Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in elhombredejota's LiveJournal:

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Saturday, November 7th, 2009
11:29 pm	Things I've said quite often on my internship commute:  "Sorry I'm not speeding fast enough for you." I drive too fast, I admit it.  Otherwise it would take me over 80 minutes to get to & from Centralia everyday.  I also pay close attention to the other traffic, & if things get crowded...or if the speed limit drops...I slow down.  Many of the other drivers don't.  I have lost count of the number of times other drivers, usually in sports cars or pickup trucks, have flown by me, often weaving between cars, doing a minimum of 80 mph on a road that maxes out at 70.  (I never go more than 7-8 over the limit, 'cause I like keeping control over my vehicle & not getting pulled over by the highway patrol.)   "Why so slowrious?" This is for the opposite problem.  This is for when I'm stuck behind people going significantly under the speed limit.  The other day I was stuck behind a dude doing 30 mph on the highway.  It was at least another 2 miles until the next turn of ANY kind; I lucked out that there was no oncoming traffic & I got to pass him.  I can't count the number of times I haven't been able to pass my way out of the situation, losing ridiculous amounts of time in the process.  It's especially bad on four-lane highways when somehow two unrelated cars can simultaneously match the same low speed right next to each other for miles & miles. "Blinker!" Part of my whole driving-safe schtick involves signalling my turns at any time & signalling my lane changes whenever other cars are around.  I do this more to protect myself than anything else; if I don't signal, there is sometimes an extremely high likelihood of my being hit.  Indeed, on many occasions, it was only my own quick reflexes that have kept me from hitting other people who have made stupid turns without a blinker, causing me to shout the word above.  These incidents include two white pickups making left turns directly in front of me within the same 5-mile stretch of highway 63 near Moberly, on the same depressingly foggy morning.  These incidents also include a return trip home in which I was almost killed by THREE unsignalled left turns on highway 63, all between the Kirksville airport and Taco Bell. "Just 'cause you can see doesn't mean you can be stupid." This is a new one that I've started using this week, since daylight savings ended.  It's brighter in the mornings now, which apparently makes other drivers think they can be completely careless.  I've just been doing the same thing I was doing before, but now I have even more idiocy to dodge around. "Really?  That song again?" The 'Classic Vinyl' station on satellite radio likes to brag about its three decades' worth of music to choose from, so why have I heard the same song repeated twice in a single day?  I mean, there are a lot of good ELO songs, but "Livin' Thing" isn't one of them, so why am I hearing it so many times in the same week?  For that matter, why am I hearing a promo about how "Rock & roll was born in America" between songs by Van Morrison & the Beatles?  Why am I hearing Dusty Street talking at all?  I mean, K-HITS might have commercials, but it also has DJs that don't suck & doesn't repeat songs more than once a week. Speaking of idiocy & the highway patrol, by the way: Last week a patrol car was sitting at the south end of Macon, presumably waiting to snipe speeders.  Problem is, it was facing towards the oncoming traffic, WITH ITS HEADLIGHTS ON.  Thanks a lot, officer. Oh, & speaking of headlights: I FREAKING HATE THE NEW SUPER-BRIGHT HEADLIGHTS.  There's a reason you're not supposed to use your high beams when other cars are around; high beams are quite literally blinding.  The new brighter default headlights are like having your high beams on all the dang time. Also, speaking of non sequiturs: Keep listening to my show.  The link is in the previous entry. :) Now if you'll excuse me, a beautiful woman is about to walk through my lounge, & I have to pretend I don't have a goofy crush on her. :)  'cause whenever i let my cover slip & flirt a bit, she gets freaked out & we end up not talking for a week Current Mood: tired Current Music: Dr. Horrible soundtrack (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, October 12th, 2009
10:30 am	Today is Columbus Day. Not because it's Monday, but because it's October 12th.  Columbus Day is always on the 12th; that "nearest-Monday" thing is just for people getting off work.  Trust me, that's significant. A lot of people in recent years have started getting irate on Columbus Day.  "Nyeh, he didn't discover anything; there were already people there!"  "Nyeh, he killed them all with smallpox missiles!"  Shut up.  It's not like Columbus was trying to get the natives sick.  The guy was a 15th-century sailor; what the bleep did he know about regional immunities?  You don't hear non-Christians or non-Irish complaining on St. Patrick's Day "Nyeh, there were never any snakes in Ireland for Patrick to drive out" or anything stupid like that, so why do so many non-Italians have to rag on our ONE holiday?  We don't really celebrate Columbus "discovering" America; we celebrate our cultural identity as the green, white, & red.  And we celebrate it with a lot less whiskey & a lot better food than the Irish.  ;)  Trust me, that's significant, too. Here's why those two things are significant: Today is also my birthday.  I am an Italian-American born on Columbus Day.  There was a parade through my father's home neighborhood, not to celebrate his firstborn child (though I like to pretend otherwise), and certainly not to celebrate accidental genocide & poor geography skills, but to celebrate being the original Romantic people. Let us have our fun without your sermons.  And let me blow out my candles without a guilt trip. Oh, also, listen to The Next 2 Hours of Your Life, Tuesdays @ 6 PM CDT: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-next-two-hours-of-your-life Current Mood: bouncy Current Music: 'The Long-Playing EP' ~Y-O-U (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, August 8th, 2009
1:45 am	Top 15s...ALL OF THEM. I keep seein' this on Facebook, & I keep thinking it's a cool idea, & so here it is.  My list of books that I'll always remember...& also a few other things.  (None of these actually reach 15 entries. Meh.) Fun times, all. ( 12(87) books, 12(14) films, 12(13) shows, 12-ish albums, & 12(20+) games lie within ) Current Mood: confused Current Music: She & Him Volume One (Comment on this)
