| The road goes ever on and on... |
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| 11:30am 24/01/2008 |
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The Road goes ever on and on
Down from door where it began.
Now far ahead the road has gone
And I must follow if I can.
Pursuing it with eager feet
Until it meets some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet
And whither then, I cannot say.
-Tolkien
I think its my favorite poem ever.
( As promised, my author's bio. )
As I wrote this, I was reminded of something my father once said to me while we shared tales of classes sacrificed to reading the book du jour.
The hardest thing about reaching the end [of the book] was the feeling that I was leaving my friends behind.
Those words have stuck with me for a long time. Even though you can pick up the book for a visit and start all over at the beginning, its much like trying to relive the glory days with high school friends a decade down the road. Still amazingly good fun, but yet it doesn't command the same luster and urgency.
Its my sincere hope that by the time I finish writing my series we will all have found new friends and new adventures.
In the meantime, here's to spending time with old friends. I'm sure Aaron will concur.
In other news, I don't suppose anyone is staring at their bank accounts right now wondering what to do with that extra $200.00? In this time of financial insecurity and economic recession, its hard to be sure of safe investments. Might I suggest a wonderful investment tool known as "Jesse still needs to pay January's rent?" It will yield a return with interest on February 1st, or with double interest on February 15th. In fact, it can also be made as a tax deductible donation... |
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| What is best in life... |
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| 06:31pm 22/01/2008 |
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Posting from work in an attempt to avoid doing just that...
I plan to use the rest of the week for portfolio building. I'm going to be posting an author's bio, a query, and a 2 minute pitch. Hopefully next week I'll get around to discussing some of my more tantalizing plots.
If anyone is at all interested in what happens with the writing process after you type "THE END" you should definitely stop by Anne Mini's Blog. She's infinitely knowledgeable regarding the process and the writing community as a whole. [Anyone who is in any way a fan of Philip K. Dick will also want to check out her site in regards to her memoir]
Okay, with the professional update out of the way, I am saddened by multiple announcements, today.
First... what a damn shame about Mr. Ledger. May the gods give him peace.
Second, it appears we will all have to wait a little longer before we can crush our enemies, see them driven before us, and hear the lamentations of their women.
Crom! |
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| The Curiously Fickle Nature of Vocation |
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| 07:36am 20/01/2008 |
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Working as a travel agent can only be described as an interesting experience. Sure, its nice to know that occasionally, I can help out a fellow human in a bind. Then again, so few business travelers are humans, now adays. Still I do my best to get my clients home safe, sound and, when at all possible, timely.
Its certainly beats the hell out of serving sushi, and its more rewarding than setting up a banquet hall only to take it down the next day. Honestly, if I could make enough doing it or if the hours were any good, I'd rather go back to delivering pizza.
I suppose being a travel agent has more tangible results. I get paid quite well, with a reasonable expectation to make more money. I get to partake of numerous discounts. I work in a company where promotion is fluid and frequent. Not to mention the benefits are nothing to scoff at.
That said, its hard to take real satisfaction from the work. Which has really been the primary motivation I've had in the back of my mind as pen and keystroke conjure forth a window unto this ever growing faery tale. I suppose the reason for the sudden angst of my last post, or the elaboration of this one, is to supply further motive for my emergence from obscurity and the narrow-mindedness with which I may approach my postings. For this, I apologize.
Fear not, those of you who may have become accustomed to grievances of divine origin, tales of humorous misfortune, or seemingly mindless philosophical drivel for I have much to still impart in that regard.
If I may, I'd like to finish this update by deferring to news of my better half.
India has moved on from the morally defunct Apollo Group D.B.A. University of Phoenix. Thank the gods for that. Currently she's working at a charter school whilst awaiting to hear back regarding a position with ASU. Which I ask that you all include in your prayers and offerings to whatever deities in which you hold stock.
Not to say anything against the school. It bills as a college prep institution which all but gives there students an associates upon graduation. Her co-workers are very nice, as is the campus. In fact, to give you some idea as to the type of school we are speaking of, they have even inquired as to how many credits I have towards my history degree in the hopes of hiring a history teacher...
also there was a stabbing on Thursday.
