Star Wars kid, we feel for you. I just got back from the movie Whale Rider. Chances are you haven't heard about it, its a foreign film from New Zealand involving the modern decendants of the Maori people. If you get the chance, I reccommend it highly. Very well done.

You may be suprised to know that I am actually involved in Ian's latest project, you see I am The Motivator. It is my solemn duty to force Ian to actually work on his project so that it will actually be completed. I'm not gonna let you get bored with this one Ian, be warned. You know not what you have brought upon yourself. I am actually very envious of Ian's abilities with both his art and his ideas. Perhaps some of his creativity will rub off on me next semester so I can actually create the webcomic that I've been wanting to make. Shame I can't really draw. Or come up with storylines. But still, one never knows.

Quick shout out to mine and Ian's friend Amanda, and her rival site Cantankerous Panda. She made the site to provide an alternate perspective to our posts, so check it out. Thats all for the moment. Out.

This makes me want to cry. But this makes me happy. Maybe he will be in Episode Three, that would be the coolest thing ever. We love you Star Wars Kid!

Okay, something is seriously messed up with the site. It is loading veeeeeery sloooooowly. That is not good. Unfortunately, I am way to tired to look into it now. I am even to tired to post something meaningful. So I think I will just tell some lame news about the future, and maybe avoid the mob of angry fans that only exist in my head. Anyway: I have begun writing my latest graphic novel. I am using many elements that I felt worked from my first one, Amphetamine (no link available cause its hosting went down, damnit), and I am expelling a large amount of the stupid immature crap that it was filled with. Also, I am going to produce this next novel all at once, meaning I am going to write the whole thing, then pencil it all, then ink, and then color, THEN I will start putting it online. You guys might get to see some concept sketches, but that is it until it is done. I am doing it this way so that I get a better feel for the whole story, rather than treating each page like its own entity. I hope to ultimately create a superior product this way. Production officially begins this Sunday, and I will put up a status box somewhere on the site so people know what is up with the strip.
That is my big creative news, what you got Shea? Huh? Front yo!

The wonderfull dance that is the relationship with the ex. If you share the same friends with your ex it can get interesting to put it simply. I have just recently been able to hang out with my ex girlfriend Carrie who had felt uncomfortable seeing me. I was fine with her need for space, but it was interesting to see my friends try to juggle activities around us. They always tried to avoid mentioning the other person and scheduled things so we wouldn't see each other. I felt bad for everyone having to do that, especially since they didnt need to, as I was fine with everything. People are always very catious around friends that have broken up, probably because it really can be a confusing and difficult situation. But in my personal experience, time does heal and things eventually start settling back down to normal. Hopefully Ian's friends will become comfortable with the situation soon. As for me, things are going well, in fact last night everyone got together with Carrie and we played charades, so things are turning out pretty good. And this is after she refused to speak my name before! As for charades, my team kicked ass. We came up with the hardest charades ever! YOU try pantomiming William Howard Taft and xenobiologist. Oh yeah, we're evil. Anyway, nothing much goin on tonight. I was supposed to have band practice. haha, like that ever happens. Oh well, there's always more painting to look forward to!!.....or something.

So when I drove past my friend’s house taking Brian home tonight, I saw my ex girlfriend Kelli’s car outside his house. I know that they talk all the time, and hang out. And that is really cool. I want nothing but the best for Kelli, and I hope that she finds happiness somewhere. Even if they started dating, I wouldn’t even care. What bothers me about it is that my friend seems to think that he needs to keep it a secret. Like knowing Kelli still exists will in some way break me. It’s both sad and insulting at the same time, and I don’t really want it to become a rift between us. I believe that communication is the key to stopping most fights before they start, and I try my best to stand by that. That means I don’t get upset or jealous easily, and I try to be an accessible person. I will probably bring the matter up with him sometime soon so we can clear the air, and I know that he will be cool once he knows that I don’t care who he is friends with. She is her own person, and he is too, and their future is their own as well. I just wish that he didn’t feel like he had to keep things secret from me.