Thursday, July 9th, 2009
12:03 am	Ya don't need to be Albert Eisenstein to figure this out. Imagine a carpenter's toolbox.  He needs different combinations of the tools in that box depending on what he's working on.  Some projects require only a hammer; others need a screwdriver & hacksaw but no hammer, some other projects might require the hammer with a coping saw, and certain projects might use a lathe & nothing else.  Each of these tools performs a different function, & each is used to achieve a different goal.  If he uses a rotary saw where a pocket knife would have sufficed, the product could be destroyed.  If he uses sandpaper where adhesive was needed, not only will the wood not stick together, but it will in fact become harder to stick together once he realizes he should've been using the glue. Now replace the word "carpenter" with the word "filmmaker." Michael Bay uses explosions where he needs dialogue. Joel Schumaker uses gay innuendo where he needs plot twists. Seltzer & Friedberg use painfully bad pop-culture impersonations where they need jokes. M. Night Shamalama uses plots twists where he needs closure (& pale white kids where he needs Inuits, but that's another rant). Ed Wood used...nothing...where he needed special effects. You know the cinesnobs you meet who decree from lofty seats of self-deluded grandeur that CGI is never necessary or good in film? They're wrong. You know the actionbrats you meet who ignorantly refuse to watch any movie that doesn't rely heavily & obviously on CGI? They're also wrong. It's not about what tools you use.  It's about what you use them for. ...That's all I got; I was chased out of OP halfway through writing this (midnight closing) & there was a while when the wifi was down, so I forgot my big ending. Meh, you got the point. By the by, just started on The Chase script.  Jotted some great ideas down today. Current Mood: exhausted Current Music: Grooveshark (Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 24th, 2009
12:47 am	Me & My Nomenclature So I met this obnoxious dude at a bar (Lewellyn's) this past Sunday night.  Normally when I encounter obnoxious people in loud places, I find it easy to ignore them, especially if I'm with somebody I like (in this case, it was my sister).  Unfortunately, this guy had a microphone, a loud voice, & was the reader for the trivia game which was the entire reason I was there, so I had to listen to him.  Josh the Trivia-MC spent the entire evening bragging about how he's never read any book except Twilight, how he didn't know almost ANY of the answers though the questions covered pretty much any topic imaginable, & how he pretty much does nothing but get drunk & laid, while simultaneously claiming that anyone who knew any of the answers was a virgin.  I also got to hear him butcher a LOT of names, including "STRIDER".  Strider isn't even a Tolkieny name (though this was a Lord of the Rings question, & a hard one at that); it's a stinking dictionary word. Meanwhile, some folks were complaining about using the word "gay" as an insult, & they have a point.  In fact, almost every argument I've ever heard against that usage is absolutely correct (though there are a few misfires).  I bring all this up because Perez Hilton thinks he's allowed to use the word that way.  This story upset me for a couple reasons. Reason #1 is that I know who Perez Hilton is, & that makes me sad. Reason #2 is that this sort of double standard bugs the crud out of me.  I have never been offended by the terms "wop" or "dago" (to be perfectly honest, I'm kind of impressed when people actually know those words), because I have three brain cells to rub together & thus can tell from context when somebody is genuinely bigoted against my culture or not.  The few people I've met who have had such a bias didn't even know the slurs. Besides, I have a new idea for a slur meaning "stupid": Perez.  I think we can all get behind this one. Project updates: A couple new Subtitle sketches are done. Finally finished writing & arranging "Part 2", as well as another song "Daughter of the 4th Tribe". I'm sitting on a completed Monitor column for the fall, with a couple more outlines awaiting meat on their bones. Ooh! And I don't think I've mentioned this, but last March I finished Maximillian Roivas' chapter of the Eternal Darkness screenplay, & it's my favorite part of the script so far. Max is just so awesome. (Also awesome: Mr. Bennett in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Read that book. NOW.) Cooked up a few ideas for POP experiments, too. ***To read anything I've completed or to get more info about what I'm working on, just ask.*** Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: "Craigslist" ~Weird Al (Comment on this)
Sunday, May 24th, 2009
8:44 pm	Monitor failure This was supposed to run in The Monitor in February.  Not only did it not make the first issue of the semester, it also didn't make any of the lower-budget mid-semester issues, nor did it make the late-April full-size-again issue at the end of the semester.  They didn't even run it in the Monitor Blog.  Since it was time-sensitive, I will not be resubmitting it in the fall, instead you guys can see it right here, right now (remember, this was supposed to run in early February): The Song Remains the Same Opinion by >> Joey Puricelli             The Democrats won. If you’re saying “WOO!” or “BOO!” to that statement, you’re wrong. You should be reacting to Barack Obama’s victory, not the Democratic Party’s.             “But, Joey,” says hypothetical-partisan-reader-from-either-side, “that’s the same thing, isn’t it?” No, hypo-party-reader, it is not. When election time comes around, it is not supposed to become a question of “us versus them” when we enter the voting booth. Our job—nay, our duty—as members of the electorate is to choose the candidate who we deem best-suited for their desired position. We are NOT supposed to vote based exclusively on a desire to beat someone else, & we are NOT supposed to vote for a candidate just because of which animal mascot is on their campaign posters. For that matter, it shouldn’t even matter whether or not the best candidate even has an animal mascot. For all we know, the best person to run the executive branch might not be a Democrat or a Republican.             “But, Joey,” chimes hypothetical-partisan-reader again, “a vote for a third-party is a vote wasted.” No, hypo-puppet-reader, it is not. That is the battle cry of the surrendering soldier, the slogan of the slacker, the catchphrase of a citizen who has just given up. I once heard that same sentiment rephrased as “I would rather not vote than waste my vote,” a cop-out spoken by somebody who couldn’t comprehend that not voting IS wasting one’s vote. Forget parties, man; we need to look at ALL of the candidates & find the one we think is best. It is a tragedy that out of all the precedents set by George Washington, the rejection of party politics is both the wisest & the only one not adopted by any of his 43 successors so far.             “But, Joey,” and I sigh with frustration as hypothetical-partisan-reader interrupts, “I thought Washington was a Federalist.” No, hypo-jackhole, he was not. Some lazy people lump him in there because his policies were closer to Federalist than Anti-Federalist & because of John Adams, but historically such a lumping doesn’t even make sense, & I’ll tell you why. Back in the day, the office of the vice-presidency went to the first runner-up in the polls, so the VP was sometimes of a different party than the president [case in point, Abraham Lincoln (R, IL) & Andrew Johnson (D, NC)]. Just because Adams was a Federalist and Washington’s veep doesn’t mean Washington was a Federalist. The father of our country DESPISED the party system, predicting—accurately—that it would result in nothing moreso than inner conflict & stagnation.             Meanwhile, as much as I’d like to see the two-party stranglehold broken, I’m still glad to see somebody like Obama win. But even with that bit of comfort, there is still a degree of worry…I want to see 24/7 Secret Service detail guarding Nancy Pelosi & Robert Byrd (naturally, Obama & Biden have such a detail by default). Hillary Clinton is now 5th in the line of succession; that puts her only 3 hitmen & a hate crime away from the White House, & I put nothing past that woman. Nothing. I'm working on some new stuff for the fall; hopefully then they'll start remembering the paper's mission again. Current Mood: bored Current Music: DNA covering "Music of the Night" (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, May 16th, 2009
10:16 pm	I've been sleeping well.  I got my C in Complex Variables (& As in the other two classes).  I've completed my GTRA duties.  I have 2 great internship prospects.  My sister graduated today.  My brother just won an award.  I am so exhausted. Haven't gotten much productivity in, between having to go to my siblings' ceremonies, work, family errands, & the fact that the calls I need to make all need to be during school hours.  Still need to check on supplies for the apartment.  Still need to write a cover letter for Macon.  Still need to find a freaking summer job.  I keep forgetting things everytime I try to write them down (case in point: this entry was originally going to be much more interesting, but I've forgotten most of what I was gonna say).  My family keeps relying on me to fix the computer in my limited & largely-booked-up time at home.  I keep trying to teach them how to do it, but Dad refuses to learn, Kerro & Nina are too busy, and Mom keeps forgetting....and losing the written instructions I give her.  Now they need me to install a new printer instead of just reading the dang instructions. ALMOST saw Chuck Berry last Wednesday, but I got to Blueberry Hill on Tuesday only to find that the show had sold out earlier that day.  Spent some time jamming with Mankus in the park instead.  I might sit in with his band once in a while if he ever finishes forming it.  Oh, & then later that night, I got to spend an hour bailing backed-up stormwater out of our basement before it reached anything it could destroy. I swear, I need a vacation from this vacation.  And I'm not gonna get it; it's almost summer-classes time! Current Mood: anxious Current Music: Hazard to Ya Booty (Comment on this)
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
1:18 am	Last night at Il Spazio 2nd attempt at a Windfall poetry slam (3rd attempt overall).  Almost late, since one-acts started late & ran long; what happened to the half-hour ceiling? Thought that if I played ball this time, did a "beat poem" (which, if Mr. Risch is anything to judge by, means "ranting for 5 minutes about nothing while spouting off buzzwords like 'imperialist' & 'masturbation' to trigger bouts of rhythm-ruining applause/snapping, so it's a good thing there was no rhythm to begin with", though I must admit I liked his ode to Pickler Library--that being the only good one of the 9 poems I've heard him read), that I'd get through to the second round for once, maybe even get to read ALL 3 of the poems I brought; that'd be nice.  I was wrong, got tanked by a low score anyway.  Tried to help the finals go right by being a judge & voting honestly, but somehow a tie happened, then the guy who LEAST followed the tie-breaker rules ended up winning 2nd prize.  Whatever.  Here's the poem I read:   “Grand Slam”  Most of my stuff really isn’t that long; Last time I felt like I’d done something wrong. But then, of course, there was that one guy Whose low scores for all sounded like a dumb lie. This is my second of these slams; I didn’t do too well at my first.  I also didn’t announce that it was my first, though probably I should have, but I got called up early in the night, before the other first-timers.  I didn’t realize that mercy points were given for proclaiming oneself a Poetry Slam virgin.  I also didn’t realize that works under 5 minutes would be so looked-down upon.  Seriously, I read one of my longest ones, & it didn’t even come close to the running time of the others; when I was done, the crowd was staring at me as though they thought I’d just begun.  It probably didn’t help that I had a cold that night & couldn’t speak properly.  But really, one of the judges in the first round seemed really spiteful; he gave everybody a bad score.  Thematics so predictable flooding the night’s docket, While I have 3 pieces of pure whimsy in my pocket.  People have ragged on They Might Be Giants for writing songs with unusual subjects: particle physics, Belgian artists, amateur filmmaking, et cet.  Why?  What’s wrong with that?  Are those people saying there’s no truth to be found in topics other than the ones that get done all the time? So I’m up there reading a poem about 2 things—that’s why I called it “Simulcast”—it was about doing a radio show & it was about somebody I have a crush on.  