Developing Artist

Watched Capitalism: A Love Story this weekend.

While I think that he'll never have a better subject than a past film, his filmmaking keeps getting better.

Don't take my word for it, though, let's go to a person who dislikes Michael Moore:

Most interesting is the way he positions black citizens in the Obama theme. An interview is interrupted by the news that the election is won, and we see black folk leap and cheer -- a common image during that news cycle, but (as I mentioned about the portrayal of Republicans tumbling out of the closet in Republican Gomorrah) newly piquant in a narrative context: The most traditionally despised and debased people in the country suddenly filled with optimism. The payoff comes near the end, when Moore reproduces FDR's 1944 call for a new Bill of Rights-- a late New Deal legacy that presaged Moore's own hopes for the nation. We may be aware without reminding that Roosevelt's vision -- including that of "every family to a decent home.. to adequate medical care... to adequate protection from the economic fears of old age and sickness and accident" -- went unrealized after his death.

Next we see the crowds weeping at FDR's funeral procession -- many of them African-American. Then Moore avails a stealth-shock cut -- it takes a few moments to realize that the helicopters we are next shown are hovering over the flooded homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and that the terrified citizens begging for rescue are black.

I'm a terrible cynic, but the sorrow and anger at injustice I felt at what I saw, I am convinced, were not drawn by a gimp-string, nor by a clever concatenation of my own prejudices, but by the craft of a real filmmaker turning bare facts and images into art. It's political, certainly. But sometimes, if rarely, a political gesture is sufficiently inspired to cross the line.

Today is Fall

The temperature while walking to work was in the mid-40s. The breeze was heavier than gentle. The air smelled fresh. Fall has finally arrived.

Some will get into work later this morning and complain that it's soooooo cold out. I find it refreshing.

Dear CBS,

Please rearrange your Monday night schedule to put How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory back-to-back again.

I tried the new Jenna Elfman show, I really did, but it's not good. And I like Jenna Elfman, but she's one of the two good things about it and let me tell you the other good thing isn't the plot, the writing, the "comedy," the male lead, or anything else that'd make me want to stick around.

Also, I've never like Two and a Half Men. Many others do, but I don't.

So, please, move How I Met Your Mother to nine or The Big Bang Theory to 8:30 and make my Monday night viewing more pleasurable.

*hugs*

ticknart

Very Tired

Totally pooped and it's just the first day of the work week.

Crap.

Another God damned post about fan ficiton!?

Yeah, but this one's about me, too.

To say that I've been reading a lot of fan fiction recently is like saying that people breathe. I've been through lots of bad stuff and found a few pretty good things, but I've read way more than some may want to believe.

As I read a question crept into my mind: Why haven't I been writing fan fiction? I've been reading it off and on since 1997, why haven't I created my own? I sit and think "what if?" about nearly everything I enjoy. I wonder about the life of characters after then end or at an age that the original never went to and I think up arcs and stories, why haven't I ever put them down in writing?

(Okay, so technically, I have. There's that Voyager thing I did and a short Sliders story (Both of which need some massive editing. Like and embarrassing amount of editing.), but I haven't done any regular fan fiction writing, ever.)

In the beginning I think it was because I saw fan fiction as a fun diversion. I was in school and busy with my school work and what not. It was there for me to read and enjoy, but it wasn't something that I wanted to create myself.

When school ended I kept reading, but I had delusions of being a "real" writer. Of writing short stories and novels and having them published on paper that people paid money for. Of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people enjoying a tale spun from my thoughts. I didn't write anything much beyond a paragraph, though. Eventually, I knew I wouldn't do anything more than that and did my best to stop thinking.

Still the hope was there and I started that Fiction Friday experiment. I think there's some strong stuff in there. Good ideas and plenty of okay writing. (Also, poor editing, but that's only because I'd post 'em right after I wrote 'em. So, really, that's a different problem. Procrastination.) If wishes were ponies, I'd still be posting those on a regular basis an have more than two years worth of short stories on here.

The main problem was that I just didn't write. There were, and are, plenty of ideas in my head, but I didn't, and don't, write. I can't say why, but I don't. I guess that just not enough of me wants to.

Ce qui a été, est.

Which, pretty much, brings us up to this latest run in with fan fiction and me still not writing it.

Why not?

1. It's hard to suppress the belief that fan fiction isn't real writing.
2. You don't make money from it.
3. Only a niche group is going to read it.
4. I want to play in the sandbox, but play with my own toys more than the creator's toys.
5. Fandom is insanity, even if there are a bunch of decent people.
6. Copyright infringement.
7. I'd have to join a community.
8. I'm better than fan fiction.

It's the last one that really pisses me off, but I'm going to go down that list one at a time:
1. I know this one isn't true, a lot of the stuff is crap, but I've read some stuff by people who can really write. They know how to craft a sentence to support a paragraph to build a story. I even found one today that had writing in the good-to-great range.

It is real writing. There are creative plots and intriguing ideas. The writers may not create the character and too many don't know how to keep the characters in character, but they're still putting one word next to another (except for the ones written in 1337 or txtese) to create an (hopefully) original story.

2. Well, that's true, but really how often to "real" writers make money from their first several short stories. Pretty damn rare for a new writer to get published in The New Yorker.

Plus, if money was made off of fan fiction (aside from the company approved stuff) we'd see the publishers and movie/TV studios and authors come swooping in with their lawyer to crush the folks who write the stuff.

3. Also true, but at least you know that they're there because they like the characters, right?

4. What I mean by this is that I'm far more interested in putting in new characters to explore the universe without ever necessarily going near the original characters.

To better explain, hopefully: How are young wizards, in the Harry Potter-verse, in the USA trained? There are some boarding schools in the USA, but there's very few and very far between. Even the ones that do exist don't really do the whole different-houses-that-compete thing. Would there be one or two or three big schools for wizarding children for the USA or maybe all of North America that all the magical children go to? Or would it be more like a local after school program for those certain special individuals? And how did Voldemort causing trouble in England effect the wizards in the US and Canada?

That's something that I'd be more interested in exploring than what happened to Ron after he ditched Harry and Hermione in Deathly Hallows and then coming back to them or Peter Pettigrew's adventures with the Weasley family or redeeming Draco Malfoy. But is it really a Harry Potter fan fiction if it never mentions Harry Potter?

5. Whatever you write, even if people like it, you won't ever get any constructive criticism, which I think is important for any writer.

Also, once you start writing under any fandom they, or a vocal number of them, think they own the characters and therefore should be able to tell you exactly what you should have done while they call what you, probably, worked hard on a horrible piece of shit.

Oh, sure, fuck 'em, right? It's not that simple, though. As seen by 3, those are the only people who are going to be reading what you wrote. Fan fiction does not expand beyond the small part of the fanbase that reads and writes it.

6. Always a concern. Some of the original creators support fan fiction, some ignore it (or pretend to ignore it), some ask for it to be removed when they find out it's been done. Lots of the properties aren't owned by the original creators, or at least not totally, and who can tell when Viacom or Universal or Warner Bros. or Disney will have their attorneys send out cease and desist letters to the massive fan fiction websites.

7. Once you write it and put it on a fan fiction site, your part of that community. Whether it's a site that's about all fan fiction or a site dedicated to one certain character/show/book/whatever your part of a community and there are certain expectations that I'm uncomfortable with, like conversations with people. Even knowing it's via message board it makes my stomach flop.

8. I'm not. I know I'm not.

To be better than fan fiction I'd at least have to be writing something. I'm not though.

To actually be better than fan fiction I'd have to be published or filmed and have people writing fan fiction based on my stuff.

And it really bugs me that floating around in my brain is that damn thought because at least those guys and girls are writing something creative. I'm not even doing that. I'm just sitting and thinking about ideas. Nothing goes down on paper or takes up bits on the hard drive, nothing. Still, the thought is there.

I feel like I should be wrapping this up, but I don't know how. Will I continue to not write fan fiction? Will I start writing fan fiction? Will I quit the fan fiction thing altogether? I really can't say.

