I only watched less than half due to my short attention span.

Click "launch" next to the article.
Sit through the advertisement at the beginning.
Sheila is on TV!

healthier than a tobacco donut [Liam]

-i really love going for runs around 7pm or so when i get home. you get to smell all kinds of ethnically diverse eats. such things are important reminders for me that union city is still dope.

-i've been having a lot of strange dreams lately... and for some reason remembering them, at least in part.
about a week and a half ago, i had a dream that there was some kind of zombie epidemic. it was definitely a nightmare, but i remember being disappointed when my alarm clock woke me up for work. such is the nature of my bizarre fascination with the idea of a hometown zombie incident. i maintain that something cool would have happened given a full 8-hour night for my subconscious to work with.
a few nights later i had a dream that i was living in an abandoned ritzy hotel piano bar. there were no bar patrons and no pianist, but my friends did come visit me at my new digs. they were impressed.
then this week i had a dream that i was driving in the rain past an unprotected onramp on some kind of one-lane street when a police car came up the ramp and skidded in front of me. i was unable to stop in time and i slid into the side of his car and we both crashed into some kind of concrete wall. he ended up calling for this guy in a suit who seemed lawyerish and very assertive. he introduced himself and asked my name... then he was like "ok liam, here's how it's going to be" (in the ostensibly polite but rather obviously aggressive and unconcerned tone favored by hard-sell practitioners and low-tier authority figures). then he opened my car door and started alternately hitting me with vicious jabs to the gut and kidneys and demanding that i sign some kind of document. i have since come to realize that this slick, clinical, authoritative man represents my own personal darth vader in every respect. he let up and walked back to the squad car for a moment, and i hatched the bright idea to get the cop's car number and license. i remember it being immediately apparent to me that i should write it twice and hide one copy as he would inevitably find me out and beat me into relinquishing my little note. unfortunately i could not will myself to write fast enough as he turned around again. he was not amused. some time later i woke up for work, and caught myself checking for bruises while the cobwebs were still clearing. what... the... hell. i don't know what's more disturbing, the dream itself or my urge to get back into that dream and run that fucker over (despite understanding that he is of course a figment of my own loopy subconscious).
i can't remember too much of my latest dream but it did involve two seperate incidents with a pair of evil twins in the same car, the car exploding, and one escaping and climbing away on a nearby cliff face in a construction worker disguise. it happened TWICE. the second time i actually thought to myself "how unoriginal." yeah... i have no idea what the hell THAT one's about.

-i should warn you before the next time i post-- my humor cycles through different phases, and right now it's set to "self-amusement." you may be on board with me. you may not. let's try a test.

co-worker: ok, we've got a lot of orders in the shop, so we need to be printing, cutting and shipping today.
me: my plans for bicycle racing... dashed. damn you, world.

( -_- ) /( o_o )\ ( o . o ) [Liam]

Hi. How are you?

...

That's good. I'm back, by the way.
Yeah. Mm-hm, I do suck.
That being said, it's about to be a list-format entry. Best for clearing out all the half-cocked blogs that I've had in my head.

-DBo got me netflix for christmas. I am terrible about stuff that requires days of downtime, but for a better selection that Union City Hollywood Video it's totally worth it. This same purchasing ADD is why I am a fan of e-books and one-item comparison shopping (hm this looks good. (blink) still looks good. SOLD)
Here is my starting out netflix queue:
-watched-
1) Fallen Angels (Wong Kar Wai)

Early Wong Kar Wai, requires a lot of the viewer in terms of attention. He has a love for really complicated and cluttered urban landscapes, something I always found particularly beautiful. I've always felt that there's a certain way to look at anything that can make it appealing or pretty, simply sometimes it's harder to find. There's a complex, even challenging beauty to the way WKW's movies are shot.
His storytelling reflects this as well. Revolving around chance encounters and the shared situations of a densely populated city like HK, you get a feel for the layered experiences and subjective worlds a cityscape of lit windows suggests.
[5 minute ramble warning] You also get the sense watching Wong Kar Wai movies that he planned everything he ever made or will made at the same time. His continuity constantly references movies preceeding and following the one you are watching, though not in the consistent logic of a single universe or storyline. For example, in this movie Takeshi Kaneshiro plays a mute who at one point recollects in his inner monologue that he's unable to speak because he ate an expired can of pineapple as a child-- in Chungking Express he plays a cop who every day collects a can of pineapple dated the day his girlfriend dumped him (May 1st) and then eats them all at midnight on the expiration date.[BZZZZZZZZZZZ next]
2) Infernal Affairs 3
Third sequel to a wildly popular series of cop movies from HK (yes two chinese movies at 1st and 2nd on my list... the suggestion list on netflix is already racially profiling). Definitely the "Matrix Revolutions" of the series. Terrible doesn't begin to describe a movie that has no true protagonist and spends most of the time on the unsympathetic and totally un-engaging villain before seeing him brought to justice in a horrible plot twist in the end. I wanted to get through the series before the american remake hits the streets though... the mentioned at the golden globe awards that leonardo dicaprio is starring in "the departed," so i'm guessing it's coming up-- he and matt damon are set to replace tony leung and andy lau in a nypd / irish mob remake.
3) Winged Migration
Haven't watched it yet but I've got it at home.
-queued-
4)Nomads (1980s John McTiernan)
5)Barcelona
6)Happy Together (WKW)
7)Love Me If You Dare (Nutty French movie, looks like a mean-spirited rated-R Amelie)
8)Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen)