Thematically, I stuck out like a sore thumb.  This one is about the politics of the poetry slam, but I want it to be more accessible to the assembled, so here are some themes that I already know you guys love: Sex. Sex, sex, sex, sex, sex.  Let’s be honest, everyone loves talking about sex, even people who are embarrassed by it.  Even me.  But why insist on using the ugliest terms to describe what I’m told is one of the most beautiful of life’s experiences?  Some of those people sounded like Dexter or Monk, just terrified of the very concept of human sexuality.  "Maybe we could make some love..." THAT man knows what he's talking about.  But I’ve said the three-letter word; let’s move on.  George Bush is an idiot!  True, but not particularly insightful.  Where’s the beauty in preaching to the choir?  What’s the use of spending your time arguing about a politician who’s no longer in office to a room full of people who completely support you already? Television is worthless!  That one’s a lie.  All forms of media are inherently of neutral worth, & “90% of everything is crud,” to quote the Sturgeon generally.  To outrightly dismiss TV as an artform because of The Bachelor makes as much sense as outrightly dismissing literature as an artform because of Twilight.  So yeah, I’m gonna keep writing verses about movies, & about stuff I did last week, & about innocent crushes, about true love actually working because the people involved actually had half a brain between them so they were practical, about linear algebra, about verses themselves, & even about NOTHING.  Somebody has to; John Linnell’s getting old. I don’t think that every poem has to rhyme, But you still can do so some of the occasions. Meter, too, is not always required, But seriously, some of the poems felt like they were intentionally eschewing any kind of rhythm, which is a funny thing to desire.  I love Cummings a lot, seriously.  The creativity of his poetry and prose are a constant source of inspiration for me.  But when he wrote prose, you knew it.  Because he wrote it in paragraphs.  His legendary visual trickery was excellent for poetry, and it even still sounded like poetry if you read it aloud.  Cummings also wrote some more traditional forms; his are the only sonnets I’ve ever been able to stand, but that’s the topic of another poem I wrote a few years ago.  One you might hear tonight, if you play your cards right.  His prose, however, while possessing the same lyrical tone, did read as prose, and he knew it.  He didn’t try to pass it off as poetry by randomly breaking the lines.  Some of the poems I heard at the last slam did that.  When you have neither rhythm nor rhyme & you ALSO don’t have any visual design like he did, it’s not poetry anymore.  You need rhythm to rap; otherwise you're just rambling.  There has to be something separating it from prose besides random line breaks.  Some of the people did it last time, and I’m doing it right now!  Look! Look at the paper!  This is a paragraph!  I just cut off the lines randomly!  Everything I’ve said since “I love Cummings a lot” has been prose!  What is going on here!?  But I digress…  Will this time’s experience match the last? I can’t know until writing this poem has passed. So for the moment I’ll just have to say, Shake up the 8-ball, the answer is [yay/nay]. Scrub it. Current Mood: sleepy Current Music: "Me and You" ~Snoopy & Woodstock (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
12:52 am	Stupid recession has to happen right after I take out my first student loan & right before I can get a decently-paying job. Switching to semester internship. I'll finish the degree a few weeks sooner this way. Still in summer 2010. I'll still be in Kirksville next year, guys. Getting sick of formalistic gibberish (Maglio) or having to join all these organizations (NEA/SMSTA/NCTM/MASSE).  One paper away from finishing Math Edu Tech. Two proofs away from finishing Complex Variables. One test away from finishing Measurement. One test & a lot of grading from finishing College Algebra. ...Then come my two summer classes...& my 4 more classes next year...& my research portfolio... I'm so tired of schools. Two of fine quality split my attention. One has eyes that cripple me & feet even my ears cannot hear, physical grace which manifests itself also in her manner. (That one probably isn't reading this.) The other has the cutest smile, the same expression relaying both her passionate side & her mischievous side, two extremely lovable sides of the same coin. (That one might be reading this.) Both have shot me down already. Both also share the highly attractive trait of being able to put up with & even befriend somebody like me. I really am quite an acid test for peoples' character. Fr. Bill mentioned something in his homily this week that I've been saying for months: The sparks tend not to happen right away, not on the first date, & particularly not before the first date. You have to get to know somebody. That's all I've been asking for, the chance to get to know somebody better. Whatever happened to trying? I'm so tired of being alone. Why am I telling you people all this? Because I'm exhausted. I haven't been sleeping well this semester. My buggerer of a roommate has been slow-roasting me every night with the heater. I've tried asking him to turn it down. I've tried turning it down myself. I've tried pointing out how hot it's getting. Nothing is working. I can achieve unconsciousness, but I wake up unrested in the morning. It's affecting my grades, particularly in Complex. It's affecting my physical condition, my speech slurring more & my immune system weakening. It's affecting my memory, events growing hazier even as they're happening. And it's affecting my judgment, as evidenced by this verbal vomit of an entry. I'm so tired. Current Mood: tired Current Music: LittleKuriboh and Problem Sleuth (Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
