Academia, I Issue this Challenge: SUCK IT

If one were to hold in one hand my degree audit and in the other the UWEC Course Catalog, all evidence would support the following claim: Matt can/will graduate in May.

However, this may not be the conclusion drawn by the individual if they, say, belong to the UWEC Theatre Department.

Hearsay though it is at this stage, word is that for the Liberal Arts degree (as opposed to the Comprehensive degree) I ACTUALLY need two practica from the 100 level AND two from the 300 level.

All the official documents, those being degree audits, course catalogs, and the department website, say I need a TOTAL of two from EITHER of those. One 100 and one 300? Fine. Two 300s? Groovy. Two 100s? Sure thing.

Despite the wealth of practical experience I had at Westminster (which would transfer in as FOUR 300 level and two 100 level credits if Dr. Allen had actually paid attention when I transferred in) I only have one 100 level practicum credit on the books. I was planning on getting either a 100 or a 300 next semester, but now it looks like I'm gonna need more. . . Maybe.

It's all up in the air. The hardcopy says one thing; the living breathing person says another. All WILL be straightened out within a matter of days, however. I AM graduating in May. Come hell or high water.

Out.

I got Tested

And I got scored.

Verbal: 570 - 79th percentile
Quantitative: 690 - 69th percentile
Analytical Writing: 4.5 - 58th percentile

So there it all is. It's really just confirmation of what I already knew, in terms of my strengths and weaknesses. I know I'm better at working with the English language than I am at solving math problems, but I've got an okay grasp on logic and reasoning. And my writing? Well, the grammar was fine. It's my analytical skills that came up a bit lacking, I'm pretty sure.

Guess it's a good thing I want to be an English teacher then, huh?

Anyway, yeah. That is what it is, and what it is is irrelevant for a while.
What I REALLY wanna talk about is where Japanese animation studios spend their money.

Compare the opening and ending cutscenes of, I'd estimate, 70% or more of anime out there. The opening and ending sequences feature much smoother animation with a better color palette and more attention to layers and textures. By comparison, the meat of the episode is choppy, static, repeated cuts with minor tweaks (like only animating a moving mouth over an otherwise still image). I realize I'm talking about fairly subtle stuff, a lot of the time here, but bear with me.

Here are some examples:

Naruto is one of those shows where about half of every episode is recycled footage. However, look at this, one of the Naruto openings. I love the silhouetted forms and sparring. Look how smooth and fluid they animate it without necessarily making it slow.


The 4th opening of Blood+


3rd opening to Eureka Seven


Hellsing


Let me just insert a plug here, because the show is awesome. I guess you could say I'm trying to identify a certain quality to these scenes. There's a show, however, that if you haven't checked out yet, you should, because it employs that quality a very high percentage of the time.

. . .
. . .

Go watch Avatar.

Out.

Games on the Brains

This is short, because it's simple and I don't have much time, anyway.

Lately, I've been a very busy little fella. I don't get a lot of leisure time, and I usually try to use it to catch up on sleep or homework, whichever is further behind.

Well, almost certainly as a result of that business, distance making the heart grow fonder and all, I have a burning desire to replay ALL of the following games:

Xenogears (What can I say? I'm jonesing for the ultimate romantic story, and all the better if it involves blasphemy and giant robots)
Final Fantasy X (check this out for an example of amazing use of dev. tools)
Chrono Cross (LOVE IT!)
Legend of Dragoon (The "oh yeah, we have a new objective, so let's go kick some ass" guitar riff has been stuck in my head for months)

And, naturally, there's loads of WoW to be played, as well. I eagerly look forward to winterim. I'll be spending my time at the help desk and playing games. January will kick ass. Maybe not as much as the last one (how could it?) but it will be a good time.
Out.

Indulge me, for a moment, while I Geek Out

The good news is that I don't mean in the "oh my god, something amazing is happening" sort of way. I just want to share my thoughts on something.

The anime show in question: Gundam 00. Season 2 just started up in Japan, so I've been watching both raws and subs (when they show up) of the first two episodes. Bottom line is it's good and y'all should see it.

However, I'm going to talk about something specific, and spoilerific to anyone who yet plans on seeing the first season. If that's you, and you don't want to know, go away.

