Maybe I Am A Whore

Some people will do anything for money... We tend to call those people whores... right?

Cuz when you think about it, a person who is willing to give up sex in exchange for pieces of paper and metal that (only by shared acceptance) represent some sort of abstract value...

Without diving too deeply into the history of currency, I'd like to give you just a general understanding...

Back in the day, if you wanted some cloth, you gave a person who had cloth some milk, and they shared you their cloth.

If you wanted some cloth, but the cloth guy didnt want milk (perhaps he already had a cow) but he wanted some beads, and the bead guy wanted some milk... so you got some beads from the bead guy (by giving him milk) and then took the beads to the cloth guy...

But say the bead guy had 6 cows (and as such, offering him milk is an insult) so you would need to find someone who has papyrus and wanted milk... and so on and so forth...

Enentually it got to the point where people would use intermediaries...
"I O U six shiney black beads" rather than actually having to always carry six black beads around... And then, eventually, people becan to accept a more common exchange rate... Everyone knew that six black beads gets you a full glass of milk... So if you have something worth twelve black beads, you know you can get enough milk for you and your spouse for dinner...

blah blah blah... we have money... Which, when you think of it is almost completely valueless EXCEPT everyone accepts common barters for the value of this worthless piece of paper...

I know that roughly 150 abstractly dictated values of canadian earth monies can be exchanged for bottle of pop...

Now we get to the fun part...

Is Neal a whore (shut up Shannon... Jenn... Sharon... Justin... Morgan... Everyone else... jeez... who asked you)

Well... I do stupid things... Not for money, but for an equally abstract system of valuation... Cool points...

What are cool points? they're points you accumulate by completing tasks (based on the complexity of the task, or the 'pain or grossout' factor)

As I've learned over the years... Licking the sweaty armpit of a guy = 142 cool points...

Peeing in a particularly akward public place 11 cool points...

and... now to add last nights aquisition... squirting a lemon in your eye (whilst mostly sober)

500! Cool points!

Woot!

Board Games

I think I finally found it...

I am at a happy state of board games... I have enough of a social life to keep me busy so i don't notice that I haven;t been playing as many board games as I used to... And then I have people asking ME if I want to play board games...

yes, thats right... people want to play board games more than me!!!

And to top it all off, people haven't been afraid to try new games (as much as I <3 ticket to ride, there are other games... and these people accept that)

So far, I've broken out my more 'intense' games... Games that have more than three pages of instructions (not including diagrams)... Games that take more than an hour to play... games where completing actions, like establishing a grid of electricity across germany, take almost as long as they would in real life...

And people are reading the instruction books under their own influence... and understanding what it says -- rather than sitting back and waiting for me to summerize the rules... only to blame me for not explaining things clearly when they get trounced =)

I had someone tell me that I taught them the wrong rules of a board game today...

Now I'm sure you're all thinking "OMG! SOMEONE TOLD NEAL HE'S WRONG!"

and believe me, I was as surprised as you are...

and so after I smacked her about a llittle bit, I shed a tear of pride... not only did she understand the rules, but she actually understood them well enough to determine that I was, in fact, very very wrong!

yay

(not that it needs to be explained, but I wasn't really wrong, I was using an accepted variation, and since no one really reads the rules, and since it made the game play more difficult and competetive (and thus more enjoyable for myself), and since it my game, I implemented it without informing them it wasa vairation)...

So yes...

that is my life of board games...

And just incase youre thinking "I play board games with neal" or "I've played a lot of board games with neal in the past" I have news for you...

Not one of you has ever played every single one of my board games...

This I can assure you...

As there are (right now) about 5 games that I haven't played yet =D

Who wants to learn the rules and explain them to me ;)

Pandora

I may have plugged it before, but I really can't get over how amazing this site is...

PANDORA

As an example... I entered in a band which I have just recently noticed that i enjoy (Panic! at the disco)...