12:01 am	Ozark Lake Daredevils The Lake of the Ozarks is a wonderful place, but a lot of the roads around it are treacherous as all heck.  Curves are great, & I love hilly roads, but both at once, especially when even a small mistake can send you careening into the lake because there are gale-force winds that day, not so fun.  I mean, it's a tourist area; a very significant percentage of the people driving there have never done so before; we don't have the turns memorized. It also doesn't help when you get tailgated by the locals.  I'm driving the speed limit (or faster), & I still have people riding my butt?  Really?  Are you really in THAT much of a hurry?  The tailgating was especially inexcusable on highway 54, since the other drivers could have just passed me.  Speaking of 54, did you know there are TWO "Business 54s" within 30 miles of each other?  'Cause I didn't, and the directions & map I was given didn't either.  One of them (the southern one) goes directly to Bagnell Dam & the town of Lake Ozark, where I was trying to go.  The other one (which I took, not knowing there'd be a second) goes to Eldon*, then makes a poorly-labeled left turn in Versailles, at which point the road you're actually on becomes 52, & eventually 5, leading you down the western side of the lake.  Fortunately, there is a toll bridge across the lake halfway through. Which brings me to my next point... Gas station attendants of the world, heed my words: It is true that most people will want to avoid a toll bridge if they can.  However, people who are lost are not placing their priority on saving $2.50; they are placing their priority on NOT BEING LOST ANYMORE.   You should tell them about such a bridge.  Meanwhile, the TWO separate gas clerks I asked for directions told me to take roads that would've forced me down around the southern tip of the lake & back up the other side, which would've made me easily an hour too late to check into my hotel room.  Fortunately, at the 2nd station, there was a cop buying a drink who corrected the clerk & told me about the toll bridge, which was only a few minutes away. But arrive in time I did, & the conference was better this year than last.  I didn't have to do as many snarky notepad comments, there was no GLEs/CLEs lecture, and I even made a crazy new friend! :)  Also, I got to swim!!!  I swam for the first time in a year!!!  I'm still extremely good at it, but I got tired faster than I should've, & it was really really fun!!! *(For those who were wondering: No, you shouldn't have heard of Eldon. The town doesn't matter, not one bit. It has no need for a "Business" spinoff.) Current Mood: indescribable Current Music: Sweet Nothings (Comment on this)
Monday, April 6th, 2009
11:28 pm	A pretty butterfly. Dog with head split in half. (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
4:25 pm	Texting is stupid. This happened today... Weirdo [314-458-5380]: Douche Me: Who is this? Weirdo: dis lil wes who dis Me: Not the "Douche" you texted this morn! I dunno any wes Weirdo: who is dis Me: J-Man Weirdo: who the f*** Me: No one you know: you texted me 1st Weirdo: Naw i didnt but wat eva I stinking hate texting.  Mistype a phone number when you're sending, & you get confusion like the above.  It takes forever to type out anything legible unless your phone has a full keyboard, at which point you might as well have a laptop & send emails or IMs.  If you don't want to take the time or the expense, you end up speaking in abbreviations which no two people use identically.  Either way, you get charged up the wazoo if you send too many...or even if you receive too many. There is exactly 1 person in the world (Jenny) with whom I text, & that is only because it is the only way to contact her when I'm out of town (some jerk gave her phone #, email address, & AIM screenname to an advertising service, so those have all become too flooded with spam to be usable). Current Mood: confused Current Music: Head (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
12:15 pm	Sleep deprivation + Long late-night showers = Bizarre mixtures of darkness & silliness Who am I? I am J.MAN the Unkillable, mighty & fearless. I am J.MAN the Paranoid, weak & afraid. I am J.MAN the Spiritual, servant & friend of Christ. I am J.MAN the Logical, skeptical & analytical. I am J.MAN the Storyteller, creative & crazy. I am J.MAN the Jester, mischievous & witty. I am J.MAN the Serious, intensely driven. I am J.MAN the Lone, stoic & solitary. I am J.MAN the Lonely, though not for lack of trying. I am J.MAN the Friend, welcoming & supportive. I am J.MAN the Recluse, guarded & secretive. I am J.MAN the Popular, who people are glad to see. I am J.MAN the Afterthought, who people are willing to leave behind. I am J.MAN the Actor, engaged & involved. I am J.MAN the Writer, removed & observant. I am J.MAN the Musician, ever trying to make a joyful noise. I am J.MAN the Teacher, eager to pass on ideas. I am J.MAN the Student, eager to learn. I am J.MAN the Tactician, cold & calculating. I am J.MAN the Humanitarian, empathetic & concerned. I am J.MAN the Reverent, respectful to righteous authority & fond of benevolent tradition. I am J.MAN the Rebel, fighting micromanagement from the man & defying pointless demands. I am J.MAN the Legendary undergrad with the weird double-major who bent the rules to suit his will, ultimately resulting in everybody getting what they wanted with no one getting hurt. I am J.MAN the Marionette graduate being forced to jump through an ever-imploding set of stupid hoops over & over again for no satisfactorily-explained reason. I am J.MAN the Long-Winded, never quite knowing when to stop. I am J.MAN the Silent, never quite knowing how to start. I am J.MAN the Hyperactive, bizarrely spry for his build. I am J.MAN the Lethargic, bizarrely weary for his age. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man. I'm the ******* Batman. I. Am. Iron man. I! AM! BEOWULF! I am the package man. I...am the neighborhood superspy. (Superspy!) I am the terror that flaps in the night! I'm Sparticus! I'm a picker, I'm a grinner, I'm a lover, & I'm a sinner. I am a beautiful animal! I am a destroyer of worlds! I am who I am & that's who I am. I'm nobody; who are you? I...am an enchanter. I'm Alan Partridge. Whoami. Who am I? I'm Joseph Louis Puricelli. My friends call me Joey. My enemies also call me Joey. Through the right mixture of online supplemental materials (including this very blog), certain people with certain types of access can effectively assemble an introductory instruction manual to me. I am sick of fear. I am sick of my own ego. I am going to try to ask somebody I like something important. Please pray for me. Current Mood: confused Current Music: Large quantities thereof (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 20th, 2009
