http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/55/three-women-and-the-sex-industry
Because I'm writing this at work, there are some obvious reasons that there are no pictures to go with this post .
I've done some stupid things in my life. I've done things that I have regretted and that I am not proud of that I will not set out in front of the world right now. I have done some bad things in my life, but I have never been to a strip club.
This might seem like an odd accomplishment, but you have to remember; I grew up in Las Vegas, the home of the strip club. There are hundreds of strip clubs. There are enough strip clubs that it was rare for someone to not know a stripper. Everyone knows at least one. Everyone knows where the nearest strip club(s) are, and it's not rare in any way or form. The tricky part about this is that I have never, and will never, go to a strip club.
This is a sketchy accomplishment because it's one of those things that no one ever talks about but happens all the time in Vegas. Business meetings happen at clubs, friends go for drinks at the clubs, and it's perfectly normal for people to meet up for a night and start at a club and then go out from there. Even for a high school student it was known which clubs were easy to get into because they weren't too strict about ID's as long as you had money to tip, and guys went, but I managed to never go.
Then Alicia introduced me to the idea of The Pole.
The Pole, is a fictional club, that she is going to be the owner of. It's 'classy', has nice food from the kitchen, and is well kept. Alicia has a full business plan, including the outside structure of what the neon sign should look like, to what the inside should be. She's joked about themes on specific days, or anything else. I know that she's just joking, that it will never happen, but slowly, joke after joke, line after line, I have become a co-owner of The Pole, apparently I'm managing the books, Alicia gets the front of the office deal finding new talent and marketing.
I have never, ever been in a strip club, but somewhere, in the history of inside jokes that Alicia and I have with each other, it's a family business that I help fund. The more we talk about it, the more it's a financial investment than anything to do with the industry. It's a job, it's an extra source of income, it's like owning a Mc Donalds. . . just with more real beef. It will most likely never happen, I'd be sort of worried if it did ever actually happen, but just like learning that your co-worker on the weekends works at a club, and you slowly start to get over it and see them as just working a second part time job, owning a club has progressed from being the owner of a strip club, which is wrong and weird, to something that was just a business. The Pole is just an investment, a safe call, a guaranteed return on investment if managed properly.
I have never been to a strip club, but if things go really weird in my life, I just might manage the books of The Pole.
Jan 26, 2015
Dirty Old Men - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/54/sinatra
Sinatra, like a lot of famous people that have become famous for reasons that aren't really quite true to themselves, is famous for all the wrong reasons. I was first exposed to Sinatra because he's a classic. My parents never exposed to him, my friends never listened to him, but he's out there enough in the world in the music of TV and movies, that sooner or later you get to hear Sinatra and you get hooked into his sound.
That's the thing that Sinatra is famous for, his sound. It's something that is one of a kind, something that you can't forget, and something that a lot of people have tried to replicate, but have never quite duplicated. The sound is what grabbed me and dragged me in, and then what got me to stay was the dirty old man that was hiding behind those lyrics.
He wore a suite and tie to every performance. He was clean cut and clean shaven. If you're not paying attention and know what you're doing he looks like the 'good ol' performers' of a lost generation. If you're cautious you'll start playing I Get A Kick Out of You, and not hear what he's actually saying during certain verses (hint in some versions (which I can't find) he has a section all about cocaine not giving him a kick). But then you stop, you hear his lyrics of songs that you thought you once understood, and you start to realize that Sinatra is not the poster boy for being a clean cut, stand up guy, but is in fact, one of history's dirty old men that managed to hide the dirty, ugly part of their lives from the history books.
Sinatra falls in line with Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and other greats that have spotted history with their talent. They're known for being great at what they did, and it's true that what they did was amazing, and it's so amazing that it even overshadows the darker side of the history book where our historical people are rude, crude, racist, sexist, and just generally dirty old men.
The test for finding out if someone can be classified as a dirty old man is this simple rule of thumb - if they did everything that they did in their life, now, what would the reaction be? If Chaucer wrote the way he wrote, with the same polarizing style, with the same progressive approach towards everything and the complete disrespect of everything while doing it, what would the result be? If these greats still did everything the same, but just put it in a different time period, what would the result be? Typically, for a true dirty old man candidate the results typically would end them up in jail, if not be politically shunned from main stream media because of their fringe beliefs.The only tricky part of classifying the dirty old men as dirty old men is that once you see it, and once you understand them as such, trying to convince people around you that what they think are pure and innocent aren't.
Once you see Sinatra as anything besides the blue eyed voice of a generation, it's hard too go back to seeing him as clean cut as before. As soon as you see him as pushing social and racial boundaries, and being quite the womanizer and sexist at the same time, you can't put him back in the nice box he came packaged in.
Sinatra is a voice that I love to hear, and I love to appreciate, and I love it all the more because every time I listen to him I hear the dirty old man singing and I love him for being that dirty, raunchy, perverted old man, but everyone around me only sees him as the clean cut lounge singer that can do no harm.
Sinatra, like a lot of famous people that have become famous for reasons that aren't really quite true to themselves, is famous for all the wrong reasons. I was first exposed to Sinatra because he's a classic. My parents never exposed to him, my friends never listened to him, but he's out there enough in the world in the music of TV and movies, that sooner or later you get to hear Sinatra and you get hooked into his sound.
That's the thing that Sinatra is famous for, his sound. It's something that is one of a kind, something that you can't forget, and something that a lot of people have tried to replicate, but have never quite duplicated. The sound is what grabbed me and dragged me in, and then what got me to stay was the dirty old man that was hiding behind those lyrics.
He wore a suite and tie to every performance. He was clean cut and clean shaven. If you're not paying attention and know what you're doing he looks like the 'good ol' performers' of a lost generation. If you're cautious you'll start playing I Get A Kick Out of You, and not hear what he's actually saying during certain verses (hint in some versions (which I can't find) he has a section all about cocaine not giving him a kick). But then you stop, you hear his lyrics of songs that you thought you once understood, and you start to realize that Sinatra is not the poster boy for being a clean cut, stand up guy, but is in fact, one of history's dirty old men that managed to hide the dirty, ugly part of their lives from the history books.
Sinatra falls in line with Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, Chaucer, Shakespeare, and other greats that have spotted history with their talent. They're known for being great at what they did, and it's true that what they did was amazing, and it's so amazing that it even overshadows the darker side of the history book where our historical people are rude, crude, racist, sexist, and just generally dirty old men.
The test for finding out if someone can be classified as a dirty old man is this simple rule of thumb - if they did everything that they did in their life, now, what would the reaction be? If Chaucer wrote the way he wrote, with the same polarizing style, with the same progressive approach towards everything and the complete disrespect of everything while doing it, what would the result be? If these greats still did everything the same, but just put it in a different time period, what would the result be? Typically, for a true dirty old man candidate the results typically would end them up in jail, if not be politically shunned from main stream media because of their fringe beliefs.The only tricky part of classifying the dirty old men as dirty old men is that once you see it, and once you understand them as such, trying to convince people around you that what they think are pure and innocent aren't.
Sinatra is a voice that I love to hear, and I love to appreciate, and I love it all the more because every time I listen to him I hear the dirty old man singing and I love him for being that dirty, raunchy, perverted old man, but everyone around me only sees him as the clean cut lounge singer that can do no harm.
Jan 22, 2015
The Question That Has Never Been Answered - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/53/valentines-day-97
My parents are anything but attracted to each other.
I'm sort of surprised, honestly, that they're even still married because they have nothing pulling them together. They don't like each other, they're nothing alike, they just annoy each other, and I've never really ever seen them (that I can quickly remember) ever act like a couple that was in love.
My mom is a psychologist, she's hyper educated and has her masters degree. She is outgoing, sporty, adventurous, likes groups of people, likes going out, likes doing things, and comes from a strong Mormon background. My dad is dull, dry, doesn't talk, doesn't like doing most/any of what my mom likes.
