Happy new years for those who read this. I hope you spent it better than I did.
But I have to admit the holiday pay is quite nice.
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Monday, December 31
Saturday, December 29
I've thought about this much lately over the past few months.
Throughout the years I was blessed with a handful of great friends that shared similar interests with me and accepted the things I/we did as normal.
But that was the past.
Every great dynasty sees a shift in it's time. I can't exactly account for when the moment of our change occurred. Separated now, we barely find time for reunions.
But physically spending time with each other isn't what really counts.
Shared interests and ideas and understandings of each other.
I noticed that dissipate over time.
One wishes to be more social while one adapts to a new way of life.
The closest person I relate to now is Gabe. We seem to share a similar road in every venture of our life. I think it's mostly because we resist an ultimate change in self tooth & nail.
David & I still relate but a lot of his aspirations have changed as with Matt.
I only write about this because I notice that the gap is growing. I'm lucky to have a wife otherwise I'd be totally alone.
It's no guess, I'm bad at making new friends and acquaintances. I don't really fit in anywhere.
Out of everyone I know that is a friend, I believe Gabe will be around the longest and David also, though I watch for changes in his aspirations as they might shorten this expectation.
Eventually I am going to start trimming "the excess". I'm very bad at trying to keep dangling relationships alive. I simply don't have the drive to keep in contact with people from the past that I feel won't work out. (As I did with Cesar the first time and now I fear a second coming as well).
I go through the process of Contesting -> Accepting -> Resting.
I'm almost finished with the contesting phase and I now feel that I am moving to acceptance.
It is tragic I suppose, many years fade away into oblivion but some change is inevitable. We learn to grow and respond differently with each passing time.
I don't believe I'll be lonely any time soon as long as I have my family to stay by my side. Along with my other few friends that I didn't list here.
But as the great Mr Cash once said: "Everyone I know, goes away, in the end..."
Wednesday, December 26
I was given the complete Calvin & Hobbes collection as a Christmas gift, one of the best gifts I've ever recieved.
I've enjoyed Calvin & Hobbes for much of my life. Ever since buying my first collection, Something under the bed is drooling, I've been hooked. And how could I not be? Not only were the strips funny (something that's fairly expected of daily comics) it was imaginative, well written, and fun to look at. Over the years I grew, but so did Calvin & Hobbes. In the early years of the stip the images were more explicitly cartoonish and the style and feel of the strip had an air of immaturity about it. Over the years the images became more and more vivid, sometimes causing me to enjoy rereading strips simply to take in the vivid visuals and style. The writing and themes of the strip also grew and matured, taking on issues and ideas that I could relate to in the older years of my life.
The public has been given an opportunity, now that the strip is over, to see into the mind of the Calvin & Hobbes creator through the Tenth Anniversary Collection and now this complete collection. Mr. Watterson often talks talks of comics and art, of how he believes comics can be art. Can it?
Well, I can ramble and debate with myself about what art is exactly, but there is no need here. There is no need to wonder if art is something heartfelt and meaningful to the artist. There is no need to wonder if art is something with a message. There is no need to wonder if art is the triumph of technical abilities. There's no need to wonder these things because each of them rings true with Calvin & Hobbes, loud and clear. Calvin & Hobbes is art. And one of the finest examples of it I've ever had the pleasure of encountering.
And it just might be that Mr. Watterson was able to reach such levels of true art because of his love and passion for these works. He fought tooth and nail to keep his vision and intergrity alive. He fought to keep control of his creative property. And you can see this love and passion come to life in the exceptional quality of the strip. And not just in the strip, but the collections as well. Even the complete collection is produced in high quality binding and paper, and the layout is simplistic and powerful. It's truly inspiring to see such ideals of art to come to fruition.
The strip is over, but we're left with a gift. A call to create true art in whatever we do. A call to find our love and passion and imagination. And when we do we find the world is not such a bad place, it's not so uncaring and harsh and negative. Our love and imagination make it magical, and this magic is out there to discover.
Sunday, December 23
-Can we change the look and/or name of this blog? Yeah? Yeah?
-Man, I don't communicate much anymore with anyone from Houston
-I got hired to work where my girlfriend's mom works. $15.30 an hour, my highest pay yet!
-I'm thinking of buying a new computer
-I still want a Wii60, but I'm leaning towards a Wii. It's the superior system. But first I want a new computer, my current one is old and I think the fan's in danger of going out or something
Saturday, December 22
Commercial music. Am I talking about those "posers" who sellout their indie style to go mainstream? Yes! But not just going mainstream, I'm talking true selling out. Music literally being in commercials on TV. Hey, Moby got his break that way. Don't you remember the excellent Play album? Yeah, so back off haters.
Good new music that I first heard from TV ads:
Zune commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86YGj5D6I3k
Another Zune commercial. It's the best one on this list, so if you're thinking of not checking these out then at least check this one out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoNtIkRm1HE
Target holiday ads (what can I say? I like the tune): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goMa0dBCVPo
Wednesday, December 12
Let's face it folks, as Americans we are losing our grip on reality and life. What do I mean?
Easy.
We have people that will absolutely never develope critical thinking skills. So let's face it, the extent of our intelligence boils down to some kid on YouTube who thinks it is fun to put his face in an ant hill.
Wake up America! Wake up youth! You're coming into this world blind and when you walk with your eyes closed, you're bound to fall face first.
Tuesday, December 11
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Saturday, December 8
Well, I haven't updated in awhile. I went back to Texas to visit so I was offline for awhile. I'm using the word awhile too much.
I've been trying to learn game development lately, really picking up the pace shortly before I left, but the break slowed me down a bit. I had bought a book on game developing using managed DirectX with C# but it wasn't layed out or written to my liking. I returned that one the other day and bought a cheaper beginners game development book that covers C++ development. I like this book much better as the writer explains in greater detail and also covers Windows development for C++.
You know, I went to ITT Tech and got an Associates in software development. We had three C++ classes but they never covered Windows Development. In a way it makes sense because Windows consist of nothing more than a particular set of APIs. In other words, it has less to do with learning C++ and more to do with learning the specifics of the Windows API. But still, I wish we had learned some Windows development or some form of putting C++ to some practical use.
Before I left I was developing a Tetris clone using Managed DirectX but I may convert it to C++. I'd prefer that because C++ is more standard in the industry and it would work on systems that don't have the .NET Framework installed. On top of that C++ is just funner. I don't like high level languages and I feel I learn a great deal more with lower level languages. On top of that the performance is greater with C++.
I'm rambling. Oh well, I guess I'll go now. I should continue working on learning more as I spent the whole morning watching the entire FLCL series. Good show, check it out if you haven't seen it.
See ya!
Monday, December 3
Ah gotta love the surreality of it all...
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Sunday, December 2
Enjoy your stay
as you can see, there isn't much to report at this unholy hour
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This is a test
--
- Josh Jacobs
"Jenseits von Gut und Böse"
http://cynicalguys.blogspot.com - go read
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