Apr 30, 2004

There Goes the Neighborhood

What's happened to the world these days?

Take, for example, Cracker Jacks. They used to be in cardboard boxes with actual prizes, like rings and crap. They were so cool! When I was in elementary school, that's all I ever played with. And then sometimes you'd stumble across one of those 'special' boxes. You know, the ones filled with the white powder and money? Those were great, too! For some reason, my mind links those special boxes with the best times of my life. Like that time we set the neighbor's cat on fire. Or that car that we stole and drove into our house. Those were the days...

But now they have stupid little foil packages like chips or something. I'll bet they aren't even covered with caramel anymore! It's probably just brown paint and sugar. And now they only have dinky paper things for "prizes". What kind of prize is that? They just have mind puzzles and crap! What's up with that?

So there you have it. Irrefutable* proof that our world is going to the dogs.

*Vocabulary word

Apr 29, 2004

The Bubble Theory

Probably no one remembers my "Know Yourself" aphorism for life. It just means that you should know the real reasons that you do things.

Anyways, so I accidentally poked Ha the other day, and she got all freaked out, because I went through her little 'bubble' thing. And that set me wondering...do we have mental bubbles as well?

I think we do. They are mental shells, one inside the other, that go down and down until you reach your inner center. Mine (that I've been able to identify), are:

Everyone - This is for people whom I don't know.
Friends - Anyone whom I've talked to and know their name, essentially.
Close Friends - People that I've known for a relatively long amount of time, and who I can generally trust.
REALLY Close Friends - Only two or so people in this catagory. I would trust them with anything.
Family - my family
Myself - this is where my consciousness actually is
Inner Center - This is my subconscious, I guess, or whatever you want to call it. It is this part that I refer to when I say "know yourself". I think that here, at your inner center, are all your true feelings and emotions. It is very difficult to talk to yourself, simply because we lie to ourselves much of the time.

More on this later.

Peace.

Apr 24, 2004

Yet Another "10" List

10 possible sequel titles for Finding Nemo:

1. Finding Nemo Jr.

2. Grand Theft Nemo II

3. Finding Nemo 2: The Revenge of Dr. P. Sherman

4. Finding Squirt

5. Finding More Ways To Show Off Our Really Good Graphics Engine And Water Effects

6. Finding Nemo Volume 2

7. Losing Nemo

8. Finding Nemo 2: Bruce Is Hungry

9. Sleeping With The Fishes

10. Found Nemo

Apr 9, 2004

The Blogster Awards! - Finished At Last...Drive Safely!

[Joy's Blog Awards are here]

And thereby shall the Blogster Awards commence!

The Blogster Awards are over. Thank you all for coming, and have a great evening!


The nominees for Funniest Blog are...
Knurd Unit
Group blog made by Joy, Nirav, Pranay, Maerilly, and Sarah. Its theme is a stange mix of nerdiness and ghettoness. Enhanced by a picture of a rare herd of rapper-nerds.
PK1013
Pranay's Sonic-themed Xanga site. Although slightly messy, it is updated fairly regularly with hilarious happenings in Pranay's life. Also visited periodically by the Demotivators.
Megatorpoki's Fwoosh!
Azam's oddly Pokemonized journal. Can usually be counted on for something insightful and revealing. NOT! Actually, it's usually got something completely irrelevant and humorous. That's why it's in the Funniest Blog catagory, you idiot.
And the Blogster for Funniest Blog goes to...
PK1013
You have to acknowledge the total funny randomness in his xanga. Congratulations on winning the first Blogster ever.

The nominees for Most Serious Blog are...
It's All Relative
Joy's blog. Sometimes has lighthearted posts, but more often than not discusses deep topics like dating and friendship. Often makes you appreciate something you used to take for granted, or think about something that never struck you before.
Life...a Sitcom
Ha's newly-skinned blog. Again, is sometimes lighthearted, but many posts are evidence of her truly insightful mind.
Inside MY Head
By Barira Munshi. Discusses topics that are very close to her heart, but can still be understood and related to by everyone, at least in one aspect.
And the Blogster for Most Serious Blog goes to...
Life...a Sitcom
Because it just is. The most serious blog, that is.

The nominees for Best Layout are...
Knurd Unit
By Pranay, Nirav, Joy, Maerilly, and Sarah. Used to have a pretty gay template (literally; there was a picture of two naked men hugging), but now it's all cool-looking. Extra points for the Photoshopped nerd heads on rapper bodies.
Purity is a Myth
Lucky's blog, nominated by Maerilly. Everything seems to fit perfectly into place, although the whole place seems a bit like a hospital for lack of color. Nice scrolling list for blog links.
Every instance spent with you is never null moment.
Regan's blog. I'm not sure if that's the title, but it's very punny. This blog gets nominated just for the great sketch at the top of the page.
And the Blogster for Best Layout goes to...
Purity is a Myth
Despite Sarah's threat to dismember me if I didn't let her win this one, the Blogster has to go to Lucky.

