Don't worry I have more short films and reviews coming I'm just trying to get one whole day to myself so I can get everything done at once. That day should be tomorrow so watch out.
So yesterday I broke some kind of worlds record for shortest time having held down a job. I go to this call center to apply for a sales position (IRT). Well the normal course of action is that they have you take a couple of tests and then you do a short interview, but they were so jazzed by credentials (not to mention I give a great interview. Ladies you would be so turned on by how sexy my interview skills are) they booted me through the second interview, had me take a drug test there on the spot, and then told me I was hired.
The job didn't pay all that well. Nine dollars an hour plus a bonus couple of bucks for schedule adherence, and incentives of a dollar or two for sales. So I figure as long as I'm on time, and I sold a product or two an hour I could easily make around 14 or 15 dollars an hour. I even did a roleplaying exercise, and aced it so hard that they decided (since the job didn't pay all that well) that they would go ahead and assign me a monday through friday 9 to 5 schedule once I get out of training! Only vets get those kinds of hours. They did everything except carry me out of the office on their shoulders.
Well I get home and take a nap. Mid nap I get a call from the company saying, "Oops we forgot to do a background check on you, and since you have a misdemeanor charge from two years ago we can't hire you."
Looks like my camping trip has been canceled. That's two for two. The last I was supposed to go camping when I was a little kid and it got rained out. I was so disappointed and now I feel that shame for a second time.
On a lighter note I will get back to updating my film blog. I've decided to try and sum films up in a two paragraph maximum. Keeps things short and easy to read. Lets face it if you're looking for a review on an old film then you most likely know what the film is about. So two knew reviews will be coming very soon.
I've also decided to start an animated series of videos called "Conversations I've Actually Had" and will be featuring it on YouTube as well as my blog. Believe it or not it's centered around conversations I've actually had. Here's the first one and don't forget to check my blog post below for my previous animation.
Ironic expression seems to be this generations primary currency. We ironically reference things over and over to the point where we end up ironically referencing ironic references. Where would shows like Family Guy be if they didn't constantly fall back on ironic referencing. The funny thing is that at times we ironically reference things that annoy us, and before we know it those things become a part of who we are. Consider terms like "fail" or LOL speak. Even I find myself gradually beginning to work these things into my regular vocabulary when my original intent was to make an ironic joke by using them. We have become the thing we hate most.
Speaking of Family Guy I wouldn't mind weighing in on the whole Sarah Palin thing. Personally I find Seth McFarlane to be a coward. He made a joke that was intended to be offensive, and offensive especially to a specific individual, and claiming that she has no sense of humor is just a total cop out. It's like some little kid who makes loud noises to intentionally irritate any one within ear shot, and when some one finally does get mad they skulk around and wonder why every one is being mean.
If he had just said "too bad," and stuck by the fact that he intended to offend her then I would at least give him credit for that. He made an intentionally offensive joke, and some one got offended. So claiming that she has no sense of humor is no better than the kid making loud noises. I can't think of a parent alive who wouldn't at least be irked by a retarded joke aimed at their kid. Let alone one on national television. So point in fact Seth McFarlane is a coward. Who would have guessed?
It's all apart of this generations shallow quest to find meaning in facile grabs for attention. If you get plugs in your ear, tons of piercing on your face, and a sleeve of tattoos don't act indigent when some people (rightfully) look at you funny. And why is it that people who dress like freaks always say, "This is who I am." So the infinite complexity of nature and environment, the never ending cycle of growth and discovery, life and death, knowledge, and emotion is some how distilled down to a tattoo of a coy fish with an astrological sign on its forehead leaping out of a pot leaf that's being held by a flaming clown with boom boxes for feet? Are you kidding me? That's who you are? But I suppose that's how some people might choose to express themselves when they have no talent or anything of meaning to say. Just admit that your dyed your hair purple because you wanted the attention, and we can call it a day. You know that the truth is floating around somewhere in the back of that empty head of yours.
I speak to no one in particular by the way. Just ranting. After all I have three tattoos and I'm honest about my motives so I know what I'm talking about.
In other news I should be going on a camping trip next week. Going to northern Georgia to hunt deer and crap in an outhouse. I'm not sure how I feel about all that to be honest, but why not? It's an adventure and too few of those come along these days. I figure it would be stupid to deprive myself. Besides I've been given back the chance to camp that God took from me when I was a kid. I'll be leaving Friday or Saturday and will be back Tuesday... I think.
