Alternative · Cognitive · Space

Because his words are haunting, depressing, and helpful when you happen to be having a depressed, haunted spell.

"The last temptation is the greatest treason:
To do the right deed for the wrong reason."
T. S. Eliot
Murder in the Cathedral

*heavy sigh*

Okay, here I am again. First of all, holy fuck, flist go boom. Even setting it on Journals Only I had to scroll through three pages, you nutcases. XD

So I left on Friday morning around 4:30 AM, heading east toward Dallas. It's obnoxiously flat out there. I was half expecting to get hit by a tornado, since it was raining a bit. We get a little ways past Abilene and the religous asshatery starts with the "God loves you" and "Jesus saves" billboards. This is why I live in a liberal city. This stuff can either crack me up or piss me off depending on my mood. On the way down I-45 through Corsicana (Yes, the one in the Johnny Cash song!) I saw something that brightened my spirits - a "Jesus loves," billboard, but under that an "Adult Movies" billboard. I wonder what his kink is. Hum....

The wedding was...well, horrible. It was very pretty and all, but the blatant misogyny in it was enough that I quite nearly walked out half-way through, only staying out of respect for my sister. One of the lines that really made me fume was "Submit to your husband as he submits to God." Seriously, God-freak, GTFO. I hate weddings. I've always hated weddings. But this just went way too far.

The next day, it was on the road to Fredericksburg, though we stopped in a little town of about 12 people called Star to go to the bathroom. It was disgusting. Anyway. We got to Fredericksburg and conked out for the rest of the afternoon. Did some exploring the next day, went to the National Museum of the Pacific War, which I highly recommend. We also went to Enchantment Rock State Natural Area, which you really have to see for yourself. If you've heard of Glen Rock in Australia, it was like that. We saw a herd of deer on the trail there, but turned back halfway through because it was around 104 degrees out.

In Fredericksburg the night before we left we ate at a very nice German restaurant called Der Lindenbaum (if my rather limited knowledge of basic German is correct, this means something along the lines of The Linden Tree) and had some really great German sausage.

The next day, we set off to Big Bend National Park. Big Bend is....remote. Really fucking remote. The closest town we drove through before getting there was about 60 miles from the entrance. Our lodge was in the mountains in the park, and it was gorgeous. I really wasn't expecting to like Big Bend as much as I did, but now I think it may be one of my favorite parks. It actually looks a lot like where I live, but civilization is nowhere to be found, massive mountains and canyons rise into the air, and wildlife is around every turn. Yesterday we conquered Lost Mine Peak, which is at about 7,100 feet off the desert floor, and, holy shit, what a rush. You get up on top and have to walk across a rocky ridge with a 1000 foot fall on either side of you, and you get to the peak and see the entire park. A popular saying among climbers is "To conquer a mountain is to find yourself," and they couldn't be more right. There's really nothing quite like sitting at the top of the world and catching your breath after climbing for three straight hours.

Wildlife we saw...let's see...deer, roadrunners, squirrels, javelinas (wild desert hogs), tons of different birds, a bunch of turtles....no mountain lions or bears, but mark my words, one day, one day!

And then there was the rafting.

.....HOLY FUCK ASDFJKL AWESOME I'VE FOUND THE SECRET TO LIFE THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING HOLY FUCK.

You get in the boat, and at first it's kind of freaky because on a river raft you sit on the sides, not inside, but then you get your....well, river legs, and it's very relaxing. Then you come up on the rapids. Okay, I'll admit, when you're floating towards a small waterfall which is liable to have sharp rocks in it, it's batshit terrifying. Then you're suddenly on it and it's like "WHOA AWESOME LET'S DO IT AGAIN!" And then by the time you come up on another set of rapids, it's like a rollercoaster ride and you're like "WHOOHOO, COWABUNGA, YEEHAW!"

So. Yes. I'm so definitely doing that again, and trying an even harder route that has even rougher rapids, because, seriously? Those things are like a drug. Once you've had it once, you can't get enough of it.