While on the subject of prayers and delusions, it is the sincere hope of India and myself to be wed this October. Should it become upgraded to a remote likelyhood [and should the ring ever come off layaway] I will be sure to send out invitations.
We're leaning towards a Halloween wedding. Possibly in Vegas. |
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| On having neglected to taste of the fruit of ones labors... |
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| 08:43am 18/01/2008 |
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I suppose a small update is in order as regards the life and times of one Jesse Merriman. I wish I could lavish you all with exhilarating tales of flooding dormitories or drunken pyrotechnics, but alas, it is not to be. Those days appear to have come to tragic end. Since leaving school for... what is it now, the third time? Well, life has been sadly by the books.
Admittedly, it could be viewed with a certain amount of excitement. I'm living life recklessly in the red, blindly leaping from pay check to pay check. Each morning I cry "Havok!" and with irresponsible alacrity murder asphalt and rubber alike as I carve my way amongst the ritualistic progression of the white collar slavery.
To be honest [which I'm told is something a crux to those in the business of writing fiction], it's nothing so glamorous. I've found myself tired of coming home long day after longer day [a curious effect considering we have just passed the winter solstice] in the grueling hot sun of the call center, tilling the GDS and manning the phone, fending off frenzied admins and placating stranded passengers.
I've grown wearier still of the midden of putrid refuse that pervades our collective conscious. What sort of mindless dribble has allowed us to become so fascinated and enamored with celebrity drama? Do any of you actually continue to be counted amongst the numbers who tune into reality tv? Its a sickness; a plague upon the soul of humanity. We seem to prefer to stand around and watch other people suffer and struggle, to air their faults and insecurities. Watch their clumsy attempts to open up to one other. As if to make us feel less isolated by our own troubles.
I find it curious the way we seem to accept our lots in life; we seem to have decided our dreams are just that. How tragic is it that we are given this gift of life and all the wonders of the world? Yet we struggle and suffer and do harm to one another over green rectangular pieces of paper plastered with the faces and symbols of leaders and visionaries who devoted their lives to the improvement of society. What a twisted and terrible effigy...
To the Almighty God, Dollar, in whose name we struggle away our brief existence and come to naught. |
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| Schroedinger's Monkies: or how to achieve the inevitably unlikely |
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| 07:54am 16/01/2008 |
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Let us, for a moment, entertain the possibility that an infinite workforce of monkeys, given an equally limitless supply of typewriters, paper, spirits and nicotine, will, at some point [well, mathematically speaking a rather large number of some points, although I'm digressing dangerously close to a pun] hammer out Hamlet. And subsequently the rest of the First Folio. Therefore, it must be assumed that with an equally improbable inevitability, I would begin to communicate again in earnest.
Hello. Again.
So... Pausing to expand upon this rudimentary pass at quantum mechanics, and in particular the uncertainty principle, it must be allowed that the above truisms [being unable to ascertain the relationship between the position or momentum of either said points] are both prime examples of quantum superposition. Simultaneously it can be conceded that a monkey is equally capable of fitting in a box as a cat. As we have more plagiarizing primates than we know what to do with [and a curious absence of cats] I'm sure we can spare one for a experimental purposes. Just be sure we lock to doors to keep PETA out... this is simply a thought experiment, and we can't allow for conscience to induce wave-function collapse.
[sigh] Well, I guess we can't avoid all the puns...
Continuing on! Having determined that subatomic chain-smoking chimps are the basis of my thought matrix, and that with an appropriately deranged mind anything and everything is not only possible, but probable, I shall bow to the inevitable and resume the indiscriminate trepanation of my soul.
Truth be told, I've decided that my Samhain (read: New Year's) Resolution is that I shall seek the enlightened state of Follow-Thru, and as such I must strive to remain both accessible and communicative. Scoff if you will,I simply ask that you grant me the attempt.
Back to my alcoholic apes, I'm proud to say the little guys have come a long way in the past year as concerns the progression of my literary works. Young Galen has made quite a few strides across the pages of my fantasy novels, and for once, the other POV characters are not as far behind. Book One remains all but [professionally] edited, although until book two is written out I don't think I'll be confident enough with the overall outline to send it off to anyone. If I had asked any of you to read it a year ago, you would not have read the same book. And at least all the books are title and outlined now. Its becoming a real story, all that remains is to write it.