Ok, I promise I won't keep repeating Slashdot stories, but I had to pass on this one because its just too cool. For those of you too lazy to click on the link: apparently there's a thing going around called a "flash mob" where hundreds of people get together for absolutely no reason and do things like randomly applaud at nothing for 15 seconds and then disperse. Sounds like the coolest thing ever! But maybe that's just me.

Quick update. I just read on Slashdot that the RIAA is "now issuing subpoenas to family members of suspected online music swappers." Now is it just me or is this getting ridiculous?

Ahh, the innocence of young love. I know exactly where Ian is coming from on this one. I think everyone has had exactly the kind of moment he has described. Its the times we love to hate...or hate to love...or something like that. So much nervousness and uncertainty but yet so much fun. Why the heck do dealings with the opposite sex have to go that way? Why can't we just say what we're freaking thinking and get it over with! It would make things so much easier. But somehow that never works. Maybe its just too much fun to be angsty.

Well my day so far has been not so thrilling. Oil based primer paint sucks. A lot. After painting the eaves on just one part of one side of the house my entire body was covered in paint. And this stuff doesn't come off till its dried. It just stays really sticky until then. I actually had to put on latex gloves to eat lunch because I couldn't wash it off. And then I washed my hair 3 times and still have paint in it. Sigh...

Anyway thats it for me, at least for now anyway. And by the way Ian, you must not speak of the horrible blowing up of god by William Shatner movie. In fact, that movie does not exist. It never did. I refuse to accept it. They just skipped a number between Star Trek IV and VI.

Every night when I get home from work around 10:30 PM or so, I always do the same thing: sit down on the couch, break out my trusty laptop (which is held trustingly together with none other than super trusty duck tape, which has a habit of melting all over it in a rather trustworthy fashion), and argue with my brother for about three hours about what movie we should watch. I, being a certified artist in training and therefore knowledgeable about such things, always want to watch something good, while he, being him, always wants to watch some movie where William Shatner blows up God with a photon torpedo. Anyway, tonight we settled on watching Shrek (my choice, thank you). Sherk is one of my favorite movies of all time. It’s wonderfully funny, yes, but tonight I think I realized just why I enjoy it so much. I like Shrek because watching it always feels like being kissed for the first time. The interaction of Shrek and Fiona, the bumbling way in which they come together, even the expressions on their faces, all remind me of my own fledgling experiences with the opposite sex. I probably did not have the most normal, or even logical relationships; I was always a social outcast, but for some reason, occasionally, someone would fall in love with me. And those nights, in high school, awkwardly trying to sit next to each other at a party, being acutely aware of the other’s body lounging innocently next to mine, feeling every individual nerve in my hand as I slowly inched it towards hers, those nights were special. Those nights I will remember forever. And watching Fiona and Shrek fall in love, even for the millionth time, brings all those intensely happy feelings flooding back over me.

I like it when the loser gets the girl. I like it a lot.

A couple of news blurbs I read today in USAToday:

Michael Jackson spoke out against a proposed federal law that would make downloading songs a felony punishable by jail time. “I am speechless about the idea of putting music fans in jail for downloading music… the answer cannot be jail,” he said. “Here in America we create new opportunities out of adversity, not punitive laws. It is the fans that drive the success of the music business.”

WE LOVE YOU MICHAEL. I am glad the see the king of pop is not throwing a Lars-esq fit over peer-to-peer file sharing. My question is this, if everyone from here to Neverland Ranch knows that downloadable music is the future of audio media, why are the fat cats up at the RIAA trying so hard to fight it? Don’t they know that when you fight the future you get alien embryos implanted in your chest and stuff? Jeeze.

Also,

The Motion Picture Association of America is launching a public service campaign to let Internet users know that pirating movies is bad. They are apparently setting up TV, Movie Theater, and online spots that explain why downloading movies is morally wrong. While I think that this approach will ultimately prove to be futile, I am glad that they are not freaking out and suing people for trillions of dollars like the RIAA is doing.

