The Other End of the Scope

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been really busy with work and stuff. Here's another story. I hope you all enjoy it.

Deja Vu

So, I was thinking earlier today and I came up with this idea of how deja vu works. Every night, you dream three or four times throughout your sleep cycle. Scientists explain dreams as your mind trying to make sense of random neural firings. What I think is that since you dream about things and places you are familiar with or have thought a lot about recently, dreams might be your mind simulating different possible scenarios. Occasionally, your mind will guess correctly, and that is deja vu.

At least when I have had deja vu, it seems to be about rather inconsequential things or common situations. It seems perfectly likely that given the sheer number of dreams people have that a few of these experiences might actually happen in real life.

Satan in Suburbia

Here's another story I wrote, tell me how you all like it.

X-Men: First Class Review

I thought I'd post this review while it was still relevant, as in before 90% of the internet has already seen it. Once again, I will try to keep this mostly spoiler free. The film is centered around Magneto and Professor X's origin stories, and then the role they played in averting the Cuban Missile Crisis (sorry if I spoiled it for anyone who didn't already know that the United States and the Soviet Union never engaged in a full scale nuclear war). Standing in their was is Sebastian Shaw, a powerful mutant who can absorb energy.

Apparently, watching too much Kevin Bacon will not only turn you into Kevin Bacon, but will also give you superpowers.

I went in to see this film expecting a lot, as both a big fan of the series, and because I had seen commercials all day that hailed it as the best super hero film since The Dark Knight. While this film does not come close to surpassing the caped crusader's last outing, I would still say that it's the best super hero movie I have seen in a long time. The acting is top notch. The action and effects are great. I especially like how the film was angled to make the audience rather sympathetic to Magneto and his cause, as I have always felt that his origin story gave him reason  to question humanity. All in all, I definitely think that X-Men: First Class is a movie worth seeing.

Rating: 9 out of 10

100 Followers and Longer Story Ideas

First of all, this blog reached a big milestone today and I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who has made it such a big success. I'd also like to use this as an opportunity to introduce some ideas for a longer multipart story and ask for some input as to which one to pick. I will also put up a poll with the different options.

Option A
It is the year 2152. Fifteen years have passed since the human race sacrificed the Earth in order to avoid being enslaved by a highly advanced alien empire and scattered throughout the solar system. Enraged by this embarrassment, the empire will stop at nothing to eliminate the remnants of the people of Earth. Little do the struggling Earthlings know that they have allies elsewhere in the universe.

Option B
A young Paladin comes across a conspiracy and must attempt to save his kingdom. Along the way, he will question his oath and be forced to discover the difference between what is law and what is right.

Option C
A vagabond and former child soldier will become the unlikely hero of a repressed people. Aided by a mysterious young girl with magical powers, he will lead a revolution.

Option D
The United States has suffered a devastating terrorist attack, and will stop at nothing to get the man. A bounty of $50 million has been placed, and will be awarded to anyone who brings him to justice, dead or alive. Several parties with different motivations take part in this hunt. Which hunter, and which ideology, will emerge victorious?

Sorry if these descriptions are vague. I was trying not to give too much away. Also, just because a story is not picked now does not mean that I will not write it in the future.

The Hangover Part II Review

This is the first of possibly many summer movie reviews. I'll try to keep it as spoiler free as possible.

The whole gang is up to their old antics (almost exactly) once again.

I'd be lying if I said that there was anything too original or groundbreaking about this film, as the plot is the same as the first one for the most part. With that aside, the movie is still hilarious and there are still many memorable scenes and one-liners (Though not as many as the first film). It's definitely worth seeing for anyone who's a big fan of The Hangover or just looking for a good R-Rated comedy.

Rating: 8/10

Also, is this song stuck in anyone else's head?

Some More Lucid Dreaming Stuff

Sorry everyone, but I haven't been able to post in a few days since I was away for the weekend. A lot of you expressed a lot of interest in lucid dreaming, so here's a good link I found: http://www.lucidity.com/LucidDreamingFAQ2.html.

Also, I thought I'd share a crazy dream I had the other night with all of you. The United States had been invaded by some odd combination of/cross between aliens and Chinese communists. They had destroyed New York City, but managed to use alien technology to transport some of its most important buildings to Chicago. This dream Chicago was probably the most magnificent city I had ever seen. One of the most prominent buildings in this skyline was an enormous tower with a 70 story mural of Mao Zedong on one of its faces. I was traveling high above the city in a helicopter with the enemy's leader. The sides of the helicopter were open and I remember being so scared that I could fall from the helicopter at any moment. Eventually the helicopter landed and I got out, and I woke up soon after that. I just remember thinking that I should've tried to assassinate the dictator when I was with him.