I have ideas. Like the one mentioned above. Hell, I even have ideas for a couple of series of stories for several different fandoms, for lack of a better word. As I wrote earlier, I just don't write. (And, yes, I realize the irony in that sentence.) I don't. I think I should, but... you know.

I Figured It Out

For a long time, at least while the show was on TV, my brothers and I have been trying to figure out the first name of the first officer on the starship Voyager.

His name: Charles "Chuck" O'Tay.

Turns out the guy is Irish. I'm not sure why everyone calls him by his full name, though. Weird crew.

This Week's Obsessive Songs

"Paper Bag," Fiona Apple, from When the Pawn...

I was staring at the sky, just looking for a star
To pray on, or wish on, or something like that
I was having a sweet fix of a daydream of a boy
Whose reality I knew, was a hopeless to be had
But then the dove of hope began its downward slope
And I believed for a moment that my chances
Were approaching to be grabbed
But as it came down near, so did a weary tear
I thought it was a bird, but it was just a paper bag
Hunger hurts, and I want him so bad, oh it kills
'Cause I know I'm a mess he don't wanna clean up
I got to fold 'cause these hands are too shaky to hold
Hunger hurts, but starving works, when it costs too much to love
And I went crazy again today, looking for a strand to climb
Looking for a little hope
Baby said he couldn't stay, wouldn't put his lips to mine,
And a fail to kiss is a fail to cope
I said, "Honey, I don't feel so good, don't feel justified
Come on put a little love here in my void," he said
"It's all in your head," and I said, "So's everything"
But he didn't get it I thought he was a man
But he was just a little boy
Hunger hurts, and I want him so bad, oh it kills
'Cause I know I'm a mess he don't wanna clean up
I got to fold 'cause these hands are too shaky to hold
Hunger hurts, but starving works, when it costs too much to love
Hunger hurts, and I want him so bad, oh it kills
'Cause I know I'm a mess he don't wanna clean up
I got to fold 'cause these hands are too shaky to hold
Hunger hurts, but starving works, when it costs too much to love

"Call and Answer," Barenaked Ladies, from Stunt

I think it's getting to the point
Where I can be myself again
I think it's getting to the point
Where we have almost made amends
I think it's the getting to the point
That is the hardest part.

And if you call, I will answer
And if you fall, I'll pick you up
And if you court this disaster
I'll point you home

You think I only think about you
When were both in the same room
You think I'm only here to witness
The remains of love exhumed
You think we're here to play
A game of who loves more than whom

And if you call, I will answer
And if you fall, I'll pick you up
And if you court this disaster
I'll point you home

You think it's only fair to do whats
Best for you and you alone
You think it's only fair to do the same
To me when you're not home
I think it's time to make this something that is
More than only fair

So if you call, I will answer
And if you fall, I'll pick you up
And if you court this disaster
I'll point you home.

But I'm warning you, dont ever do
Those crazy, messed up things that you do
If you ever do
I promise you I'll be the first to crucity you
Now it's time to prove that youve come back
Here to rebuild.

Rebuild...

Rebuild...

Rebuild...

Rebuild...

Are these offensive?

I ask because a woman at work put an image similar to the last one on her desktop and some think it's inappropriate and at least one is offended by it. But are they offensive and/or inappropriate?

If they are, are they only offensive and/or inappropriate in a work environment or anywhere?

Also, it was all fine until the woman with the picture announced to staff what was going on in the picture because most people in the office had no clue what it was. So, if she hadn't announced it, would the picture still be offensive and/or inappropriate?

I'm probably the only one who cares, but...

There's a Daria fan fiction series called "John Lane". Basically it's a Daria/Jane 'shipping story that decided to dodge the lesbian issue by re-imagining Jane as a guy, who has a much rougher life, and then rewriting most episodes with the new status quo.

Anyway, in the one I'm reading now, based around "Write Where it Hurts," Helen and Jake are concerned about the potential of Daria and John having sex and decide to talk to the two. Helen tells Daria that it's time for The Pill and Jake talks to John. Helen gets concerned that Jake... uh... instability may hurt the talk and goes in to... mediate, which leads to this:

Helen knocked on the door and opened it.

John and Jake's laughter followed the faint "thwap" of something hitting Helen's forehead. John said, "You're right. They do stretch."

Sometimes it's really hard to laugh silently here at work.

The more I think about it...

...the more I realize that if "Come Together" had been written in the past 5 years the more likely it would have been about bukkake.

Not that it would stop my enjoyment of the song.

Mixed Up

About two weeks ago, Jazz wrote about how she met her Mr. Jazz. In the comments, one of her regulars said, "We should ask fellow bloggers who wouldn't object to sharing, how they met their significant other and what was it that turned them on."

This morning, Jazz posted a list of stories that other people have written who were inspired by her or inspired by others who were inspired by her, for the most part.

Okay, why am I writing about this here?

I want a story.

Sure, there are a lot of similarities in the tales these people tell (There seem to be two main types: 1. Immediate attraction by the party of the first part. and 2. People were friendly and friendly moved into more than friendly.), but there are all sorts of extra details. There are drawls and concerts and Christmas decorations and aviator jackets and rain and Zeppelin and long queues and boobs and reconnaissance and each of those things are just one little detail out of nine different stories. The uniqueness of the details really makes these sort of stories pop.

So, I want a story. I want weird little details that mean nothing and everything.

I don't want a person, but I'd really like a story. A story that's totally unique to me, but familiar to everyone who's heard or experience a moment of knowing.

More of That Fan Fiction Stuff

For the last few weeks, my fan fiction kick has been the Daria stuff. (I'm not brave/stupid enough to log onto the adult fan fiction sites at work, so it's all safe, and so far nothing is too risqué, since I know y'all are so sensitive about that sort of thing.) (PENIS! VAGINA! VULGAR TERMS FOR BODY PARTS!)

So far, the thing that's surprised me most is how the Trent 'shippers treat their love for putting Daria and Trent together. They seem unwilling to make it simple. There's been a surprising number that don't hook them up until she's out of college and not all of them work out in a "happily ever after" way. Most of the ones who do put them together while she's in school make it fairly clear that it won't be like that forever, that eventually they'll grow apart.

It's like these people actually paid attention to the show and the characters!

Of course, then you occasionally get bits like this:

She thought about it. "Yes. Sleep is good." She stretched, and suddenly remembered that she was naked under her robe, she looked down and realized that she had just flashed Trent. He looked completely discommoded, she didn't really care, she had pretty breasts.

I never thought of Daria as one who really thought about whether or not her breasts were pretty. (Click for the story.) Still, a little of this isn't a horrible thing.

One thing, though, that sort of bothers me is how some of the 'shippers try to make Trent better, or flesh him out. (This author does it a lot.) I never thought Trent was dumb, but I still don't think he's a deep thinker. He's just a guy who wants to do what he enjoys.

Some more at 9:40 AM the next day:
Okay, here's an example of what I was writing about above, but didn't finish because I was eager to leave work. The author above wrote a story from Trent's point of view for the episode "Jane's Addition." For those who don't remember, or know, "Jane's Addition" is the episode where Daria pretty much gets over her crush on Trent. (A much more thorough summary. Transcript.) He's just too --I want to say lazy, but I don't think the guy's lazy, just not overly motivated?-- relaxed (still not the right word, but it's the best I can come up with) for Daria. She makes sure she keeps any commitments she makes. Trent isn't so worried about that.

Anyway, in "Jane's Addition" the crush ends because Daria really gets to know who Trent is. (And the end was coming, as they showed in the episode "Lane Miserables.") They'll stay friends, but that's it.

In the story mentioned above, "Trent's Equation," the author makes it clear that Trent disappointed Daria and ended her crush on him on purpose. Trent thought that the crush was having a bad effect on Daria and decided that it was better for her to be heartbroken for a while than to be entangled with him. The author, in a note at the end of the story, writes, "I believe Trent is actually a more mature character than we actually see on the show, I think his method of expressing his feelings will come across subtlety and peripherally, since he is at an age where he is much more cognizant of relationship consequences than Jane or Daria." But the author also saw Trent developing a crush on Daria when he told her that it's "[t]oo bad [she's] not a few years older [because he] could take [her] out" at the end of "Lane Miserables." Reading it that way changes a lot.