Anyway, enough of this, I am off to listen to some MJ mp3s and watch Star Wars on my computer. Just kidding! Don’t sue me!

Hmmm, painting on the roof is no fun. Its very hot up there. And I now have lots of paint in my hair, which is no good. Ok, I should get back to painting now, just thought I should complain to the world.

You decide! Post your thoughts in das chatterbox!

Ok, I'll attempt to reconstruct my last post that was deleted.

Quick little afternoon post. Nothing much goin on, I am sitting at my friend Andy's house there's really nothin happening. Its the way it goes. Ahh, Andy has just put in a Cowboy Bebop DVD. For those of you who are unintroduced to Bebop, I wholeheartedly suggest it. Yes, it is an anime. Yes, that means it is a cartoon. No, that does not mean that is a children's show. The recently released movie was rated R for god's sake. Its a common misconception in the Western world that anything that is animated is automatically kid's stuff. This isn't really suprising since the most mature animations America has produced has been the likes of the Lion King and The Little Mermaid. This is not the case in other cultures. In Japan, anime and manga (Japanese comics) occupy every genre you can imagine and cater to people of all ages. Sure, sometimes it can be goofy and radically different from anything you'd see in America, but it can just as often be mature, deep, and downright kick-ass. When it comes down to it, its all about cultural differences. Animation is an accepted form of expression in Japan but not in America. This does not mean that we can't enjoy it. Just because its not accepted by the mainstream doesn't mean its not good. Its just another form of telling a story, just like radio, TV, or film. A word of advice: Don't discount something just because it seems different or because you don't know anything about it. And don't try to classify things into what you already know. That leaves no room for anything new. So anyway, my point is give Bebop and other anime and manga a try. I can assure you you'll get more out of it than you expected. End.

Well I had a nice little post. Then Andy's computer deleted it. Moral of the story: Don't use Windows ME. Out.

I am obsesesd with Wil Wheaton's blog. It's so obscure, but at the same time so amazingly filled with pop culture goodness!

Considering he played Westley on TNG, this guy says boner an awful lot. I love it.

I have now arrived. I am known as Shea. Ian has courteously asked me to join his site and I am very glad to accept. As it is, me and Ian share very very similar views on, well just about everything. We can be frighteningly alike at times so our various opinions and observations should mesh well. :) As for opinions and observations, I am currently not thinking of any of improtance, so perhaps I will just ramble on about things. I have just returned from my second trip to warped tour. If you don't know what that is it is a punk music festival style concert. 9 hours long, 30 bands, that kinda thing. Very reccommended for all people even remotely interested in music, punk or not. For me it has reasserted my allegiance to punk music. There's just something about it that I am attracted to. I think its the raw emotion. Thats what music is about after all. Emotion. Punk music is perhaps the most pure way of emotional expression in music. No fancy lyrics, no insane guitar solos, just screaming out how you feel to the whole world. Fuck what anyone else thinks about it. Too me thats what punk is about. Not the fashion or the anti-establishment propaganda, the pure energy and emotion of the music is the only thing that really matters to me. The fact that I wear a punk armband isn't to be cool and fashionable, its to more to remind myself of how the music makes me feel. At least I tell myself that. Haha. I do have a problem with the elitist status that the punk community sometimes seems to crave. Too often it seems that people latch on to the "everything that is corporate is evil" idea. To me thats missing the point. Punk has always been about not fitting into guidelines or categories. Its a rebellion against the whims of pop culture. It focuses on the saying what you want to say, making the kind of music you want, despite what anyone says. At least thats what it should be. But when someone (like so many punks) classifies all that is not punk as lesser, bands that sound too pop as "sellouts" they are falling into the same trap that punk was trying to break away from in the first place. Music should be judged on the music. Listen to what you want, wear what you want, act like you want. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, especially not a punk. Because if they are, then they aren't really a punk anyway, they're just a member of another pop-culture group, claiming to be different when they are really just the same.
Well, looky there, I managed a rant. I wasn't expecting one. Just a post script: I don't mean to criticize anyone for being a punk or not, I only speak of those who criticize others for what category they fit into. I personally think that people categorize far to much in life. It leads to stereotypes and ignorance. Anyway, just my random 2 cents, you'll probably hear more about it later. Signing off.