The nominees for Best HTML Use are...
PK1013
Pranay's xanga seems to always have random experiments with html hanging around. It's like a fortune cookie of coding; you never know what html weirdness you'll find.
No Pretense
An odd title for Maerilly's xanga, but nevertheless contains excellent html work. Every time you visit there is usually something new floating around, singing, scrolling, or popping up.
Knurd Unit
Yet again, the blog by Pranay, Joy, Maerilly, Sarah, and Nirav gets a Blogster nomination. Every aspect of this blog is infused with strange and wonderful html-ing.
And the Blogster for Best HTML Use goes to...
No Pretense
So...many...special...effects...

Now we're going to have some special awards, for which there are just going to be winners and no nominees:
And the Blogster for...
...Smiley-est Blog goes to...
Megatorpoki's Fwoosh!: An average of 23,500 smilies per post.
...Least Updated goes to...
*sUpEr SaRaH*: Expect around one post a decade.
...Most Often Reskinned goes to...
Life...a Sitcom: Approximately 240 times within the past week.
...Most Updated goes to...
Megatorpoki's Fwoosh!: Updated somewhere around twice a minute.

To Rhyme

Joy's been making poems about everyone, so here's a taste of her own medicine...

Oy Itz Joy

Joy Chou is a stinky poet,
Her poems and rhymes completely blew it;
She hits people on their arms and shoulders,
"STOP YOU FREAK!" we all have told her;
If you talk to Joyful Chouwder,
You'll get used to speaking louder;
SillyDucky is her screen name,
Everybody thinks it sounds lame;
I think Joy got her brain a bit late,
But my lovely wife is actually great.

Apr 8, 2004

PWN4G3

*Sigh* just reminiscing about TMSCA State some more.

I remember one time when Mr. Trinh, Tram, Daniel, Mr. Cantu, Andy, and I were playing VC in one of the rooms. We were taking turns trading in and out; the two losers went out. At one point when I was out, Pranay, Neil, and Shalin came in. Because there were now a lot of us not playing, I suggested starting another game. Mr. Trinh said, and I quote, "Naah, this is where the PROS play, Nirav. What's the matter? Can't hang with us?"
So I didn't say anything, and the next game I was in. The others had gone ahead and started the other game in the room next door.
That next game I came in first, and Trinh was last. He got up, and mumbled something about checking in on the other room.
I said loudly, in triumph, "What's the matter, Mr. Trinh? I thought this is where the pros play! Huh? HUH?"
He just left.
It was sweet, very, very sweet.

Apr 7, 2004

The Duck Attack

The other day, when I came back from my viola lesson, I went out to the lake near my house to relax, and to talk to someone on my cell phone.
I was walking toward the bench next to the lake, when a feathery missile hurtled past me. It was a duck. The freaking duck had attacked me, missing by mere centimeters.
Later, while I was talking on my phone, another duck (or possibly the same one) began to approach me from the lake. It was just waddling toward me, quacking every few steps.
All in all, it was seemed remarkably like a teacher of mine (whom I will not name here).
It got to within about a foot of me, at which point I fled to the relative safety of the other side of the bench, fearing that it would produce a machine gun, or perhaps a spool of piano wire from beneath its wings.
There's something about these ducks at our lake that's really creepy. A year or two ago, I was going for a walk around the lake at around nine or so. It was dark, and all I had was a penlight on my keychain. The ducks were all on the lake, sleeping.
Or so I thought.
As soon as I passed the large, dark, mass of fowl, they awoke, and began to silently follow me.
They were led by the Grey Duck, a huge monstrosity of a bird who looked as though she was perpetually mad at everyone and everything.
Even in daylight, she was scary, charging at anyone who approached her domain (which was really the entire lake).
But here, at night, it was downright terrifying. They moved in concert down the lake, keeping pace with me precisely.
Eventually they lost interest, or at least appeared to, but I had a feeling the the Grey Duck had sent a few duck commandos after me, darting from tree to tree behind me.
On my way back, I was walking home on the other side of the lake, and it is a truly chilling sight to see about thirty or forty ducks detach themselves from the opposite side of the lake, and move, army-like, inexorably toward you.
I stopped to watch, rather like a deer stops to admire the headlights of the 18-wheeler barreling toward it. Taking out my penlight, I played it over the dark, feathered, mass drifting slowly toward me.
It seemed to my slightly nervous mind that they were glaring at me.
The newspaper headlines ran through my mind:

Boy Disappeared Near Lake, Bloody Feather Found
Investigators Finally Get Lead On Duck Mafia


As the ducks hit the water's edge, they began to scramble out of the water. A small group accumulated on the edge, then they all began to move towards me.
That's when I started to walk faster, into the dark night.