Some Back and Forth

We're short two clerks this week, which is three days long. That means that the people who handle the regular mail are cut in half, so I got this e-mail from SUSM:

I know you haven’t done ADJ mail for a while, what documents would you be most comfortable processing to help out with our staff shortages this week?

Thanks -[SUSM]

Our furlough days are not days off for attorneys and insurance companies, so I wrote back:

Today I have twice my normal Monday mail because San Francisco sent me a huge envelope, so please only give me things that need to be scanned, but not completed.

That seemed reasonable to me. I didn't refuse mail, like I wanted to, and I didn't bring up how when I was up in Oregon no one helped out with my backlog of mail. I just asked for the easy stuff. Maybe I worded it wrong because she wrote:

Everyone is going to get behind this week, we’ll catch up though. So what docs do you want – I’ll just give you a small portion.

Thanks -[SUSM]

My first reaction was "FUCK YOU!" It's no excuse that everyone is going to get behind. My second reaction was why can't she figure out the mail for me? I haven't done the "regular" mail for more than six months now, I don't know what the rules are. All I wanted was stuff that I scanned and checked to make sure it got scanned. I didn't want the ones that required me to keep checking to make sure which judge got assigned and trying to figure out where it goes or what files I have to pull and things like that. I wrote back:

I don’t know exactly what to do with all the docs, but I’d prefer the ones that just get scanned.

I guess that means I’d rather not get any apps or stips or C&Rs or liens.

She wrote:

It will all come back to you – so what, petitions, NORs?

Which I didn't understand the first part when I read it. My response to her:

[SUSM], I’m so confused right now.

I don’t care anymore. Just split the mail how you normally split it and give me a portion. I’ll figure it out as I go along and ask [GICS] and [SHTK] for help.

I didn't ever get a response.

Eventually, I figured out that her last letter meant that I'll figure out what to do with the work as I work on it, but that wasn't ever my concern, I just didn't want stuff that would take away too much time from the DEU mail I have.

She didn't even pass the mail out before she left, so who knows how much she'll give me and if she expects me to drop my regular duties to do the mail she gives me.

Ekki Mín Orð

Veistu, ég ætla að deyja. Allir þeir vilja í raun.

Nei deyja þér en amk ég vil ekki að loka mars Ég trúi ekki. Hver veit hvað gerist í lífi, eins og aðrir. South halda þeim líka. Ekki meira en mig. Púff, eða gjaldþrot eða stökk í gang.

Ég bý í mjög stuttan tíma, taka tillit til tvær hvítar, drepa mig

Skipt bílskúr og ÉG gleypti pilla svefn kassi gegn auðvitað Èg hugsa mér. Hreint efni, ég skjal sem heild óreiðu er auðveldara að þrífa, svo að þessi maður (beygja) hreinn.

Ég var að hugsa til þess að kaupa allt að átta sinnum. That fær mig átta sig á því að fólk reynir að gera betur en litun. Þetta er ekki hluti af the mynd er mjög áhugaverð þar sem það er nýtt.

Í öðru lagi, að tala um högg-hlaupa bað í skóginum, þegar ég spurði hér, kannski ef ég er undir öðrum stöðum mínum, og popp tónlist.

Absurd Giggling

Doing the DEU stuff for work sometimes really pisses me off, although it makes me laugh at the same time because of absurdity.

I get to see the job title and the (gross) weekly earnings of these injured workers. This morning I found a person whose title was given as Clerk/Typist and her weekly income is around $1500.

And that's when I giggled in anger/frustration.

Right Before Hyper Death

The storyline starts here, but I just really liked that picture, which is from today's comic.

What it don't get, I can't use.

Okay, I admit it. A large chunk of my overtime will be going to Beatles Rock Band. The set that comes with drums and Paul's Höfner.

I'll get mine sometime next week, depending on when it's shipped.

BLEEERT

Just wanted to write something on the first.

And a thousand fanboys screamed out in fury...

Where the picture is from.

So, Disney bought Marvel, or, at least, it's in the process of buying Marvel.

And my reaction is... meh. As long as Marvel keeps publishing The Incredible Hercules I'm cool, and if it get's canceled it'll be Marvel's fault, not Disney's.

This is the most reasonable reaction I've read, so far.

For the unreasonable reactions just look around, it won't be hard. Comic fans are really, really good at overreacting. (I know because I do it.)

Nothing's going to change at Marvel Comics. Marvel's main office is going to be in New York. It's bullpen will still largely be a boy's club. Creator ownership of material will be frowned upon and only offered to the big boys via Icon. Daredevil will still be blind. Captain America will still be Aryan-looking. The X-Men will still be overrated. Wolverine will still be overexposed. And "One More Day" will still suck 11-day dead beached whale pussy.

What I think we'll see, eventually:

• Marvel hero themed rides and characters wandering around Disney parks.
• The worst Disney will do to comics will "make" Marvel publish Scrooge McDuck archives and expand the Marvel Adventures line, but that'll be it.
• Future movies based on Marvel heroes that don't have deals with other companies will probably be released through Touchstone, if considered too adult for the Disney name.
• Marvel may publish a new line of Disney based comics. (I'd buy a Spider-Ham/Darkwing Duck crossover.)
• Some really good Marvel based cartoons that aren't centered around Wolverine or Spider-Man.
• Marvel Easter eggs in Disney and Pixar movies and vice versa.

I just can't see how being part of a more stable business structure with massive amounts of money and lots of trick to get more money would be bad for Marvel.

ran

It's not blank pages that scare me. It's putting something, just a little something, on the blank page and then freezing that does. It's starting, but not continuing, so why bother starting?

I made my brother's girlfriend squeal this morning. Good for me.

With the furloughs, Labor Day (US) will be a four day weekend instead of three. Why does the US have it's Labor day in September when so many other nations seem to have it in May? Is it just to be different? Is it just to be assholes?

Like the US and Canada versions of Thanksgiving, their first was held about 40 years earlier than our "traditional" first. (Although ours is much more well known around the world. Thank you, Hollywood!)

Started reading the first Wheel of Time book this week. Gonna get through the series before I pick up the new one in October. (Or November, depending on where you look.) After this one, two left. Part of me is relieved that it'll be over and part of me is pissed off for feeling that way. I just hope the Martin doesn't die before he finishes his Song of Ice and Fire books. That'd really suck, especially since he's already pulling crap that Jordan pulled in his books.

Just Wondering...

Which house, at Hogwarts, would you want to be in?
Which house, if different, do you think you'd end up in?

Over-rated-time

Overtime time is going to be wrapping itself up 30-or-so-minutes. Ten hours this week. That's eight at regular pay because of the forced day off on Friday and two at time-and-a-half. So, that's okay.

I really oughta be working, but if I did then I'd end up only partially through and trying to figure out where to start on Monday morning. Not that it really matters.

What else to tell? Nothing, that I can think of.

Last week went like this:
Monday: woke, ate, showered, worked, ate, watched, slept
Tuesday: woke, ate, showered, worked, ate, watched, slept
Wednesday: woke, ate, showered, worked, bought, ate, shopped, watched, slept
Thursday: woke, ate, showered, worked, ate, watched, slept
Friday: woke, ate, showered, played and listened, watched, ate, slept

Today: woke, ate, showered, worked, so far

I do plan to go to the movies after this. Really want to see District 9 on the big screen. Maybe I'll sneak into Inglourious Basterds after. Maybe not.

Well, everyone else has left. They won't know if I leave early, too, so I'm-a gonna go.

Weekend.

Rarg

Before I saw this, I was already having trouble getting to sleep at night wondering if the world and I were just some giant's dream biding our time until it woke up.

When I first saw this as a kid I both loved it because I knew someone else had the same strange thoughts as me and I was totally freaked out because I never even considered being turned into a flamingo because the giant started dreaming something else.

Oh, and I really wanted a pair of those ear hand things.

Sonuvabitch

I forgot my book at my apartment.

Crap.