I am trying to resist the temptation to put a counter on this page in some form or another. I get very wrapped up in how many people are seeing my work, where they are coming from. I start to focus more on getting people to post in forums than in actually creating content. Maybe if I don’t have a forum or counter, I can’t get distracted from just buckling down and writing stuff. I mean, I can’t really get any less consistent in my updating. Oh, if you don’t know my history of sites, well, I will talk more about that later. So stay tuned.
Also, new writer for the site, so I don’t have to do as much work. He will introduce himself. Additional: I know the design is wacky, we are working on that. More later tonight. Or tomorrow morning for you wacky people who are asleep.

I just got back from seeing 28 Days Later. It was very good, and like the other movies that stood out in the last few months, it was good because it focused on the characterizations, not on creating a vapid display of special effects or using over the top shock tactics. In fact, the “infected” in 28 were not in the movie as much as I thought they were going to be. It was mostly about how different types of people dealt with the collapse of civilization, and about what makes us human. In addition to putting most of our daily stresses in perspective as the petty annoyances they are, the movie was an editorial on how different types of people living in an environment of death and constant warfare cope, and that while using violence to survive is the way of nature, one must use that which makes us human, our ability to think beyond or base instincts, to avoid a cycle of destruction. I was reminded of the endless warfare of the middle east, and how while some people who live there simply try to continue life as normally as they can, a select few others chose to continue the cycle of bombings and murder, falling victim to their base desire for vengeance, and indeed, their rage.
Interestingly enough 28 Days Later at one point features the protagonist caught up in a zombie like rage himself, succumbing to the same hatred and violence that the virus brings out of in the zombies. While it could be said he had just provocation, I felt that glorifying this destructive rage contradicted the movie’s ultimate message about the nature of humanity, and the importance of not letting our emotions run our lives. Perhaps my interpretation is incorrect, or maybe there is more there that meets the eye. I will have to think more about it. But that is a good thing; it’s been a while since a mainstream movie made me think.

Earlier I was signing up for some promotional sites to try and get people to read this site, and in doing so I went back through my old email address. The one I stopped using two months ago. I found a letter from you, a very nice letter that I never responded to because I never got it. But I didn't respond now. It would be weak. I shouldn't dwell on the past; I have spent far too much of my life only living for my rosary of kind memories, for just a few nights in a house that wasn't even mine. I need to look ahead. And so I need to forget you. Sorry.

The funny thing about new methods of communication is how they change the dynamics of the human mating ritual. Once you had to meet someone somewhere to interact with them, the act of physically traveling to be close to someone the only way to express your feelings. Spending all the effort to see someone, and the focus on real human interaction, made things simpler. You asked them to see you, if they would it was a pretty strong indicator of how they felt, if they said no, well, better luck with someone else. Then the telephone made things at once more casual and more complicated. Phone numbers where like battle trophies, won through guile and force. And then once you had your number, was it all right to call? How often was too much? So more rules developed, more protocol. And the message of attraction was muddied. Now we have instant messages, and more recently Internet diaries or blogs. We live in an age were you are in constant written communication with practically everyone you have ever met. It means nothing that you have someone’s screen name. But how does this change courtship? Again the messages are muddied more, the intent lost in a sea of messenger windows. One finds themselves searching for the person behind the text, the mouth behind the smiley icons. Do they message you first? Do they ignore if you are on? Do they say goodbye but stay online? People read into every subtlety, trying to find something human in the sterile computerized interaction. But nothing is clear, and everything is much more complicated than it used to be. Sometimes I wish that you just had to go up to the person and ask how the feel, like you used to have to. But then I become afraid that I wouldn’t have the balls.

More on this topic later for sure. The AIM thing, not my balls. Probably.