If anybody else has had any crazy or interesting dreams lately that they'd like to share, I'd really like to hear about them.

Dreamer

Here's another story I wrote. I played around with the style and the format a bit. Enjoy!

Dirty Words

I often wonder exactly it is about a word that can make it so vulgar and offensive. The criteria always seem rather ambiguous. Take “fuck” for instance. “Fuck” is a rather versatile word that can take on various meanings and parts of speech, but it is perhaps the most looked down upon word in the English language. It is not the meaning of “fuck” that makes it unacceptable, because one can use another word such as “frick” or “freak,” or just use the letter “F” by itself, with the exact same intention and meaning as “fuck” and it will be completely acceptable. “Fuck” also can have strong sexual connotations, and we all know how touchy of a subject that can be, but describing the exact same things using any other word seems to be infinitely more acceptable, even with such words as “bang” and “plow” that don’t seem any more appropriate.  It’s also not as though other words that appear similar to “fuck” are offensive, as I doubt anyone would be offended by “duck” or “puck.” Well, maybe “buck” offends some people, because money also tends to be a sore subject. It appears that there’s just something about the letters F-U-C-K in succession that makes them so taboo. I don’t fucking get it.

The Real Winner

So, much to my disappointment, the Miami Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of  the Eastern Conference Finals and will once again face the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, but we all know who the real winner in this match up is:

American Airlines.

The series will be played at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas and the American Airlines Arena in Miami, Florida. By knocking out the Bulls, Miami spared American from having to share the spotlight with their number one competitor, United Airlines, who provided the namesake (and funding) for Chicago's United Center.

Not only does this seem like a very odd match up of stadiums, but it already happened only a few years ago. Who will the people at AA be rooting for? If anybody else knows of any other interesting stadium match ups from previous playoff series in any sport, feel free to post them.

50 Followers

I just want to thank everyone who's followed and commented the blog for making this a success so quickly. I hope to keep this blog growing and will probably have another story to post in a day or two. Once again, I really appreciate that everyone's read my posts and all the feedback they've given. I couldn't have done it without everyone's help.

New Date for the "Rapture"

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110524/ap_on_re_us/us_apocalypse_saturday 

 So apparently Harold Camping is at it again. He adjusted his bullshit math to move the date of the Rapture to October 21. Wait, I thought it was supposed to happen in 1994. I just want to know where this guy gets the audacity to keep making these bogus predictions. The worst part is that people just keep believing him every time. This just goes to show how utterly idiotic religious fundamentalism can be.

Blacked Out

Due to the great response I got with the first story, I decided to put up another one of mine. It has a somewhat lighter tone. I hope you all like it!

The Loner

The loner punched out at exactly 5 p.m., just as he did every single weekday. He then proceeded to make his way out of the office, not stopping to say goodbye to anyone. After all, he had never really spoken to any of his coworkers outside of a few dealings with the human resources and payroll people, and his supervisor knew nothing about him that wasn’t written on his resume. Whenever he passed anyone in the hallway, he would avoid making eye contact, and his face had a sort of blank expression that made it seem like he was always off in his own world. There were quite a few rumors about this strange, solitary man, but all of the details were shrouded in mystery. Nobody knew anything about him, not even his name. He worked in tech support, just fixing anything presented to him and immediately moving on to the next issue. It was a very easy job for him, seeing as most of the problems could be resolved by either by updating drivers or just simply restarting the machine.

Though there was not much glory nor a hefty paycheck involved in the loner’s job, it gave him enough money to support himself, so he didn’t mind. He was a very intelligent and capable man, and his teachers had always told him of his limitless potential, but he lacked the ambition to pursue any further education. He just didn’t see the point of it. He had never really cared much for school. His classes never really challenged him, and nothing he learned seemed to be remotely useful. Going to school was never any fun for him either. He never really had any friends and was bullied by the other children. School never seemed to him to be a place that promoted free or independent thinking. Everything was structured so rigidly and his ideas would usually just draw ridicule from his peers. He thought back to the time in 6th grade when one of his bullies took his notebook and read its contents aloud in front of all the other children, and they all just laughed at him. He eventually gave up and decided that it would be best to just keep his thoughts to himself. There was really nothing he had in common with the other children, so he lost interest in trying to fit in or form friendships with anyone.