Now, I know that opposites attract. Just look at Alicia and I, we're not exactly cut from the same cloth either, we've got tons that's different about us, but we at least have SOME things that are in common with each other that we both love and can do together. My parents on the other hand - nothing.
The tricky part about this, especially after family vacations where they are never on the same page and always look like they're about to kill one another, is to remember that at one time, my mom and dad dated.
Every story that I have ever heard about them dating leaves it to be that they met while my dad was trying to meet my mom's roommate. That's right, he wasn't even going after her first, she was a second place prize. Then while going out, they never talk about their dates much, but the next memorable story is the proposal.
I can't remember the exact setting, I can't remember all of the details, but if I remember right, it wasn't any place really memorable, or with any real meaning for the two of them when he popped the question. My dad asked my mom to marry him, and her response was, "I'll think about it."
That's right, she didn't say yes, she didn't even say no, she said that she would think about the proposal.
That's the sort of couple my parents are. They're never in 'love' with each other, it's something that they have to think about, weigh the options, and then, if it's the least offensive option, then they finally do it. I really do think that the reason that they got married is that at the time my mom didn't think that she could do better than him at that time and her biological clock was ticking and she wanted a family. The more I am around my parents, and the more I hear the story (however rarely it is told) the less I think that they were never in that 'head over heels' love. They liked each other, and they were friendly, but love, had little to do with the arrangement.
Everything about my parents run down that line. The only thing that they sort of kind of have in common is that they both liked ballroom dancing at college (don't ask, it's a weird BYU thing that still happens, I don't get it either). Everything else, one of them seems to always be dragging the other behind them (typically my mom dragging my dad, rarely if ever, is it the other way around).
This was supposed to be about how my parents fell in love and the love that was between them, but in all honesty, I don't know how in the world that ever happened, or if it ever happened.
My parents are anything but attracted to each other.
I'm sort of surprised, honestly, that they're even still married because they have nothing pulling them together. They don't like each other, they're nothing alike, they just annoy each other, and I've never really ever seen them (that I can quickly remember) ever act like a couple that was in love.
My mom is a psychologist, she's hyper educated and has her masters degree. She is outgoing, sporty, adventurous, likes groups of people, likes going out, likes doing things, and comes from a strong Mormon background. My dad is dull, dry, doesn't talk, doesn't like doing most/any of what my mom likes.
Now, I know that opposites attract. Just look at Alicia and I, we're not exactly cut from the same cloth either, we've got tons that's different about us, but we at least have SOME things that are in common with each other that we both love and can do together. My parents on the other hand - nothing.
The tricky part about this, especially after family vacations where they are never on the same page and always look like they're about to kill one another, is to remember that at one time, my mom and dad dated.
Every story that I have ever heard about them dating leaves it to be that they met while my dad was trying to meet my mom's roommate. That's right, he wasn't even going after her first, she was a second place prize. Then while going out, they never talk about their dates much, but the next memorable story is the proposal.
I can't remember the exact setting, I can't remember all of the details, but if I remember right, it wasn't any place really memorable, or with any real meaning for the two of them when he popped the question. My dad asked my mom to marry him, and her response was, "I'll think about it."
That's right, she didn't say yes, she didn't even say no, she said that she would think about the proposal.
That's the sort of couple my parents are. They're never in 'love' with each other, it's something that they have to think about, weigh the options, and then, if it's the least offensive option, then they finally do it. I really do think that the reason that they got married is that at the time my mom didn't think that she could do better than him at that time and her biological clock was ticking and she wanted a family. The more I am around my parents, and the more I hear the story (however rarely it is told) the less I think that they were never in that 'head over heels' love. They liked each other, and they were friendly, but love, had little to do with the arrangement.
Everything about my parents run down that line. The only thing that they sort of kind of have in common is that they both liked ballroom dancing at college (don't ask, it's a weird BYU thing that still happens, I don't get it either). Everything else, one of them seems to always be dragging the other behind them (typically my mom dragging my dad, rarely if ever, is it the other way around).
This was supposed to be about how my parents fell in love and the love that was between them, but in all honesty, I don't know how in the world that ever happened, or if it ever happened.
Embrace The Weird
It's official, I'm a big weirdo now.
I just got done teaching a class about the revision process in writing, and managed to sneak in the repentance process from church into the whole deal. That's right, I taught about a writing topic, and I was the weirdo teacher that managed to tie it together with revision, how that you make mistakes, realize that you made them, feel sorry for doing them, change what you did so you can correct them, and then finally never make that mistake ever again.
It's the revision/repentance process. . . and I'm the weirdo teacher that managed to fit it into his course for English 101.
I just got done teaching a class about the revision process in writing, and managed to sneak in the repentance process from church into the whole deal. That's right, I taught about a writing topic, and I was the weirdo teacher that managed to tie it together with revision, how that you make mistakes, realize that you made them, feel sorry for doing them, change what you did so you can correct them, and then finally never make that mistake ever again.
It's the revision/repentance process. . . and I'm the weirdo teacher that managed to fit it into his course for English 101.
Jan 21, 2015
Failing Students
It's an odd thing when you're only a week and a half into a semester and there are already students who are failing your class.
Everything that has happened in the class up to this point is a pass/fail. If you even tried to look like you were working you got full credit. It is to the point that thy don't even have to be writing the right things, or the right amount, just as long as they are writing, and they're getting full credit. The only way that someone is failing my class is if they simply do not turn anything in, and that's where people are at.
How in the world are you failing a class where as long as you try you're passing?
Everything that has happened in the class up to this point is a pass/fail. If you even tried to look like you were working you got full credit. It is to the point that thy don't even have to be writing the right things, or the right amount, just as long as they are writing, and they're getting full credit. The only way that someone is failing my class is if they simply do not turn anything in, and that's where people are at.
How in the world are you failing a class where as long as you try you're passing?
Jan 20, 2015
We Are All Bonkers - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/52/edge-of-sanity
Mental health is a tricky line to stumble on, and it's one of those things that while growing up, I never questioned, but realize that in the back of everything, my sanity was being tracked and understood by my mother.
My mother works the impossible job of being a grade school psychologist. It is her job to take kids, test them, and see wither or not they are normal, or if there is something more to their head that is banging around upstairs that requires something more. As a kid, all I knew was that she tested kids. I thought they were like normal tests, they just gave you a grade, told you how smart you were, or anything else that you could tell from a test. It was just tests, and she gave them all the time. I even knew what types of tests they were because she gave them to me first when she got a new one.
Wait a second. . .
Yeah, it took me far too long to see that one.
I'm not even going to tell you when it finally sunk in the excuse that my mom was 'just practicing' with me for the students that she would have to work with later in the school year.
Yeah, I believe that one.
That doesn't stop there. My mom, without hesitation would not keep work at work. All while growing up, especially when middle school and high school were kicking into full gear and I was attempting to have some resemblance of a social life, I quickly learned to never bring a friend home. The reason, as soon as my mom would see a person in my life, a stand partner, a friend, or even a random person that went to my school, she would start the diagnostics by looking at them, and then asking me a dozen or so questions once they were out of earshot (because that would be mean if they heard).
People around me were diagnosed, classified, and given their mental health updates without any regard to further personal history. It came clear to me that everyone is bonkers. Everyone has something wrong with them. Everyone, if you look hard enough, is crazy. People become paranoid, people think in voices, people have obsessions and compulsions that they have to follow, and people are harmful to themselves. Everyone is crazy. Everyone has something wrong with them, the tricky part is when you go past the light grey areas that most people live in where you're only sort of insane, and you dive headfirst into the murky greys of clinical sanity.