Oh and I made a cartoon. Yes, I did make this so go to YouTube and give it a million stars and a bunch of nice comments.
Because at some point you might start getting into it, and the next day you'll wake up and have a horrible revelation that perhaps tens of millions of people spend most of their days getting high because that's the only explanation you can come up with for that woman's career. That and a hype machine so massive that nothing can escapes its orbit.
So where have I been? Well let me say I'm dead tired and being dead tired turns me into a fleshy mattress of hate so I ain't correcting or proof reading nothing! Around but not inspired to write. Lets face it the only person who reads this thing consistently doesn't live in the same country as most of us, and doesn't even speak to me. On the other hand lots of interesting things have been happening lately.
First of all there's this email I received today from one Trevon Fisher
How shrewd of Trevon to have guessed my love of not nudism in the plural, but a singular nudism. But it's not so much of a trick. Who doesn't love abstract nudism?
Then a few days ago two very interesting things happened. We went down to Miami and took a wrong turn. After ending up under and over pass we decided to get out and take some pictures. While milling around I noticed a rather expensive looking Chinese vase laying on its side on the rocks and part way into the ocean. I climbed down and pulled it out of the water to find all kinds of fancy sea shells inside as well as a bunch of bead necklaces and little statues of snakes and nautical things. Very odd.
A little later we beat it when some drunk teenagers showed up and starting fighting and made it to our original destination which was Virginia Key; a state park. I brought my shortwave radio with me because I wanted to see what I could pick up when I'm in a more secluded area amongst nature and not so many antennas. After taking a few pictures I finally settled down by the beach and pulled my radio out when it happened. Remember my long post about numbers stations? Well the whole thing is what drove me to get a shortwave radio, but up until then I hadn't found one. Well I sit down and literally the second station I pull up is this:
I made this little video when I got home so I would appreciate every one watching it.
So the rest of the week went on and I got a visit from an old friend, a reunion with an old band mate, and a lot of lounging under my belt. Then today we went to Bill Bag's State Park where I once again brought my camera and radio. I do have a lot of great pictures to post up so be patient.
The interesting thing about Bill Bag's is that it has an old lighthouse by the waters and you climb to the top and look out across the ocean.
My original plan was to climb to the top and whip out my radio, but about half up I discovered for the first time that I don't exactly like heights. The cast iron steps would sway a little when you walked up them, and all I could think about was crashing six stories down under a heap of metal. When I finally did reach the top I didn't dare pull out my precious radio if nothing for the fact that I kept thinking "God if I fall please kill me before I hit the ground!" So here's some math for you:
Lighthouses = Fuck You
The bright side is that my shortwave was jumping with world wide activity. I picked up stations from the Netherlands, Haiti, Cuba, France, the Middle East, and more. I even got the V2 numbers station again, and this time I brought my tape recorder with me. I was even lucky enough to capture the end of the broadcast, but found that a few minutes later the broadcast started playing again on a different frequency. I wonder if that's unusual. Spooky stuff.
That pretty much breaks down the more interesting parts of the last couple of weeks. I'll probably post another video of the V2. I'm also going to be working on some music with my old band mate, and beyond that it's life as usual. Well thank you all for reading this, and l hope you all keep sticking with me. My life has got to get more interesting sooner or later.
I got pretty wasted and tried to get Ed to do this at 3 o'clock in the morning.
Once upon a time Matthew was a happy and extremely thin child. Then he got older and things took a turn for the worse, but there were good times. Times when men were men and dinosaurs roamed the earth. In those days Matthew was as much of a dynamic force as he is today... perhaps even more and as you will see he was all things to all people. So ask yourself what was Matthew?
In the afternoons and late at night I've been taking my shortwave radio outside and getting a ear full of what the world has to offer me. In a sense using a shortwave radio is like walking into a second hand shop; you just don't know what you'll find. Some of the more interesting signals I've picked up include an anti-Zionist radio station, a Japanese news station, a French news station, and Deutsche Welle radio which is an all English language news station and comes out of Germany. I spend as much time listening to that as I can before the signal fades.
What have I learned? Apparently Europe is f-in crazy! Deutsche Welle reports mostly on central European news, and let me tell you there is a lot going on out there that American's have not an inkling about. For instance last night I learned that in the Chez Republic's mostly government run power company has its own paramilitary organization. Their f-ing power company has a small army! To top it all off their under investigation for unlawfully entry into private property, blackmail, and even accusations of torture.