And now I'm going to sleep for a week and hope I'm not as sore tomorrow as I am right now. From what I can see, there's nothing absolutely essential to get to on my flist, but I'll browse some more and try to at least catch up a little. XD

I am back.

I am absolutely exhausted.

Recap later. XD

*flails like a speechless flaily thing with no other way to communicate how awesome that was*

I'm going to say this now, since I might not have the chance tomorrow.

I will be gone from this Friday (August 1st) to next Saturday (August 9th). I won't have any internet connection, or cable for that matter, so no SGA for me. I'll download episodes on iTunes when I get back.

lanna_kitty, I am going to finish your art today it it kills me. I SHOULD have finished it a week ago, but my damn procrastination genes got in the way. As far as I know, you'll see it sometime next week if I can get medie to submit it for me when I send it to her today.

ETA: I AM DONE. *collapses**glee*

Everyone else...have fun. Just no T.P. or shaving cream. :P

I'll be waltzing around Texas, first to Dallas, then *deep breath* Nacogdoches, Athens, Corsicana, Waco, Fredericksburg, Del Rio, Big Bend, Study Butte, Terlingua and Marfa. Why yes, I am insane. I'm going white water rafting in Big Bend, which is going to be fucking awesome. Big Bend National Park is a bit like the Grand Canyon, only smaller and more desert. The rafting there is supposed to be some of the best in the country, and it's my first time, so I'm hoping I have fun and don't drown. XD I've been told that the water level is pretty low right now, so I actually might be going in a canoe instead, but, seriously, that would be even more awesome.

Can you tell I'm excited? XD

• 13:06 Am I the only one who thinks washing machines are obnoxious? #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

• 11:50 "We're all mad here!" #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

This is the epilogue to The Soap Fic of Doom [NC-17], because wanderingsmith did the prologue. Uh, only read that, and, consequently, this, if you can stomach some really kinky shit. This is pretty short compared to the other two, but that's the way I roll. Short and sweet. XD

( Epilogue: An Explanation of Handcuffs, and the Curious Case of John Sheppard, The Bottom )

The crack lives on!

So I watched A Dog's Breakfast today. It was both hilarious and creepy, because, seriously, David makes such an amazing murderous psychopath.

( Notes. SPOILERS. )

I totally busted a gut laughing. It's a little weird, but you should still see it if you can.

So I went to see Viva El Paso today, which is a historical musical about the history of El Paso, TX, my city. I may be a bit biased, but it was one of the best I've ever seen. :D

And I know Anuna's going to hate me for this, but they did the traditional dance and sang both Las Mananitas and Cielito Lindo.

There's really no proper way to describe it, so I'm just going to say that if you ever happen to pass through El Paso, you should see it. It really reflects the culture of the region. Plus it's hilarious in places.

"I shall serenade her, then!"
"But amigo, there is one problem!"
"What?"
"You can't sing!"

Now I need sleep. *slides off chair*

P.S. I also went to a gun show today. Saw a semi-automatic P-90. It was way expensive. I called up my dad. I know what I'm getting for my birthday! FWEEE. SGA halloween costume, here I come!

HOLY HELL.

....HOLY HELL.

..........FORGET EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT SEASON 5.

..................THAT WAS BEYOND AWESOME.

( SPOILERS )

WHEEEEEEEE. I LOVE MY SHOW.

Is it normal to go in and out of wanting a tattoo? It's kind of like "Yes!" then a week later "No!" and a month later "Maybe!" and so on. I don't even know what kind of tattoo I would get. I like simple tribal designs, but I also like color. Mostly it's come down to some sort of Celtic/tribal/Borneo-tribal sort of thing. Because the idea of a tarantula or scorpion Borneo-tribal style just makes me so happy.

