First, I have to start by saying that these movies are always pretty terrible, but I personally find them to be DELICIOUSLY terrible. :)

5. They always take place in some unconventional area, like cities that get ignored in mainstream films, like St. Louis, Missouri.

4. They use crappy CGIs.

3. Hindered by TV ratings, there isn't a lot of gore, but sometimes the implied violence is even more troubling, because (gasp!) you have to use your imagination. And if your imagination is anything like mine, it's scarier than anything Hollywood could cook up. One film implied a newborn baby being eaten alive by ants...which is made scary by the fact that it has actually happened.

2. Komodo Vs. Cobra, Ice Spiders, Malibu Shark Attack, Boa Vs. Python, Bats: Human Harvest...with names like these it's hard to turn them away, especially on a boring Sunday, or if you're home sick during the week.

1. Odds are that TV movies will never be as good as they used to be (Buried Alive, 1970s), so just accept it, and take what you can get. :)

Hey all. When I say "Saddam Hussein" everyone thinks of rape rooms, acid baths, and other generally evil and insane behaviors. Which he was guilty of. But here are a few things that you probably DIDN'T know about Saddam Hussein.

1. Abolished Sharia courts in Iraq (except for personal injury claims). Google Sharia Law if you don't know anything about it.
2. Set up free education for everyone in Iraq at all education levels.
3. Free hospitalization for everyone (possibly meaning healthcare?)
4. Supported families of soldiers.
5. Subsidies for farmers.
6. Won award from UNESCO for modernizing Iraq's public health systems.
7. Improved infrastructure, including bring electricity to almost every city in Iraq.

Just thought I'd throw that out there. I still think Saddam Hussein is a douche bag, but even a guy who facilitated rape and torture knew that they people in his country needed access to education, public health systems, and hospitals.

Just something to think about.

Just got back from Saw VI. I had to see it, sick or not. I've been waiting all year for it. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but I think that if this isn't the last film, it will be the first in the downward spiral. It was more socially relevant than previous films, but failed to live up to some of the shocking moments of earlier films.

It seemed almost funny in places, and some of the "punishments" were quite unequal. But, I paid to see gore, and I got gore. So no big deal either way.

I still think part two is my favorite.

О моей наружности. У меня каштановые вососы, но сейчас они покрашены в рыжий цвет. Я ношу очки в чёрной оправе. У меня уетыре татуировки и у меня проколото восемь в отверстий в ушах, три--в губе, два--в носу у одно в моём языке. Моя кожа бледна и у меня голубые глаза. Я невысока (157 сантиметров) у стройна. У меня есть майка с изображением президента Обамы. Мои ботинки черно-белые.

If you could read that, you deserve a cookie. It took me an hour or so to write, and it's been corrected via and awesome online networking site for language-learning. Anyway, I need to keep this nonsense up so I can be a Russian language ninja by the time I actually get to go there.

WOO!

So, we went and saw The Final Destination last night. I really wasn't disappointed by what I saw, because all I was really expecting was to see people get killed. I can say that it left a lot of things to be desired for those who were expecting a 'good' movie.

First, as a life-long avid horror fan, I was disappointed with the death scenes. Not because of how they were shot, or how people were killed, but because of how fast it happened. There was really no build-up, no suspense, like in the earlier films. He would get his premonition on how someone would die (which I personally thought was not cryptic enough), then less than a minute or two later, they would be dead.

The initial disaster takes place at a race track, and that scene was pretty awesome, no lie. Some of the other death scenes were poorly orchestrated, and your suspension of disbelief must be stretched further than it was for any of the previous films. For example, you're supposed to believe that a new-model SUV is water-tight and can be filled with water. Or believe that that same SUV cannot gun it out of an automatic car wash in an emergency.

I'm willing to suspend disbelief to an extent for a film like this, but I think that they expected far too much of me. The film was not shown in 3D at K-10, so I can't comment on the quality of that effect, but I can say that there were enough 3D moments to make wearing those goofy glasses and getting a headache worth it. I'll probably end up watching it in 3D when it comes out on DVD, just for shits and giggles.

The most disappointing thing about The Final Destination was that much of the gore and death was CGI. They went more for the shock value of a death than for the suspense leading up to it. Plot-wise, I would say that it's better than the third one, but at least the third one was better at building up suspense and giving you close-calls before the deaths. Also, I'm about 98% sure that the producers/directors of the newest installment of the Final Destination series spent most of their alotted budget on visual effects and shooting in 3D, because the whole cast consists of no-names, and most of their acting was, to say the least, terrible.

The first two films really are the best. And an example of how 'teen' cinema can still be original and edgy. I have been watching horror movies since before kindergarten, and I'd like to think that makes me as good of an expert as one can be without going to film school and learning to analyze film professionally. Any horror/suspence/thriller film that gives you a permanent complex (like a fear of logging trucks) did its job. And FD2 certainly did that.