So anyways, long story short, I just barely escaped. I am definately never going for a walk at night again. They missed me once. They won't miss again...

Apr 4, 2004

Congratulations to those people who did good at UIL District!
And to those of you who didn't do so well...you already know you suck.
No, seriously, good job to everyone who went. Special congrats to Pranay, Anu, Stacy, Rupak, Spandana because they actually won stuff. Good luck to everyone going to regionals!

Oh yeah, I guess I'd better say something about Ha, because she's going to regionals for L-D after her first year of debate. All I have to say is, it's all my doing, because I wrote both her cases, plus prepping her for the tournament.
Okay fine, I just wrote her cases.
Okay, just the aff one.
All right, I just helped her with it.
Fine, I just made fun of her via my cell phone while she wrote her case with no help whatsoever. I probably made it worse rather than better.
Happy?

Anyways...good job and good luck to UIL people.

OH MY GOD!!!

So here are Pranay and me, playing cards. We're at the house of a neighborhood mutual family friend; our parents are chatting with them, so Pranay and I are bored.
My back is to the glass door to the backyard, and we're playing ERS. I'm losing, and then suddenly Pranay, who's been looking out over my shoulder into the yard, starts laughing and telling me to turn around.
"Yeah, right!" I'm not falling for that one.
"No really! Look!"
I follow the line of his finger and there, in the house behind, on the balcony, is this guy in a muscle shirt and jeans, and he's completely bending over a big flowerpot or something, presenting us with a beautiful view of his backside.
OH MY GOD!!!!!!!
It was hilarious. Then he went inside the glass balconey door, and we couldn't see him for a while. Between laughing so hard our stomachs hurt, Pranay and I started playing again, but we both kept on looking back, and then our hopes came true. He came out again, and bent slowly over another flowerpot.
It was like he was TRYING to give us a show or something.
Then he goes back inside, carrying the flowerpot.
After we recovered from this one, I tossed a small salute in the general direction of the backyard.
Then, as if to oblige me, he appeared right behind the glass door, and, from a sideways angle this time, bent over again!
It was hilariously traumatic, to say the least.
...whew...my sides hurt from laughing.

Will Make Buddy Icon For $$$

So, I'm making animated buddy icons for people. I think they're pretty cool.
Anyways, I need money, so now it's $2 per icon. You can IM Joy or Ha if you want to see what I've made.

Apr 3, 2004

Vibrrrrrrraaatoh!

On Wednesday, the drama people performed their UIL One-Act Play for the school during second period. Although I wanted to go, I couldn't, because second period is orchestra, and Mr. Soto had hired a clinician to come in and give us the help we so desperately needed.
The lady who came in was Korean. Her name, as far as we could make out, was Ms. Pizz. How much more musical can you get?
My first impression was that of a mime. She had so much makeup on that it looked rather like a mask over her face.
But Ms. Pizz was anything BUT a mime. She talked constantly, and she had this way of making weird jokes, then laughing, or rather, cackling, at them, then suddenly getting serious again. Here's something she actually said:
"This is beginning! It is most important! I tell my students, I say, get beginning and end correct, don't care about middle. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, but anyways..."
And then she'd continue on with what she was saying. It was like she was schizophrenic or something.
And another thing: she told Mr. Soto, and us, that she didn't want to conduct us; that was Mr. Soto's job. But whenever she'd tell him to start, after two or three measures, she'd either:
A. Shriek so loud that our strings spontaneously detuned, and make us stop and do something over.
B. Step directly in FRONT of Mr. Soto and take over.
C. Dance around behind Mr. Soto, conducting us herself.
The last one was the worst. She'd bob slightly up and down on her knees, and conduct in little jerky motions. But the worst part was, she'd be going at a completely different tempo than Mr. Soto. Then after a few measures:
"AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!! STOP STOP STOP!!!!!!!! You all go at different tempo. This half goes at this tempo, and other half goes at other tempo. You must watch Mistah Soh-Toh!"
I wanted to scream, "IT'S BECAUSE HALF OF US ARE FOLLOWING YOU, LADY!!!!"
But I didn't, of course.
Don't take this the wrong way; I'm not criticizing her. We did get a lot done. And she's definately not as strange as the man who does the string orchestra sectionals at Houston Youth Symphony and makes bird-like spasmatic motions with his head when he plays.
Yet...
Anyways, she did get really into her job. She started chugging down water by the gallon, it seemed, and wiping off sweat every few seconds from her forehead. Her makeup mask began to dissolve and run down her face, making her even weirder-looking than before.
Now I know why some people are afraid of clowns.