As per usual, the first song is by the artist I chose... and the next few songs, it attempts to isolate my musical tastes... So for three songs I make sure to tell the program what i think of the songs... If I like it or not...

So the program tries to figure out what aspects the songs that i like have that the songs that i don't like didnt have...

This never takes very long (maybe I'm predictable)... But tonight it was particularly accurate...

After the initila widling period, the artists provided were:

-the arctic monkeys
-fallout boy
-the killers
-gorillaz
-bedoin soundclash
-franz ferdinand
-postal service

(with no crap in between)

But not only was it able to pic out the artists I would like (all being cd's I own) the program managed to go for the songs from each cd which i like... and with the exception of franz ferdinand (I prefer 'dark of the matinee' over 'you're the reason I'm leaving') it managed to pick out the 'favourite' by each artists...

If you havent had a chance to fiddle around with pandora yet, you really should...

It's really great for finding new and obscure bands... I mean, if it can pick out the popular bands for me with such accuracy, it should be able to produce a few unknowns that I have never been exposed..

Mindless Entertainment at its Best! 123/190

Cuz I have nothing better to do:

There are 190 movies on this list. Put your score in header:

(X) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(X) Boondock Saints
(x) The Mexican
(x) Fight Club
(X) Starsky and Hutch
(X) Neverending Story
( ) Blazing Saddles
(X) Airplane
Total: 9

(x) The Princess Bride
(x) Young Frankenstien
( ) Anchor Man: The Legend of Ron Burgandy
(X) Napoleon Dynamite
(X) Labyrinth
(X) Saw
(x) Saw II
(X) White Noise
( )White Oleander
( )Anger Management
( )50 First Dates
(x) Jason X
Total: 8

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
(X) Scary Movie
(X) Scary Movie 2
(X) Scary Movie 3
(x) American Pie
(X) American Pie 2
(X) American Wedding
Total: 9

(x) Harry Potter
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
( ) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil I
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
(x) Donnie Darko
( ) Lilo & Stitch.
( )Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch has a Glitch
Total: 6

(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
(x) The Grinch (jim carrey)
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
(x) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) Thirteen Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
Total: 7

( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
(x) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
Total: 5

(x) A Cinderella Story
(x) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumb & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
(x) The Ring 2
Total: 8

(X) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
( ) Chicago
(x) Ghost Ship
(X) From Hell
(x) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(X) The Whole Nine Yards
Total: 7

(x) The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
(x) Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
( ) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) Bad Boys
Total: 6

( ) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
(x) Se7en
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
( ) Identity
( ) Lone Star
(X) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
TOTAL: 6

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
( ) My Boss' daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
( ) Frailty
Total: 5

( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
Total: 5

(x) X-Men
(x) X2
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
(x) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Others
( ) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
(x) Cruel Intentions
(x) Cruel Intentions 2
(x) The Hot Chick
Total: 11

( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
( ) A Walk to Remember
(x)Boogeyman
Total: 5

( ) Hitch
(x) The Fifth Element
( ) Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace
( ) Star Wars Episode II Attack of The Clones
( ) Star Wars Episode III Revenge of The Sith
(x) Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Episode VI Return of The Jedi
( ) Troop Beverly Hills
( ) Swimmig with Sharks
Total: 4

(x) Air Force One
(x) For Richer or Poorer
(x) Trainspotting
( ) People Under the Stairs......
( ) Blue Velvet
(x) Sound of Music
(x) Parent Trap
(x) Parent Trap Re-make
(x) The Birds
(x) The Terminator
(x) Terminator-2
(x) T-3
Total: 10

(x) Empire Records
( ) SLC Punk
(x) Meet Joe Black
(x) Nightmare Before Christmas
(x) The Silence of the Lambs
(x) Sleepy Hollow
(x) I Heart Huckabees
( ) 24 Hour Party People
( ) Blood In Blood Out
( ) Nowhere
Total: 6

(x) Thirteen
(x) Manic
(x) American History
(x) Deep Blue Sea
(x) George of the Jungle
(x) Canadian Bacon
( ) Big Black Titties
( ) How High
( ) The Jacket
( ) My Little Ponys Grand Adventure 2
Total: 6

65% is a C!!!

