Y'know, it's funny. After dinner tonight, I found out that Kentucky lost to Marquette! And SOMEone I know told me that Kentucky was going all the way this year. Yet, Marquette not only beat them, but trounced them by a full 14 points! Wow. I'm going to have to be careful which sources I listen to for next year's brackets. (Yes, I am really setting myself up for a beating here, but it's worth it ^_^)

Tunes: "Didn't I (Blow Your Mind)", The Delfonics; "Losing My Religion", R.E.M.;

He walks down the street with a long, relaxed stride, pointedly looking at the sidewalk as he melds the monotony of his walking with the chaos of his life. Loud, angry music blares in his ears, at the same time relaxing and inflaming him. Images of people's faces float in his mind, flow charts and invisible connections rearranging themselves into a fluid mosaic of interaction. He clears his head for a moment, singing along softly with his headphones:

"Back off I'll take you on/Headstrong to take on anyone/I know that you are wrong/And this is not where you belong..."

He trips on an uneven slab of cement, and nearly falls. He shakes his head and pulls himself back to his normal pace. More faces, more connections; One face lingers, just out of focus. He tries to focus on it, to interpret the meaning. A screeching noise overrides the music, and his eyes flick upwards just in time to see a station wagon skidding out of control towards him when--

As he floats, seemingly in slow motion, he sees the face and wonders before all suddenly becomes black.

Tunes: "Brian Wilson", Barenaked Ladies; "I Want You To Want Me", Letters To Cleo; "Save Yourself", Sense Field.

I just got watched Dreamcatcher with CJ and Heather and Leigh, and while we had a great time, it disturbed me deeply. I didn't realize the extent of how the movie had effected me until, while answering a call of nature, I was struck by the deep primal need to get AWAY from the toilet. Those of you who have seen the movie will understand. Those who haven't can draw their own conclusions.

On a side note, I've been taking Driver's Ed since Monday, and it's been going steadily well. The class is extremely small (3 students, including me) and the teacher is easygoing and has a good sense of humor. I should have my permit by next week, and then the REAL fun begins. ^_^

Tunes: "We Belong Together", Rickie Lee Jones; "F*ct Up Kid", Mest; "I'll Be", Edwin McCain.

From the Internet Crypt of Things That Should Never Again See Light (or a computer screen, rather), here is something that will disturb you, chill your blood, and possibly amuse you. Scare Me (Or, if you are of a relatively young generation, in the under-10 range, you might genuinely enjoy it)

I want to send out a warm welcome to Carolyn, who has just joined the ranks of blogging individuals. Also, I've been fiddling with the html on my template, so if things change now and then, it's supposed to be happening that way. Or I'm just screwing up.

Tunes: "Whip-Smart", Liz Phair.

In retrospect, my last post was somewhat misplaced. I should have posted that Wednesday night and this Thursday, but yeah. Life goes on. But Thursday I was at the big protest rally thing, and it was quite an experience. It was my first major rally, and I went only with a friend, no authority figure at all. I was invited on short notice, and Mom only had time to tell me that if I got arrested there'd be hell to pay, and that we'd talk more about civil disobedience later before I went out the door. When we arrived, there were maybe 75 people, standing in a crowd and yelling chants. After skimming he crowd and running into a number of other friends, the march began and we paraded down Jackson, confident in the knowledge that we were Doing the Right Thing. Of course, then all hell broke loose, but I had left for choir just before we hit Lake Shore Drive, so I missed the really nasty bits. Which is probably for the best, because I had forgotten to make a plan to let Mom know I was all right sometime before I got home at 10. Oops.

Tunes: "What Kind of Self-Respecting Faggot Am I?", Romanovsky & Philips; "My Best Friend's Girlfriend", The Cars; "Choked Up", Minibar.

