Friday, July 21, 2006

Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow

Well tomorrow is the big day! YAY!

I can't wait.

I just can't wait.

I really just can't wait!

+B+

Coincidentally tomorrow is a weather interesting day.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

More Dental Work Today

Yeah, well two+ hours today in the hot seat, fun! Then tomorrow even more work. Apparently my teeth are so jacked up I shouldn't be able to eat solid food or something. (That's a joke by the way).

I guess this is for not going to the dentists in over two years.

Oh well.

=Ben=

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Nerd with a dilemma

So I am looking at the recent news of my two favorite and most used Linux distributions. Suse Linux now OpenSuse, though I still prefer the retail version personally, and Fedora Core by the nice folks at Red Hat.

Well it seems they are having similar time-tables on releases.

OpenSuse 10.2/Fedora Core 6.

Though obviously at this point it appears that the folks at the Fedora Core camp will have a viable product for the end user out sooner.

Unfortunately for me I have two problems. I hope they have since been fixed, both previous releases OpenSuse10.1 (and Suse Linux 10.1 Retail) and Fedora Core 5 didn't fully support my motherboard specifically, my Ethernet port, and further at the time, to know fault of other of these two distributions, Nvidia's drivers also didn't support my video card. So I was stuck at a lousy resolution with 8 bits of color and had to use a flash drive to get drivers to attempt to fix the problems I was having. However after it all, I still couldn't get it to work completely. So I was stuck going back to Windows.

Though I have to say both times I used the 64 bit versions of these operating systems. As I have been told a few times Fedora Core 5 in the 32 bit mode probably would've worked, but I have never tried it. Same with OpenSuse or the retail versions of Suse Linux. I could probably give them a try, and I may, but I'd really rather wait for the new releases to be released.

So I guess this brings me to my question which is what this blog entry is all about. Which one should I go for? If I knew someone else who at least had that my motherboard and used Linux maybe I could figure something out.

Oh well enough with these pointless problems. Until I find something conclusive I'll be using that blasted Microsoft Windows XP. And more so I can assure you this, I'll only be using it until they discontinue support sometime in the future. With all this talk about DRM and other such nasty things I am totally and completely against, no questions asked, I have no intention of getting future versions.

I'll be making a total Linux switch. Even if that alienates me from being able to play newer games or other things. By the way that last link was a joke if you didn't catch that.

=B=

Aren't I a sorry SOB?

Well next Thursday I go and get my wisdom teeth removed. ALL FOUR OF THEM!!

Boy, stupid crap.

Oh well.

I am sure all will be well, or at least I hope it will.

=B=

Monday, July 17, 2006

It makes one wonder

It makes one wonder.
Does it Not?
To See the differents things!
The different things I've seen?
Yes.

They were so varied once!
And now?
They were so varied once.
I see.

I used to know them all by heart!
And now?
I used to know them all by heart.
Oh.

What happened to the varied things?
I don't know.
Really, but you knew them once?
By heart!
And now you know them no more?
Alas.

This is a good song

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word


Music by Elton John
Lyrics by Bernie Taupin
Available on the album Blue Moves

What have I got to do to make you love me
What have I got to do to make you care
What do I do when lightning strikes me
And I wake to find that you're not there

What do I do to make you want me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I say when it's all over
And sorry seems to be the hardest word

It's sad, so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd
It's sad, so sad
Why can't we talk it over
Oh it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word

What do I do to make you love me
What have I got to do to be heard
What do I do when lightning strikes me
What have I got to do
What have I got to do
When sorry seems to be the hardest word

Waiting and waitining and waiting and waitining and ...waitng

Not much longer now.

Yay!!

It is getting closer and closer.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

So apparently I can't do anything right

I guess no matter what I can't say the right thing, do the right thing, or think the right thing.

I guess there is just something wrong with me. Maybe I should keep everything to myself from now. I wouldn't upset anyone that way.

I don't know, I just try to say what's on my mind and then people get upset. I am sorry if I have an opinion on something. Forgive me for having the ability to think for myself and not having the tact to keep things to myself.

I tell people what I think. Even if they don't want to hear what I think, especially if they don't want to hear what I think. I am sorry, I truly am, if that upsets people. It is never my intention to hurt anyone.

I guess I should just train myself to not be compassionate or care about other people and just become a sadist. Perhaps even a little crazy and kill people. Does that sound like a good idea? No? I didn't think so either.

Just remember this, everyone has an opinion on everything. So why don't we just all realise an opinion is just than an opinion. It isn't a fact in a history book or a financial statement. It is what something thinks about a subject when they only have so much information to work with, but decide to form an opinion on something anyway.

I am sorry for being a person.

=B=

I can't get the song out of my head

Click on the link and maybe you'll get it stuck in your head too!

=B=

Friday, July 14, 2006

Being There

Yesterday I saw Being There. Good Stuff. I have to say it was a very touching, funny, wonderfully delightful movie. Peter Sellers, in his role as Chance was simply amazing. Now I understand why he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1980.

I just have to say, I don't think I have quite ever seen a movie ever like that. More so, I better understand the HBO film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. As there were references to this movie. Which I didn't understand before.

