reads!

2004-01-06T21:25:00.000-05:00

American Library Association(ALA) is the worlds largest group of librarians with 64,000 members. In their everlasting fight for truth, justice, and the un-Ashcroft way, they have vehemently opposed Patriot Act 215. In Act 215, the FBI is allowed to visit your local library and show up with a list of books and have the librarian match the list of books with borrowers. In addition, the librarian cannot tell the press or the borrowers that this event has taken place. If librarians do not comply, they can be jailed. So you'd think the ALA would be outraged if a number of librarians were sent to jail. Well apparently they're not, cause those librarians aren't under the tyranny of Ashcroft. They're living in true tyranny in Cuba under Coma Andante Fidel Castro. Makes me wonder if the ALA really gives a shit about rights or just playing politics. Anything the ALA says about the Patriot Act is meaningless to me until they recognize the tyranny 90 miles away.

In Castro's Gulag-Librarians
Criminalizing Librarians

The following is a response by author Nat Hentoff to a letter he received concerning his articles.
A US Librarian Defends Castro

Hello All

2003-12-30T19:43:00.001-05:00

The gap in posts in not completely my fault. Blogger has not been saving my drafts. I've been working hard, at work, and at bring you a riveting article on the American Librarians Association. I'll probably post it tomorrow and update do yourself the favor. In the absence of a new riveting post I'm submitting a quiz for your enjoyment. Surf on by d generation on January 1 and 2, new posts will be up and I'm gonna compile
a list of best of 2003.

BLUE

You give your love and friendship unconditionaly. You enjoy long, thoughtful conversations rich in philosophy and spirituality. You are very loyal and intuitive.

Find out your color at Quiz Me!

2003-12-23T20:56:00.000-05:00

You're Generally Indie. There's nothing wrong with
this. You like music all over the map and
aren't adversed to listening to some Top 40
here and there. You just know to comment that
The Neptunes are the best producers around
right now. You don't feel the need to debate
constantly with other music geeks, because you
know that Pavement were the best band of the
90s.

You Know Yer Indie. Let's Sub-Categorize.
brought to you by Quizilla

Lets play a game!!

2003-12-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

I feel,as the patriotic american that I am,it's my duty to help inform our nations people of the possible threats we as americans face everyday. As a result I have created this game. It's called
Name....... That........ Disaster..........!!!!!
(The dots represent the delay between the words, think wheel of fortune)

The object of the game is to view the captions below, and figure out which disaster it belongs to.
Your prize, the knowledge of how to protect yourself when the shit hits the fan.
Good luck contestents, click below for the answer.

answer

Site Update...

2003-12-20T18:17:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone,
If you have visited my site recently, you've noticed a new link on the right hand side that says
do yourself the favor. I created it to provide a link to sites which feature online
media content, ie movie trailers, animations, etc... This week I've featured Spider-Man 2
trailer, and now I'll present one of the most unique trailers I have ever seen. Don't know
much about the movie, but that's not the point. The trailer rocks. Some scenes
looks like a propaganda poster from the 30's come to life. Enjoy.
P.S. Don't forget to let me know if you come across good online media content.

Quiz Time

2003-12-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

I had to put this quiz up. I makes me look so good. :>

Honor: You are an honorable person who is firm with
his/her beliefs and treats others as you are
treated. People would consider you humble at
times and very respectful, and someone to
definitely respect back.

Which Characteristic From the Samurai Code Matches You Best? (You may find out your best trait)
brought to you by Quizilla

Yankees Fans....Don't Panic, Yet

2003-12-18T18:30:00.000-05:00

Sheff has arrived.....

I pulled this from nypost.com.
The writer makes some valid points.
Let the battle for A.L. East begin!!
Vaccoro

Finally!