The one thing that scares me to this day is my own sanity. I've never had a mental break. I've never had anything go drastically wrong with me, but it's that self diagnostic that really makes me worry. I don't know what is keeping it all together, but I'm so afraid that one day everything is just going to snap and I won't be the same person I am right now. I don't know what it is, and I don't know what it would take to get there, but part of me is seriously worried about the circumstance that would pop up and throw my brain in a blender and make me need some serious medication to be anything close to normal.
Mental health is a tricky line to stumble on, and it's one of those things that while growing up, I never questioned, but realize that in the back of everything, my sanity was being tracked and understood by my mother.
My mother works the impossible job of being a grade school psychologist. It is her job to take kids, test them, and see wither or not they are normal, or if there is something more to their head that is banging around upstairs that requires something more. As a kid, all I knew was that she tested kids. I thought they were like normal tests, they just gave you a grade, told you how smart you were, or anything else that you could tell from a test. It was just tests, and she gave them all the time. I even knew what types of tests they were because she gave them to me first when she got a new one.
Wait a second. . .
Yeah, it took me far too long to see that one.
I'm not even going to tell you when it finally sunk in the excuse that my mom was 'just practicing' with me for the students that she would have to work with later in the school year.
Yeah, I believe that one.
That doesn't stop there. My mom, without hesitation would not keep work at work. All while growing up, especially when middle school and high school were kicking into full gear and I was attempting to have some resemblance of a social life, I quickly learned to never bring a friend home. The reason, as soon as my mom would see a person in my life, a stand partner, a friend, or even a random person that went to my school, she would start the diagnostics by looking at them, and then asking me a dozen or so questions once they were out of earshot (because that would be mean if they heard).
People around me were diagnosed, classified, and given their mental health updates without any regard to further personal history. It came clear to me that everyone is bonkers. Everyone has something wrong with them. Everyone, if you look hard enough, is crazy. People become paranoid, people think in voices, people have obsessions and compulsions that they have to follow, and people are harmful to themselves. Everyone is crazy. Everyone has something wrong with them, the tricky part is when you go past the light grey areas that most people live in where you're only sort of insane, and you dive headfirst into the murky greys of clinical sanity.
The one thing that scares me to this day is my own sanity. I've never had a mental break. I've never had anything go drastically wrong with me, but it's that self diagnostic that really makes me worry. I don't know what is keeping it all together, but I'm so afraid that one day everything is just going to snap and I won't be the same person I am right now. I don't know what it is, and I don't know what it would take to get there, but part of me is seriously worried about the circumstance that would pop up and throw my brain in a blender and make me need some serious medication to be anything close to normal.
Dead Deer - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/51/animals-die-people-ponder
I don't know what it is about my life, but for some reason, dead deer love to wind up in my life. I didn't know about this attraction that dead deer have to me, until I came up to Utah, where there are actually deer. I'm pretty sure that had I grown up in Utah, or in any state that had a nearby deer population that I would have found out about this problem much earlier on in my life, however this is something that I unfortunately did not know about until it was too late and I was already living here.
Dead deer love me, and they love being around me.
I'm never the one that actually does the killing, but I'm the one that's on the scene ready to go, when you're least expecting it, walking around in the morning, bam, dead deer on your lawn.
I didn't start noticing the pattern until it started happening regularly, and I had to deal with dead deer fairly frequently. This all started when I was working grounds crew at BYU. Each morning we would take our 5 gallon buckets and start 'trashing' the fields, which mean going through each of the fields that we were in charge of taking care of, an removing any trash that had been left behind from the night before. Of course there was the normal trash that you would expect to see on a large field that intramural sports had been playing on the night before, but then the deer started.
It started on the north intramural field, on the outside of the fence one morning was a dead deer. I got the honor of calling up the police and getting animal control to remove the carcass from the field, and then dead deer just started popping up from there. Even last week when I had to rush home from work to pick up Addie in time, next to the train tracks on the way home as I walked home - dead deer.
With animals dying and dead animals I used to take it to mean something. Goldfish would die, I'd be sad. Then it progressed from there, thinking about my dead dogs (either one of them, but mainly Shadow) still makes me a little sad, and you'd think that it'd go one step further and go into all of the dead deer that I've stumbled into, but it's getting to the point where I'm getting annoyed by them.
I see a dead deer and my first response is, 'great? Another one!? I have to deal with THIS again?' I get frustrated that the animal chose that spot to die, or that spot to run out in the road and get slammed by an other car. Even live deer I see and I think to myself, 'don't worry buddy, I'll see you when your heart stops beating, you know where I live, just pick a good spot in my front yard when you do.'
I don't know what it is about my life, but for some reason, dead deer love to wind up in my life. I didn't know about this attraction that dead deer have to me, until I came up to Utah, where there are actually deer. I'm pretty sure that had I grown up in Utah, or in any state that had a nearby deer population that I would have found out about this problem much earlier on in my life, however this is something that I unfortunately did not know about until it was too late and I was already living here.
Dead deer love me, and they love being around me.
I'm never the one that actually does the killing, but I'm the one that's on the scene ready to go, when you're least expecting it, walking around in the morning, bam, dead deer on your lawn.
I didn't start noticing the pattern until it started happening regularly, and I had to deal with dead deer fairly frequently. This all started when I was working grounds crew at BYU. Each morning we would take our 5 gallon buckets and start 'trashing' the fields, which mean going through each of the fields that we were in charge of taking care of, an removing any trash that had been left behind from the night before. Of course there was the normal trash that you would expect to see on a large field that intramural sports had been playing on the night before, but then the deer started.
It started on the north intramural field, on the outside of the fence one morning was a dead deer. I got the honor of calling up the police and getting animal control to remove the carcass from the field, and then dead deer just started popping up from there. Even last week when I had to rush home from work to pick up Addie in time, next to the train tracks on the way home as I walked home - dead deer.
With animals dying and dead animals I used to take it to mean something. Goldfish would die, I'd be sad. Then it progressed from there, thinking about my dead dogs (either one of them, but mainly Shadow) still makes me a little sad, and you'd think that it'd go one step further and go into all of the dead deer that I've stumbled into, but it's getting to the point where I'm getting annoyed by them.
I see a dead deer and my first response is, 'great? Another one!? I have to deal with THIS again?' I get frustrated that the animal chose that spot to die, or that spot to run out in the road and get slammed by an other car. Even live deer I see and I think to myself, 'don't worry buddy, I'll see you when your heart stops beating, you know where I live, just pick a good spot in my front yard when you do.'
Repetition Isn't Funny - The Games I've Played
I started to do endgame stuff for Deadpool recently, and decided at the same time that I was done with the game and didn't want to deal with it any more. You see there's a small problem when dealing with Deadpool, the first time, and even the second time, it's funny, cutting, and a good game to play through. Yes, it's a good game to play through, IF you like Deadpool to start out with.
The problem comes when you get into grinding out points to level up, and do anything other than the story for the first time, because it becomes a grind. The witty cut-scenes are no longer witty because you have to see them multiple times. The quick quips and slap stick humor becomes redundant and dull. Repetition turns the game from a great addition to the Deadpool cannon and is a must have to any Deadpool fan, to something that is anything but fun.
Think of it this way. Let's say your favorite comedian is coming to town for a week, and for some stupid reason you decide to spend money on all seven of their shows, one for each night. On the first night, the comedian is fresh, witty, funny, with great timing and something that you look forward to hearing.
The second night, the comedian does the EXACT same routine. Same order of jokes, same rhythm, same material, and everyone around you thinks that they are hilarious, while you're just starting to wonder about how great the comedian's memory is that they just managed to do an hour and a half monologue without missing a single thing.
Then comes the third night. Same set, same routine, same material, same jokes, and you are now borderline done with what is going on. You get it, there are some moments that are still funny-ish to you, but to be honest, you're starting to get so bored with it, that you want to pull out your phone to check Facebook.
