How Much Does My Schedule Kick Ass?

I just found out that between Friday, October 6th and Sunday, October 15th I'll have two days of class. Yes, thanks to Columbus Day and some school politics regarding class days as a result, in the space of ten days I'll be in class for a total of seven hours.

God bless America. But I'll settle for a blessing of Emerson College, heathens though they are.

So things have slowed down here! Yeah! Just about everyone is gone now. But those that are here will rock right along with me. I hope. And I do have a ton of crap to get done before I leave in...wow, less than two weeks...that I've avoided all summer long. Meanwhile praying my Mac will continue its mysterious working condition throughout this semester.

Entourage tonight really got me. Shame on you for missing it.

Geek, Nerd, or Dork?

This is a subject I've discussed many times over, if only because all three words have applied to me at one time or another, and quite often to many of you. But Yahoo! (and I know it's starting to seem like my impetus for posting relies on them riling me up) just posted a thing in effort to discern the three. Read it, then come back here.

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Done? Good. Okay, they're wrong, just so you know. Their definition of "nerd" is not far off, though I'd argue that appearance has little to do with it (the nerds I've know have been everything from the tie-wearing to the occassionally-bathing). Essentially, nerds are the kids who excel, and are especially interested, in subjects like math and science. Not only will they often get A's in the higher-level classes, but they'll spend some amount of their personal time digging into the subjects while figuring out the intricacies of computers or other current technology.

Geeks, on the other hand, does not apply to science or industry. At least, no exclusively. Geeks are simply fans of certain niche subjects. Star Trek and Star Wars fans are geeks. They don't have to have made it any further than algebra in high school, but they can tell you in great detail about the ideological difference between Batman and Superman, or why Darth Vader is the most tragic figure in modern cinema, or Sam's importance in getting the ring to Mordor (though that only counts if they can cite examples from the books, not the movies). Or they can quote every line of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

"Geek" is a hard term because really, it should apply to anyone who can rattle off sports statistics or discuss The Beatles' work at length. And yet. Yahoo! says Urban Dictionary has geeks being the guys you make fun of but later work for, but some of the biggest geeks are often the guys selling you your comic books, or working at a movie theater for the free tickets, praying for sneak previews or an early look at the trailer for the next Batman movie.

Dorks...dorks are simply socially inept. They might also be nerds or geeks, but they have no real grasp on the basics of functioning in society, and can often be found eating alone at the lunch table. They're not especially good conversationalists and have stories that are funny only to them. Think Buster Bluth from Arrested Development. Yahoo! insists dorks have an odor problem, but I don't think that necessarily applies.

So there you go. Knowledge is power.

TV Stations Concluded the Broadcast Day With the National Anthem?

I'd never heard about this, but one of Yahoo!'s top stories today was the latest Beloit College Mindset List, which is essentially a list of the things that make up the mindset of incoming college freshmen, most of whom were born in 1988. While some of them didn't really apply so much to me (granted, I was born in '86, but even for those from '88 "google" could not have always been a verb), there were a number of things on the list that were totally news to me.

Anyway, I thought a lot of you would find it interesting. Years from now I'll have one more thing to make me feel old.

Notes?

Well, apparently now this can all be read over at Facebook. Rather than continue to rebuke any new addition Facebook implements, this one I'll embrace. Essentially, they have a thing you can put in your profile call Notes. This means Blog. It's the same thing. Luckily, you can import posts from another blog onto your own profile (albeit without a note as to who the author is, so any of you thinking of posting a blog with several authors may want to nix that idea). So if you find it easier to read this on Facebook, read it on Facebook. It's right there, between the main profile and the list of my groups. But it'll still be here. Holding down the fort. Fighting the good fight.

Free Movie Screening

Fox Searchlight is holding free screenings for Trust the Man, a movie I think looks damn good but is getting less than good reviews.

Either way, there's a screening on August 29th here in Portland, and various other cities on potentially other days. The passes are good for two people (I've already got mine), but are first come, first served the night of the show. If you ever went to the several screenings we went to two summers ago, you know the scene.