Here's what is up. End of last season, they killed one of the Gundam Meisters. He went out in a wonderfully epic and manly way (Kamina would be proud) but he very much died. Earlier in the season, we get literally a tiny glimpse of a character who looks almost exactly like that dude. Guess what: it's his brother. Ho snap. But aside from that 10 second bit, no mention of him whatsoever.

Now, over the summer, media began to surface about the upcoming second season, including names and pictures for the new gundams and the cast. Oddly, that dead guy was standing right there next to his shiny new weapon of anthropomorphized mass destruction. What's going on there?

Yup, in a move that should surprise noone, it's not him but his brother. Neil is replaced by Lyle, who inherits his older brother's codename. So, from one perspective, it could be seen as the show's creators "undoing" the character's death because of audience response due to how popular he was. Guy looks the same, pilots the same machine (well, technically, the upgrade) and goes by the same name? Pretty much a clone, right?

See, here's where it gets interesting. I don't know how he's going to develop as a character. Will he be the same old Lockon Stratos that he never was? Maybe, but maybe not.

What I will say is that the more I thought about it, the more I actually liked doing this with the character. At first I thought replacing him with his damn-near-identical brother was a cheap move, but considering the history of the show and the characters in it, it actually makes perfect sense.

In any case, I'm interested to see how "New Lockon" adjusts to his new role as Gundam Meister. I'll probably need to wait a few weeks until his machine actually enters the show, but that's fine.

Ultimately, what's most important is this: Gundam 00 is back and looks to be laying some groundwork for a great second season. Let's hope the don't muck it up.

Out.

Memories

I miss you, Vicki.
I miss you a lot.
I wish things hadn't gone as they did.

That's all I really think needs to be said.

Great Work in Progress

The light is insufficient in this picture, but hopefully you can tell who I'm dressing as for Halloween. :-)

Hint: Add some gold trim and a sash. . . and FIRE.

It will be great.

Step into the Circle and Shake like we Do

The other evening, I was sitting in the living room while one of my roommates was watching television. The name escapes me, but it's the show in which they measure the science of fighting, in terms of physics and physiology.

In this show, they were talking about concussions and grappling. Naturally, of course, they used exclusively Mixed Martial Artists from the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

This was alright, as I certainly have respect for what they do. To say that Ultimate Fighters are not skilled is untrue. Their bodies are in peak condition as a result of disciplined training and they are good at what they do. That's not really a diverging point.

However, in this show's conclusion, they referred to Ultimate Fighters as "elite warriors" and I was bugged. I said "they're fighters, not warriors. There's a difference." Presumably, Master Lee is getting inside my head.

Anyway, it led me to ponder the obvious question: "What defines someone as a warrior?"
At seminar, Master Lee asked if anyone knew the expression "a sharp blade dulls quickly" and its meaning. Everyone thought so, but apparently we were wrong. Apparently it's an expression used to suppress brilliance, innovation, and excellence. It says "don't excel, because you'll burn out if you do." None of us got that out of it. We all thought it meant "one must always work to better oneself and improve. A continual sharpening of the blade, as it were."

Here's what I believe: the defining characteristic of a true warrior is NOT the application of martial skills toward another human being (infinitely moreso when done for sport or fame); it is an attitude, an approach, a way of seeing the world. A warrior concerns him/herself always with striving to keep sharpening their blade. They may never enter into combat or even conflict, but they are not robbed of this virtue for this lonely reason.

A warrior does not need to be in the front lines of battle, though he could, and for only the right reasons, he would.

Ultimate Fighters are not warriors because they're not fighting for anything.

These are my thoughts.

If you can read this, you'll understand.