-I've always felt that Mos Def, Eminem and Pharoahe Monch (among others) could be the greatest emcee alive. Sean "Slug" Daley of Atmosphere actually IS the greatest emcee alive.

-Doing stuff that involves strangers will definitely start to fuck with you if you let it. Or maybe just me. Some of these activites include driving in rush hour, voting, reading user-submitted yahoo movie reviews, caring within reason about adults' mastery of the english language, driving in a parking lot and trying to sit on a toilet in any men's bathroom on earth.

-I just scored a 3' x 150' roll of white paper from work. I'm going to draw on all of it. I'd say the biggest limitation facing me right now is the amount of wastebasket space i can muster.

-I had funny stuff to say, I'm sure of it. Shit. Oh well. I'll be back in the swing of things soon enough.

Bwahahahahaha [Lester]

Full Tilt Poker Game #389404088: Table Conquistador - $25/$50 - No Limit Hold'em - 3:22:30 ET - 2006/01/18
Seat 1: Dustin Dirksen ($8,682.80)
Seat 2: Developer ($4,000), is sitting out
Seat 3: Icemann15 ($5,522)
Seat 4: Douche ($10,185.25)
Seat 5: mamamiya ($6,086.90)
Seat 6: The Riparian ($4,950)
Seat 7: bbarrett41 ($1,020.50)
Seat 8: bleu329 ($5,075)
The Riparian posts the small blind of $25
bbarrett41 is sitting out
bleu329 posts the big blind of $50
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dustin Dirksen folds
Icemann15 folds
bbarrett41 stands up
Douche raises to $175
mamamiya folds
The Riparian folds
bleu329 raises to $550
Douche raises to $1,675
bleu329 has 15 seconds left to act
bleu329 raises to $5,050
Douche raises to $8,425
Uchiha_Itake (Observer): lol
henrybloogada (Observer): save that 25
Uchiha_Itake (Observer): you gonna fold bleu?
henrybloogada (Observer): save that 25
leepunk13 (Observer): WOW WOW WOW
bleu329 has 15 seconds left to act
henrybloogada (Observer): save that 25
RookieB (Observer): theres only 25 more
ostatepoke4 (Observer): HOW CAN U FOLD?
ostatepoke4 (Observer): lol
henrybloogada (Observer): save that 25
ostatepoke4 (Observer): u cannot fold
Uchiha_Itake (Observer): OMG
henrybloogada (Observer): save that 25
stackincheda (Observer): what?
OSUAce (Observer): fold it bleu
Uchiha_Itake (Observer): he's timed out
SOG76 (Observer): call dumb #%$ u have 25
henrybloogada (Observer): save that 25
Tav1517 (Observer): yeh save the 25 cuz losing 5000 isnt big
henrybloogada (Observer): save it
RookieB (Observer): cal call call
bleu329 is sitting out
bleu329 has timed out
bleu329 folds
Uncalled bet of $3,375 returned to Douche
henrybloogada (Observer): ROFL
henrybloogada (Observer): ROFL
RookieB (Observer): omg
ostatepoke4 (Observer): are u seroiu
the scooter99 (Observer): that blows
henrybloogada (Observer): ROFL
AAdam88 (Observer): LOL
Douche shows [As Ah] (a pair of Aces)
henrybloogada (Observer): ROFL
JLCarter (Observer): NO WAY!
pimpmybadrum (Observer): ????????????????????
pwngames_com (Observer): omg
AAdam88 (Observer): LOL
Douche wins the pot ($10,125)
henrybloogada (Observer): ROFL
AAdam88 (Observer): LOL
bleu329: ffcking !@&@
PoKeRiDeR (Observer): omg
hoops886 (Observer): hahahahahahaha
henrybloogada (Observer): ROFL
AAdam88 (Observer): LOL
UrFate (Observer): HAHAAAHAHAHAHAAHA
superdonkey55 (Observer): omg
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $10,125 | Rake $0
Seat 1: Dustin Dirksen didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: Developer is sitting out
Seat 3: Icemann15 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 4: Douche collected ($10,125)
Seat 5: mamamiya (button) didn't bet (folded)
Seat 6: The Riparian (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 7: bbarrett41 is sitting out
Seat 8: bleu329 (big blind) folded before the Flop

Big Stack Lesson (poker warning) [Lester]

Most people who play forms of no-limit poker know that there are advantages built into having a large stack at the table.