A Question

Do you think that there are more cases of autism because we recognize it better or because there isn't as much natural selection of the human race anymore?

Continually Surprised

Logically, I know that there's fan fiction (general, slash, dark, het, 'shipping, whatever) for everything.

I mean, I once read a fan fiction that was a cross-over between Dragon Ball Z and Anne Frank. Yeah, the Jewish girl who hid in an attic with her family as well as others.

Still, never thought I'd find The Dark is Rising slash.

I do find it interesting that the authors tend to make Bran the more... aggressive one (in the way that he's the one who does the pursuing and seduction and such) and not Will. The other way around makes more sense to me, but what do I know? I never before imagined the two of them interested in anyone in a sexual way.

Oy!

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is going to be a movie this fall.

Here's a description: "[I]t's about a wacky inventor who helps his financially depressed town get back on its feet by creating a device that spews food from the sky. Suddenly pancakes are flying and people are dodging produce."(Found at Movies without Pity, you'll have to move forward a few pictures.)

Well, that's not like the book I remember. Not at all.

Money Meme

For the purposes of these questions, you must spend this money on yourself -- it is not to be donated to charity or given to needy friends, though if you have a partner or a family, you may use it for things that benefit them as well as yourself, such as a holiday for two.
If you unexpectedly received $10... I'd go to the movies and not worry about it being in the evening.
If you unexpectedly received $100... I'd blow it on DVDs and/or CDs and/or books.
If you unexpectedly received $1,000... I'd buy a good laptop computer and possibly some software.
If you unexpectedly received $10,000... I'd pay off my student loans and use the rest to pay off a chunk of my car.
If you unexpectedly received $100,000... I'd use it as a down payment on a house.
If you unexpectedly received $1,000,000... I'd buy a house, fully, where I want one, or get the land and have a house built. I'd quit this job and start looking for one near my new house. Left overs would be used to furnish the place and build some out buildings I want.

Of course, all of this is assuming that I don't have to pay any taxes on this money, either.

100 More Questions, Comments, or Observations

1. If I had a pet moth the size of a parakeet or larger I'd name it Boheem.
2. Right now, DC comics reminds me of a Sondheim lyric: "Everything's different / Nothing's changed / Only maybe slightly rearranged."
3. So far, all pizza from places with "Papa" in the name are overrated.
4. Seems to me that beards require as much, or more, fuss as just keeping clean shaven.
5. At this moment, I can think of no movies that I want to have a sequel.
6. I am not wearing my shoes right now.
7. These posts are always fun, for me at least.
8. Pledge week on PBS, but they did show Cab Calloway singing "Minnie the Moocher."
9. No Cartoon Network this morning, couldn't watch "Transformers Animated." *sigh*
10. I'd really appreciate it if they'd stop making movies out of TV shows.
11. Even if that means no more Star Trek films.
12. Read that they changed the end to The Time Traveler's Wife for the movie to make it happier. I thought the end of the book was exactly right.
13. Also bet the movie cut the Violent Femmes scene. Dammit.
14. Spent future money on Amazon pre-ordering Farscape. Wonder if that was a good idea.
15. Pizza for breakfast has given me funky burps.
16. Should I head up to Cowtown for Labor Day (USA)?
17. Freaked out, a little, when I got last months pay check because there was no "2" starting it off.
18. So far, no overtime offered to us this month. Doubt there'll be overtime next month.
19. Tried to buy a coffee table last week. Only found one that would let me stretch my legs out under it, but it was $60. I did not buy it.
20. Wonder if I'll be at family Thanksgiving or Christmas this year.
21. After reading this I no longer watch Goof Troop, the TV show or movie, like I used to.
22. Why aren't science fiction shows nominated for Emmy awards for writing and acting?
23. Based on the last time she had a kid, a good post may happen in two-ish weeks.
24. Got a list of plays for next season. $50 to see all five. Not sure if I can afford it, since I am a dumb ass, see 14.
25. Having trouble concentrating.
26. Took a week to get through The Westing Game.
27. Been reading Witches Abroad for three days and just broke the 100 page mark.
28. Lunch is in 8 minutes.
29. Saw Moon a few days ago. Enjoyed it.
30. Probably seeing too many movies for the money that's coming in. *sigh* Makes me feel sucky.
31. Should really empty my shredding.
32. I miss some blogs out there, a lot.
33. Well, technically, the blogs are still there, but the people aren't writing much, or at all, or are just posting links to other places.
34. I miss their originality.
35. Not that link blogs are a bad thing.
36. Although, I shouldn't get too pissy, considering my whole two posts this month.
37. Including this one.
38. Been reading Queen of Wands while not working. Good stuff there.
39. Very tired.
40. Back from lunch.
41. Read downstairs.
42. Was successful, mostly.
43. Why don't they make "good" pastrami on the west coast?
44. I am very excited to visit here in October.
45. Although, I'll have little to no money to spend on that trip.
46. Girl Game.
47. I already have some ideas for Christmas presents for family. Hope I can afford 'em.
48. Still hate my job.
49. The level of hate fluctuates daily, but never rises out of the hate zone.
50. Fairy tales can be dangerous things.
51. Although, I have an idea for a story about the outside of the kingdom place that so many fairy tales happen in.
52. Camera "effects" (like focal points and such) often bother me they show up in comics.
53. I mean, doesn't overlapping take care of what, or who, is closer to the reader?
54. I'm getting temperature updates from the lady across from me.
55. She knows that I don't care, but she keeps telling me.
56. I think she just needs to keep talking or her system'll shut down and she'll die.
57. I promise to keep my opinion of how certain things look to myself.
58. Hopefully, changing the subject will work.
59. Honesty is hard when tact is involved.
60. Want to buy and ice cream cake and eat the whole damn thing because it is tasty. Have been strong, though.
61. Punch An' Pie comes next, but will be read later.
62. The program we use at work is still a pain in the ass.
63. I think we're all more resigned to the fact that there's nothing we can do about it, though.
64. That probably doesn't sound good.
65. It isn't.
66. There are no shortcuts.
67. It takes 8 click and some typing to forward a task to a person, even if it's the only person you ever forward tasks to.
68. No fuckin' shortcuts.
69. Pain-in-the-ass, and addictive, word game.
70. Bought tickets to the Baltimore Comic-Con for me, my brother, and his girlfriend.
71. In Clerks, Caitlin was engaged to an Asian design major. Was she engaged to a guy who was majoring in Asian design, or was she engaged to an Asian guy majoring in design?
72. I've never been sure.
73. 2.25 hours until I get to leave for the week.
74. Three day weekends are not good when you have little money and less that you want to do.
75. Probably the garlic.
76. I'm told that money can't buy happiness, but I still want lots of money.
77. HA!
78. (Found this way.)
79. I've always been fat.
80. Not this fat, but fat for my size.
81. I need new shoes.
82. This weekend I will attempt to make sour dough bread from a home-grown starter.
83. Cross your fingers, please.
84. Gonna try applying to a position in Cowtown, again, next week.
85. It's probably one I've already interviewed for.
86. The tetrahedron is one of my favorite shape.
87. Sometimes I wish I'd studied farther into math.
88. I don't know how far I'd have gone, but I find the stuff fascinating.
89. Movies I'd like to see this weekend: District 9, In The Loop, (500) Days of Summer, and Ponyo
90. Movies I will see this weekend: ?
91. More evidence that the world is fucked up.
92. Shouldn't "standards" be the standard?
93. I suppose it's like common sense not being common.
94. Oh, I also really hate these kinds of things. I know, funny, ha ha, but mostly stupid.
95. I used to like 'em, but now they just annoy me.
96. Best Batman in recent memory.
97. It shouldn't be possible to bored and busy at the same time.
98. The longer I stay at this job the more I want to leave to get away from most of these people.
99. In four weeks I will have finished my fourth year living here. That does not make me happy.
100. If New Coke (guess my misspelling!) had been popular, then, to me, the new Star Trek movie would have been like New Coke. It's sweet and sparkly and is similar to the original, but it doesn't have the richness or complexity of the original. I enjoy the new one, but I don't get the same satisfaction as I do from the original. Maybe it's because I grew up with it, but I'm not so sure.