2003-12-17T16:25:00.002-05:00

Just minutes ago I received a phone call that I've been waiting for. I was offered a position at a company called VMS. The company is a media monitoring service that focuses on news and advertising. They cover the top 50 television markets in the country. By cover, I mean they record the top stations 24/7/365 in those top 50 markets. Clients then request VMS to send them news stories/editorials/advertisements pertaining to their product. For example, if there is an ebola outbreak at a Miami Burger King, BK HQ would request a copy of all news broadcasts in Miami relating to the outbreaks. BK now knows the media exposure and can act appropriately in whatever way they see fit. My position is editor/P.A.. I'll be in charge of the video library, making sure all satellite feeds are being received and recorded. I will also be editing the videos requested by clients. I'll be starting on a part-time basis of 30hr a week, and by February 2nd VMS and I will decide if we are right for each other. I'm very excited, and optimistic things will work out. There is great opportunity to move upward within the company, and I could also move to any market I desire, if a position is available. Hopefully this will be the start of good things to come.

Hail To The Chief

2003-12-17T15:49:00.000-05:00

**************
According to the
SelectSmart.com
2004 AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SELECTOR,
Rev. Al Sharpton
best matches my political views.

Who gets your vote?

**************
SelectSmart.com/president

Here's something you didn't know about me.
Rev. Al and I have more in common then political ideology.
We're both mack daddies!!

News Flash!!!!!

2003-12-15T01:03:00.000-05:00

Breaking News has just hit the AP wire.......
The Saddam US coalition forces caught is not the real Saddam. The picture below is of one of Saddam's clones. As many of you may, or may not know, Saddam cloned himself in order to confuse the filthy Zionists, and Americans trying to overthrow him. With help from the French and Russians he was able to duplicate himself to keep his true self save. Got it?

Failure, after failure, concerning the where abouts of the real Saddam has gotten US forces. As a result US forces have called in the big guns to find Saddam.
The Papperazzi
Within minutes the Papperazzi have honed in on the real Saddams location and have published the following two pictures. The first photo being his current location. The next being the most recent photo capturing a full facial shot.
1. pic
2. pic
Now all we have to do is bring him in for some good old fashion justice. American Style.

News for the week.

2003-12-15T00:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the gap in posts, but its been crazy the last few days. If all goes well Monday or Tuesday I will be employed by one of two companies. Details to come. So will part two of Out of My League.

Now for this weeks noted news.

Do you want to know the secret for world domination? If so just follow some basic rules...
1.Cut prices relentlessly
2.Pump up productivity
3.Pay low wages
4.Ban unions
5.Give suppliers the tightest possible profit margins
6.Sell everything under the sun for less than the guy next door.
If you don't believe me just read the following article, and you'll be well on your way to ruling the world.Walmart

After I finished reading the following article I said to myself in my best southern accent,
"I guess them there Negroes aren't good enough to go to school with. But they sure are good enough to hit the sack with though." Strom Thurman

Good for the Fans

2003-12-10T15:54:00.001-05:00

Hopefully the Mets will get better in the next few years, and the rivalry with the Yanks
will mean something. I already like this guy, his wearing one of my favorite numbers :>
I can hear the chants already.
Matsuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiii !!!!!!!!!!!

Cool Quiz

2003-12-10T14:48:00.003-05:00

You are Professor X!

You are a very effective teacher, and you are very
committed to those who learn from you. You put
your all into everything you do, to some extent
because you fear failure more than anything
else. You are always seeking self-improvement,
even in areas where there is nothing you can do
to improve.

Which X-Men character are you most like?
brought to you by Quizilla

Out of My League (part one)

2003-12-09T15:34:00.000-05:00

I was looking through the paper and found an interesting ad. All it said wasLooking for Black and White photos of all kinds I figured, I'd see if the person would be interested in my prints. Maybe I could sell a couple.

(For those of you who don't know, I love photography and have a small collection of 8x10 B&W prints I affectionately call my portfolio. The love has always been there, but the money for this expensive hobby has not. Not to mention finding darkrooms to work in. It wasn't a problem while going to Kean cause I took my photo classes their, and I knew the teachers. They let me come and go as I please. NJCU is a different story. Not only was it significantly harder to gain access to the darkrooms, the projects I had to work on for my major were very time consuming. Now that I'm out of school I'd let to get back in the game.)