みんなさん、遅い返事を許していただけませんか。
私は子供のころ、色々なことがありました。　たくさんいい子とあったけど、悲しいこともありました。　私は五才まで、オスチンという町ですんでいました。　生活はつまらなかったです。　誰か子供の生活は面白かったですか。　五才の時、私の家族はウィノナにひっこしました。　八才の時、一番好きな友達と知り合いました。　名前はアンヂです。　毎日、アンヂと私は自転車を乗り足り、映画を見たり、テレビゲームを遊んだりしました。　たくさん楽しかったです。
十才の冬、私とアンヂはスレドした時、私の手首が壊しました。　小さい事故でした。
十一才のとき、アンヂの家族はフロリダに引っ越しました。　もうすぐ、私とアンヂは話しませんでした。
私が大学の二年生の時はつぎアンヂについて聞く時です。　その一年前、アンヂはAIDSをもらいました。　毎日毎日、もっと病気になりま下から、２００６年１０月４日、自分をころしました。
先週はとてもむずかしかったです。　私の友達がいなくてさびしいです。
悲しい物語をすみません。

And now a fun one.

New items to add to the "List of things to do before I die" (I think Morgan Freeman calls it a "Bucket List"):

Ride a whale.
Portray Christopher Walken in an internet video.
Own a motorcycle.
Spark a bar-room argument about where to get the best clam chowder in Texas.

The Lesson

Never hide. Never run. Never lie. Never cower. Never settle. Never give up.

Fear motivates all of these things. We should strive to be fearless. This is what I have come to believe is the core value to living the life I want to, being the man I want to be. I will never do anything shy of standing up and living my life.

Universe, this is me. I am as you see, nothing less. Though there is much more to me than a mere glance may explain, you will come to understand in time. I will never deny myself, my values, my priorities, or my flaws. I will never hide from my problems or my feelings. I will never be afraid to share my thoughts, feelings, and opinions with others.

A life best lived is a life lived without hesitation or regret. A life best lived is a life without worry and anxiety. A life best lived is a life spent facing challenges and circumstances directly with a straight back, forward eyes, and a raised head.

This is my belief. Like others, I will struggle to live my life with conviction to this belief, but it is mine nonetheless.
Out.

Where To Go

Consider this proclamation.

If you like trying to make me feel stupid, think I can't handle things, or feel inclined to tell me that I'm just not good/smart/experienced/[insert relevant adjective here] enough, you need to go somewhere else, fuck right off, and get the hell over yourself.

Once you do that, I'll gladly welcome you back into my world, if you so choose, but I have no patience, nor need for patience, for people who see it as their role in life to "put me in my place."

I want people in my life who actually think good things about me-- people who actually like and are impressed by me-- Hell, people who are proud of me. If you're out to drag me down, you need to grow up.

Out.

If You Wanna Be Somebody Else, Change Your Mind

No, thanks. I'm okay being me. You know, I've got some good stuff going for me.

As far as I see it, I'm pretty smart, have a good sense of humor as well as diverse and multifaceted interests, and genuinely try to be friendly to everyone I know. I'm patient and understanding, pretty easily willing to forgive and let things slide, and I'll bend over backwards to help out the people I care about. I try to think ahead, sometimes a little too much, and want to fit into the world, as opposed to trying to wrap the world around me.

I'm in decent cardiovascular health, though couldn't it always be better? I can do some cool things a lot of people can't, like break bricks and play the drums. There's a lot of stuff I can't do yet but I'm trying to learn, too.

I'm pretty self-motivated, don't like sitting on my hands when I could be pursuing something I believe to be important, and don't intend on letting somebody else decide who I'm going to be or what I'm going to do. At the same time, I love getting input and advice from others. It used to be hard for me to take criticism, but I've gotten a lot better at it.

And, to top it all off, I think I'm pretty good-looking. Perhaps not gorgeous or studly, because I just don't have any of the right features for that, but among all the gawky, scrawny, misproportioned white dudes I know, I think I pull it off better than most.

I think I've got a lot going for me. If the rest of the world either doesn't agree or decides to just ignore me and walk on by, I'm sad, but ultimately I hope it's more of a loss to the world.

The adage about nice guys finishing last may apply here. It may not. Suffice it to say that, even though sometimes I think I'm alone in doing so, I think I'm a pretty alright dude.

Though, to be forthcoming, it can get hard. Some days I'd really like an external source of acknowledgment and validation, too. You can't get by purelyon inner confidence 100% of the time. Maybe you can, but it kind of sucks. But, even in these dark times, I suppose it's important to buck up and keep that one last bastion of confidence intact, probably moreso during doubting times than any time else.