This reminds of a discussion I recently had with a friend of mine about American and the nature of wealth. I often get tired of listening to people's jaded and wholly misguided comments about economics and the nature of wealth in general.
She stated that she wanted to move to Europe or Budapest because American had lost any sense of family values and morals. Of course the idea of moving to Europe for that reason in ludicrous. Europe as a whole places so little emphasis on family and conservative moral values that their indigenous population is rapidly declining. To put it simply Europeans are dying at a higher rate than they are breading, and within a few generations Muslims will out populate the actual Europeans.
As for Budapest she felt she wanted to get some culture and forget comfort. Of course the reality is that if culture was her primary concern then she need look to further. America is the most diverse nation on earth, and writhe with various cultures and peoples across the nation. But she wants the magic Disney experience of chocolate skinned people dressed in silk passing elephant standing a pond of lotus blossoms.
Why are we so quick to dismiss our own culture and look to ones far less successful than ours? Even our President thinks we need to look at Europe as an example, but who are they to judge us? You hate commercialism and the quest for wealth, but think about what it offers people. Wealth creates jobs and the need for more specialized labor which in turns creates more jobs. In an agrarian society can you imagine any one ever needing a doorman or a caddy? Wealth creates far more opportunities for the poor and uneducated. Look at Walmart. The average wage of an employee who has been with the company for a year is 10.50. They move into largely poor neighborhoods, hire people from those neighborhoods, and even promote from within. That isn't even mentioning the fact that Walmart's prices allow low income families to purchase clothing and food for much cheaper than anywhere else. They even gives jobs to the mentally disabled.
Why are we so afraid of wealth then? Is it because a consumer economy destroys national identity? Turns us into little robots that endlessly thirst for sneakers, consumer electronics, and affordable trumpets? The real question is what's the alternative? Look to Italy or Sweden who have average living standards well below ours then ask yourself what right you have to force that on people. Is your jaded quest for cultural meaning worth the tole it takes on a society. Let's not forget that political correctness has done far more to annihilate an sense of American identity and American values than any other philosophy.
We are being short sided just like in the healthcare debate. The problem isn't the ineffective American system vs. Socialized medicine. If you think socialized medicine is a good idea then you've done absolutely no research on the subject. The real problem is what is causing healthcare in America to be so expensive? But addressing that would require people to think beyond bumper sticker logic and basic talking points.
I have no definite solutions to these problems. Can we end world hunger? Yes, we can. We as Americans are the model of success that shows what capitalism can do, but without real values what are we? Ask the liberals. Never have such a group of people espoused morals so vehemently while doing everything they can to assure that American society becomes a total moral vacuum.
I suppose this is all a bit rant like, but I didn't spend a couple of days writing and preparing this. It's all off the cuff and lets face it my off the cuff is better than most people's prepared arguments. Till next time I will be monitoring the waves and seeing what they have to offer me. I haven't even been playing video games, reading, or watching TV. It's fascinating and a lot of fun. I can't wait to get a better one.
1 copy of Robert Frost reciting his poetry on cassette
1 copy of Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat adapted for radio on cassette
1 copy of Outlaws by Lucas Arts
Some stuff on Steam and this:
What is it? It's a beer mug with a bicycle bell screwed on. Why? I'm assuming it's there to notify who ever is serving drinks that your cup runneth dry. I just use it to irritate Sean, but for only costing a buck fifty how can you go wrong? Ring, ring, ring!
I know I promised deep thoughts or something like that, but right now I have a job interview for tomorrow to obsess over. It's inbound customer service, which all right I suppose, for a company called Global Response. I don't know what they do. Maybe something to do with the environment? Wait, no. I looked it up. It's just an outsourced customer service deal.
I've been enjoying music a lot more lately. Been broadening my horizons a little. Did some sharing last night with my friend who came down for a visit. We ended up recording a couple of his songs. I want to do a whole demo, but that takes time and we're both easily sidetracked. Slowly though, very slowly.
I'm thinking about trying to teach myself to play piano. Been contemplating it for a few weeks now, but I'm not sure I have the patience or the space. I don't even have a stand for the keyboard I've got. So many projects so little inspiration.