By the end of the week, going into the 7th show, you're telling the jokes to the people in the seats around you before the comedian, and you are pretty sure that you could do the entire routine from memory as well.
That's how this game is. At first playthrough, it's funny and interesting and there's something for you to enjoy, but then when things get difficult and you have to start trying and you start dying you start to see some cut scenes multiple times. The really bad part about this? Some of those cut scenes are skippable, which is a good thing because it gets a little dull the 10th time you die having to hear the same junk from Deadpool about how awesome he thinks he is. The bad part about this? There are some things that you can not skip. There are set lines that you have to sit through, and there are set scenes that you can do nothing about besides looking through for the eleventh time praying that you don't die another time so that you don't have to go through the cut scene yet again.
For those that like Deadpool to start out with, this game is for you. It's exactly what you'd expect out of a Deadpool game. With that being said, if you are not a Deadpool fan, this game is not going to convince you because this game is exactly what you would expect from a Deadpool game. If I was to look at it from a purely gamer point of view and start talking about the gameplay, it's a basic game. There's nothing about this game that in the gameplay sets it apart from any other action game. You button mash opponents with light and heavy strikes, unlock new tools to make things splatter in new ways, and kill things until they tell you to stop killing. It's nothing too novel. The interesting part that would get me to tell you to play this game is that IF you are a Deadpool fan, and you already know that you sort of like his humor, is that the writing and story behind the gameplay is funny and interesting. It's not funny enough to get you past a second or third playthrough, but it's at least interesting enough tat you want to keep playing the first time around to see what happens next and what wild and crazy shenanigans will happen when you're least expecting it.
Jan 15, 2015
It's TOTALLY official now
Like, totally.
With classes behind me and working on things that I thought that I never would, like trying to figure out my course syllabus and what is going on with that mess of paper, I am going to consider myself officially a professor.
Yay!
How do I put this politely without offending a potential student that runs into this class?
Hmmm, this is going to be a tricky one.
The best way I can put it, is that through starting this class it has shocked me at the low level of English education that some students have while yet still being able to graduate from high school. I'm giving each of my classes, and ENTIRE hour (if they want it) to write on the topic of literacy within any genre. It can be about literacy in the work place, within music, within whatever you want to think about, and they just have to write about how they didn't know something before, but through their experiences they were able to learn the lingo and vocabulary of the thing and became literate in that topic.
It's not a hard paper to write. You can write it about ANYTHING. I could write it about writing this stupid blog, and how there is an entrance literacy that happens with this community and the tools that are used on this website. Trying to figure out what everything is called, how to call it the right thing, and how to use those terms int eh right place takes a lot of work and I had to become literate in that. And I have students that have typed maybe 50 words, and are just staring at their screen like it's going to murder them.
COME ON PEOPLE! It's not the end of the world, just sit down and write! Anything! Something! Just get it down on paper and get some thoughts out there about how your lie is different now than it was before. That's all it means by literacy in this. It's going super broad, which means that it's super easy! Then I tell them that tey should be reading and writing outside of class for 'fun' so that they can really start rocking the socks off of everything, and they just look at me like I'm absolutely insane.
This is going to be an interesting trip.
With classes behind me and working on things that I thought that I never would, like trying to figure out my course syllabus and what is going on with that mess of paper, I am going to consider myself officially a professor.
Yay!
How do I put this politely without offending a potential student that runs into this class?
Hmmm, this is going to be a tricky one.
The best way I can put it, is that through starting this class it has shocked me at the low level of English education that some students have while yet still being able to graduate from high school. I'm giving each of my classes, and ENTIRE hour (if they want it) to write on the topic of literacy within any genre. It can be about literacy in the work place, within music, within whatever you want to think about, and they just have to write about how they didn't know something before, but through their experiences they were able to learn the lingo and vocabulary of the thing and became literate in that topic.
It's not a hard paper to write. You can write it about ANYTHING. I could write it about writing this stupid blog, and how there is an entrance literacy that happens with this community and the tools that are used on this website. Trying to figure out what everything is called, how to call it the right thing, and how to use those terms int eh right place takes a lot of work and I had to become literate in that. And I have students that have typed maybe 50 words, and are just staring at their screen like it's going to murder them.
COME ON PEOPLE! It's not the end of the world, just sit down and write! Anything! Something! Just get it down on paper and get some thoughts out there about how your lie is different now than it was before. That's all it means by literacy in this. It's going super broad, which means that it's super easy! Then I tell them that tey should be reading and writing outside of class for 'fun' so that they can really start rocking the socks off of everything, and they just look at me like I'm absolutely insane.
This is going to be an interesting trip.
Jan 13, 2015
Hey there!
I don't know what in the world you people were searching to find yourself here seeing as I have no official followers, no one comments, and who knows why half of you are even stalking me because you have officially gone well over the 'people I know that might run into this' category, in both number and locations.
Either way, hello to the Canadian who just started scrolling through this jumble of mess that I call my writings.
Procrastinate EVERYTHING
I totally blame this one on Addison getting sick. I had good intentions, I had planned on spending most of Monday, and at least a major portion of today trying to figure out my first days of class, prepping them, making sure everything looked right, and then. . . she got sick. . . and I had to stay home with her.
I've spent more time watching Sesame Street and Super Why than anything dealing with the courses that I'm supposed to be teaching tomorrow, and I'm ready for the train wreck of the century.
At least my car got "fixed" - more like ghetto rigged, but whatever, it works. Now, in the next 10 hours, I just need to figure out what I'm doing in my classes, find my wallet, pray that my car works, and then teach two classes without falling on my face in front of 40 students.
Also, sorry, about not putting pictures in the previous My American Life, I was at work and typing fast, so I didn't exactly have tons of time to go image hunting through google to find things just right. Plus, I was trying to look like I was actually working, while not working, so there was that too. Apparently they frown on the idea of screwing around while they're paying you.
Jan 9, 2015
Driving Makes Me Sleepy - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/50/shoulda-been-dead
I've never been held at gunpoint, I've never thought that someone else should have killed me, but there is a serious problem that I have had my entire life, driving in a car, either as the driver or the passenger, makes me SUPER sleepy.
I don't know what it is, the noise, the vibrations, the boring landscapes that I have to drive through or whatever else is happening, but if I get in a car at the wrong point in time and I'm stuck in it for too long, I get SERIOUSLY sleepy.
This has made a few times where I look back and honestly, I should have been dead.
The first was in high school, my senior year of high school and I had my truck. Every week I would drive out to the middle of no where N. Las Vegas to Mr. Straub's house for cello lesson with him. The only problem with that was that at the time I was also doing a dozen and a half different activities, getting almost no sleep, napping during some of my classes, and I was always hanging on by a thread. Multiple times while driving out to N. Las Vegas either on the 15 or 215 I would blink for a little bit longer than it should have been.
I can't explain how scary it is to realize that you fell asleep and the only thing that kept you from wrecking the car that you're driving at 70+ mph was pure, dumb, luck.
The worst was when I was in the car with Alicia and we were driving back from Las Vegas. I have done that trip countless times, so it is horribly boring. I can do that trip almost in my dreams because I've been down it so many times, and that night, I did try to do it in my dreams.
I woke up to Alicia screaming at me, my tires bumping against the side of the road on the rumble strip, and headed towards the median barrier in a mountain pass.
My body went from being nice and comfortable to just about dying in a matter of seconds. It went to feeling comfortable behind the wheel of a car, to my wife yelling at me, seeing a concrete barrier wall coming straight towards me, and my heart jumping out of my chest.
I don't know how I'm still alive, and in all honest, I have no understanding of how I am still alive. I wish I could say more about it, or make it any better descriptions about the night, but the situation was that simple, I fell asleep at the wheel, almost ran into a concrete wall, and the only thing that kept me alive was a yell from my wife.