Now true I am a Peter Sellers fan and this makes me biased, but I don't care. I give this movie a 10 out of and I think other people should see it. You can buy it online at places like Amazon or Deep Discount DVD. I'd go with the latter it is cheaper and the shipping is usually free.

Now because I don't want to give anything away if you really do want to see this, here is a plot summary from the IMDB: A simple-minded gardener named Chance has spent all his life in the Washington D.C. house of an old man. When the man dies, Chance is put out on the street with no knowledge of the world except what he has learned from television. After a run in with a limousine, he ends up a guest of a woman (Eve) and her husband Ben, an influential but sickly businessman. Now called Chauncey Gardner, Chance becomes friend and confidante to Ben, and an unlikely political insider.

There is much more to the film, which is why I liked it so much. This was probably the greatest work Peter Sellers had ever undertaken. Thankfully he lived long enough to finish it.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Time Is Fleeting

9 days, 18 hours, 43 minutes and 45 seconds can be converted to one of these units:
  • 845,025 seconds
  • 14,083 minutes (rounded down)
  • 234 hours (rounded down)
  • 1 week (rounded down)

The Matador

So I saw The Matador today. It was not really bad at all. In fact it was quite good. I know it got some pretty good reviews so I thought, hey why not watch it. This is my first movie review, but it will be short because well I don't have that much to say.

I will go right out and say I give this movie a 7 out 10, mainly because I didn't care for some of the langauge and sexual content and thought it was a little execessive. Even though it was exactly what the movie needed.

Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear play too very different characters who really end up being very similar in this funny movie. It really is a comedy, but its also dramatic film. Brosnan's character fights with his own inner demons as does Kinnear, but on different levels.

All in all I still however recommend this film and I think everyone will enjoy the ending as much as I did if not more.

Sunday, July 09, 2006

Other Things To Note

So as you probably all know Italy won it all. Yay!

Psych sucked! I don't expect it to last, but will watch it anyway.

Soon I will see my love again, Yay!

Politics is something that shouldn't be discussed by civil people, only politicians.

=B=

Doctor Who Doomsday

170 DAYS!
The Runaway Bride Christmas Day 2006

Ok! I just saw some really good stuff, perhaps better still than last season's ending episode, even sadder, in my opinion. Sure only real nerds and television aficionados spend the time to download the show off the net to see it, even though it will be here in a few months give or take. However a true fan can't wait and when you don't have the BBC you make due.

This episode was great. Incredible writing. Typically amazing special effects. There was also great character development, especially with the Doctor, in my opinion. In the last fleeting seconds of his moments with Rose he wanted to tell her something so important, but alas as fate would have it, he couldn't deliver his message, likely of love.

Now frankly there is nothing more humorous to me than seeing the Daleks and Cybermen fight one another. Truly wonderful. I of course didn't see that happening at all in the last episode until the sphere opened and you see these Daleks emerge. I mean I honestly felt the goose bumps rising on my back and arms, because there is little that scares a television viewer more than the sight of a Dalek and hearing that shrill voice.

Of course in the end the Doctor manages to save the day and the earth he is on, but to his detriment he loses Rose and as I said earlier had but one more chance to speak to her, with the aid of the energy from a super nova to allow him to poke one last hole between universes.

I guess in a way it is good to know that Rose isn't really dead, though as far as that earth is concerned she is. I guess ultimately it will be nice to see a change even though we just got used to these characters in a way. Also I find it interesting to note that for the first time Doctor Who's new side kick will be a black woman. I look forward to meeting this character and I am sure it will go well.

I have to give this episode a 9 out of 10. I do so mostly because as a fan it really drew me in and of course left me wanting more. However I don't give it the full 10 out of 10 because there was just something about the way certain things went that seemed a bit cheesy. Such as Pete Tyler's rescue of rose or the Head of Torchwood in the Cyberman body defending torchwood to the last. It seemed a bit of a stretch.

=B=

Saturday, July 08, 2006

Ben is a total fox



Just thought you should know!

Monk Season 5 Episode 1

So I published this a little early.

Well as far as things go. It was a good start. I didn't find Stanley Tucci very funny at all. I think he over did it. The premise of a TV movie about a case was a little humorous especially Randy's character. I look forward to better from Monk and USA. I mean I realize that this is just the season opener, but it seems to have lost some of it's charm from earlier season's.

Tony Shalhoub and Traylor Howard both did wonderfully as Adrian and Natalie respectively. Of course, Ted Levine also did a good job as Captain Stottlemeyer. All of the regulars did well, but I guess this episode just didn't do it for me.

However the few moments between Tucci's character and Shalhoub were quite good especially in provoking feelings about Monk's past. That isn't to say this is good, but I found it interesting to see what happened.

Now as per the crime. This episode really did it well. I for one like most of you didn't know what everything was about until the very end. Now true I did say that I didn't like Tucci's character, but I must admit that if Monk were evil and psychotic then he played the perfect Monk. Watching the Monk (Shalhoub) on Monk (Tucci) play was wonderfully funny. Of course one has to wonder if something like this is truly believable, but it is television so anything can happen.