JKNFlblna

So much going on right now... I should be a lot busier than I am... really I should, and I can aknowledge that...

I should teach classes on how to procrastinate... I could write a masters thesis on being lazy...

Apathy? I have enough to share... I could offer you a glimpse of my apathy and you wouldnt care about a thing for a month**

**disclaimer** not medically proven, please don't sue..

So yes...

I wish I had funny stories to share... But pretty much all I would talk about is how glad I am going to be to not live in dorm anymore

I want to eat real food
I want friends to stay over past 11
I want to drink wine while I watch TV
I want the feeling of living in a fishbowl to dissappear
I want to completely avoid assholes that I can't stand but I am paid to be nice to
I want my sleeping hours to be dictated by my own responsabilities, and not by the last person to watch TV at night and the first person to watch TV in the morning
I want to be able to hang art on the wall... and by art, I mean stuff that I would not be able to hang with sticky tac
I want a bathroom that doesnt have piss on the seats, shavings in the sink, and puke on the floor
And most of all, I want a place to call my own... Not the RA's room, not the first bedroom on the left, not the room with all the computer gadgets... Neal's place...

yes... so that's it...

You Are Dr. Pepper

You're very unique and funky, yet you still have a bit of traditionalism to you. People who like you think they have great taste... and they usually do. Your best soda match: Root Beer Stay away from: 7 Up

What Kind of Soda Are You?

What Makes Me a Christian

There is one thing I believe wholeheartedly that I believe makes me a Christian.

Jesus Christ died as a sacrifice to forgive me of all my sins. All of them.

And when I go up for communion, I ask God to forgive me for all of my sins, all of them... not just the ones for which I'm conscious...

But lets face it, I live in a fallen world, in a fallen body, and as much joy as it would bring God for me to live a completely sinless life, it's only happened once since creation...

Now that's not to say this is justification for my sins (there are chapters in the bible dedicated to the topic, and why it's wrong), but an aknowledgement that I am a sinner.

I will swear, I will sleep through the occasional service, I will cheat at the occasional board games (otherwise I might lose), I will drink too much, I will fantasize, I will lie... The list can go on and on. These are things I need God's help with because, for me, they're hard...

But one thing I will not accept is an ANNONOMOUS PERSON LEAVING REMARKS IN PEOPLES BLOGS TELLING THEM THAT THEY ARE HYPOCITES!

If you want to help a person, confront them in person. If you don't feel comfortable approaching them that's probably for one of a feew reasons

1) You don't know the person well enough and you realize that whatever you say has no bearing whatsoever [and I hope that makes you feel like a bigger person]

2) You realize that you're stupid as fuck but still want to pass judgement on others as they try to sort their lives out (as a sad and desperate attempt to feel better about yourself) [and I really do hope that makes you feel like a bigger person]

3) You don't like the person whos page you are commenting on and are hiding behind the fact that you can post annonomously so that you can hurt them [are you a bigger person yet]

And please, mr or mrs annonomous, remember this:

Romans 14: 1-13

1Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 2One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 4Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 8If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 11It is written: " 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord, 'every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.' "[a] 12So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

Matthew 7:1-5

1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

(wow... it's like Jesus himself is telling you to stfu)

I will follow Jesus example... please, mr or ms annonomous, stfu!

GAH!!!

You asked for my advice... No problem; I gave it to the best of my ability...

You asked for it again... I repeated the advice I had given you earlier, most likely indicating I knew what I was talking about and that my advice wasn't going to change. So either accept it or ask someone else.

You asked a third time, I quickly paraphrased my advice and proceeded to ignore you for anything else you were saying.

You asked a fourth time. I flat ou ignored you (and secretly wished you to have an allergic reaction palladium)

Why? Why can't you go one day without being annoying?

Ha-ha! Grapes are fun!