( Some pictures, because I feel like it. )
I originally found out about Borneo-tribal tattoos watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show on Malaysia, and was intrigued by the reasons behind the tattooing in the tribes there - he visited a tribe called the Iban, and there it was explained that the tattoos were made to signify life achievements and self-discovery. You got a tattoo after going on a long journey, or learning something new, or on your first hunt. This hit a cord with me, because my [limited] spirituality revolves around discovering both the world and yourself, and gaining knowledge along the way. Even though the tribes are theistic (pagan, though some have caved the monotheism) I can't help but think, "This is the what all people would worship in a perfect world - not the destination, but the journey, and what you gain along the way." This is the kind of spirituality I love, and that's the reason why I'd love to honor it by bearing one of their tattoos.

....Plus they look pretty badass, too. XD

Stolen from wanderingsmith .

( Follow the yellow brick road... )
Why yes, I am mostly useless as far as the classics go. XD

Went to see WALL-E today. AMAZING movie, and definitely not a kid movie despite it being cute and animated. I actually saw some parents leaving and smiled smugly on the inside.

There was very little dialogue, and some of the allusions were either archaic or extremely sophisticated. Namely, the effect of eroding education standards, socialism, and HAL9000. There was also a TON of actual scientific things, such as decreased bone density from being in space too long. There were references to 2001: A Space Odyssey (OMG YAY!), Battlestar Galactica (DOUBLE YAY!) and Star Wars (WHEEEEEEE!).

The animation is astounding and the characters are endearing despite their silence. I applaud Disney for figuring out how to give robots depth. There was more development in this than in most live-action movies. And there was continuation, something you don't see much anymore - characters you see and think aren't going to have a large part in the story turn out being much more than you think they are.

This movie will send you warning bells about overpopulation and corruption, so, again, it's no kid movie and it's definitely not lighthearted.

WALL-E was adorable (Pixar, you are awesome) and even his little friend the cockroach was adorable. I don't want to give anything else away, because I'm going to FIND YOU if you don't see this yourself.

Well.

Fun, but I think I'm going to be sick. That's what I get for vacationing in the heart of fundie-ville and having to bite my tongue on numerous occasions.

Who the hell puts Bible verses on dinner menus? Seriously, what does John 3:16 have to do with my deep-fried disease causing pocket of goodness?

*headdesk*

SOMEBODY, PLEASE, I NEED INTELLECTUAL BOMBARDMENT AFTER 3 DAYS OF REDNECKS!

I'll be gone from late tomorrow to I think Friday or Saturday. I'm saying this now because my computer is a worthless piece of crap outfitted with Microshit and therefore the internet is being a pain in the ass.

If you're here about Big Bang (Beta, Art, whatever): Leave a comment to this post titled "Big Bang". I'll get to it as soon as I get back, and possibly there if it turns out the hotel by some miracle of engineering has internet. Anuna, if you send me anything, I should have it back to you by at the most Monday. Probably before that, but I can never tell.

Everyone else: You may title your comment "I Like Squirrels!" and type in binary. This will inevitably make the comment come to my mental inbox, where I will flip through it with my metaphysical fingers and then reply with "And I care...why?"

....If you actually do that, I'll probably have a hernia laughing and love you forever, simply because you actually know how to type in binary.

(0100100101110011001000000111010001101000011010010111001100100000011001100110000101101101011010010110110001101001011000010111001000111111001000000100100100100000011011000110100101101011011001010010000001110011011100010111010101101001011100100111001001100101011011000111001100100001)

If not, you can always use this handy converter.

In other news, Ryanair announced that transcontinental business class passengers will receive free "beds and blowjobs." Award for most awesome airline, anyone? I'm totally going to fly with them just for that. Seriously, these guys make me want to make a commerical with that guy who was forced to sit in the toilet on a JetBlue plane and go all "Could of flied with Ryanair!" on him, in the style of V8 commercials. You just know Stinky Weaselteets and his gang of deep-fried penguin zombies....I mean, Pat Robertson is going to blame this for the next big natural disaster.

I will now recite the Seven Dirty Words:

Shit. Piss. Fuck.Cunt. Cocksucker. Motherfucker. Tits.