You know the funny thing is job interviews is that the person asking you the questions always seems surprised when you don't have a lot of questions for them. You think that they would consider it a good thing. I mean if I don't wanna ask you all these detailed questions about operations, vacation time, and what have you then it means I want the job and I don't give a crap about the finer points. Besides I know there's going to be a call back interview, and if I make it that far I'll get more curious. Till then what's the point?
The lady even looked at me a little funny when I said I didn't care if I worked weekends. Why would I lie? It's not like they would hire me, hand me a schedule with Sunday hours, and I would suddenly leap up and yell "Ah ha! You fools! I don't work weekends!" and then jump through a window.
Oh by the way the bank is inside a Wallmart. I know, right? You think they would have mentioned that when gave me the directions. But like I said I doubt I'll get the job, and to tell you the truth I don't exactly want it. It's open seven days a week with hours longer than a normal bank, and you have to walk out into the Wallmart and try to solicit business.
On top of all that it's only ten dollars an hour and their incentives stink. Only three stinking dollars for getting a new account? Seven if they choose direct deposit! The lady tells me that some people that work their net an extra 350 smackers a month. Hell, I used to do that in one day at Humana. Not that I'm too picky about that. Extra money is icing on the cake. But man is that an immense Wallmart.
So not much else beyond that. Got some great deals lately. I found Frank's Wild Years on cassette and got Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegon News Room for less than a buck. I got Dino Crisis for PS1 for a dollar and Death Trap Dungeon as well as Command and Conquer Renegade for next to nothing. Oh happy days and praise the Lord. Not to mention Titan Quest plus the expansion on Steam for 4.99. I've been waiting for over a year for that one to go on sale.
Any deep thoughts on my part? Not at the moment, but there are some coming soon. I've got things I would like to discuss, but at the moment I have a book to finish and finish I shall.
I've noticed that my old post "Sex, Lies, and Insomnia" gets the most stray traffic. I suppose it's the provocative title so maybe I should just shoot off a string of dirty little titles and up my reader base. Nah! I don't need a bunch of strangers poking their piggy noses into my business. That's why I put it on the internet because I want privacy.
So it's been a quiet few days. No major accomplishments besides a Miami photo shoot that I haven't bothered to edit yet. Come to think of it I never went back and edit the good Georgia pictures. Some day I'll remember. It's all about the mood and when it strikes.
You know I wish I had a camera that functioned like the human eye. There's something about the eye and how the mind filters out certain details, and frames the thing that you're looking at in a certain way. You go to the park and wander around, looking at the thick sleeves of moss that run up and down the branches, and everything except those curves and that soft texture get filtered out.
I often go for a walk at night, and every couple of laps around the building I like to stand on the dock out back and look over the lake. Sometimes you can make out the plants that run along the pylons, and they add a murky brown to the thick and nearly impenetrable black. I always end up staring across the lack and looking at the reflection of the trees in the water. It look like some one painted them into the surface in streaks. I don't think a camera could capture that kind of detail, but it's a picture I would love to take.
Well I also have a job interview tomorrow. It's for a bank. I can't remember if it was a teller position or entering information into a computer, but I don't exactly hold out hope that a man with a less than pristine criminal history is going to get a job working around other people's money. Still if it's what God wants for me then I'll get it. Wouldn't be too bad either. No weekends, probably a set schedule, and I wouldn't have a phone glued to my head all day. Doesn't sound too bad if you ask me.
On the minor updates I'm just about done with that book Paul lent me, and I'm getting the sense that there will be no blood baths. I wanted blood baths! Instead I get right-wing propaganda mixed in with a lot of really bad writing. I'm just glad there was no sex scene. With Flynn's very matter of fact style of description I don't think I could handle a clinical check list of intercourse. Let's see what else? Finished FFX-2, started a new game of You Are Empty, and that's about it. Just milling around, taking photos, and applying for jobs.
These are my words. The photos are mine too. Please read and enjoy and don't forget to check out my Myspace music page which is linked below as well as twitter me. I do love recognition.
If you wish to contact me do so at angry_rant@yahoo.com
Just Say No To Invisible Space Lizards
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So this guy spends his days redefining reality *because* *of* invisible
space lizards that want to conquer our dimension, and we're the ones
existing in a ...
The Proposal
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Directed by Anne Fletcher. Written by Pete Chiarelle. Starring Sandra
Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, and Betty White.
Touchstone Pictures - 2009
Two Stars of ...
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