My favorite part would be near the end when Monk says he wanted to play a character that wasn't so dark and depressing., referring to Tucci's character. He then goes on to say that he is England doing Hamlet. Yet another great joke.

Overall I give this episode a 7.5 out of 10. Now I haven't made any specific criteria for any specific shows or anything like that. This scale is just my overall opinion of the episode. A 10 would be an Emmy worthy episode and a 1 would be a cancellation waiting to happen. I think that's a good scale. Well I hope you enjoyed this review.

Okay So Here Is More New

So, I have decided that aside from the regular blotter I will be critiquing TV shows and other things I see here. I apologize for spoiler now and only now, but there will be spoilers. I feel I watch enough television to criticize what I see.

I will start to do this regularly or almost regularly on Sunday, I will start with shows that were on Friday and Saturday and see what happens from there. Note, I don't watch everyone and what I do watch is crap, well a lot of it is.

Also I have included a Paypal Donate button to act as a way for me to get money to possibly buy a laptop in the future. Now, of course, I expect no one to donate anything, but I thought I'd try. Also all donaters will be glorified and mentioned on this blog and if they have a website I will add it to my links of note.

=B=

Friday, July 07, 2006

New Personal Best

I am happy today I ran two miles in the fastest time that I can remember: 34:21. Sure that is no world record, but when you weigh what I weight that is pretty damn good.

I even bettered my second mile by almost two minutes.

Well just thought I'd share.

=B=

Thursday, July 06, 2006

Big Update

I update the visual layout of the blog. As you may have noticed. Tell me what you think.

Monday, July 03, 2006

Question of faith

Is believing something that isn't explicitly written in a book of faith wrong? I ask because I am wondering about the deeply and ravenously debated topic of evolution. Religion, as I understand it myself, is mostly about faith. If you think about it so is evolution. Evolutionists have faith that the available scientific evidence is valid and supports their theory.

Further I just want to say, I believe in a god and I also believe in evolution. I see no contradiction or conflict of interest between the two.

Just for a moment, reader, I would like you to ponde the vast cosmos. The universe is perhaps far too complex to be be simply a random arrangement of gases and other forms of matter.

As such, I think that there is something behind everything, this is where the connection comes in.

Genesis, the first book of the Bible, doesn't specifically mention how god created all the creatures he created, or the other things we currently find on earth. I mean why would God give out his secrets, but I digress.

The below text is taken from the book of Genesis Chapter 1 20-25 from the King James Version of the Bible.

20And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

21And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

22And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

23And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

24And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every
thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

Think for a moment, can't God in his great power have created evolution as a means of different faith? Just because it isn't written anywhere, does that mean it can't be possible.

I happen to believe that as long as you believe in something and have faith, that is good, and that should be good enough. Even an atheists believes in something, or has faith if you will. An atheist, as I understand atheism, believes that there is no God. So obviously that too is faith.

Last I just want to say I support all religions and faiths. I have no problems with any belief. I just hope that at some point everyone else will feel the same way.

=B=

Sunday, July 02, 2006

Ars Gratia Artis

Art is a wonderful thing. And not just what you stereotypically think of, artwork, works with a brush, but ALL art. From written works of fiction and poety to all musical forms as well as ballet and play and opera. All those things most people are too busy or too thick headed to appreciate in a proper way.

The arts, especially in public schools (K-12) and beyond should be funded, and well. Children need to leave the steril confines of a classrom and learn to live beyond the words of a text book. Children need to live the stories they read. Express themselves in creative, interesting, and, most of all, unique ways.

Children need to imagine.

They need to sing and write and read and most of all they need to experience more than one point of view.

The arts let that happen. However, and no single person is at fault here, it just isn't happening. Education as a whole is always underfunded and because of it, things deemed "frivolous and unecessary" are removed from cirricula. As such arts are usually the first to go and unfortunately there is usually never enough of an outcry to stop it. It isn't until the "oh so precious" sports and related activies are slowly wiped out. Then the outcry begins.

Does it have be this way? Can't we use and spend money where it needs to be spent, in public education.

Of course it may already be too late, but let us hope it isn't. Today children are too interested in the shiny metal box with the flashy lights and the things you plug into, as well as the shiny metal box that connects to the internet. We are becoming a culture addicted to the less than appealing things. In some ways we seem to cherish stupidity and violence. Search through your tv's channel listings or the websites a random child visits and you'll see.

In some ways we are beginning to tragically mirror the Roman Empire, i say tragically because the Roman Empire fell. I don't want to see that happen here. It is just now that Instead of going to the colloseum to see blood sport we just have to watch some football game, wrestling match or blood sport on 24/7 television. Whether live or replayed. And the internet only makes its easier for anyone to show of their stupidity and self injury.

I apologize for my breif change of subject, but my message still stands. We need to change the way we think, no matter how hard, and fund the arts. Further we need to properly fund the educational system.

=B=

How much hair is too much hair?



This is a gross exxageration of what my hair looks like. I combed it all out and up as opposed to down and over. Scary isn't it.

I don't have a clue

I'm so very tired. It's almost all the time now.