Another One

An interview conducted by me with me.

JTI: It's been a week since you drove to Oregon, how was it?

JTA: Well, any fleeting fantasies I may have had about being a long-haul trucker are now gone.

JTI: Long drive.

JTA: Very long. More than ten hours long. Minus ten minutes to buy a burger and pee, I never exited my car on the way up. On the way back, I did get gas in Oregon and stop to pee in the woods, once.

JTI: Oh... Kay. So, why were you up there, again?

JTA: My brother got married on the first.

JTI: Nice wedding?

JTA: Yeah. It was at a lighthouse and there was a rock covered in puffins, and their poop. The temperature was nice when the wind wasn't blowing. The preacher/pastor guy did a good job and left religion out of it, which made me happy because shouldn't a marriage be between the people getting married and not the people and God?

The reception, well, it seemed a little muddled to me, though.

JTI: What does that mean?

JTA: My brother and his wife aren't really "traditional" people, but they bought a book (or looked it up online or something) about traditions at weddings and then got into the mode that they had to do certain things.

JTI: Like what?

JTA: First dance. Dance with opposite gendered parents. (Although my brother didn't do his.) Isolated table. Speeches by only certain people. Cake cutting ceremony. Wedding party table set way far away from guests. Nothing that was a big deal, but things that didn't strike me as in character for the two who got married.

Things that were in character was the mimosas at breakfast. The tarts instead of a cake. A tray full of dry salami. The music. (How often do you hear Donovan, James Darren, They Might Be Giants, and The Traveling Wilburys at a wedding?) The time the wedding took place. The speeches given by the bestmen.

JTI: So, how was it?

JTA: People seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.

JTI: You?

JTA: I enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed any wedding.

JTI: And that means?

JTA: Look, I'm already not so comfortable in social situations that involve more than 5 people, and in general I'm not sure what I'm supposed to feel at a wedding.

I looked around at the ceremony and saw some tears and many smiles. All I wanted to do was crack jokes during the vows. (Which I did.) It's not appropriate, but, to me, knowing my brother and my sister-in-law, the vows were generic and, well, silly. They made those sorts of vows to each other a year ago, are they more special -- or important -- because they said them in front of some guy and their families and friends? I don't think so. Other probably disagree with me, though.

At the reception, I saw my dad get red faced and teary while he talked to my brother, alone, off in a corner. I wondered if I was supposed to feel that bitter-sweet mix of emotions, too. I didn't, though, To me, they've been essentially married for a year, other than getting some really great gifts and wearing rings, what's changed?

JTI: Christ, you must suck at parties.

JTA: I do. I really do.

JTI: ...

JTA: Still, the wedding wasn't about me. It was about the couple and they seemed to have a good time, as did their parents and grandparents and friends and family.

JTI: Anything else interesting happen while you were up there?

JTA: My brother, sort of joking, asked me to move up there and become his partner in a coffee roasting company.

JTI: Really?

JTA: Yeah. He said that his boss is looking to sell and to get the equipment and the stock would probably be $60000 to $80000, plus we'd get the customer base that's already built up.

JTI: Did you consider it?

JTA: For about 30 seconds.

JTI: 30 seconds? Why so short?

JTA: Well, my immediate thought was could I earn a living wage, but with Oregon being so much more cheap than California, that'd be possible. Second thought was HOORAY! Third thought was what would we do? Fourth, brother would roast and talk to people and design labels and blends. Fifth, I'd end up doing a lot of the business stuff. And that's where the thoughts ended.

JTI: You don't think you'd be good at the business stuff?

JTA: I think I'd be fine. I've looked into starting small businesses as a lark, so I know some of the basics. (Even now I'm thinking about the things that I'd have to start doing to get going.) I know how to start creating an internet presence, which is needed. And I can handle any sort of math that'd be thrown at me.

JTI: So...?

JTA: I'm not passionate about coffee. I don't really like the stuff, and if you're going to run a business, it should be a business that involves something you like, right? How long would it take me to be miserable taking care of a thing, after having sunk $30000 to $40000 into it, that I don't even like? Not long at all.

JTI: Oh.

JTA: So, it was never brought up again.

JTI: Anything else?

JTA: I got the feeling that I was more disturbing to people than usual.

JTI: What do you mean?

JTA: I was uncomfortable a lot of the time and I glowered in a sullen/discontented manner. I was called on it a couple of times and my now-married brother felt the need, several times, to reiterate how happy he was that I made it to Oregon, earlier than originally planned, even.

Maybe I didn't disturb them so much as it was more noticed or they were more wanting to talk about it with me, or something. Not that I really let anyone actually talk to me about how I was feeling at any given moment.

JTI: On that note, how's the fluoxetine treatment going?

JTA: Um... well... I'm sort of not taking it anymore.

JTI: What!?

JTA: Yeah, I stopped taking it, with my doctor's knowledge, about three-and-a-half months ago.

JTI: Why?

JTA: Because it evened me out in a not-so-good way.

JTI: Please explain.

JTA: Okay, let's put our days on a scale of 1 to 10:

A 1 is a day where you feel so down that you don't want to get out of bed. You're so miserable that you're willing to wallow in your own piss and shit rather than roll out of bed and walk ten feet to the toilet. A day where the only thoughts in your head are horrible ones.

A 10 is a day where you feel like your in a never ending orgasm. You know you'll succeed at everything. Everything you do feels good and right and wonderful. It just all goes your way.

Got it?

JTI: Yeah.

JTA: Most people live somewhere in between those two extremes.

JTI: Right.

JTA: From the way it looks to me, and I may be wrong, the average person's life fluctuates between 4 and 8, occasionally dropping to a 3 and having a few times at a 9.

JTI: Okay.

JTA: On that scale, I figure that my life floats between 2 and 6. I can't even remember the last day that I'd give a 7 to and I think I spend most of my time below a 5.

JTI: And the meds?

JTA: They evened me out, like they're supposed to, but I was hovering between a 3 and a 4 with dips and spikes going, maybe, a point either way. Just this side of feeling like nothing is good. Sure I spent less time thinking horrible things, but suddenly there were never any good days. Not a single day when I felt a moment of happy. Just days I got through and that made me feel even worse.

JTI: And that's why you quit the pills?

JTA: Yeah.

JTI: Now you think you feel more of a range?

JTA: Yeah.

JTI: Do you still have "horrible" thoughts.

JTA: Everyday.

JTI: Ever afraid you'll act those thoughts out?

JTA: No.

JTI: Why?

JTA: I'm not ready to go into that here.

JTI: Okay... okay, then why didn't you get moved to a different medication? There are tons of different antidepressant medications out there, why not a different one?

JTA: I don't know.

JTI: Did you ask?

JTA: Of course I asked.

JTI: What happened?

JTA: The first time I asked my GP told me to talk to the psychiatrist I was seeing then. When I asked him about it he told me it was between me and my GP. When I asked her about it she weened me off the ones that I was taking.

JTI: And?

JTA: And I went back to feeling like I felt before the pills.

JTI: Did you tell her that?

JTA: Yeah, I e-mailed her asking about other medication and she asked me how I was feeling and I wrote that I felt about the same as before and she said great and told me to talk to the psychiatrist.

JTI: Did you?

JTA: I asked him about meds and he said it was up to my GP, again.

JTI: Then?

JTA: I quit.

JTI: Quit?

JTA: Quit trying. Being pushed around in circles while being confused and depressed and wholly uncomfortable is worse than just... being what I'm feeling.

They tell you that when you're depressed, you don't have to feel the way you feel because it's not normal, and I believe that's true, but when trying to feel better makes you feel worse... well, what the fuck, right?

JTI: *sigh* Sure. Anything else you'd like to say.

JTA: No.

JTI: Okay. Thanks.

JTA: Thank you.

Now, maybe the dreams will stop...

From Heels:

We Are Parents Again!
By heels

Mom and baby girl, [edited because I'm uncomfortable putting her name here], are happy and healthy!