So overall, I have to say that I was satisfied with The Final Destination, because I really wasn't expecting that much, other than to watch people get killed in outlandish ways. I also have to say that I don't really recommend it to anyone out there who wants more from a film, and even just wanting to see people die (for fake), I was still a little disappointed because of the lack of suspenseful build-up. After the first scene, the writers were like: DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!!!

Although I firmly believe that they wrote the end of the film before the beginning, and that it was meant solely to terrorize movie-goers. I'd also have to say that the last half hour or so of the movie was better than everything after the end of the racetrack scene, for sure.

I'm interested to know how much they spent on this film, and how much it will gross this weekend.

Adam and I went and saw District 9 last night. It was FUCKING AWESOME! Unbelievable. I don't want to give anything away, but it was totally the shit. Aliens, asshole paramilitary types, cool weapons...it has it all. It's $5 at K10, and totally worth every penny.

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My computer is still dead. *cue depressing trumpet music* I'm waiting on information on my loans, so I can take them out and get a new computer!!! So sorry if I'm not as prompt in my replies and whatnot in the meantime.

HUGS!

Lastly: I got an A in my Guitar Class this summer. Woo HOO!

So, I've always been a person who says, "Do whatever you want, as long as you aren't hurting anyone. Anything between two (or more) consenting adults is fair game." And I still believe that...but I really have to say, there are some things out there, that their participants are extremely fucked up.

To the people who mutilate their genitals with pins and needles, for sexual gratification (and not just getting jabbed to ultimately put jewelry in it). You are fucked up. (Like having your lover jam pins into your junk because it gets you off). Or mutilating your junk so that it isn't recognizable as male or female. Inflating your ball sack with saline. YOU ARE FUCKED UP.

To the people who fuck animals, or think you are an animal; you are fucked up.

To someone who willfully amputates a limb for a fetish for a modeling job. YOU ARE FUCKED UP!

To someone who has more interest in fucking an individual body part of a sexual partner than they do in the person (sexually or not) as a whole...YOU ARE FUCKED UP!

These people, along with others, shouldn't be locked up or anything, because my original statement still stands, but they shouldn't continue to labor under the illusion that what they do is normal, or that they aren't plagued by some sort of mental issue(s).

I just found pictures online of things like genital beading, and other extreme body modifications, and some of it seemed fetish-like to me, which reminded me of other fetishes I've seen...and this just needed to be said.

I finally know what I'm going to do with my life, regardless of what is happening around me. No matter how much I want things to be one way, or another--they aren't! They are THIS way. I can't wait around for the world or the people around me to change. Things will continue to be this way until I change them. So I'm going to make the changes, or literally die trying.

I'm going to attempt to endure the stress and anxiety, and the violent mood swings that come with it, and go back to--and finish--school. I figure I'll get a degree and decent job out of the deal, or I'll end up in a nuthouse or dead. I'm already on my way to a nuthouse anyway, I might as well get some college credits and/or a degree out of the deal.

Today I've been feeling sort of shitty. I think I'll pour myself a glass of Sunny D, and just watch some TV or something. I wouldn't mind tracking down some more music, but I'm running out of shit to look for.

A Sam's Club phramacy in Maryland caused an uproar when they decided to promote their pharmacy by handing out precription bottles full of candy to children. (Read story here).

Well, what do you expect? Think about the education level of the average Pharmacy employee, and the intelligence level of the average person. Easy mistake to make, considering, but the employees probably assumed that older kids would know the difference between medicine and familiar candy brands (and they should), and that parents will actually watch their young children (which they should).

The pharmacy doing this was certainly in the wrong (I think it's actually against the law for candy companies to market and product in that fashion, after some uproar in the 1980's...for safety reasons), but what's more interesting is the fact that pharmaceuticals are becoming more and more like candy--for adults. A large percentage of the U.S. population is on some kind of drug for mental health issues, be it an anti-depressant, benzodiazepine, or something. Then there are medications like Xanax, Vicodin, Riddalin, and Adderall that are commonly over-prescribed, and Xanax and (related drugs) in particular is/are unnecessarily prescribed for long periods of time, when it is common knowledge in the medical community that using Xanax for more than three weeks at a time can begin to cause panic attacks--something they are supposed to prevent. Another little-known fact by the general public; anti-depressants are only effective up to 24 months of continuous use. After that, it's a placebo effect, or you're going to get your original symptoms back. How do I know this? I learned it in my college Psychology class. From a doctor. Also, I have first hand experience with several anti-depressants, and I've found that a 6-months-on, 8-months-off schedule provides optimum results. But if your doctor is getting kick-backs for every batch of pills he pushes, why should (s)he tell YOU that?

Never mind the negligence of the doctors who hand out Oxycontin like it's candy, or hand out ADD meds to kids that don't actually have ADD, just to push pills and shut parents up. It's easier to medicate your kid than to parent them, sit down and help them study, or speak with school officials about alternative learning styles, or hell--even talking to your kid! We are a pharmaceutical nation. If your kid acts up, he must have AD(H)D; he's not just being a kid, or a kid who's part of a learning environment that's not suitable to his learning styles--give him pills.