Urgle. What a week. Just after I posted last week, I packed my bags and left for Lexington, Kentucky, on a choir tour. That was fun, spent quality time with good friends, sang some good pieces, and generally caused riots. The designated field trip was probably the weakest point of the adventure. Sending a bunch of kids from Chicago to the Kentucky Historical Museum. Great planning there. But we survived, and arrived back home at 1:20am Monday morning. I have since been engrossing myself in such things that I missed in Kentucky, such as decent Net connections and musical taste, and studying for my Drama class, and getting back into the ebb and flow of social relationships here at home.

Tunes: "Peaches", Presidents of the United States of America; "What I Got", Sublime; "Cadillac", Mest.

I've got a theory. A theory about how international-scale hostilities SHOULD be carried out, without such downsides as loss of life. The premise is this: The two opposing countries, and whichever allies they have mustered, duke it out-- in a huge network FPS game. Take your pick: Unreal Tournament, Medal of Honor, Quake 3, what have you, but something with a large network capacity and enough violence to satisfy the primal need to smash your enemy. In order to maintain a balance between actual and digital army might, bondwidth would be used: The USA, being a superpower, would have T3 connections; places such as Iraq would have dial-up 56k modems, maybe a DSL box here and there. The really major drawback to this plan is security. Uness strict security is kept, hackers could mess with the game/war/skirmish and toss the usefulness of the no-real-death war out the window.

Tunes: "Big Balls", AC/DC; "Staring At The Sun", U2; "Hateful", The Clash.

Not too much has been happening. I just "keep on keepin' on" as my friend Tim keeps telling me. I did read (and applaud) Doc and David's World of Ends thing, I might be getting together with the band tomorrow, and I've been getting some writing done. It's still painfully slow, but at least it's going somewhere.

Tunes: "Mahna Mahna", Cake; "Original Prankster", Offspring; "Life in the Foodchain", Tonio K; "Stuck in America", Sugarcult.

Note: this is not meant to reflect my personal emotions or how I am feeling at the moment. I don't want to worry anyone with this.

I feel like a cartoon character. I'm smashed wih anvils, blown up with TNT, and thrown off cliffs. I am subjected to horrendous pain at someone else's great amusement, but I never die. I just get back up, only to be run over by another train. Why do I keep going? Why not just lie down, let the exhaustion win? I honestly don't know. My friends are close ties to me, but even that pull seems to fade in comparison with the sweet release of lying down, and not playing the game. There are games you can't win. It just gets harder and harder until you lose or are killed out. Wouldn't a preferable alternative be to leave the game? Escape the inevitability of defeat? But how? Not death, that would only be giving in to the game, and admitting that there is no other choice. I wonder if I will ever find that option. I hope so.

Tunes: "Girl's Not Grey", AFI; "United States of Whatever", Liam Lynch; "Somewhere I Belong", Linkin Park. (Couldn't find any clips for these ones, I'll try again next time)

I swear I think this was the Weekend of the Dying Peripherals. First off, my Visor had to be reset, and now when I try and install the files I've backed up, it was a system error and has to be reset again. Also, my iPod, which is already a warranty replacement, has a dying screen, so that has to go back to California. The CD burner doesn't work, but that's been a standard for a while now. *sigh* What's a poor geek to do?

Tunes: "Blue", Eiffel 65; - "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden", Suicide Machines; - "Du Hast", Rammstein; - "Do the Bartman", The Simpsons.

P.S. As you may have noticed, I've started giving links to sound clips of the music I've been listening to. The clips are in RealPlayer format, mainly because I like RealPlayer better than Windows Media. If you care enough about that sort of thing to object, go and look the clips up yourselves.

It was a cold Chicago night
as the snow fell around
and I thought that i just might
stay out late and hit the town

But when I saw you standing on the corner
I quickly changed my mind
because I'd rather be there with you
than at the bars anytime

It was a year ago today
when we met just down my street
you caught my eye and smiled
and knocked me off my feet

Now as we walk along the lakeside
beneath a skyline gold and bright
I see your face alight with wonder
at the beauty of the sight

And streetlights guide our steps to home
as we return no more to roam
til tomorrow night