Unfortunately, I've also learned a few things about the industry I planned on breaking into. I guess, even when I began writing the books in high school, I had always know that the likely-hood of a major publisher [or any, for that matter] picking up a fantasy series written by an unknown author was slim to none. At best. I think I just felt if Christopher Paolini could do it, so could I.
Did you know that Mr. Paolini is the son of a family of publishers? Or that he essentially self published Eragon before it was picked up by a full fledged press?
Nor did I.
Not to take away anything from what is clearly a gifted writer, regardless of age... but that does allow for certain advantages.
That I am not possessed of.
Therefore, I have also begun working... mostly in earnest... on other novel ideas. [Yay! More Puns!] That, I fear, I must reveal is part of my motivation to begin posting again. The flesh out those ideas with the hopes of also finding some feed back. To be able to write again, if only for writing's sake.
The fact that it will allow me a channel to communicate with my friends [and hopeful readers readers]that is of a more reliable nature than the phone is definitely the coolest bonus since Monty Python and the Holy Grail subtitled by Henry V.
In other words: Please forgive my interminable absence. Let's try this again.
[Disclaimer: As regards the above mentioned liberal butchering of the entire field of quantum mechanics; I am not possessed of a formal education in mathematics beyond that of algebra II/pre-calc. I am also fully aware that several of you are, at this very moment, solving the Riemann Hypothesis or isolating exoplanets or the likely sources of antimatter. So... go easy on me. Its an anecdote, not an allegory.]
[Also, I promise to LJ-cut from here on out...really.] |
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| Nothing sacred but a sense of humor... |
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| 09:02am 15/09/2006 |
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Laughter is the sound of the soul relaxing. It clears the way for the breath of enlightenment. It puts the world at ease. Its the quickest way to zen.
Oh, right. Hi everyone. |
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| "Gods declare temporary injunction in leiu of appeal by Sisyphisian successor." - AP |
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| 08:14pm 03/05/2006 |
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Long story short: India is now living with me. Life, quite simply, could not be better. The rock has reached the summit, and has become too worn down to fall back again. I will write more about this after finals, when things are more settled in, but feel free to call/IM me if you're more curious.
Love you all,
Sisyphus Jr. |
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| All good things... |
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| 11:31am 20/04/2006 |
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[11:22] gr33nt34wh0r3: I'M GOING TO JAPAN!
[11:24] Suffrasinetic: ...
[11:24] Suffrasinetic: ...
[11:24] Suffrasinetic: wait a sex
[11:24] Suffrasinetic: sec*
[11:24] Suffrasinetic: (looks around)
[11:25] gr33nt34wh0r3: ;_;!!!!!!! YES HELL DIDN'T FREEZE OVER!
[11:25] Suffrasinetic: 1. Jesse's love life working out
[11:25] Suffrasinetic: 2. Jesse's school going well
[11:25] Suffrasinetic: 3. Sam going to Japan
[11:25] gr33nt34wh0r3: I think...maybe fate decided that since I was really freaking ill for 3/4 of my first year in U of A...I can go to Japan *__*
[11:25] Suffrasinetic: I...
[11:25] Suffrasinetic: (ring)
[11:25] Suffrasinetic: (ring)
[11:26] Suffrasinetic: (ring)
[11:26] gr33nt34wh0r3: o.o?
[11:26] Suffrasinetic: "Hi, you've reached Fate. I'm not in right now, but leave a message and i'll get back to you as soon as i return from my sabbatical."
[11:26] gr33nt34wh0r3: XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!
[11:26] Suffrasinetic: Ah... that explains it all.
And here I didn't think i could get any happier. Enjoy yourself, neesan. Life cannot always be closed. ^_^ |
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| Amen, lads... |
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| 09:23pm 18/04/2006 |
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Amen:
| You Are Guinness | 
You know beer well, and you'll only drink the best beers in the world.
Watered down beers disgust you, as do the people who drink them.
When you drink, you tend to become a bit of a know it all - especially about subjects you don't know well.
