I Found a Counterfeit $20 Bill...

Seriously. It was like xerox paper, no security marks, terrible texture...all wrong. And I didn't catch it until it was too late...

So we don't know where we got it from. We being the bank. If I'd have caught it coming in, the business would be out $20. So now it goes against the branch. No biggie, really.

I'm not out anything personally, but dang. I feel like a heel for taking it.

What a way to end the year!

Speaking of...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Out

2009: Year In Review...

It's been another year. That's really all I can say about it.

I feel like I spend so much time thinking about what I didn't do, resolutions I didn't keep, things I didn't get. I'm making a resolution right now to start being more about the positive.

What did I accomplish in 2009?

Well, many things.

-I celebrated three years with Robb in February.
-I wrote a script in April starring my alter ego Pearl and Maury Povich.
-I (Robb, too!) adopted Marbles in late April.
-I successfully threw a surprise 30th birthday party for Robb in June.
-I visited San Diego in July on the longest (and best) vacation of my life.
-I went to L.A. for the first time ever (and I'm never going back).
-I wrote a novel in November starring Jesus and his posse in space.
-I volunteered to be a Co-ML for NaNo at the TGIO party in December.
-I upheld my 2008 resolution to work out regularly all year.
-Concurrently, I'm in the best shape of my life.
-I've written quite a few poems that I'm actually proud of.

What do I want to do in 2010?

Well, here's a few things:

-As I said before, be more positive.
-Continue working out regularly.
-Write a script in April.
-Write a novel in November.
-Edit a novel.
-Submit at least one poem for publication.
-Find a full time job.

So, yeah. There we are. The obligatory list post for 2009 and the resolutions for 2010, all at once.

I'm feeling good about this.

What is the biggest thing you did this year? And what is the most important thing you'd like to accomplish next year?

Out

Christmas Morning...

This morning I was working out and reading poetry between sets. Billy Collins. My favorite poet.

When I went to take a shower and turned on my shower radio, the Diane Rehm show was on NPR. And as luck would have it (thank you, whomever is in charge of my luck up there), she was talking about poetry. Billy Collins was on her show. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning!

Out

ICE STORM!!!

So...apparently on the only day I have to (HAVE TO!!!) travel, we're getting ice.  A quarter of an inch of it.  And rain.  Three inches of it.  And cold.  That means flooding and ice.  Woot.  Christmas Eve I'll get to skate to my mom's house and hope I don't die, and Christmas night I'll get to swim back home and hope I don't drown.

I'm dreaming of a mild Christmas...

Speaking of that particular holiday:



I probably won't be back before then, so Merry Christmas, all.  I certainly hope your travels are safe and your moments are merry.  Consider this your Christmas card.

From all of us at Viewtiful_Justin, merry Christmas and best wishes for a great 2010! 

With holiday love,
Viewtiful_Justin
Viewtiful_Robb
Viewtiful_Marbles

Ho ho Out

Top 5 Tuesday: No Computer Edition...

This week's list will be short. But it's here.

I give you the top 5 things I miss about having a computer:

5. Wasting Time. Now when I have fifteen minutes before I leave for work, I wander around the house, harass the cat, read a magazine, or write some poetry. Before, I used to hop online and check my email or my blog, leave a few comments, and generally waste time. I know I'm a little more productive now, but I miss it!

4. Getting Hints. I am playing through an RPG on my DS right now (Magical Starsign if anyone cares), and when I come across a particularly tricky boss, I like to try a few things on my own and then hop online and see what other people have said works well against them. Now? I just shut it off and walk away, telling myself I'll look when I'm at work. I forget.

3. Watching Videos. Seriously. The Wii's internet browser is faulty, at best. It doesn't load videos, it freezes regularly, and everything on it is really inconsistent. One day something will load, and the next you'll sit there for ten minutes before it tells you there was an error. When I send myself a link from work (videos don't load there, either), I like to come home and watch it, and then delete the email from my box. Now they just pile up...I think I'm going to have to plan a day to clean out my inbox and watch stupid videos.