Stats:

• Born at 2:57 PM PCT
• 8lbs 10oz
• 20 1/8 inches long
• Adorable

That is all for now.

Congrats!

The rest of you send them your congratulations either at the link above or at Heels's blog or Mr. Logic's.

Some Questionable Content

Click it for the full comic, although those are probably the funniest four panels of any comic I've seen in a while.

Fiction Friday #32

NPR's holding a contest to write Three-Minute Fiction. (Although it's over Saturday night.)

To make sure I had an entry, earlier this week I edited this down and submitted it, but I wanted to do more, if I could.

Wednesday I wrote a love story:

Trust

Teri heard Ellen pound the front door, hard. Each thump of her patchy white fist reverberated down the entry hall where Teri stood.

Tears dribbled down Teri's cheeks as she hefted the heavy, scratched-up hatchet from the woodstove, the woodstove that warmed their home almost as well as Ellen's laugh. A laugh Teri would never hear. Tears fell faster.

She couldn't think like that, though. No time. She wiped her eyes on her sleeve and took a breath that tried to get caught in her throat.

After a movie one night, Ellen told Teri, "I love you more than anything, but if you came home a zombie, I'll kill you. And I expect you to do the same thing. Promise me?" Teri had promised and they both laughed.

It even became a game for them. One would walk through the house asking for "Brains. Braaaaaains." The other would pounce to kill the infected. They'd fall to the floor together, arms and legs tangled, laughing.

When the infected started popping up, they talked again, but this time it was serious. Again, Teri promised, but she wasn't sure it was one she could keep.

The pounding stopped and so did Teri's heart. Counting to three, she raised the hatchet, blunt side forward, over her head and reached out toward the door. She held the knob with just the tips of her fingers and, ever so carefully, turned it and gave a gentle pull, not enough to open the door, but enough that it wasn't really closed, so that even a little breeze could push it open.

She took several steps back and waited at the end of the hall.

She heard nothing. No pounding. Not a creak from the porch.

She wanted to run and hide in the basement, but she couldn't. She'd only be found and then infected. And she wanted to be strong, like Ellen. For Ellen.

She took a deep breath and let it out. She took another and said, voice cracking, "Ellen? Are you there?"

With a roar, Ellen burst through the door and stumbled and fell, face first, onto the tile. Teri flinched at the crack made when Ellen's skull hit.

Terri pounced, just like she did when they had been playing, except she also swung the hatchet at the back of Ellen's head. This time the sound was crunch. She started crying again.

She lifted the hatchet and swung again and again.

When her arm got tired, she stopped and stood up. Ellen was gone. She wiped her eyes again, pulled the body farther down the hall, and shut the door.

Recall?

There's a petition being passed around in the office to recall the governator.

I didn't sign it.

I couldn't.

Sure, I think the guy's an asshole and a puppet who doesn't have any real ideas and is just being used by over-zealous members of the Republican party, but he hasn't committed any crimes. A recall election should only be used by the people to oust a criminal.

Got some dirty looks for not signing the thing, too. I guess that just because I'm angry means I should throw out my, few, morals and look for some sort of revenge. Fuckers.

If he'd pulled a Blagojevich sort of thing, then I'd sign the petition, but not for being an asshole. That's not a crime. And if it were, I think we'd all end up in prison.

Terse

Terse. Terse. This is only terse.

7:30 - 4

Last week I got to start a Modified Work Schedule. It's not the modified work schedule that I wanted, though.

To refresh, for those who don't want to click, I wanted to come in at 7AM and leave at 3:30PM. Because (and this is all me guessing) the PJ doesn't trust, it was decided that I couldn't come in that early. I do, however, get to come in earlier, at 7:30AM and then I leave at 4PM.

Why is 7:30AM okay, but not 7AM?

Because SUSM is supposed to be here at 7:30AM nine days out of ten and then she can make sure that I'm showing up on time!

Of course, SUSM rarely gets here, in my experience, before 7:40AM, so what would she, and the PJ, know if I showed up a little late each morning?

No one has come out and told me it's a trust issue, but I know it is. I hope it's not personal, and don't think it is, because I'm just a clerk and clerks don't deserve the same level of trust that court reporters and secretaries do.

Ah, well, at least I get to leave early. And it's really great leaving early. I don't have to worry about as many dumb-asses racing through yellow (and red) lights. No comics have sold out at the shop on Wednesdays. And other good things that I have yet to discover.

One thing, though, is that I find myself really wishing I lived somewhere with a yard of some sort. I like to imagine that I'd use that extra hour to do something "extra," like root around in a garden, or something.

---

In a very different vein, I'm trying to come up with an analogy for my thoughts on the new Star Trek movie. So far, I've only come up with New Coke vs. Coca-Cola, but it's imperfect because New Coke was a failure and this "reboot" of Star Trek is, and will continue to be for at least two more movies, a success.

Can anyone think of an analogy where the new product is liked by more people than the original? (And don't give me other TV shows or movies or comics or other entertainment stuff. I'm looking for something really different.)

Here you go, and enjoy the movie.

Today from the Sac Bee:

The governor's latest budget proposal assumes almost 20 percent in employee wage cuts: 15 percent from the three-day furloughs that started this month, plus another 5 percent across-the-board whack.

"Three days (furlough) plus the 5 percent," said H.D. Palmer, Department of Finance spokesman when asked Wednesday to clarify the governor's budget proposal.

The Legislature won't go for the pay cut, but the governor can then add a furlough day for reasons we'll explain.

...

[In] May the governor proposed a 5 percent cut on top of what were then twice-monthly furloughs. The proposal was dead from the start; everyone knew the Democratic-controlled Legislature would never go for it. ...

Sure enough, the Legislature defeated the plan in June. Schwarzenegger followed the "defeat" with a new executive order to add a third furlough day, getting the 5 percent cut in state worker wages that he wanted.

He could do that because a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled in February that Schwarzenegger's emergency powers let him treat the government's fiscal meltdown like a Southern California wildfire by claiming broad emergency authority – including the power to furlough state workers.

The legal hurdle to exercising that power is proving there's a crisis. The Legislature's bickering while the state's budget ruptures helps. Its rejection of a pay cut is even better.

So this pay cut won't fly, either. Then the governor can add another furlough day. The 20 percent cut will bankrupt some of the 235,000 state workers affected.

A Little Fun for the Weekend

Funny Videos | Funny Cartoons | More Video Clips

Just thought of this...

I won't be at work any Friday's this month:

1. The revised furlough program starts next week, so the Governator is forcing me to take the 10th, 17th, and 24th off.
2. I'm taking the 3rd off to head up to Cowtown for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary.
3. And I won't be here on the 31st because I'll either be driving up to Oregon, for my brother's (and the fiancee's) wedding, or I'll already be up there because I decided to not stay at work any longer.

Weird month already.

Also, I doubt this closing the government three Fridays a month will last long. Lots of state buildings will have to remain open anyway because there are some exceptions to the furlough rule and it'll just piss people off. It's practically insane to close the DMV for weekends, closing it for three Fridays'll just get regular folks yelling at the Governator.

That's why we switched from closing two Fridays a month to self-directed furlough days.