12:48 pm	I am the Kintobor. We watched Barack Obama's inauguration today in Complex Variables.  (It was bookended by lecture. Trippy.)  The new president's words inspired me....& by that I mean literally the words he used triggered my writing muse.  Whenever somebody says "The time has come..." then pauses, I always mentally insert "...the Walrus said."  This time, however, I finally decided to take that prompt & run with it.  What follows here is an alternate inaugural address based on President Obama's speech today.  It's not very long or in-depth, but you have to remember I was scribbling furiously while listening to the actual speech AND trying to finish before we returned to lecture.  It's also not very serious, but that's by design. As the Walrus said, "The time has come...to talk of many things: Of shoes & ships & sealing wax, of cabbages & kings."  Well spoken, brother Walrus. We face a major economic recession at a time when some Americans have nothing more than the tattered shoes on their feet.  It is time to bring shoe production, & countless other industries, back to our shores to increase employment, stimulating our economy by giving people a reason to put on their shoes in the morning! Our ships full of travellers visiting foreign shores need to be well-received by our fellow human beings around the world.  It is time to renew the reputation of America a friend & ally in the global view! The sealing wax that binds us together as Americans has been weakening as we have become further polarized and ostracized within our country, our cities, & even our neighborhoods.  It is time for us to reseal the hardwood patio deck of patriotism & understanding to protect it from the harsh rains of ideological intolerance! All around the globe, there are those who lack the necessities of day-to-day life, who must struggle desperately each morning for enough foos to stay alive & see another sunrise.  It is time to throw these people some cabbages, to share our bounty with those in need!  After all, soup of cabbage is cabbage power, which makes us stronger by the hour! Cabbage never lets us down; keeps us healthy, safe, & sound! Then there is the individual, each one of us alone, the kings of our own souls.  It is time to fortify these castles of our souls, for even as we work together, we must be vigilant against the loss of that castle!  Perhaps a carpenter could help us out when it comes to making that little birdhouse in our souls!  For what is a birdhouse, but a castle of the sky? So there we have it, my fellow Americans.  The tasks before us are many & difficult, but not insurmountable.  Through out collective efforts & our individual diligence, we will prevail.  The time has come indeed, wise brother Walrus!  Goo-goo-g'joob! Whee! :) Current Mood: playful Current Music: The First National Band (Comment on this)
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
12:45 am	So this is happening. Hi, I'm Joey.  I'm going to grad school to get a master's degree in high school math education.  I want the degree.  I don't want to work in public schools.  I want to make movies.  I maybe want to tutor.  I am writing in jerky, nonflowing sentences for no easily discernible reason. My head is spinning, folks.  I knew graduate work would be hard, but I didn't realize how needlessly complicated it would be.  I'll be teaching College Algebra at Truman this semester (which starts in a week, by the way), & I only have my first 2 classes planned.  Meanwhile, my internship paperwork is due at the start of February, & I have NO IDEA where to apply yet, because I've been so freaking busy with schoolwork, then family work, then Kmart work, & then prepping for the course I'm about to teach.  ...Also, I only have 2 of the required 3 reference letters locked down; that weasel Dr. Erickson backed out on me after I had already left Kirksville. Ideally, I'll do the internship somewhere within a reasonable commute from Truman, since living in K-ville will make it much less insane to find housing for summer 2010 classes.  Also, I want to be able to continue auditioning for one-acts, being on the radio, & abusing campus resources. Speaking of campus resources, this semester I'm applying for the lab show again.  I know for a fact that I'll need a Publicity Chief*, Prop Chief, & ASM, and I still have to hear back from people for SM, Tech Director, & Light Designer, so those might also be open. Recent developments on the creative front:  Albuquirky is finished!!!  Anyone who wants to read the greatest musical-gallows-comedy-with-parody-songs ever written just needs to let me know. I recently finished a tune called "Crush Song," & another ditty ("Part 2," used in my recent one-act audition) is almost ready. A few poems came out of me this semester, too, entirely by accident.  I was just thinking, & I was typing, & a lot of my thoughts came out metered and/or rhymed, you know how it is. Got my next Monitor column ready already, too. I read, get this, SIX BOOKS over this break.  And they were books that I actually WANTED to read.  :D  I haven't gotten to read for pleasure in sooooo long! Also, my sister decided to do something incredibly awesome by getting me three (3) Papa Nez albums for Christmas! ...I leave in 6 days & the package hasn't arrived yet, but she did place the order a long time ago & thought it would be here by Christmas. Something else, more personal, so less clear: From early 2004 to mid 2007, I knew what I wanted, & I knew that I did not have it & that I probably would never, but I was sure, so I was okay.  From mid 2007 to early 2008, I knew what I needed, & I fought against the darkness to get it, & I succeeded, so I was okay. From this past September to now, I have not been okay.  I thought I knew what I wanted, but I wasn't sure, & I failed.  (Also, I got some bum intel which needlessly tanked my October**.)  Now, though, I'm sure about something else, that I'm heading into uncharted waters. I've never dealt with a...divided focus...before, though I can tell that it could become unhealthy (not only to me, but also both...focii) if not treated.  Fortunately, treatment: past experience with singular...focus...tells us that it will fade over time if nothing comes of it, or if it is replaced by another...focus.  So I'm making a decision to narrow my...focus...& hope for the best with that, which should remedy the other...focus...which has already failed. Happy new year, everybody! :) *No experience necessary, I can teach you how to do this if need be. **Not an easy task; October is MY month. Current Mood: excited Current Music: Muppet Christmas music (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