I've never been held at gunpoint, I've never thought that someone else should have killed me, but there is a serious problem that I have had my entire life, driving in a car, either as the driver or the passenger, makes me SUPER sleepy.
I don't know what it is, the noise, the vibrations, the boring landscapes that I have to drive through or whatever else is happening, but if I get in a car at the wrong point in time and I'm stuck in it for too long, I get SERIOUSLY sleepy.
This has made a few times where I look back and honestly, I should have been dead.
The first was in high school, my senior year of high school and I had my truck. Every week I would drive out to the middle of no where N. Las Vegas to Mr. Straub's house for cello lesson with him. The only problem with that was that at the time I was also doing a dozen and a half different activities, getting almost no sleep, napping during some of my classes, and I was always hanging on by a thread. Multiple times while driving out to N. Las Vegas either on the 15 or 215 I would blink for a little bit longer than it should have been.
I can't explain how scary it is to realize that you fell asleep and the only thing that kept you from wrecking the car that you're driving at 70+ mph was pure, dumb, luck.
The worst was when I was in the car with Alicia and we were driving back from Las Vegas. I have done that trip countless times, so it is horribly boring. I can do that trip almost in my dreams because I've been down it so many times, and that night, I did try to do it in my dreams.
I woke up to Alicia screaming at me, my tires bumping against the side of the road on the rumble strip, and headed towards the median barrier in a mountain pass.
My body went from being nice and comfortable to just about dying in a matter of seconds. It went to feeling comfortable behind the wheel of a car, to my wife yelling at me, seeing a concrete barrier wall coming straight towards me, and my heart jumping out of my chest.
I don't know how I'm still alive, and in all honest, I have no understanding of how I am still alive. I wish I could say more about it, or make it any better descriptions about the night, but the situation was that simple, I fell asleep at the wheel, almost ran into a concrete wall, and the only thing that kept me alive was a yell from my wife.
No Animals!
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/49/animals
Come on This American Life, you're just getting sloppy now. This is the same program that was aired earlier before they had national syndication, so I'm not going to write a new one.
Come on This American Life, you're just getting sloppy now. This is the same program that was aired earlier before they had national syndication, so I'm not going to write a new one.
Terri - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/48/justice
My wife is adopted by her biological grandmother. When we refer to my mother in law, or Alicia's mom, we're never refer to her biological mother that way, that's always her biological grandmother. My biological mother in law is always referred to as Terri.
Always.
She's never mom, never mother, never grandma, and never anything besides Terri.
The reason behind this is that ever since I've ever known Alicia, Terri has been in jail. She's a career criminal. Ever since forever she has been in jail, and ever since, forever although she's not a part of Alicia's life, she is.
You see, although we never talk about her, never mention her, and never ever do anything related to her. The problem comes in a few ways. First, when she was younger she had to visit Terri in prison, which is always great for a child meeting their parent in jail. Second, because Terri is Terri, and crazy, we're not quite sure who biologically Alicia's father is. Third up, from jail, Terri likes to bug Alicia's mom, which is always Terri trying to say that she's changed and that life is differ. . . . just send her some money.
Terri is one of those things in our relationship that we never talk about, but is always hanging there, in the background, ready to sneak out and attack at any time without mentioning. Terri can pop out when you least expect her for getting off on good behavior, giving a call to Alicia's mom for no reason, or whatever else. The tricky part about Terri is that I want to meet her. I have never seen her, I don't know which prison she is in, but I just want to meet the lady and figure out what in the world her problem is. I don't know what I would say to her, I don't know what I would ever do if I saw her, I just want to see her, hear her voice, and maybe say hello to her from a distance just so I can at least say that I've had contact with the tainted human that is Terri.
Finally comes the problem that is the trickiest part about the entire deal - it's assumed and under strict rules, that Addison and Terri are to never know about each other.
Terri is to never have any knowledge of Addison, her biological grand daughter. And Addison is to never, ever, EVER even know that Terri even exists. I get the intentions of it, and I understand the basis. Terri is in no way shape or form Alicia's mom, and so giving her the title of grandma is insulting because she wasn't even a mom, so she has no reason to be the grandma. But, I'm super duper afraid of the fact when Addison starts to get older and starts to try to find out more about her family, and I won't know how to answer. When she finds out about Alicia being adopted, what do I say? Where do I go with it? How can I even talk about Terri to Addison, when I haven't even seen a picture of her before?
I understand the logistics of the reason that we're cutting Terri out of the picture. She's a bad influence, she's made poor choices in her life, and even while pregnant with Alicia was making bad choices with her consumption of drugs and what not. Terri is the reason (or at least part of the reason) that Alicia has commitment issues and thinks that people will abandon her. Just imagine what that has to do to a child knowing that their parent didn't want them and didn't know how to treat them correctly. It sticks with them, and even though Alicia is an adult now and knows better, she's stuck with that knowledge so I'm okay with Terri taking a back seat for the actions that she chose to follow in her life. I just wonder how good that will go later on when Addison starts asking questions.
My wife is adopted by her biological grandmother. When we refer to my mother in law, or Alicia's mom, we're never refer to her biological mother that way, that's always her biological grandmother. My biological mother in law is always referred to as Terri.
Always.
She's never mom, never mother, never grandma, and never anything besides Terri.
The reason behind this is that ever since I've ever known Alicia, Terri has been in jail. She's a career criminal. Ever since forever she has been in jail, and ever since, forever although she's not a part of Alicia's life, she is.
You see, although we never talk about her, never mention her, and never ever do anything related to her. The problem comes in a few ways. First, when she was younger she had to visit Terri in prison, which is always great for a child meeting their parent in jail. Second, because Terri is Terri, and crazy, we're not quite sure who biologically Alicia's father is. Third up, from jail, Terri likes to bug Alicia's mom, which is always Terri trying to say that she's changed and that life is differ. . . . just send her some money.
Terri is one of those things in our relationship that we never talk about, but is always hanging there, in the background, ready to sneak out and attack at any time without mentioning. Terri can pop out when you least expect her for getting off on good behavior, giving a call to Alicia's mom for no reason, or whatever else. The tricky part about Terri is that I want to meet her. I have never seen her, I don't know which prison she is in, but I just want to meet the lady and figure out what in the world her problem is. I don't know what I would say to her, I don't know what I would ever do if I saw her, I just want to see her, hear her voice, and maybe say hello to her from a distance just so I can at least say that I've had contact with the tainted human that is Terri.
Finally comes the problem that is the trickiest part about the entire deal - it's assumed and under strict rules, that Addison and Terri are to never know about each other.
Terri is to never have any knowledge of Addison, her biological grand daughter. And Addison is to never, ever, EVER even know that Terri even exists. I get the intentions of it, and I understand the basis. Terri is in no way shape or form Alicia's mom, and so giving her the title of grandma is insulting because she wasn't even a mom, so she has no reason to be the grandma. But, I'm super duper afraid of the fact when Addison starts to get older and starts to try to find out more about her family, and I won't know how to answer. When she finds out about Alicia being adopted, what do I say? Where do I go with it? How can I even talk about Terri to Addison, when I haven't even seen a picture of her before?
I understand the logistics of the reason that we're cutting Terri out of the picture. She's a bad influence, she's made poor choices in her life, and even while pregnant with Alicia was making bad choices with her consumption of drugs and what not. Terri is the reason (or at least part of the reason) that Alicia has commitment issues and thinks that people will abandon her. Just imagine what that has to do to a child knowing that their parent didn't want them and didn't know how to treat them correctly. It sticks with them, and even though Alicia is an adult now and knows better, she's stuck with that knowledge so I'm okay with Terri taking a back seat for the actions that she chose to follow in her life. I just wonder how good that will go later on when Addison starts asking questions.
Jan 7, 2015
Happy New Year!