EXECUTIVE ORDER S-13-09

by the
Governor of the State of California

WHEREAS the global recession has caused California's revenues to continue to plummet, leaving our state with an unprecedented budget deficit that forces the State to take drastic actions that will affect every Californian; and

WHEREAS on December 19, 2008, I issued Executive Order S-16-08, in which I ordered the Department of Personnel Administration (DPA) to: (1) initiate the layoff process for state civil service employees effective January 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010; and (2) adopt a plan to implement a furlough of two days per month effective February 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010; and

WHEREAS on January 9, 2009, in order to reduce current spending to ensure that essential services of the State are not jeopardized and the public health and safety is preserved, the DPA adopted a furlough plan; and

WHEREAS on May 15, 2009, state agencies and departments sent out over 4,500 layoff notices to employees funded by the General Fund to further reduce current state spending; and

WHEREAS on May 20, 2009, after the failure of Propositions 1A through 1E, California faced a budget deficit of at least $21.3 billion for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10; and

WHEREAS California planned to borrow up to $6 billion through a Reimbursement Warrants (commonly known as RAWs) to address part of the budget deficit, but this short-term borrowing is no longer an available option due to the recent decision of the federal government not to provide financial assistance or loan guarantees for this emergency, short-term borrowing; and

WHEREAS the State's inability to borrow through RAWs will result in more severe spending cuts in the State's programs and services; and

WHEREAS on May 22, 2009, the Legislative Analyst predicted that the Governor's May Revision revenue projections may prove overly optimistic, and instead, projected that the drop in revenues will be at least $3 billion worse than projected putting the size of the State's shortfall at more than $24 billion for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10; and

WHEREAS the State Controller has determined that without effective action to address the budget and cash crisis, the State will have insufficient cash to meet its obligations starting July 2009 and will need to issue registered warrants (IOUs) in order to preserve cash and protect payments the State must make to fund education and repay outstanding debt; and

WHEREAS the projected $24 billion budget deficit will require deeper cuts to state programs and services, additional borrowing from available resources such as special funds, and the release of thousands of prison inmates who are undocumented immigrants; and

WHEREAS on June 30, 2009, the Legislature failed to take action to pass a revised budget for fiscal years 2008-09 and 2009-10 to effectively address the unprecedented statewide fiscal crisis, thereby requiring billions of dollars in additional solutions; and

WHEREAS the State will be forced to eliminate state programs and services providing critical public services, ranging from public safety to health and welfare; and

WHEREAS if the State eliminates any of these critical state programs and services, then the public health and safety will be jeopardized, causing extreme peril to the safety of persons and property; and

WHEREAS immediate and comprehensive action to further reduce current spending must be taken to ensure, to the maximum extent possible, that the essential services of the State are not jeopardized and the public health and safety is preserved; and

WHEREAS an additional furlough day per month is necessary to continue to reduce current spending and immediately improve the State's ability to meet its obligations to pay for essential services of the State, such as services provided by CAL Fire, hospitals and 24-hour care facilities, so as not to jeopardize its residents' health and safety in the current and next fiscal year.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, by virtue of the power and authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the State of California, do hereby determine that an emergency pursuant to Government Code section 3516.5 exists and issue this Order to become effective immediately:

IT IS ORDERED that effective July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010, the Department of Personnel Administration shall adopt an amended plan to implement a furlough of represented state employees for three days per month, regardless of funding source. This plan shall include a limited exemption process.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that effective July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010, the Department of Personnel Administration shall adopt an amended plan to implement an equivalent furlough or salary reduction for all non-represented state employees, including supervisors, managers, and exempt state employees, regardless of funding source.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that all state employees covered by the original and amended furlough plans must use their accrued furlough days prior to using vacation, annual leave, personal holiday, holiday credit, personal leave plan (PLP) credit, and compensatory time off (CTO).

This Order is not intended to create, and does not create, any rights or benefits, whether substantive or procedural, or enforceable at law or in equity, against the State of California or its agencies, departments, entities, officers, employees, or any other person.

I FURTHER ORDER that, as soon as hereafter possible, this Order shall be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State and that widespread publicity and notice be given to this Order.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 1st day of July, 2009.

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER
Governor of California

ATTEST:
DEBRA BOWEN
Secretary of State

Also see the press release.

Trans-lash

Like most geeks out there, I've been following the online bitch fest that's come out of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I haven't seen the movie, and I don't plan to. (I saw the first and after watching it I decided that if movies called "Transformers" focuses on a human rather than the robots, what's the point?)

Anyway, lots of people don't like the movie. Lots of people who do like the movie seem to being assholes and using the age-old line, "Well, it's making a lot of money, so we must be right, it's good," to defend their position. (Less often used is the "That's just you're opinion" line, which, when reading a review of anything, is like a huge DUH.)

Because of so many people only reading the first paragraph, or looking at the number of stars, of the negative reviews, Jim Emmerson, of Scanners, wrote about the fallacy of the majority of reactions to what critics have been writing. He should know all about this stuff, he's editor-in-chief of RogerEbert.com, so he gets to see all the bullshit comments, as well as the few good ones. (Last year, he wrote that he didn't think The Dark Knight was great, only kind of okay. Here'sa link to all his posts on the subject, but you should start with Under Cover of The Dark Knight to see that sometimes real discussion can take place. I recommend it all, though.)

Which leads me to why I'm getting into this:

Over at The Moviefile Blog, in a post about things the writer enjoyed about the movie, some commenter named damage wrote: "The movie was awsom who cares if it jump around the world it not reality so just enjoy it if your a true fane of the transformers this movie was about the bots." The comment bugs me, not just because of the bad spelling and grammar.

Really, I want to know what a true fan of Transformers is? Seriously, what is it? Is it someone who watches or reads or plays with anything that has the word "Transformers" on it and automatically loves it? Would this damage person enjoy Kiss Players? And if he (I assume it's a he.) didn't, would that mean he isn't a "true" Transformers fan?

Is that the only way to be considered a "true" fan of anything? Just shut up and "enjoy"? So, those SF Giants fans who sit and bitch about the line-up, but watch and cheer at every game, aren't "true" fans? Can a "true" fan never criticize the thing they enjoy?

I'm a fan of The Transformers, but there's a lot of it that I don't like.

The (North) American shows are what I really enjoy. I grew up watching the original cartoon. Beast Wars was a giant step forward in plot an pacing for animated shows. And Animated is just pure fun while keeping characters pretty true to their beginnings.

The ones from Japan that I tried watching, just didn't click for me. Robots in Disguise's "humor" just rubbed me the wrong way and made it hard to watch the show. (Plus, a flying shark, really?) And Transformers: Pokémon really irked me, and that irked-ness spread into it's two successors.

Like I wrote before, I really didn't care for the murky movie that came out in 2007 and, given the opportunity/motivation, can say exactly why I didn't want to see the new one in the theater. If I were to see it, I promise I'd be one of the complainers, too.

I don't collect the toys. I only occasionally buy the comics, but that's very rare. I don't keep up with any of the news and gossip surrounding the franchise. I can only name a few actors and who they played in the original and have no clue about who plays whom in later shows.

Does that make me less of fan of Transformers that this damage guy?

I still drool over the box set that's coming out. (The GI Joe one, too.) I assume he does, too.

So, why aren't I a "true" fan because I didn't enjoy the first movie and don't think I'd enjoy the second movie?

Maybe it's just because I won't accept something as good just because it tickles my nostalgia.

Are you sure you don't want a large soda?

This e-mail just in:

Subject: Governor Schwarzenegger directs Agencies to prepare for additional furlough days

---

Late this afternoon the governor announced that he will sign an executive order increasing the number of furlough days to three per month if the legislature does not have budget agreement in place by June 30. This action is being taken to grapple with our $24 billion budget deficit and our inability to issue Revenue Anticipation Warrants. These warrants would normally be issued to keep the state running while there is no budget.

I realize that everyone has been affected by the two furlough days per month that began in February and that this has created financial burdens. Your continued cooperation and professionalism through these difficult times are very much appreciated.

Good: I'll be getting a real paycheck in July.
Bad: Less money on the pay check.
Good: 3 days off each month, if I want to use 'em now.
Bad: Don't do anything on weekends already.
Good: I'll be able to supplement with unemployment insurance.
Bad: I'll be on unemployment insurance.

This coupled with the recent bullshit that I've been dealing with, I really want to quit and move in with my parents and then curl up in a ball and die.

Zombie Haiku!

Topless Robot is holding a contest to write the best zombie haiku!

These are mine, so far:

Wandering, aimless,
Trying to stop the hunger
Drops of water tear

They promised Heaven
Or they promised me the void
Nothing about this

We huddle for warmth
And pray the snow stops monsters
Creeping in the night

Day and night they come
An endless river of dead
We can't take them all

Brains get tiresome
Liver is the money meat
'Specially off drunks

Never thought I'd hate
Eating meat, but the Reynolds
Are very gamy

Well, those are the "serious" ones, at least. (Also, that last one is supposed to be from the point of view of a survivor.)