But your friends tolerate your drunken ways, because you introduce them to the best beers around. |
There also be this neat little thing:
| You Are The Star | 
You represent the ultimate in truth and purity.
Insightful and illuminating, you provide guidance for others.
You also demonstrate unselfish, unconditional love.
You posses many spiritual gifts, including the ability to heal.
Your fortune:
Your future is looking brighter by the day.
The near future will be a time of both hope and healing.
Luck is about to come your way, perhaps the best luck you have ever seen.
Life is about to get a lot easier and much better! |
Right, so rumor has it: Jesse shall be making an appearance in Tucson this weekend. |
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| Nothing in this world feels quite as good... |
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| 09:50pm 17/04/2006 |
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mood: Overwhelmed and Exhausted music: Falling For You - Jem
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as being able to hold a red-headed pagan scorpio in your arms and tell her you love her.
Except maybe to hear her say it to you. |
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| By the way... |
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| 12:09pm 08/04/2006 |
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Lucky Number Slevin = One of the best original movies I've seen in a long time. Yes, it is The Usual Suspects meets Pulp Fiction, but the satire, the characters, and the story are engagingly unique. The acting is brilliant. I mean, of course Willis, Freeman, and Kingsley were at in their element, if not quite the top of their game, but there was acting from some you wouldn't neccessarilly suspect: Harnett, Lui, Tucci... Most importantly, its hilarious. Alright, enough from me, go see it. |
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Stolen from ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) nobodylkl |
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| 03:55am 08/04/2006 |
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The wikipedia meme: Go to http://wikipedia.org/ and put in your day and month of birth (no year) and then post 1 death, 2 births and 3 interesting facts about your birthday.
Now, the cool part about being a history major is this: I don't need wikipedia to do this, but i'll bet these are all there...
A death:
- Constantine XI, the last emperor of Byzantium, was killed defending Constantinople on May 29th, 1453
Two births:
- John Fitzgerald (Jack) Kennedy was born to Joe and Rose Kennedy Sr. on May 29th, 1917.
- T. H. White, the author of The Once and Future King, was born May 29th, 1906.
And three events:
- Istanbul, once Constantinople... the end of the Byzantine Empire occurs with the sack of Constantinople on May 29th, 1453.
- The English Restoration occured May 29th, 1660, when Charles II was "re-instated" as the King of England. It's now known as Oak Apple Day.
- Proof supporting Einstein's Theory of Relativity is obserbed during a solar eclipse, May 29th, 1919, by Eddington. When told that he was one of three people to grasp the full nature of relativity, Eddington asked, "Who's the third?" (meaning just he and Einstein). |
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| Konichiwa |
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| 09:56pm 05/04/2006 |
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Do you ever find yourself walking along, listening to voicemails, when suddenly you realize that the message that began with "konichiwa" has suddenly shifted such that something of a clearly sexual nature is occuring? Perhaps the great irony of the situation is that my nosebleed returned while i was listening to the surprisingly unabbreviated yet sadly uninformative message. Withheld numbers suck.
In other news...
Catching up with my class work early this year. Had an interesting conversation with Dr. Kosso today which illuminated just how few jobs openings there are for Professors of Ancient or Medieval History. The good news is, I finally got back into the perspective I need to do well in history. Only took me a semester and a half, but hey.
Sadly going to miss the party this weekend. Still might try and sneak down two weekends from now. If anyone up here is headed south the weekend of the 21-23rd, let me know. For now, though, I'm anxiously waiting to go see India in a week. Mmmmmm... Belly-dancing, red-headed, scorpio pagan sociologist, T - 6 days, 18 hours and 53 minutes. |
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| Dr. Tran doles out the harshness... |
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| 11:35pm 30/03/2006 |
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Ugh...
I am so buried in work i don't even know where to begin. Which is why i have 6 papers started and nothing finished. And only myself to blame.
I guess the real question is, which unfortunate greek mortal am I more like to have been in a past life?
Promethius: a) I've clearly angered the gods.
b) I avoid being bound by anything.
c) I'm making full use of a liver while i can.