It's 1997!
Finally done with This American Life 1996, now it's time for 1997 stuff!
It's a good day today, 300 posts, and getting to 1997 in the same day! Pretty productive day at work today, if you ask me.
It's a good day today, 300 posts, and getting to 1997 in the same day! Pretty productive day at work today, if you ask me.
Merry Christmas - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/47/christmas-and-commerce
Having just spent Christmas with my family, I'm really starting to see the concept that Christmas brings people out of who they are and really shows people for who they are. I agree with the concept that it's the same setting, the same props, the same amount of time, and the same expectations to everyone in the world that celebrates it, but depending on the people involved in the holiday they're what change everything. Christmas is a time to see just who people are for who they are, and looking at my family over the holiday, it's a world of hurt to look and see what people are for how they acted on the holiday around the family. Here's a good look at who people were with how they acted.
My dad -
We'd return back from whatever we were doing, and then he would head off to the sofa, and 'fall asleep'. He'd close his eyes, and that's about it. He was officially 'asleep' and didn't want to deal with everyone else. I kid you not. There would be times that all of the family would be busy playing and talking together, with a noise of a train going on around him, and he would try to fake sleep his way through the event so that he didn't have to do anything. The part about this that would kill me is that we'd be doing something totally like that situation, where we'd be all working on one thing or split up doing different things, and he'd be 'asleep' when my mom would just turn around and ask him a question and break the illusion of sleeping, and then he'd just go 'back to sleep' after he was done answering her question. He was there. . . but only physically. Any real conversation or interaction with him was missing, and any time that he did have down time he was 'sleeping'.
Take from that what you will.
My mom -
Can't quite find a picture for this one, but the entire Christmas she had to do everything and try to make it the best ever, and no one was on board with it. She'd think that she had to help do everything, and make everything as perfect as possible, but then in the long run it would never work out as well as she wanted, and ultimately it was the flops and the backup plans that were more memorable than the hyper planned, hyper assisted moments from her. She really did try to make the perfect life for everyone, but we were all more entertained and can remember things better that were unplanned and had none of her finger prints on them. She'd spend lots of money for the perfect moment that would flop and then we'd all remember the free time that cost nothing over that.
Katie -
Lost is the word of choice with her. Even with GPS, even with following people, even with the schedule and plan that was hanging on the wall, she always seemed just a few steps behind what was supposed to be happening and was just lost. She was the one that seemed like she knew what was going on, and then was one straw away from going insane and going bonkers. She was walking on that borderline between happy and crazy and angry all at the same time, and managed to do it with four kids running around her. She was also the one that made plans to go around certain things just to save a few bucks because she didn't want to spend money.
Gwen -
Throughout the entire thing, she was the one that always seemed to be on top of things and always doing the right thing at the right time. She was the perfect first daughter. She was able to manage her kids without any problems, she never stepped on any toes, everything went well for her even when things were going wrong. She seemingly never got frazzled, never had to go to plan B, and was the star of the room at all times. When everything else was going down hill, you knew that you could just follow Gwen around and watch as she dodged all of the pot holes and traps that there could possibly be, and she'd do it all while curled up on a couch partially reading a hyper educated book that was above everyone's head.
I can only wonder what the holiday says about me in the way I made it through the season. Luckily I can't see the forest through the trees, so I'm just going to let that mystery stay where it is, and know that they most likely saw who I was through my actions over the break.
Having just spent Christmas with my family, I'm really starting to see the concept that Christmas brings people out of who they are and really shows people for who they are. I agree with the concept that it's the same setting, the same props, the same amount of time, and the same expectations to everyone in the world that celebrates it, but depending on the people involved in the holiday they're what change everything. Christmas is a time to see just who people are for who they are, and looking at my family over the holiday, it's a world of hurt to look and see what people are for how they acted on the holiday around the family. Here's a good look at who people were with how they acted.
My dad -
Take from that what you will.
My mom -
Can't quite find a picture for this one, but the entire Christmas she had to do everything and try to make it the best ever, and no one was on board with it. She'd think that she had to help do everything, and make everything as perfect as possible, but then in the long run it would never work out as well as she wanted, and ultimately it was the flops and the backup plans that were more memorable than the hyper planned, hyper assisted moments from her. She really did try to make the perfect life for everyone, but we were all more entertained and can remember things better that were unplanned and had none of her finger prints on them. She'd spend lots of money for the perfect moment that would flop and then we'd all remember the free time that cost nothing over that.
Katie -
Lost is the word of choice with her. Even with GPS, even with following people, even with the schedule and plan that was hanging on the wall, she always seemed just a few steps behind what was supposed to be happening and was just lost. She was the one that seemed like she knew what was going on, and then was one straw away from going insane and going bonkers. She was walking on that borderline between happy and crazy and angry all at the same time, and managed to do it with four kids running around her. She was also the one that made plans to go around certain things just to save a few bucks because she didn't want to spend money.
Gwen -
Throughout the entire thing, she was the one that always seemed to be on top of things and always doing the right thing at the right time. She was the perfect first daughter. She was able to manage her kids without any problems, she never stepped on any toes, everything went well for her even when things were going wrong. She seemingly never got frazzled, never had to go to plan B, and was the star of the room at all times. When everything else was going down hill, you knew that you could just follow Gwen around and watch as she dodged all of the pot holes and traps that there could possibly be, and she'd do it all while curled up on a couch partially reading a hyper educated book that was above everyone's head.
I can only wonder what the holiday says about me in the way I made it through the season. Luckily I can't see the forest through the trees, so I'm just going to let that mystery stay where it is, and know that they most likely saw who I was through my actions over the break.
Why Do You Talk Like That? - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/46/sissies
I've talked about this before, but my high school experience wasn't full of bullying or getting picked on, and I was a prime target to be picked on by any standards, but somehow I dodged the bullet. One thing that always stuck out though, that I'm supprised more people didn't latch on to, is the pure fact that I'm not the 'manly man.'
I'm rod thin, I don't like fixing cars, I cook, do laundry, I know how to quilt, I play the cello, and by just about every standard there is, I am a big ol' sissy.I'm not a masculine man. I don't work out, I don't hunt, I don't have large muscles, I don't fit into that world, it's just not me and I have no desire to change it.
The moment that I noticed this was when I was on the swim team. It didn't come up in the bullying section, because the person that said it was being honest and curious. He wasn't be rude, it wasn't being anything that I would even consider being mean, and he was my friend so I don't hink that he would ever do anything like that in his life. But one day, after practice while we were on the bus, he looked over to me, and asked me, honestly, "Adam, why do you talk like that?"
I had no clue what was going on, because I had never sat down and analyzed the way that I talked and suddenly became super self concious about the way that my voice sounded, the way that I used words, and the sentences that I put together. After asking him what he meant by it, he explained that I didn't talk "like a guy" (whatever that's supposed to mean) and he just wanted to know if I was doing it because of some reason.
I had to explain to him that it was just who I was and how I talked. I hadn't thought about it and said that I was going to talk in that specific way, I was just doing what I had always done naturally. It wasn't a show, it wasn't a mask that I was wearing just because I wanted to act a particular way, it was me. I explained it to him that I talk the way I talk, act the way I act, because that's me. I'm not hiding anything, I'm not trying to add anything to the mix, I'm just being me, and me isn't a hyper masculine lumberjack.
There's a few other great stories about high school into this realm of social expectations and my family, but I'm hoping that I get to use them for a later date in a different segment. I don't want to ruin all of my stories in one go, I've still got 500+ episodes to write for, but just for future reference we'll leave this reminder for later segments - Halloween with black nails, gender bender day.
Oh, it gets good.
I've talked about this before, but my high school experience wasn't full of bullying or getting picked on, and I was a prime target to be picked on by any standards, but somehow I dodged the bullet. One thing that always stuck out though, that I'm supprised more people didn't latch on to, is the pure fact that I'm not the 'manly man.'