I did get the very first comment and used it to make a joke:

brains brains brains brains brains
brains brains brains brains brains brains brains
brains brains brains brains brains

Remember that time Buffy was stalked by a sparkly vampire?

Hedgehog Launch 2!

Launch your Hedgehog to the moon and beyond (pictured above) through the Earth to avoid suspicion, or something like that.

New Header Line!

Foreshortening, With the Flavor of Mint!

And what kind of soda did you want?

From the Sac Bee:

A legislative budget committee on Wednesday rejected Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to cut state employees' paychecks by an additional 5 percent, as part of the ongoing effort to balance a badly out-of-whack state budget.

The committee also voted to increase the state's tax on cigarettes from 87 cents a pack to $2.37, and impose a new tax on oil produced in California.

The governor has made it clear he will veto the tax proposals – and any others included as part of a budget-balancing package.

... "We are hoping that the state will look at other options for cost savings, in part because our members have already experienced (a) pay cut through the furloughs."

Zamora's reference was to the two-days-a-month unpaid leaves the governor imposed on state workers earlier this year. The unpaid days are equivalent to a 9.3 percent pay cut.

...

[Schwarzenegger said,] "It's outrageous that the Legislature would ask Californians to pay higher taxes but refuse to cut the pay of state workers by 5 percent," the governor said in a statement released by his office. "This is exactly why so many Californians have lost faith in Sacramento's ability to solve problems."

Funny, I thought Californians have lost faith in our state's government because it's never been able to responsibly spend money or come to a budget deal on time.

Do you want butter on your popcorn?

From the Sac Bee:

[W]ithout a budget patch in place by the end of this month, state finance officials say there's a chance state government might have to do what it hasn't done in 17 years: issue IOUs instead of paying its bills.

...

Until a budget is in place, the state can't borrow money.

Instead, the controller's office is forced to delay payments to various creditors. The decisions on who gets paid and who doesn't are determined in part by the state constitution (schools and bondholders get paid first); in part by federal law (state employees can't be paid in IOUs), and in part by any court edict that has ordered the state to pay someone.

Everyone else – companies that do business with the state, students who get state aid, local governments, taxpayers awaiting refunds – has to wait.

...

[T]he major banks and Wall Street investors that California usually borrows from have been so battered by the worldwide recession that just having a budget in place isn't good enough for them to lend the state money: they want it balanced, too.

...

State Controller John Chiang has forecast that absent a budget deal that allows borrowing, the state will be in the red by July 28.

...

The last time the state issued registered warrants – and the only time since the Great Depression – was 1992, when the state handed out 1.6 million warrants worth a total of $3.8 billion over a two-month period.

State financial officers say that issuing registered warrants would make it even harder to borrow from commercial markets and private investors – and nearly impossible without a balanced budget in place.

I'm just a little mad.

Last week, over at What's Distracting Us, Heels wrote this:

Geeks

The GeekDad column from Wired gives us the Top 10 Ways to Provoke a Geek Argument. I encourage you to add your own in the comments.

And so I keep adding comments.

Hours, Money, Holidays, and Possibilities

For eight out of the last nine work-day's I've been coming in at 7AM to get some overtime and I discovered that I like coming in early. So, last week I submitted a request to my supervisor, SUSM, to see if I could change my schedule so I could come in at seven, take a half-hour lunch, and leave at 3:30PM rather than five.

She was gone last week, so I figured, while filling out the form, that she wouldn't approve it before this week and the stupid rules say that we who get our schedule modified can only start it on a Monday. Fine, I thought, I'll ask to start it on the 15th.

Monday, late morning-ish, I get an e-mail from her titled "FYI":

I just wanted to let you know that I have your Request for Alternate/Modified Work Schedule. I will need to talk to PJ & get back to you on this. He is out all week, but I think he may be coming in for a while on Wednesday – but not certain about that. I’ll let you know.

I wrote back with a simple okay, even though I don't understand why she can't just approve or deny it on her own. The other guys and gals who are clerks here don't want to regularly come in at 7AM if they're not getting overtime, so we'll be fully staffed until 5PM. And I asked for an earlier lunch, when no one else has one, which guarantees, on days that I'm here, that no one will ever have to leave for a late lunch again unless they WANT to. And that's a great thing, especially since I'm the one who usually has to leave late for lunch because some of the assholes I work with don't know how to make it there and back again (not a fucking Hobbit's tale) in an hour.

Without really understanding her reasons, I wrote back an okay because I figured if they decided in the positive, I'd get to start on the 15th.

Around 8:30 this morning she e-mailed me: "[ticknart] – did [the PJ] come see you about this yesterday?" meaning my request for modified work. I wrote back a simile "No." because he didn't.

Funny, I thought, isn't she the one who should be speaking with him? I think I made my position pretty clear by submitting the form that, you know, says I want to come to work earlier, take a shorter lunch, and leave earlier. Why should there be any discussion with me about it? Is it necessary for the two of them to know my motivations behind this change?

At nine she sent a reply: "He will be returning on Monday. The effective date on your request is Monday, so we will need to amend this if he approves it."

I printed and signed another request asking for the first day of this thing to be on the 22nd, since it has to start on a Monday. Not that it really matters this month because I'm going to be coming in at 7AM at least four days a week, and leaving at 6PM, so I can get a full 8 hours of overtime each week while it lasts.

Most of me doesn't think this'll get approved, though.

Sometime after I finished my first year here I submitted one of these so I would work four ten hour days each week and was denied because he didn't want to have an exhausted staff. A week after that denial I tried for a 9/8/80 schedule, but I'd stay here until 6PM (because my supervisor at the time -- I despised her -- came in at 7AM and I wanted less time with her around) and he said no to that one because the he'd have to stay until six with me, which made me feel real trusted. After that one was crushed, I quit for a while. I asked again about a year later with the schedule I'm asking for now and was denied because we had just lost two clerks and I should try again when more were hired.

So, here I am, trying again. Hoping to get an earlier shift, but preparing to once again be disappointed.

Why am I asking for this schedule?

Well, the main reason is because I'd have an hour in the morning where I could wear headphones and dick around on the 'netstuff. Sure, if I needed to get caught up, I'd use that time to do actual work, but I've been siting here writing this for the last 30 minutes and I spent much time (like more than an hour) launching hedgehogs into space. My best time is three days.

Also, though, the governator wants to cut my pay by another 5%, which would drop my pay by something like 14.6% from where it was last year at this time and that would make my buying a car in November an even stupider move and one harder to pay for than it was then. AND if the budget doesn't get passed by the end of the month the state may drop pay to all it's employees to federal minimum wage, or $6.55 an hour. (That's about $1100 a month before taxes, and since taxes take away 1/3rd of my pay not that would leave me with about $733, and my rent is, oh, $750 a month no matter how much I get in my paycheck. I know this sort of stuff is scare tactics, but it's like that old cliché: "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.")

I figure that if I work until 3:30PM I'd be in a good position to get a second job, downtown here, in the evenings and on weekends. I could start at 4PM and work until 11PM, or whenever, to offset the probably loss in pay. Sure, I may not visit my family at Thanksgiving or Christmas so I can work, but at least I'd be getting by. (Besides I was already getting myself ready to miss Christmas because I may not be able to afford the new vehicle licensing fee increase. We'll see.) How well that'd work out, I don't know. Still, it'd be better than quitting, having no job, and moving in with my parents and hoping that I'd be able to find something up in Cowtown that's more than serving coffee or putting a prefabricated burger on a bun to people who just... well, I won't write anything overly nasty about them while I'm not working in that situation.

Now I sit an wait. I'm waiting for all of this bullshit to settle into place, but mostly I'm waiting to find out if my schedule will be changes so I can come in earlier, take a shorter lunch, and leave earlier each day I work here. And when the waiting for that is done, I'll wait for the next piece of shit to settle so I can make a move to prepare for the shit that'll come after that.

Cricket Christ, there sure is a lot of waiting for shit to happen in life, isn't there?

Goat

My mother got tired of seeing Deborah Walley at the top of the page.