12:04 am	I went around surveying people today, basing my questions on this video. Here’s a compilation of responses, with most of the duplicates removed.  WHAT IN POLITICS? 9 πe “Diabetes” “That question makes no sense.” “What?” “I don’t know.” 7 2 “Libertarian” 8 “No” “I don’t understand.” *faint* “I don’t really follow politics aside from elections.” 5 (on 3rd rephrasing) “Canadians” “It’s very important.” “Yes” 3 (rating personal involvement) 7 (to ‘How much does politics play into voting?’) “I don’t know anything about politics.” “I don’t like that wording.” “A whole lot…8, but this year 9 or 10.” “Normally 7, but today 6.” “You lost me.” “What is politics? A bunch of people who decide our future.” “It’s too much when it’s more personal attacks than real issues & it’s too much money.” “Politics involves ideas meant to influence people. Today it’s more about appeasement & image.” “Politics has a delicious cream filling, but lots of carbs & hydrogenated oils, making it unhealthy while giving it a long shelf-life.” “Very” “On cost-effectiveness: 2. On usefulness: 6. On efficiency: 3.” “I don’t even understand the question.” “I am for less federal regulation, more local government rights, & more individual rights. My beliefs are also affect by my faith, though I recognize the need to avoid legislating religion.” (to ‘What am I in politics?’) “There’s no verb!” “I usually agree with the Democratic party, but with some leeway. I tend to be very liberal, though.” (to ‘What’s important to you in politics?’)  HOW ABOUT VICE PRESIDENT? “Biden” “Screw ‘em.” “Also” “Whoever” 8 “No preference” “Yes” “Some yes” 3 4 “Very important as well.” 9 “Whatever. But it’s important.” 8.5 “Palin is scary; Biden seems competent.” “People don’t know as much about vice presidents.” “There’s too much Palin coverage.” “It’s a lesser-of-2-evils thing” “My dad calls her a ‘hot Alaskan momma’.” “Palin is taking cues from Cheney, which is bad.” “I don’t know about vice presidents.” “Dick Cheney is the current one, I don’t know.” “An advisor who should be qualified to take over if El Presidente dies.” “They shouldn’t be too abusive & should be diplomatic since they represent the president abroad.” “I prefer pollen to Palin.” “Luigi” “Sounds fine.” “On utilization: 4. On usefulness: 5. In a vacancy: 10.” “That’s what we’re voting on, if you get my meaning.” “No to Biden, especially with the economy as it is.” “It’s important, but not as important as the president. We want them to be close in ideology to the president, just in case. They need to be able to step up.”   WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE “McCAIN TRAIN” & “BARACKIT SHIP” JINGLES? *(Optional question, jingles were sung in person.) “Barackit Ship is better.” “McCain Train is better.” “Neither song.” “You can’t ride a train to an island.” “Both songs are useless.” “Neither really, slight nod to Barackit Ship.” “Both songs would be ineffective.” “Neither song would be effective.” “Those are catchy tunes.” “The songs are so lame, they’d be better used as attacks from the other side.” “They’re both good tunes.” “They’re too cheesy. I can’t take campaign jingles seriously; they’re cute, but have no actual content about the candidates.” Current Mood: bemused Current Music: "Barackit Ship" & "McCain Train" jingles (Comment on this)
Monday, October 6th, 2008
1:01 pm	A Promise I promised to "back off" (though from what I'm backing off, I'm not sure).  I promised to give some space.  I promised not to approach or talk to you for a while.  That was really stupid of me, since you're the only one who can explain what the bleep is going on.  But I'm a man of my word. HOWEVER, I have officially decided when "a while" ends.  We need to talk about this.  I want to apologize, which I can't do until we speak.  Also, how can I avoid doing whatever it was I did if I never get to know what it was?  My mental & cardiac health are both depending on my patience, which will wear thin soon. Thus I lay out the following new promise:  When the saints go marching in, I will march up to you. For more detail as to what that means, keep an eye on my next few Facebook statuses. I hope you read this, & I hope Burden reads this.  Our friendship is NOT going down the tubes over a misunderstanding. Oh, how I want to be in that number. 111 Current Mood: anxious Current Music: What in politics? (Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 30th, 2008
5:59 pm	Cosmo writers are not known for their cultural literacy. ...which explains why this article has such limited scope.  The author probably only knows those 4 characters (Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, & the Hulk, for those who don't want to bother reading it), and thus could only make up 4 personality stereotypes.  I don't have that limitation, so here's a bunch more stereotypes!  Yay! Who he worships: The Fantastic Four What it reveals: Amongst other things, it reveals a lack of interest in deep characterization (so he probably loves Superman, too).  Seriously, it depends on which of the Four he's most interested in.  If it's Mr. Fantastic, Reed Richards, he's in the Spidey boat: Responsible, awkward, & intelligent.  If it's the Human Torch, Johnny Storm, he's brash, loud, & impulsive.  If it's the Thing, Ben Grimm, he wants to be as buff as possible (or he actually pays attention to Grimm's dialogue & wants to be normal).  If it's the Invisible Woman, Sue Storm, then he thinks women in spandex are hot.  [See? Weak psychological stereotypes are easy! Let's do some more:] Who he worships: The X-Men What it reveals: Absolutely nothing.  The X-Men franchise has more characters than the entire rest of the Marvel catalog combined, most of whom are as different as night & day & dawn & dusk. Who he worships: The Tick What it reveals: If he's laughing at the Tick, it reveals that he has a sense of humor.  If he's laughing with the Tick, it reveals that he's not very bright, but that he doesn't care because he doesn't realize it.  He also might think himself nigh-invulnerable, so watch out for that. Who he worships: The Avatar What it reveals: He has a desire to bring balance to the world by mastering all 4 elements of nature.  He also has a desire to tattoo a giant blue arrow on his head. Who he worships: The Mystery Men What it reveals: He's kinda crazy & might have a death wish, but at least he doesn't mind not being invincible.  He's snarky, temperamental, & impulsive. Who he worships: The Mario Brothers What it reveals: He is not afraid of reptiles, & he has an interest in plumbing.  Encourage this part of him; plumbers make good money & set their own hours. Who he worships: Captain Hammer What it reveals: ....He's probably a lot like Captain Hammer.  Avoid unless presented with a situation where super-strength would be extremely helpful.  Do not mate with him.  Especially not twice, unless you like to do "the freaky stuff." The article's author had this to say in her defense after several comments called her out: "You guys are right...there are so many other great superheroes out there! However, we wanted to only focus on the four most popular heroes we hear about, especially in pop culture lately."  Pfft.  If that was the case, why didn't you mention Iron Man or Hellboy?  Don't make up weak excuses for your weak research. Current Mood: hungry Current Music: Just saw The Dark Knight; don't need music right now. (Comment on this)