I'm rod thin, I don't like fixing cars, I cook, do laundry, I know how to quilt, I play the cello, and by just about every standard there is, I am a big ol' sissy.I'm not a masculine man. I don't work out, I don't hunt, I don't have large muscles, I don't fit into that world, it's just not me and I have no desire to change it.
The moment that I noticed this was when I was on the swim team. It didn't come up in the bullying section, because the person that said it was being honest and curious. He wasn't be rude, it wasn't being anything that I would even consider being mean, and he was my friend so I don't hink that he would ever do anything like that in his life. But one day, after practice while we were on the bus, he looked over to me, and asked me, honestly, "Adam, why do you talk like that?"
I had no clue what was going on, because I had never sat down and analyzed the way that I talked and suddenly became super self concious about the way that my voice sounded, the way that I used words, and the sentences that I put together. After asking him what he meant by it, he explained that I didn't talk "like a guy" (whatever that's supposed to mean) and he just wanted to know if I was doing it because of some reason.
I had to explain to him that it was just who I was and how I talked. I hadn't thought about it and said that I was going to talk in that specific way, I was just doing what I had always done naturally. It wasn't a show, it wasn't a mask that I was wearing just because I wanted to act a particular way, it was me. I explained it to him that I talk the way I talk, act the way I act, because that's me. I'm not hiding anything, I'm not trying to add anything to the mix, I'm just being me, and me isn't a hyper masculine lumberjack.
There's a few other great stories about high school into this realm of social expectations and my family, but I'm hoping that I get to use them for a later date in a different segment. I don't want to ruin all of my stories in one go, I've still got 500+ episodes to write for, but just for future reference we'll leave this reminder for later segments - Halloween with black nails, gender bender day.
Oh, it gets good.
My Music - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/45/media-fringe
I would try to talk about my own writing about being on the fringe, but I'm not even on the fringe, I'm two states over, at least a time zone away from anything that you could try to talk about being in the media, so instead of talking about the writing and media that I produce, I'm going to the media that actually has an audience larger than 30 (assuming that all of the views on here are from separate people) and go with Happy Hardcore, my music, and how weird of a fringe it is.
To understand Happy Hardcore, you have to take a quick look at the EDM world. EDM (electronic dance music) is a lot like rock and roll, it's a big tent that covers a lot of different areas. You can range everywhere from astral plinks and plunks to thudding bass rumbling beats. That means that in the EDM world, there's genres, sub genres, and even smaller genres within those that come and go as they see fit (I'm looking at you S3RL trying to push the 'new' genre of midcore)
The weird fringe that I enjoy, that I bounce along with while at work when I'm not listening to This American Life, is Happy Hardcore, which is a sub-genre of a genre called Hardcore. Hardcore is fast, heavy, and in your face, but because of that aggressive nature of songs like Boomstick
it gets a bit aggressive at points. The problem with this, is that most people don't want to be hyper aggressive when listening to music, or at least I don't. So the genre of Hardcore gets split into some sub genres that focus on different elements. You get things like Gabber that are hyper aggressive and in your face, and then you take the happier lighter side of Hardcore and get Happy Hardcore.
The thing about Happy Hardcore that I love is that at it's best it's tongue in cheek, nothing is sacred, we're just going to have a good time. We'll take whatever we want, mash it together, and laugh at just how awesome it sounds when we get our hands on it. Happy hardcore is the home of greats like Guitar Hero, Models are Ugly, Pika Girl, and countless other bouncy, quirky, little gems that make you want to get up and jump around.
https://soundcloud.com/mcwhizzkid/hardcore-positivity
But that quirky nature, making fun of ourselves, just having a good time, is why I love it. You don't have to worry about the media, you don't have to worry about what other people think about you, you don't have to do anything, you just sit back and bounce to the beat. It's a friendly, kind, atmosphere, that's just a fun place to be in.
Happy Hardcore is also the home of kandi ravers. The over the top, huge pants, bright colors, have fun, wear whatever, ravers that you think of when it comes to raves.
But the thing that you never hear about is that if there's a room full of people dressed like that, there's absolutely zero chance that you're going to be the 'weird one' in the room. In Happy Hardcore, you can be you, be happy, be loving, be kind, and it's totally okay to do that.
https://soundcloud.com/djgammer/itsqwerkouttime
The only thing bad about being on this fringe in the media, is that everyone that doesn't know what the happy hardcore world is, instantly thinks of 90's bad raves with bad, repetitive music. And sure, there's the bad stuff out there that you can't listen to without wanting to do drugs because it's so bad that the only way that you can ever listen to it is if you're on drugs, but that's not how it is now. The music is different, the scene is still bouncy and funny and a home away from home with complete strangers.
You just have to get past some of the more. . . unique. . . clothing and hair options.
I would try to talk about my own writing about being on the fringe, but I'm not even on the fringe, I'm two states over, at least a time zone away from anything that you could try to talk about being in the media, so instead of talking about the writing and media that I produce, I'm going to the media that actually has an audience larger than 30 (assuming that all of the views on here are from separate people) and go with Happy Hardcore, my music, and how weird of a fringe it is.
To understand Happy Hardcore, you have to take a quick look at the EDM world. EDM (electronic dance music) is a lot like rock and roll, it's a big tent that covers a lot of different areas. You can range everywhere from astral plinks and plunks to thudding bass rumbling beats. That means that in the EDM world, there's genres, sub genres, and even smaller genres within those that come and go as they see fit (I'm looking at you S3RL trying to push the 'new' genre of midcore)
The weird fringe that I enjoy, that I bounce along with while at work when I'm not listening to This American Life, is Happy Hardcore, which is a sub-genre of a genre called Hardcore. Hardcore is fast, heavy, and in your face, but because of that aggressive nature of songs like Boomstick
it gets a bit aggressive at points. The problem with this, is that most people don't want to be hyper aggressive when listening to music, or at least I don't. So the genre of Hardcore gets split into some sub genres that focus on different elements. You get things like Gabber that are hyper aggressive and in your face, and then you take the happier lighter side of Hardcore and get Happy Hardcore.
The thing about Happy Hardcore that I love is that at it's best it's tongue in cheek, nothing is sacred, we're just going to have a good time. We'll take whatever we want, mash it together, and laugh at just how awesome it sounds when we get our hands on it. Happy hardcore is the home of greats like Guitar Hero, Models are Ugly, Pika Girl, and countless other bouncy, quirky, little gems that make you want to get up and jump around.
https://soundcloud.com/mcwhizzkid/hardcore-positivity
But that quirky nature, making fun of ourselves, just having a good time, is why I love it. You don't have to worry about the media, you don't have to worry about what other people think about you, you don't have to do anything, you just sit back and bounce to the beat. It's a friendly, kind, atmosphere, that's just a fun place to be in.
https://soundcloud.com/djgammer/itsqwerkouttime
The only thing bad about being on this fringe in the media, is that everyone that doesn't know what the happy hardcore world is, instantly thinks of 90's bad raves with bad, repetitive music. And sure, there's the bad stuff out there that you can't listen to without wanting to do drugs because it's so bad that the only way that you can ever listen to it is if you're on drugs, but that's not how it is now. The music is different, the scene is still bouncy and funny and a home away from home with complete strangers.
You just have to get past some of the more. . . unique. . . clothing and hair options.
300!
Yay!
And now back to listening to This American Life and finishing up 1996's productions.
Jan 6, 2015
Britney
For example, I changed a line where she says, "Classy as possible" to the above phrase. It's even better because she's talking about being classy while you dream about having no pants on and how you just rock the no pants look and be classy as possible throughout the dream because you know it's just a dream. The only problem is that is how I would say it. . . not how Britney would say it.