So the lady from the ad calls back, and the story begins. Turns out she owns an art gallery here in Miami, and she wanted me to bring in my portfolio. Some how through our conversation on the phone she got the impression that I was an artist. I mean, I am an artist to a degree, but she thought I was a real artist, not someone who's trying to get back into photography as art. The second I hung up the phone the anxiety began. I dug up my prints that were stored away and dusted off my portfolio ready for this Monday meeting. I show up, and I kid you not, the first thing she says is "So your the artist." I almost tipped over from the lump in my throat when she said that. So I sat down, and she began to review my photos. The old familiar feelings came back: clamy hand, rush of blood. I felt like I was in school again getting my work reviewed. She told me I had some good stuff in the portfolio, and to keep on taking photos. She wasn't very specific which leads me to think she was blowing hot air up my ass, and the portfolio sucked. While she was looking at it all she said were things like "Thats good, Nice, I like that one" She didn't get into any specifics about the photos. Now I have doubts about the quality of the work. But whats worse is that I didn't ask specific questions while she did the review. I could have had the answers already, but like always I left and in the car, thought about questions I should have asked. On the other hand though, the gallery didn't feature any photos in my style, and maybe thats not what she was looking for. Her gallery was mostly full of photos like: close up of flowers, canyons, furniture, vase on table etc.. Nice stuff, but not my style. I'll definitely like to shoot landscapes, but furniture, fruit plate on table, bed in corner, are not my cup of tea. My stuff is mostly urban with some landscape, and a splash of the strange. So now the dilemma is, does my stuff suck or is it just not whats she's looking for. I'll probably never know, cause I'll most likely never ask. So rather then let the feelings of anxiety over take me, I am going to put it to good use. I'm gonna take this experience and use it as motivation to further grow as an artist. Now all I need is a darkroom and some money for prints.

For my Anti-Bush readers

2003-12-04T14:07:00.001-05:00

WhiteHouse 4 Sale
Link provided by Allan Finn

Question Of The Week:

2003-12-01T02:11:00.000-05:00

Using only the Democratic Presidential Candidates, choose one of them to fill the role of a movie character.

My pick is:
Wes Clark as the Krypt Keeper from Tales From The Krypt

If your in a bind, you can send me George Bush movie roles,but those are way to easy.

What a pompous A-hole

2003-11-30T23:03:00.000-05:00

Tom Brokaw came off like a pompous asshole starving for attention at the end of the debates a few days ago. It was a gratuitous attempt to self serve his image as the "most trusted anchor man in America".Hey, news flash Mr. Brokaw the debates were about the candidates, not about you and your place in history as a journalist.

The Dems

2003-11-30T22:30:00.000-05:00

I feel this needs to be said. Is anyone disturbed by the fact that during the Democratic Pres. Debates the candidates just throw out Martin Luther King Jr's name whenever they can? I've seen four of the debates and MLKJ's name/vision has been whored around the stage by just about by everyone. I understand what they are trying to do (associate themselves with his vision/dreams/hopes....and get closer to widely untapped voting pool), but doesn't this pandering seem to cheapen the message? I don't know if I'll be able to get my feelings across properly on this post, but it just doesn't feel right throwing his name around like that. The way some of these guys talk about MLK I'm expecting him to walk out on stage, and publicly endorse them. He'll then proclaim he was never assassinated and has been chillin with Elvis in Vegas. All the while secretly meeting with each candidate and giving them each their assurance of his vote. All kidding aside, doesn't anyone have a problem with the matter of fact way the candidates speak about MLK? Throughout our education as children (K-8) their were parts of history that were glossed over, and other parts that the school system focused on. Entering high school you could be dumb as shit when it comes to history, but their are 3 things that are drilled into your brain that are the holy trinity when it comes to education.
1. George Washington was the first President of the United States
2. Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves
3. Martin Luther King Jr. "I have a dream"
Martin Luther King Jr and his message command respect and dignity, something that has been instilled in us since our youth. Yet hearing candidates manipulate those ideas/feelings into a tool for their success is despicable. MLK's message should not be a platform for a campaign, but the foundation that should be in each and everyone of us especially a presidential candidate. I know the US is all not where it should be, but I thought we were all heading and moving toward that direction. Maybe I'm an idealist, but I thought MLK's message was the norm, not a campaign platform.