Anyway, click HERE for the cities, days, times, and locations.

Click HERE for the trailer.

Religious Experiences, Blue Paint, and Doughnuts

That's pretty much been the weekend. Snakes on a Plane was everything you could ever want and more. I'll write a shitload about it before long, but suffice to say that I have never been more entertained by just about anything before in my entire life. And if you're one of those bastards who has issue with movies as pure commercial entertainment, then screw you! I've never seen a standing ovation for a movie (besides Elephant, but that was for the premiere with Gus Van Sant and all the stars there), never mind DURING the film. I could count on two hands everyone there who was of drinking age, and that kinda energy cannot be matched. Man what a night.

Getting up to go paint this afternoon (after staying up 'til 6 with eight other dudes and Halo 2) was not as much fun. But totally worth it.

Capped off the weekend with my Class of '06-'08 homies, which was more of a blast than it usually is, so hey, not too bad. And I had my first Voodoo Doughnut. Yes. I am that lame.

Oh boy

Add this to the list of things I can't imagine a single person ever wanting to see.

I don't really have a problem with bad movies as such. I recognize that, much though I may hate their presence in the multiplex, most of these make their money back and subsequently allow the studios to put money into really good movies (or at least better movies). But I really do question who the audience is for Ace Ventura Jr. If it came out like eight or ten years ago, it'd be all the kids who discovered Ace Ventura on video. But now? The target is clearly gonna be 10-15 year olds, but I doubt any of them saw the original Ace Venturas. I mean, a kid who's 15 today was born in 1990 or 1991. None of them went out of their way to watch Ace Ventura. Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd made its money back, but NOBODY saw Son of the Mask.

It's like when Basic Instinct 2 came out earlier this year, and I could not figure out who wanted to see it. The answer ended up being just about nobody, but one day I'd love the see a major release come out that no one ends up seeing. Like literally. No one. It'd be historic.

One Big Fiesta for Illegal Aliens and Homosexuals

Just click the title. It's fantastic. And by fantastic I mean horrifyingly hilarious. Or something. But it is one-hundred percent genuine, whether you believe that one or not is up to a little Internet research. Just click the title.

Hey, last week of work! One of those things you know is coming but never really seems to. Then the best damn weekend you've ever heard of. Well, it'd be the best if I didn't have work Friday and the madness of Snakes on a Plane was this week too. But that might just be too much weekend for any one man. But needless to say, I cannot wait to get out of Nordstrom. They offered me a position back next summer, providing hours are available, and hells yeah I'll be taking that. But seriosuly, I get into summer for the vacation, and I am gonna use it. This will be where the No Boredom policy will really be tested, though...work tends to drain, so if I have time to sit around I'm rarely bored, but waking up and sitting around is ideal boredom conditions. But I've fended off worse. And it'll be worth it to sleep 'til noon or 1 everyday. Sweet freedom.

Of course, this all means it's back to school in a month, and with a few of my good friends shipping off overseas (no, not Iraq you fools...Europe!) for semester abroad, the dorms'll be a bit quieter than last year. I'll make my fun, I always do, but looking at the massive piles of boredom I had last year WITH everyone around...yeah. And then considering I've yet to be bored this summer...yeah. But such is life I suppose.

So Chester (my Mac) works. Far as I can tell. I burned a shitload of CDs. Restarted it. Typing this very entry on it, while on AIM on a wireless network. No problems. I swear it's a conspiracy, 'cause as soon as that warranty went through is right when Chester started right back up again. Yeah. I know. Seriously.

Snakes on a Plane

Thursday, August 17th at 10 PM at the Cedar Hills Century. Buy tickets now.

BrokeBat Mountain

Had to make the joke before anyone else did after hearing that Heath Ledger has been cast as the Joker in the Batman Begins sequel, titled (for now) The Dark Knight (which is a kick ass title).

I think the choice is fantastic. Ledger won me over last year with Lords of Dogtown, Brothers Grimm, and Brokeback Mountain, all of which were very diverse roles.