Friday, May 16th, 2008
11:12 pm	Ogres are like onions.... ....and people are like springs. If you push down on a spring too much, if you press it farther than it's meant to be pressed or hold it down longer than it's meant to be held down, then that spring is going to bounce back and hurt you given the slightest opportunity.  If your pressure tilts in any direction, the spring will rocket out the side of your grip, ricochet against the wall, and smack you in the head.  If your weight slips--for even a microsecond--off of the spring, it will bounce back straight into your eye.  And even if you don't make a mistake like that, eventually the spring will give just enough and in such a way that it is able to stab you right in the thumb you're using to hold it down.  We're talking about a serious puncture wound, here; you can't just slap a bandage on that and go back to pushing.  You will need medical attention pronto, and while you're gone, the spring will reshape itself back to the form it was meant to be in. On the other hand, if you never push on the spring at all, it becomes weak & brittle.  Too much time without any resistance, and the spring becomes rusty with complacence.  It will forget how to resist, how to push back into shape.  And when that happens, there is nothing to stop some strong jackhole from coming along and pressing down on the spring again, only this time, the spring will stay down.  If that jackhole keeps pushing down on it, the now-atrophied spring will no longer be capable of ricochet revenge; it will break.  And it will stay broken.  The spring will die without some regular workouts from somebody who is smart enough to know when the spring needs to be pushed, and when it needs to be left alone. This is an analogy.  To help translate, perhaps this entry could have been titled "Why overpowered governments and true anarchy are both really bad ideas." Current Mood: inspired Current Music: Nena did a mediocre cover of their own hit "99 Luftballoons" (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
11:41 am	Santa Claus, a Response to the Responses Having read the 7 evaluations from my classmates about my one-act, I found many comments that were helpful, particularly about the set & blocking.  I also found many comments that were not helpful at all.  This post is about the latter group. AUDIBILITY I got 4 different comments about audibility with equal commonality: 1) I could not understand Max or Hank. 2) I could understand Max, but not Hank. 3) I could understand Hank, but not Max. 4) I could understand both Hank & Max perfectly, save for a few brief moments. Again, I got each of these comments NEARLY EQUALLY.  I know I have strong hearing, and I know I sometimes forget to account for that when presenting sounds to others, but these are completely contradictory comments!  Especially 2 & 3!!! I also got one "Woman & Child were perfectly clear" and one "Woman & Child weren't clear at all" (the latter from one of the people who gave comment 1, so I think one of you guys is just going deaf.)* THEME A couple of the responses about the theme of the play proposed that it was about faith vs. science.  Now, this is a script with a lot of room for interpretation, but where did faith vs. science come from when no one in the entire play ever mentions faith once?  It's occurred to me that there are certain people in the world who, when they hear the word "science" used in any kind of negative connotation, immediately believe they're hearing an argument between science & faith.  What about arguments between sound science & unsound science?  Or more relevantly, what about arguments between real science & con-games pretending to be science? To one of you: I was going for subtlety, not confusion.*  One of the things I loved about The Lover was how Ashley kept it subtle, how she didn't shove the whole plot in our faces. THE MASKS The masks are in the script, guys.  Death and Santa have to trade because Death needs to look like Santa to pull off his scheme.  Death still has a skull face under his skull mask because he is inhuman.  Santa has a man's face (he was wearing stage makeup, for the record) under his mask because he is a man.  End of story. MUSIC Somebody got it right on the nose when they asked "were we supposed to hear parts of a song?"  YES.  These were not normal Christmas songs: The only in-show piece that was a true carol was a twisted version of it, one piece was a Tetris-styled ballet excerpt, and the rest of the songs were about things like mass murder, organized labor, Nazi Germany, and nuclear annihilation. GENRE The key word here, as I mentioned in class, is "dramedy."  As in, you probably are supposed to laugh at the things which strike you as funny. (No one actually came out and said anything about this, but certain comments led me to believe that certain people thought this was supposed to be a deadly serious play.) *This person was also the one who typed out "e e cummings" as well, which indicated that they didn't hear me in class when I mentioned that Cummings only put his name that way in personal signature, never meaning it to be his official moniker.  This furthers my theory of impending deafness.  I really can't tell who it is, but the outright hostility of their comments gives me a short list of 2 suspects: Either the only person in the class who doesn't like me, or the only person in the class with a short temper. Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: Monkees, BNL, Weird Al, TMBG, Y-O-U (2 Comments |Comment on this)