2. Having a Keyboard. This was going to be number one on the list. Do you know how hard it is to constantly type with the Wiimote? The boy still hasn't come through on his USB keyboard promise. And both of our computers are old enough that they don't have USB keyboards. So yeah...point and click and point and click and point and backspace and point and click. Ugh!

1. All of You! I miss you guys. I miss reading your blogs and commenting and hearing all of what you have to say. I thought it wouldn't be this hard to be away, but it really is!

So there you have it. My list of the top 5 reasons I want that computer back!

Out

This Monday Morning...

This Monday morning I rise
after sleeping until nine--from nine--
fold the southwestern print blanket
brown and tan and orange and blue--
my comfort--
fold the plaid blanket
and the white sheets with their blue stripes,
stop to play the blanket game with the cat,
and fold the futon into a couch once more.
I replace the displaced bicycles
feed the cat
go through my workout
relieve myself
and all of this before dressing.
I read Billy Collins poetry in my underpants
and then
I sit to write a poem
about this Monday morning.

It's FINALLY Friday!

Holy hell! All week I've been waiting and waiting and waiting and then waiting some more. My work schedule gave me two days off in them iddle of the week. One of them had me coming in for a mandatory security meeting and the other had me filling in for a sick employee. So much for a glorious two days off in a row.

Add to that the godawful hours I've been scheduled for...nine hours a day.

And then throw in the fact that I was waiting for my paycheck so I could finish Christmas shopping and the fact that I AM waiting for my new glasses to come in.

It's the perfect mix for the LONGEST WEEK OF MY LIFE!

Seriously...

But it's Friday and I've been paid. And a Blockbuster in town is going out of business and selling off their movies for $1.99 a piece at the most. I'm going after work. Hopefully there are still some left.

I only have five hours of work left today and five tomorrow.

And my glasses should be in, too.

And now, it's off to lunch!

Things are looking up, finally! And with any luck, after Saturday I'll be able to see it!

Out

Around...

I'm around. My Hardest Level internship is effectively over a month early. And November was a bust because of NaNoWriMo, so really I got a three month internship in one month. Bogus. I've sent three emails regarding the computer crash to various people there, and no one has gotten back to me. Apparently no one cares.

But.

We're looking at a sweet HP laptop. We can't afford anything at the moment. I certainly can't afford anything at all with Chirstmas on the way. Blah.

But life moves on. I won't be here much until we get a computer.

Miss me.

Out

Dirty Laundry List...

So, which do you want first, the good news, the bad news, or the ugly news?

Well, I'll let you pick, but they're all here.

The Bad News:

Our computers were updated at work. Now the comment section in 80% of your blogs doesn't work for me. I haven't stopped reading, and I'd love to leave you comments, but I can't do it while at work anymore. It's mainly pages that have the comments section built in (Tearing Up Houses, The Gay Gamer, Back of the Cereal Box, etc. I'm looking at you all). The ones you have to click and open up work fine, but the embedded ones never load for me. It's odd.

I hear you asking, "Well, why don't you just do your blogging at home?!"

That brings me to my next point.

The Worse News:

Robb's computer, the one that connects to the Internet, is officially dead. I went to work at noon two days ago and it was fine, and when I got home after 6, it was dead. Wouldn't turn on. So...we're in the process of shopping for a new computer or getting that one fixed, but until that's done, I can't even blog at home. Suckity-suck.

Now, the Good News:

My mom is buying me new glasses for Christmas. I know, it sounds lame. She think it's SO lame. But I think it's awesome. Best idea ever. Of course, I'd rather if she was spending $300-$400 on an XBox or PS3, but I really need the glasses. I've had the same glasses for at least 5 years, probably closer to 8...it's been a really long time. So...I'm EXCITED! My appointment is on Saturday, and I should get my glasses before Christmas. Suh-weet!

So there's that.

Out

Art Vs. Entertainment...

It's the age old question:  Are video games art, or are they merely entertainment?

When you think about games like the latest John Madden game, it's easy to say they're entertainment:  Because really, what's artful about a bunch of guys on a football field who all look relatively the same.  There's no sweeping story.  There's no character development.  There's really not much to look at, right?