Another Quiz

2003-11-25T23:54:00.000-05:00

What Irrational Number Are You?

You are e

Of all the irrational numbers, you are the most intense. By nature you are powerful, although sometimes you can spiral out of control. You are good with money; the interest seems to just compound whenever you are near. When someone uses the word "exponential" they are probably talking about you.

In some ways you and φ are a nearly perfect match. Not to mention how attractive φ is. But then, there is the remarkable π...

Your lucky number is approximately 2.71828183

Shiny Lemur

Straif's Blog

Review

2003-11-25T23:05:00.000-05:00

I've recently downloaded a new program this is crazy off the hook.
It's iStopMotion and it's only for Mac. Basically it's a program that enables you, with the use of a digital video camera to create stop motion animation aka claymation. I downloaded the free version, and it limits you to 320*240 resolution for internet use. If you shell out 39.95 you can go up to 720*576 for video, dvd, internet. It's super simple to use. The online tutorial gets you started animating in a matter of minutes. I made my first 10sec animation in about a hour and a half(I was very focused during the process, but you could bang a rough one out in five minutes). I must say it is very gratifying to see your first little animation come to life. I then exported my animation to QuickTime to create a movie. Earlier today I imported that movie into final cut pro and played around with it. I was really happy with the outcome and hopefully I'll be able to send it out for you guys to see. I highly recommend iStopMotion to any interest in the medium. You can get more information on the program by visiting their website iStopMotion , and see examples of work done with the software.

Movie News

2003-11-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

They should change the name of Halle Berry's new movie from Gothika to
Scary As Shit..ika. Dont want to give anything away but
if you like Stir of Echoes, Sixth Senth, Excercist,
or any movie along those lines, you should go see Gothika.

A peculiar phenomenon......

2003-11-22T18:45:00.000-05:00

For those of you who've never come to Miami this may sound weird, but to others its another example of how to much of a good thing is bad.

You'd think that,"Hey, Miami is as Cuban as it gets, so they must have some good as shit Cuban sandwitches." You are dead wrong my friend. They suck bigtime. You wanna know why.....to much meat. I don't know if its a backlash from the lack of meat while Cubans lived in Cuba, but damn almost all the cafeterias put way too much meat in the sandwiches. It doesn't end there though. Media Noches, Hamon y Queso and many other sandwiches are not exempt from this phenomenon. A phenomenon I like to call......Miami Meat Overkill. So your forewarned, and don't come crying to me complaining about the lousy sandwiches, I don't wanna hear it.

BTW.... If I ever start up a cover band It'll be call....Miami Meat Overkill

2003-11-21T18:08:00.000-05:00

After a good month of healing, I'm able to look back at the year the Yankees had. Since we couldn't finish the year with defeating the Marlins, one thing rings true with all Yankee fans. We beat the Bo-Sox in our house, while back at Fenway the grounds crew was painting in the World Series Logo on the field. So whenever I get sad or mad, I think about game 7 of the ALCS and my favorite image of all......

F the Bo-Sox and F Pedro Martinez.......
One last thing. Martinez is a free agent after 2004, maybe the Yanks can pick him up. LOL

2003-11-18T23:08:00.000-05:00

As my first official post, behold the complexities of my personality
reduced to five sentences and a picture of a molecule!!
It'll never fail to amaze me how damn accurate thse things are!!

You are a lipid. You know whom you like and whom
you hate, and you like hanging out with people
who think like you do. People who disagree with
you annoy you to no end. You either love
Abercrombie and Fitch or you despise it, but
there's no middle ground. You're polar.

Which Biological Molecule Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla
---------------------
Later on in the night (after the intial post) the following was brought to my attention by
my sister. The definition of Lipid is as follows according to Merriam Webster Dictionary:

lip*id n: any of various substances (as fats and waxes) that with proteins and
carbohydrates make up the principal structural parts of living cells

So basically I'm a fatty bi-polar bastard. God damn it, these things are accurate!!!
Thanks for bringing this to my attention Sandra.