Britney's going to get me in trouble with someone.
And even if she's not the princess, just because in her world she is -
Jan 5, 2015
Random Research
I've been kicking around an idea, so I want to do some random research and post it up here for a potential story idea. I'm not quite sure if I'll use it, but it's something that's been floating around long enough that I'm going to at least write down some of the stuff.
41, -116 is the point
Middle of nowhere N. Nevada.
We can get the letters
4, 1, 11, 6 - dakf
4, 1, 1, 16 - daap
4, 1, 1, 1, 6 - daaaf
An alternate good choice is 38, -115
3, 8, 1, 1, 5 - chaae
3, 8, 11, 5 - chke
3, 8, 1, 15 - chao
I think we just found ourselves a winner - Camp Chao.
It's such a secret that they put the location in the name.
Let's play around with a few others and see where we can end up, but for now I'm really liking Chao.
If we do something tricky with this list-
I wonder if we could loop around and get some interesting results.
38 becomes L
so we get Lao, Lke, Lae
41 becomes 0
so we can get Okf, Oap, Oaaf
Chao is still the winner so far.
I also like it because it's right next to "Timber Mountain"
I mean, look at the place, there's nothing there! Camp Chao could TOTALLY be right near there and no one would ever notice. PS - it's going to be pronounced Ciao, but spelt Chao.
It was a stab in the dark, and I'm sure with more fiddling with numbers I could try to force it into something that I want, but let's be honest, this is pretty awesome as is for only checking two locations, and this is what pops out. The closest city is Las Vegas, but something like 200 miles away, if not more.
IT JUST GOT BETTER!
Just for the lulz of the people who would be going to this camp - it's the highest point of the Seaman Range. http://www.peakbagging.com/NVPhotos/TimberMtn.html I mean, I couldn't have hoped for anything as good as that.
Checked the travel time - it's just under 200 miles from Las Vegas, takes 4 1/2 hours to drive there on dirt roads. Yeah, this is starting to really look like a home for the camp. I'm all aboard for Camp Chao now.
41, -116 is the point
Middle of nowhere N. Nevada.
We can get the letters
4, 1, 11, 6 - dakf
4, 1, 1, 16 - daap
4, 1, 1, 1, 6 - daaaf
An alternate good choice is 38, -115
3, 8, 1, 1, 5 - chaae
3, 8, 11, 5 - chke
3, 8, 1, 15 - chao
I think we just found ourselves a winner - Camp Chao.
It's such a secret that they put the location in the name.
Let's play around with a few others and see where we can end up, but for now I'm really liking Chao.
If we do something tricky with this list-
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
I wonder if we could loop around and get some interesting results.
38 becomes L
so we get Lao, Lke, Lae
41 becomes 0
so we can get Okf, Oap, Oaaf
Chao is still the winner so far.
I also like it because it's right next to "Timber Mountain"
It was a stab in the dark, and I'm sure with more fiddling with numbers I could try to force it into something that I want, but let's be honest, this is pretty awesome as is for only checking two locations, and this is what pops out. The closest city is Las Vegas, but something like 200 miles away, if not more.
IT JUST GOT BETTER!
Just for the lulz of the people who would be going to this camp - it's the highest point of the Seaman Range. http://www.peakbagging.com/NVPhotos/TimberMtn.html I mean, I couldn't have hoped for anything as good as that.
Checked the travel time - it's just under 200 miles from Las Vegas, takes 4 1/2 hours to drive there on dirt roads. Yeah, this is starting to really look like a home for the camp. I'm all aboard for Camp Chao now.
No TAL, not again, not after the first time! - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/44/poultry-slam-1996
I did a poultry slam once.
ONCE.
I'm sorry This American Life, but poor choice on your end of picking a topic to re-air, because guess what! I'm onto you!
I remember the first poultry slam, because that was the second or third post that I had to do, and I realized right then and there that I was going to have to dig pretty deep to come up with stories or even comments about POULTRY in my life and the role that birds have played in it, but then you decided to do a second poultry slam.
TOO BAD IT'S THE FIRST ONE, JUST WITH A DIFFERENT DATE!
Ha!
You didn't produce anything new, I don't produce anything new! It's only fair.
I did a poultry slam once.
ONCE.
I'm sorry This American Life, but poor choice on your end of picking a topic to re-air, because guess what! I'm onto you!
I remember the first poultry slam, because that was the second or third post that I had to do, and I realized right then and there that I was going to have to dig pretty deep to come up with stories or even comments about POULTRY in my life and the role that birds have played in it, but then you decided to do a second poultry slam.
TOO BAD IT'S THE FIRST ONE, JUST WITH A DIFFERENT DATE!
Ha!
You didn't produce anything new, I don't produce anything new! It's only fair.
Jan 2, 2015
96.7
There are times that I think about my music of choice (EDM) and I start to wonder, if I'm listening to it, and saying that I'm a fan just because it's different and weird, or anything like that, or if I actually truly like it.
While running errands tonight, I ran into this radio station -
http://kyli.tunegenie.com/#listenlive
Pulse 96.7
This was NOT here when I was growing up, I would have listened to this to death.
It wasn't my genre of choice, it was even a song that I had heard before and decided was a little too 'meh' for me, but tonight, hearing the beat drop and hearing EDM on a stereo that I could turn up and hear/feel the beat on, and it was clear to me, it isn't a phase, I'm stuck. EDM is the music of choice for me.
While running errands tonight, I ran into this radio station -
http://kyli.tunegenie.com/#listenlive
Pulse 96.7
This was NOT here when I was growing up, I would have listened to this to death.
It wasn't my genre of choice, it was even a song that I had heard before and decided was a little too 'meh' for me, but tonight, hearing the beat drop and hearing EDM on a stereo that I could turn up and hear/feel the beat on, and it was clear to me, it isn't a phase, I'm stuck. EDM is the music of choice for me.
Jan 1, 2015
The internet has ruined me
At Six Flags - Discovery Kingdom, they have a stingray pool that you can touch stingrays that swim by.
The first words out of my mouth were,
"Behold, the majestic flap flaps."
http://imgur.com/gallery/t1Wzpqx
"Behold, the majestic flap flaps."
http://imgur.com/gallery/t1Wzpqx
A Break In The Vacation - My American Life
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/43/faustian-bargains
The opening of this show there's the author behind Dangerous Minds. She's a teacher and she wanted to write a story about the teens that she deals with and the urban setting that they were in. She wanted to do this, but when she sold her story to Hollywood, Hollywood did whatever they wanted to do with it, and she got upset that her story was twisted to make a compelling TV series, and movie, and all of this other stuff.
Wow, life sure must be hard for you making money. You know how annoying that is.
I really, REALLY hate people that are in ANY industry, especially the media/entertainment industry and get upset that their industry is making them money.
You mean, you're successful at what you wanted to do? You're making money? You can pay your bills? You can live a reasonable life without worrying if your credit card is close to being maxed out? You have a personal savings? Wow, your life sure must be hard.
I know that this thing was all about making a deal with the devil, but really, I'm going to say that making a deal with a person to sell a story to them, getting royalties off of the idea and any production of that idea, isn't a deal with the devil if you ask me, that's a pretty sweet deal and is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not looking to change the world, I'm looking for more commas in my bank account total.
Wow, life sure must be hard for you making money. You know how annoying that is.
You mean, you're successful at what you wanted to do? You're making money? You can pay your bills? You can live a reasonable life without worrying if your credit card is close to being maxed out? You have a personal savings? Wow, your life sure must be hard.
I know that this thing was all about making a deal with the devil, but really, I'm going to say that making a deal with a person to sell a story to them, getting royalties off of the idea and any production of that idea, isn't a deal with the devil if you ask me, that's a pretty sweet deal and is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not looking to change the world, I'm looking for more commas in my bank account total.
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