I don't know...the fog effects, the field, the mannerisms of players.  When an artist sculpts a lump of clay to look like a real person, we call it art.  These players look pretty lifelike to me.  Madden might even lean towards art just a bit.  But mostly, it's entertainment.

How about a better example:  Doom.



Eh...there's really not much to look at.  It's mostly about blasting demons.  There's very little story, per se.  Granted, it sort of defined a genre, but the art value of such a thing I think is pretty low.  This one I'd chalk up to evidence of games being purely entertainment. 

But then, if you look at a game like Grand Theft Auto IV, it's the same kind of a game, really.



You're tasked with shooting, finding, etc, just like Doom.  But these people have personalities, stories, and they're a heck of a lot more believable.  Scenery that looks like some of the best landscape painting you've ever seen?  Check.  Except this stuff you can walk right up to, examine, perhaps even climb on top of in between bouts of blasting drug lords and beating up on hookers.  It's kind of a blurry line.

Further blurring the lines are games like Shadow of the Colossus.



This, in my opinion, is art first and foremost and entertainment second.  Maybe that's just me, but I found myself stopping to stare in awe more often than I was climbing and shooting and stabbing.  It elicits an emotional response with its melancholy missions and its brilliant bosses. 

Maybe that's the crux of it:  Emotion.  Feeling.  Is that what makes a game more art than entertainment?  Is it story?  Beauty?  An emotional response?

Then what about this game?



Flower, for the PS3.  It has little to no story, doesn't really elicit any emotion (at least not for me), and is almost sheerly beauty.  But I would consider this art more than entertainment, I think. 

It really is a difficult question to answer. 

What do you think?

And Tomorrow...

Every night the same dance,
removing things from pockets--
Burt's Bees and Kleenex--
belt clinking, pants off,
setting aside the same undershirt
for tomorrow
while you put it all away in
the basket, rumpled.
Then underpants.
We meet in the hallway, honest.
And forget it all in the shower's steam
as we rinse today from our skin
in favor of sleep
And tomorrow.

-----

Out

Woodwind Hootenanery...

I had a dream last night that the bank got robbed. At clarinet-point.

I have to stop eating Tim Tams before bed.

In other news, we put up our Christmas tree! The cat seems not to care one bit. That's great news, considering we both have a history of cats that like to dive into or out of the tree, knocking it over and casuing damage to walls, floor, tree, and ornaments. But Marble seems content to sleep on a blanket on the couch and lick himself. Fair enough.

I'm sure I'll post photos of said tree once I take some worth sharing. Horribly lackluster, my photo taking skills as of late. Boo on that.

My Christmas shopping as half done. Robb is shopped for, as is my mom. Thank God for Amazon.

Oh, and if you're wondering what to get the blogger that seems to have everything? He doesn't have squat and this is what he would like: [click here].

Oh the weather outside is frightful, and the heater is so delightful,
And since work is fivem inutes from home,
Let it snow,
Let it snow,
Let it snow.

Out

Baby's First Snow...

I am sitting at my computer at work. I look to my right. Against the dark green privacy fence that boxes in the crappy apartments' patios in the alley, I see something. It's white. It's falling. It's snow.

And I got excited!

I don't know why. Normally, I hate snow. But this is the first snow of the year, and they've been calling for it for two days now. It's here! Finally. It's microscopic, but it's here. And for some reason, I'm excited for it. Now maybe I'll feel like Christmas really is only a few weeks away.

Out

Music Talk

Top 5 Tuesday will resume. Just not this week. Work is eating my face. Moving on.

Does anyone else feel like that Owl City song on the radio sounds like it was written by a four-years-old boy at church camp? I think the lyrics are ridiculous and idiotic. Write a song that makes sense, Owl City. I think maybe I'm the only person who isn't absolutely gaga over them right now. Am I deficient? Maybe I've reached that age where new music isn't appealing anymore. But then, I've heard a few songs in the past few days that I've really liked...so much so that I added them to my Amazon Wish List.

That was a shameless plug, by the way.

But really...what's the appeal there? Is this one of those cases where the song on the radio is the worst song on the album or something...or are all their songs this ridiculous, lyrically?

Help.

Out