SO today was an uneventful day... Well.. for me at least...

If I were to say nothing, I would be only slightly lying... I entertained friends by providing them with a game for them to stare at while I played it...

Oh... and I was supposed to kick someone out of dorm today (that didnt go so well)... Thx Darren... She's really scary...

and I showered... showering is fun...

I attempted to find activities to do on choir tour... It might be going well... I can never really tell... but there is a stretch prince george -> dawson creek -> wembley -> peace river... if you will kindly look those places up on a map...

I have friends who live in and around those areas... But... when I ask them for suggestions on things to do... they laugh at me... Apparently, drinking IS the only thing to do in a small northern BC town...

but yes... thats my stress of the weekend...

Bell Choir Tour

Yes, thats right... It's time for friendly recap time with Neal of my friendly expedition to eastern alberta...

The tour itself wasn;t too bad... The places we went were well within the acceptable travel time (anymore than about three hours and I start getting stir crazy... but then again, so does everyone else)...

Our first stop was provost, and a visit with the kiddies at the local schools (we had a mix of the public and catholic students in our performance) which was somewhat good (although it could have been better). Afterwards the bells had a workshop with some of the kids... THis would have been nice if I had gotten one of the good children... but I never do. My child was the spawn of satan...

"whats this?" "please don't touch that, our conductor is explaining something"

"what does this do?" [clank] "put that down and listen please"

"I wanna play the mallets" "don't play anything right now, my conductor is trying to tell you something

"I wanna ring two bells at once" *grab* [clank] "those aren't mean't to be hit together"

"this glove is too big" *grab* "don;t play with the bells without your gloves on"

"why" "cuz it ruins the bells"

"how" "if you were listening, you would have heard my teacher explain why"

"i'm listening now" "the oils in your hands can..."

"what does this do" "put your gloves on please"

"why" "cuz you're going to wreck the bells"

"no I won;t" [clank] "here, play with the chimes"


It went on and on like this for the entirity of the workshop...

THen we paid a visit to the fudge lady... Oh god... Why god why does fudge have to come in so many amazing flavours? On the plus side, it's diabetic fudge, so I should be safe... sort of...

OUr concert that night was... well... special...

The gymnasium was a... less than thrilling... accoustic to perform in...

I tried my best, but when you can bearely hear yourself, let alone other people in bells or choir, there is only so much you can do...


Our billet that night was the fudge lady assistant... Needless to say there was fudge to be had by all... So much fudge.

I got to sleep on a hide-a-bed... which is always an experience... Every cross bar and every spring managed to dig itself into my back and side whilst I was trying to sleep... But I got the bed to myself, so it could have been worse...

We had another visit with the fudge lady in the morning for those who didnt get a chance to go the night before... And more fudge was stockpiled... And then we were off to lloydminster...

Lloyd started out for me dropping off the choir so they could work with the high school... I went with the bells to do a workshop with the bell choir from the united church... It was boring as snot (and I mean really boring)... I was so desperate for entertainment... but none was to be had...

Afterwards we went to pick the choir back up and we eaded out for some free time at a local pool hall (a last minute suggestion from the youthish person from the church we were performing at that night)...

It was good times... ALthough I think I actually preferred eating my deep fried goodies over playing pool, but noone else had to know that... well... except all the people that I've already told how much I hate pool... which is pretty much everyone...

Our concert that night went very well (if I do say so myself). I managed to do some things musically that I havent really had a chance to do (getting all the right notes in a particular song for example)... Bah... good times good times...

There was a lot of silence after our final song... SO it either means they were confused or in awe... I would like to think it had more to do with awe... but I have been wrong before...

Our billets that night were amazing... The force fed us nachos and beer and provided a most wonderous bed... It was a spectacular bed... I don;t think I could sing its praises enough... I really do love that bed...

We ended up watching reality bites on the way back to edmonton... A good movie, i think... But I don;t think i like Janine Garofalo...

meh...

so thats my weekend...