Don't get me wrong, I believe that ADD is a real condition; some kids do have ADD, but it is also a disorder that has become that catch-all junk-drawer diagnosis, which only serves to undermine the cause of the people who really are suffering from it. ADD/ADHD has gone from a learning disability with similar sympathy as Dyslexia, but is now relegated to a joke or a catchphrase, and is often used as a device by some to score the stimulant pills used to treat it.

People in real life, and all over the internet have no problem telling you all about their medical conditions (read some of my own comments above) nowadays. Sixty years ago, talking about your health problems made you weak...at least talking about them outside of the immediate family. In our parents' and grandparents' generations, kids didn't watch their parents taking ten pills a day for everything from hypothyroidism to depression. For many children of our generation, this is common. Why do you think the incidence of pharmaceutical abuse in teens and young adults is on the rise? This goes to the heart of the nature vs. nurture argument.

I also think that many "disorders" are the result of the defects in the contstructs of society, not within the person afflicted. ADD is an excellent example of my theory. The diagnosis of ADD has become much more prevelant than it was--if at all--in the past. We are becoming a society of television and internet, which DOES effect how we process information. One can watch an educational TV show, like The Universe, and absorb the information with ease--even the concepts of theoretical physics--but take that same person, and stick them in a classroom with white walls, white floors, flourescent lighting, and a (possibly boring) teacher, and they could give a shit less about theoretical physics. They're so bored, they'd rather go outside, or go home and play Xbox Live.

Video games. I need to start by telling you that I am not a gamer, I do not generally play video games, and I only know of games what I read online and in reviews. The newest system I own is a Super Nintendo. I do not approve of the themes in the Grand Theft Auto games, but I'm sure there are things you learn from it. Such as makes and models of cars/motorcycles and weaponry. While it may not seem applicable to most of the world, aspects of it are useful. It's also an example of hands-on learning; you learn by doing, and by making mistakes.

The reason why the prevelance of ADD has spiked is because our children are being raised with New Media, which (unlike what the Old Media tells us) is not a bad thing. Our school systems and approaches to education need to evolve with our technology. My ideas? Some gaming companies need to get in on the educational gaming market. I'm not talking about those stupid DS games, either. I'm talking about full on GTA-quality graphics, effects, and storylines, etc being used to develop games that are specifically designed for the classroom, and are to be marketed for use in-class.

Imagine going into class, logging in to XBox live (or Wii, or whatever) and being on a (closed) platform with students from ALL OVER THE COUNTRY/WORLD, playing a really awesome video game that teaches you your course subject in a hands-on interactive way. Imagine learning the geography of Europe, concepts of higher math, or Chinese history, while talking to people from those places. Learning all of those things by osmosis, while at the same time applying it to simulated real-life scenarios. It will be the end of, "What am I ever going to use THIS for?" as we know it!

Before you know it, you'd be able to rattle off the capitals of countries you've currently never heard of, much like your twelve-year-old nephew/brother can do with guns and ammunition thanks to his choice video games. You could get a better idea of what it was like living in facist Germany, or about the Seige of Leningrad.

Unfortunately, for this to work, parents would have to get their panties out of a twist regarding (at least low-level) violence (for high school games). Primary school games could be something as simple as a Magic School Bus-like program which the students and teacher play together in class. So like the TV show, but much more fun, and without that annoying Arnold kid.

Of course, these classes shouldn't be manditory, but an elective course would be nice. Have Sophomore History, and AP Sophomore Virtual History. Same material, but the Virtual class could be AP because it would likely cover more information at a time. Imagine a simulated environment that was Germany just as the Berlin wall came down. Imagine playing out some of the classic novels on the screen, exploring the 1920's, and even shooting Gatsby!

There really is a whole untapped resource for video game use and development here. Really.

OKAY. Enough of my pharmacy-turned-education-system rant. I'm going to do other shit now.

Well, when I got ready to leave for school today, I couldn't find my car key. So I had to get dropped off and picked up from school. Then I go to the damned dealership for a new key, and I get the damn thing home, and it won't fucking turn in my ignition. So I go back up there, they re-cut it, and IT STILL WON'T FUCKING WORK!!!!

I was supposed to be in Battle Creek about 2:30, but now I can't even go tonight. So I'll be there sometime tomorrow. I had no job, no school, and NO LIFE for a FUCKING YEAR! And I never lost my car key. It's not until I actually have something that NEEDS to be done! I never misplace my keys unless there's something important to do...like there's one diaper left, and I need to go get more, or I'm about ready to walk out the door and go to work, on and on and on.

Anyway, on the upside, when Danielle, Meow and I were hanging at the cafe the other night, there was a guy at the table next to us (with his back to us), and he had the most maniacal laugh I've ever heard that wasn't done on purpose. Every time I heard him laugh, I thought about being axe murdered. After a few minutes, everytime he'd laugh, I'd think of another way to die.

 I laughed until there were tears in my eyes. If I see that guy in there again, I'm going to sit next to him and wait for him to laugh, just so I can be cheered up. LMAO. Just thinking about that is making me feel better about my car key.