He didn’t mind keeping to himself all the time; it was a very easy lifestyle. He never had to wait on anyone and never had any real obligations outside of work. His life never made him feel sad or lonely, since this was just the way it had always been. He was an only child, his mother died when he was very young, and his father was always working or drinking, so he never really had a family either. He didn’t even have many strong memories of conversations with his father, other than the fact that the word “disappointed” came up fairly often. Being alone had made him learn how to fend for himself, and he felt completely independent.

After leaving work, the loner stood on the street corner waiting for the bus to come. When it arrived, he paid his fare and went directly to the back of the bus, taking care to make sure that he would not have to sit next to anyone else. He did not own a car and saved a lot of money by just walking or using public transportation. What exactly he was saving this money for, he did not know, but he felt like the savings would eventually be useful. After all, he had no real need for a car anyway. He did not mind riding the bus at all, as he would use the time to read a book or to write in his journal. He kept this journal so he could write down any thought that he felt was worthy of preserving. The pages were filled with scribbled, disorganized notes that would take a great deal of time for anyone else to decipher. Any great theory or brilliant idea he would’ve had would be written down in that book, but no one else would ever see its contents. He had no plans to share his journal, since he felt like nobody would care for anything he had written and he would just be ridiculed like when he was in school.

The bus drew closer to the loner’s street and he pulled the cord to request a stop. He exited the bus through the rear doors and walked a few blocks till he reached his building. His mailbox was empty as usual, and he proceeded up the stairs to his apartment. It was a decent apartment, but barely big enough for a single resident. The loner did not mind though, it had everything he needed in an apartment and he wasn’t going to be entertaining any guests there anytime soon anyway. He opened his freezer and took out a single-serving microwavable dinner. While he was waiting for the meal to cook, he read the newspaper and saw that a movie he had wanted to see was now playing at the discount cinema down the street from him. The film was a big budget sci-fi epic, and he always enjoyed those “nerdy” movies. He did not want to miss the film so he left immediately after eating.

Luckily for the loner, the theater was mostly empty, since most people had seen this movie on its first run. It was a dramatic tale of loss and redemption, with the protagonist emerging as a hero. The loner looked at the valiant sacrifices of the protagonist and wondered if he could ever feel strongly enough about any other person to drive himself to act selflessly like that. He knew it was odd that he had to think about it, as it seemed like that would just be a fact of life to anyone else. He just had never been able to relate to other people. It was as though his mind just operated on a different wavelength and he couldn’t connect with them. He did not feel like he was superior to the others, he just felt as though he was on a completely separate plane. This inability to relate and empathize with others was always what had separated him from the rest of society. There were times when he didn’t even feel human. He wasn’t even sure entirely what that meant, the definition of humanity just seemed so ambiguous. Just once in his life, even for a single second, the loner wanted to know for sure what it felt like to be human.

The loner thought about these things as he walked home along his dark, quiet street. He just kept walking, consumed by his own thoughts as per usual, until he heard a woman’s scream coming from a nearby alley. It was time for him to decide whether he would just keep going and disregard this occurrence, or to investigate the scream and possibly put himself at great risk. For some reason, he did not feel like he could just forget about this and leave the woman to her fate, so he proceeded into the alley. There he saw a beautiful young woman being held at knifepoint by a man with a rather sinister-looking grin on his face. Without even thinking, the loner moved to confront the man, the girl was able to quickly run away. He continued to struggle with the mugger, but eventually the mugger broke free and stabbed him directly in the stomach before making his own escape. As the loner lay there in a pool of his own blood, a rather ironic thought occurred to him – in his death, he finally knew what it meant to be human.

But that was not the end for the loner. The young woman was able to immediately call 911 as she escaped her assailant, and the police were waiting for him as he exited the alley. An ambulance was on the scene to quickly rush the loner to the hospital, where he was able to make a full recovery. News of his noble actions spread throughout the community, and the loner became known as a hero. The experience inspired him to come out of his shell, and go back to school to explore his intellectual pursuits. In coming to terms with his humanity, the loner no longer felt alone.

First Post

Hey all, I just wanted to thank everyone for taking the time to check out my blog and read my stuff. I hope you all enjoy it, and be sure to comment.