Sisyphus: a) I've clearly angered the gods.
b) I continue making the same mistakes despite being aware of them.
c) I'm another historian/archaeologist who can't stop the rock.
Hickory smoked is so crazy, what is wrong with me?! |
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Clearly, one too many nights talking philosophy and listening to saul williams... |
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| 12:36am 27/03/2006 |
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mood: Alive music: Trip like I do - Filter/CM
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Wherefore art thou, sans?
A thousand intentions;
heart-crossed with longing mortality
prematurely, prenatally ended
a twist of a hanger in the psyche
Gestate...
A thousand dreams;
burn themselves in effigy
unreal, unrealized, unrealistic
the restless martyred by the rest
Ignite...
A thousand delusions;
The rabbit, in sight, powder white,
The hole is more than the some of its parts
Ecstasy consumes ignorance - bliss cuts deep
Lacerate...
A thousand beliefs;
Imprisoning the soul with bonds of dogma
A diction writ in the blood of contradiction
Truth is a perspective, not a possession
Shackle...
A thousand desires;
sail forth to win back my Helen
She who is Hope; she who is Habit
My Aphrodite, my Eris, my Pandora
Immortalize...
An nescis, mi fili, quantilla sapientia mundus regatur?
Wherefore art thou, sans? |
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| Because I'm amused... |
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| 06:39am 16/03/2006 |
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This should have been expected...
- You Are The Wayfarer Guide
"I'll show you the way."
Your deep insight and quick wisdom never ceases to
amaze those around you. You are the guiding
light for many of those you know and are not
afraid to help anyone else who asks. Not very
many acknowledge your tremendous help and
effort, but you do not mind that so much.
You've seen what is in store for them, and
will be there should they need your help. You
enjoy people in general, but are very
selective of who you let see the real you.
Others see you as an enigma of sorts, a
mystery that is seemingly ever changing.
Which Classic Story Role Do You Play?
brought to you by Quizilla
This is dead on. Percentage wise, at least...
| You're 85% Irish | 
Congratulations, you're a shining example of an Irish lass (or lad).
There's hardly anyone more Irish than you! |
And this was... a curious result.
<td align="center">You are Jack the Ripper
You are completely insane. You do things spontaneously and always live in the moment. You are unconventional and strange, but you can act otherwise to fool people into believing that you are normal. You also may or may not be angry with prostitutes for giving you Syphilis.
Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com</td> |
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| While we're quoting... |
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| 12:55am 06/03/2006 |
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Absence from those we love is self from self - a deadly banishment. -Shakespeare
I miss my best friend. |
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| Deliberate procrastination... |
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| 08:57pm 28/02/2006 |
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music: Mad World- Donnie Darko
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is such a peculiar form of masochism. Meh. So, what to say... where to begin...
First of all, I still haven't found a job. I'm beginning to feel less and less like its a good idea, however, as my astounding ability to procastinate and justify avoiding work (remember how the hydrophobes created an aversion field to water? That's me with work) really makes the concept of giving up weekends seem an astronomically bad idea. Still, I need to make money for England. We'll see.
India got sick and unfortunately couldn't make it in this weekend. Frustrating (and on odd levels, too) but, truth is, I knew how sick she was, instinctively, (hyperactive immune systems, FTL) so I'm honestly just happy she's doing better. C'est la vie.
School could be going... better. Still, I'm getting back on top of it, and viciously so. It's odd, most people need to destress. I need to restress to get anything done. There's Zen, and there's Sophorosine. Blarg.
Well, now to news from the Jesse's busy doing nothing with his life front:
Tonight, for those of you in Flag, Cline will be showing Akira Kurasawa's Seven Samurai. It is absolutely imperative that you stop anythiing else you are doing, possibly to include breathing, and attend this masterpiece.
Shawshank Redemption is become a staple in the ol' dorm life. Its on at least twice a week. I think we've watched it almost every time. I bring this up because if you missed Letterman last night, you missed the single funniest skit on a late night show I have EVER had the pleasure to watch. Lets just say it started with a really big poster...
( Full Metal Alchemist Spoiler Alert )
Oh, and by the way, you all need to watch Entourage. So. Fucking. Hilarious. Hug it out, bitch. |
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