1.) You have more resources to fire at your opponents. Typically it is you putting them all-in, rather than being all-in.

2.) It is imposing to play against big stacks, you wonder how they accumulated their chips and whether you should tangle with them or not.

3.) When playing in a tournament, if you have 3x the number of chips as your opponent, a raise that is a mere 8% of your stack represents almost 1/4 of your opponents stack. In real life, $1 means less to a wealthy person than it does to a poor person--same concept applies to a tournament game.

4.) Again, in tournaments, a big stack allows you to take more shots at your opponents and endure a greater number of bad beats. It's armor.

5.) A bigger stack, if you are all-in, nets you more chips if you win.

and finally, 6, which is a corollary to 5. This is a lesser known concept but is very important when playing in cash games.

6.) A bigger stack, when playing against another big stack allows you to prospect with a wider range of hands, profitably.

If you are sitting a $1/2 No-limit Hold 'Em game with a maximum $200 buy-in, and have been able to accumulate to $800, and are now faced by a raise to $8 from a guy with $600 in chips, the implied odds pre-flop of playing a greater number of hands greatly increases. It may now be more profitable to call that raise with 6s7s or even 5s7s. In the event that you do catch your hand, you may be able to hit the nuts and squeeze every drop of your opponents $600, all for calling a measly raise of $8. A lot, of course depends on your table image and being able to represent a wider range of hands so that you have semi-bluffing/full-bluffing opportunities for those times when you don't flop the nuts and enough looseness to get the all-in action when you want it. But in general, having a big stack at a NL table (which usually have maximum buy ins) allows you greater freedom to spend on cards unlikely to perform but have the potential to net you a relative fortune. If you only had $200, and had to call a raise of $8, the maximum you could win in a heads-up pot with a bigger stack would be about $200, whereas your bigger stack would allow you to win $600 or if covered, $800 under the same conditions. You do, however run the risk of losing more hands and your stack in one hand, but it's up to you to show enough discipline and skill not to.

A real-life example might be similar to lottery. It's why more people buy $1 tickets when the jackpot is $100 million, versus $20 million. The same amount of money is invested in the beginning, the rules of the game and odds don't change, but the potential top end payout is much greater.

Hope you enjoyed the technical jargon. Back soon with tips on evaluating opponents, relative strength and proper adjustments.

WHY BLACK PEOPLE SO CHRISTIAN? [Lester]

It makes no logical sense. The American church is aligned with the political right/conservatism which has never been true to people of color. Reaganomics, regressive taxation, Clarence Thomas, crack and uhh... slavery. So why the love?

The story of Black America from day one has been about oppression, direct. It's a story about a people with no home, marginalized, underdogs... a world where slaves feel pain and hurt but are bought and sold like objects. It goes against Descartes and the logic of existence, backing people into an illogical world, one that requires faith and some form of optimism to survive.

As the world changed and it became economically (and only a little socially) challenging to continue direct slavery, America turned to indirect forms of oppression, cultural/social/economic/legal systems that kept and are keeping much of Black America in challenging positions (sharecropping, gerrymandering, segregation, model minority oppression, regressive education policy, etc...). As such, life still requires faith and the story of the bible, one of an oppressed people, an underdog's tale, with tragedy (realism) mixed with triumph (hope) to solidify faith. Aside from faith, there's the legacy of community associated with the church that lets it serve a social function even without the bible.

As for Korean Baptists, I don't understand their shit at all.


(they hot though.)

choose your pwn adventure, vol. 1 [Lester]

You are in a forest surrounded by elves. They eye you suspiciously, as you have invaded their yearly harvest festival. One elf wielding a bo-staff begins to creep towards you. What do you do?

- Talk to the elder elf, explaining in elvish that you arrived via a magic mirror portal in your father's closet. Click 3.
- Giggle and pretend like you are an elf too, but from a neighboring shire. Click 1.
- Stomp some elves, they are looking at you funny. Click 2.


1) Click Here
2) Click Here
3) Click Here

This is not cool in any way. At all. [amy]

I woke up this morning with about 20 insect bits on each arm and a load on my neck. This evening I investigated and found a colony of these in the wood of my bed:



NO GOOD!! I don't think I can emphasize this enough.

I went to work feeling like the kid with lice. Probably no one wanted to sit next to me. What sucks is that not only is it Abosultely Disgusting, it also brings up questions about my hygene. Though everything I've read has confirmed that it has nothing to do with cleanliness. Also, there have been problems with bedbugs in other units in this building. I'm going to take the day off tomorrow to work on eradication (Actually, just making sure that it didn't get to the rest of my stuff, throwing away affected areas, and just making sure that they don't come with me when I move to another apartment on Saturday.)

If I wasn't happy about moving before, I am now. Sheesh.