"There are some people that aren't into all the words. There are some people who would have you not use certain words. Yeah, there are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television. What a ratio that is. 399,993 to seven. They must really be bad. They'd have to be outrageous, to be separated from a group that large. All of you over here, you seven. Bad words. That's what they told us they were, remember? 'That's a bad word.' 'Awwww.' There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad Intentions."

R.I.P. George, and keep cursing up a storm.

When I first came to LJ, it was mostly just following the crowd - the only relatively sane part of fandom is here, and I sure as hell didn't want anything much to do with Gateworld or FanFiction.Net. I really didn't understand what LJ was about when I first came - I thought it was just like Xanga or MySpace or whatever, just a hell of a lot more work to customize. For this reason, I resisted it for a long time.

After arriving and making some friends, however, it all started to become clear. LJ isn't just a place where you can stake a small, insignificant claim on a part of the web, like you do with things like MySpace. LJ is a big community of people from all walks of life - you meet people you don't agree with, people you agree with, and people who are just awesome in every way. In a way, I don't think personal journals are all that significant - they're just to hold your place and for people to find out who you are. The real life of LJ is in the communities, in the debates, in the friendships that are born, in the people you meet. And that's why I love LJ - because it's not like all the rest.

(And then there are the icons, of course.)

[Spoilers, so beware.]

So we went to see Children in Happy Fun Land with Furry Animals....I mean, Narnia 2: Prince Caspian today.

It really was better than the book (which put me to sleep) and the beginning definitely drew you in. Except it was predictable as hell.

First off, they give away who the freggin' bad guy is in the second scene. Which, in turn, made me roll my eyes and condemn this movie from the beginning.

Okay, so the characters were a bit better than the first one, but they were still one-dimensional, and the dialogue was laughable at best. The lines weren't spaced right and the acting was only barely believable. Prince Caspian was about as deep as the grass on a football field, and you could see the twists and turns in his personality coming from a mile away. The scene with the White Witch was boring and unnecessary, and Edward saving Peter from temptation? Um. Way to be subtle about character growth.

I did go into this movie with some reservations, yes, but for all the Bible-likeness, I can't resist good CGI (I cringed my way through 10,000 BC, for crying out loud). Yet the CGI was barely up to par in this movie. They got all the animal movements wrong (they had tigers moving like dogs!). I realize that only a few overly observational people like me would notice this, but it felt like it was glaring at me every time it came up. The Minotaurs were guys in suits, compared to the really awesome stuff they had in the first one.

One of the few good features was the the mouse. Oh, I want to know who played that mouse, because he was undoubtedly the best character in the movie.

Aslan was a bit of a dick in this one. I don't recall him being such a dick in the books. He basically says "Oh, no, I'm only going to help you when you're all about to die." And they have him completely steal the show, after which he's smug and everyone has a little gather together and worship the mighty lion party. Seriously, we get the idea that this guy is supposed to represent some mythological cultist who supposedly lived 2000 years ago, but can we drop it and focus on this story?

The defeat scene is easy to see coming. Halfway though the movie you can pretty much already figure out how everything will happen. However, there are a few surprising plot points in between that will redeem it a little (and that I'm not going to give away).

So, my grade for Narnia 2:

Acting: C
Plot: B-
CGI: B-
Direction: C

Overall: B-

Yes. Just yes. Finnish power metal = ♥♥♥



In other news, I'm in a sad mood. Must be PMS. *heavy sigh* Also, I want to move to Newfoundland. For no particular reason. XD

It never gets old huh?
Nope.
It kind of makes you wanna-
Break in to song?
Yep.
I love the mountains
I love the clear blue sky
I love big bridges
I love when great whites fly
I love the whole world
And all its sights and sounds
Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da
Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da

I love the oceans
I love real dirty things
I love to go fast
I love Egyptian kings
I love whole world
And all its craziness
Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da
Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da

I love tornadoes,I love arachnids
I love hot magma, I love the giant squids
I love the whole world, it's such a brilliant place
Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da, Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da, Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da, Boom-De-Ya-da Boom-De-Ya-da...