Everything sucks.
Amount of debt is growing, amount of friends is shrinking.
The player on my left stank, the player on my right screamed.
Too listless to make brilliant changes to movie.
Cingular and AT&T merged to make the AllOver Network. Damn right it's all over.
Neck hurts.
Plus it's cold.

"So, you're Asian."

Successfully started two conversations in a bar with this line. And we didn't quickly run out of things to say, either.
...Not a recommended starting line if you are not personally Asian. Why? Just because.

I took a breath and let it out, woohoo.

We live in a time of unchecked narcissism, where reportage and refinement of individual minutiae is the reigning principle, and interaction between individuals is discouraged. See: this blog, all blogs, vanity websites, the movie "Tarnation," Eminem, reality shows (which are often about a group dynamic to be sure, but ultimately devolve into people microanalyzing their own behavior vis a vis How I Am Going To Win), personalized features, customized orders, home entertainment systems, the poker craze, every gambler, every actor, everyone who is "freelance," self-help, self-liberation, self-assessment, Alanis Morrisette, and the prevailing problem of misunderstanding and hatred between the races.
...All the new technology that makes communicating easier has somehow made us push deeper inward. Instead of exploring the possibilities of unfettered access to everyone else, we work on immediately gratifying adjustments to ourselves. What font shall I use for my email? Should I take this person's call or adjust my screensaver? I can't talk to you right now because I have to work on my career. Hi, how are you, here's my life story.
...I don't know what to do about it. I think we're going to fall into a black hole.

About that Pacers-Piston brawl being the fans' fault.

Yeah, it was their fault, because after getting hit with that beer, Ron Artest had more than just cause to think he was in danger of physical harm, and that some fan up there in the stands was hiding a weapon of mass NBA-player destruction, and these little beer volleys were just hints of his violent potential. So it's totally understandable that he went up into the stands and started hitting random people, because he was in real danger, because after all, he had just been hit with a beer. Who KNOWS what the mad fan might have thrown next? A grenade full of enriched uranium, maybe! Ron Artest is my hero. He fights for the rest of us. I bet HE could find Osama bin Laden.

homeland security and me

So I finally went to small claims court about the police-breaking-into-our-grip-truck thing., and I did not win. Apparently the police have immunity to cause certain kinds of damage when they're doing their thing, even if the only crime being committed is suspicious parking. The officers who came to represent the LAPD did advise me that I should be suing the Department of Homeland Security, since it was apparently their man, Danny Roth, who initiated the whole action. He called in the LAPD only because he didn't have his own bomb squad handy. Actually the entity that truly owes me the 800 bucks is his dog (also named "Dani") who sat on the truck, causing everyone to go into alert mode.
....It's not that I can't see it from their persepctive. "Thank God at least you weren't really a terrorist!" "What were you thinking parking a white truck in front of a federal building after the Oklahoma City bombings?" But what itches me is the idea that from a legal perspective, this story seems to shake out as: Homeland Security investigated a possible terrorist action, and some stuff got damaged in the process, thank goodness no one was hurt. When what really happened was: I parked a truck, half the city arrived to smash in the window and the door, and then they left, and I got to pay for it.
...Am also considering asking John Kerry for my donation back.

The Man.

Since a couple not-too-bright guys in the casino yesterday felt it necessary to bond over the Republican victory by calling Bush "The Man" and Kerry "A Wimp," I'd like to reiterate something that seemed to get lost in the battle of Republican lies and Democratic blather.
....
Kerry was in a war, he used a weapon in service of our country. Bush has no comparable military service, he authorizes the killing of people at long distance, he has NO IDEA WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT. IF HE HAD TO, KERRY WOULD KICK BUSH'S ASS IN THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE ME TO OPEN A BAG OF POTATO CHIPS.
...
Small comfort, this. Sometimes I wish people would just wear a sign that says "I Repeat Things I've Heard On CNN Until It Seems That I Have An Opinion" so I would know not to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Please, for the love of Pete, vote for Kerry.

Reason 1: Kerry seems like a pretty good guy.
Reason 2: Bush only helps rich people.
Reason 3: Bush makes the world safer...for rich people. Everyone else is potential cannon fodder.
Reason 4: We are at war and we should have someone who's been in a war in charge.
Reason 5: Bush seems like the more down-to-earth personality, it's true, but everything he says is either a) a lie b) wrong or c) a slogan which does not mean anything. Kerry is often guilty of c), but as far as track records go, Bush is far ahead of him on a) and b).