To Tricia,

Not exposed at all, actually. It's not a bad thing, merely intriguing.

I just woke up from a really odd dream. I think it started with me on a movie set, but it progressed to me with a megacorporation hunting me and a few others. Two people in Agents were among us, but the one who really stood out was this one girl. Normally not my type at all, I surprisingly really enjoyed her company, and really started to fall for her at the end of my dream. It's a shame she was a dream, though.

Moving on from the ramblings of a half-asleep Jake, the Joker costume worked out really well. I don't have the time right now to list all of the notable reactions, but just know that the costume was sufficiently scary enough. I can't wait til Halloween.

I'm also a bit curious as to the comments on my last post: the first one being deleted before I could read it, and the second one (although I did just read it while half-asleep) is interesting.

Anyways, I'm off to go shower and find a way to keep my hair from being green and my eyebrows from being black.

I had a good weekend. Shame it's over already. Well, there is still some time left I suppose; it can become more interesting. Friday was fun, although not extroardinary. I was able to hang out with Steph for a while, watched Are you Afraid of the Dark, and played a little Katamari. Afterwards I saw a movie with Ashley and Dan, and proceeded to run into other Agents throughout the night.

Saturday was really fun. I got to buy the last of my items for the Halloween costume, as well as a few Batman graphic novels. I spent the morning with Kate and Scott shopping, and Goddamn that was crazy awesome. Then was the hay ride. I had the pleasure of being Frankenstein. I thought it was going to suck at first, because I had no clue how the hell I was going to dance for two minutes infront of people. It turned out to be a lot easier than I had expected, and vastly more fun. The time really flew by and I made $105! Good fucking times. Didn't really do anything after though. Got some food and then went to bed.

Then I had the Magic daft today. I was fairly lucky in that Josh Pittman was the only other person to draft red. While I won't bore you with the details, I had a strong Elemental/Giant/Goblin deck with minute splashes of black, green, and white. Stinkdrinker Daredevil was a strong basis for the deck, and I brought out really powerful Giants that raped pretty early. Hell, dropping 4/3s for one red is a solid drop I'd say.

Well, I should be off to go do someting productive. See you all [Laughter]

Music Videos

I have to say that I'm a huge fan of music videos as a medium. Sure, there are a lot of shitty ones out there, but there are also a good amount of really good ones. I love music videos for their sheer emotive abilities. The can tell a story, but more often than not it's completely expressive. Here is a collection of some of my favorite music videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8BWBn26bX0

I found out about this group recently, and I have to say I am a fan. While the music video is a very literal interpretation of the random sound clips in the song, it works well. The song is just very intense and I've literally spent hours dancing to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImoC-ib1Jhc

I love Indian music, and this music video does not disappoint. Dancing cowboys are always fun, especially when they put Michael Jackson to shame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bAN7Ts0xBo

On the other end of the spectrum in Indian music is this gem. I have no clue what's going on, but its fun none the less. I can't quite tell if I'm laughing because of how fun it is, or at the dancing (as culturally insensitive as that is). Either way, a great watch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4S7sN_98tg

While I'm not a huge hip-hop fan, I'm a huge fan Missy Elliot and Busta Rhymes. Their music are always a trip. Greatest trip among these is this music video. There is no explanation for this music. None.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pv5zWaTEVkI

What entry on music videos would be complete without this ensemble? The music video that exploded onto the Internet, it speaks for itself. All I know is that me and my friends have been planning to reenact this for about a year now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvIw5ZqC1ms

Another big hit, who wasn't addicted to this song when it came out? Got to love Beatles references, especially in that shade of green.

T.W.O.

Deadman: Why am I so still?
Voice: Because you are dead.
Deadman: Oh...will I get to see God?
Voice: There is no God.
Deadman: ...okay

In a caricature of this reality, there were a people known only as the Timeless. The Timeless dwelt deep within a northern forest, where they lived agelessly without care or concern. Free from strife, the lived a childlike existence of pure bliss. The lofty trees provided secure homes while the native fruits and wildlife provided all the nurishment they needed. All of the Timeless believed they had the perfect existance. That is, all but one...

One day, the wisest among the Timeless (known simply as The Wise One or T.W.O.) declared that he wanted to die. The people were shocked. Never had they even cause to think of something as frightening as death, and yet here the most respected among them had stated his intentions to find it. What surprised the Timeless even more was the fact that he said this without fear or despair; T.W.O. was completely calm. In fact, the usually pensive T.W.O. seemed more content than ever.

I just jotted that down quickly. It's an idea for a fairly surreal story I want to write. I'd like to make it third-person limited or even first person, but I will see. This was more of just a quick practice. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.

No Loving-Kindness

There was an old woman in China who had supported a monk for over twenty years. She had built a little hut for him and fed him while he was meditating. Finally she wondered just what progress he had made in all this time.

To find out, she obtained the help of a girl rich in desire. "Go and embrace him," she told her, "and then ask him suddenly: 'What now?'"

The girl called upon the monk and without much ado caressed him, asking him what he was going to do about it.

"An old tree grows on a cold rock in winter," replied the monk somewhat poetically. "Nowhere is there any warmth."

The girl returned and related what he had said.

"To think I fed that fellow for twenty years!" exclaimed the old woman in anger. "He showed no consideration for your needs, no disposition to explain your condition. He need not have responded to passion, but at least he should have evidenced some compassion."

She at once went to the hut of the monk and burned it down.

On Desire

It's not finished yet, but tell me what you think.

When I woke up today, I wanted some water. It was fairly dry in the room and, coupling that with the remnants of a cold, I was pretty damn dehydrated. I hopped out of bed, slid on a pair of slippers, and meandered down to the nearest sink. My mouth was dry and I responded by drinking water. It seems fairly self-evident that the motivation for my action was thirst.

By looking at motivation more deeply, one element seems universal: desire. My mouth was dry and I wanted it not to be. What precipitated said desire is debatable; did it come about because of thirst or did it result from the stimulus and cause the thirst? I have neither the insight nor the inclination to address such a topic. What does seem feasible for me to address is how central desire is to our lives.

It is hard to define desire. Desire seems so intuitive to us that putting it into words is near impossible. Even Merriam-Webster is hard pressed not to have a circular definition. However, since it is so familiar to us all it affords us the luxury of not having to define it. After all, the goal of this paper is not to argue semantics but rather expound upon an observation.

I have observed that every person has desires. They can range from something as simple as longing for a cookie after lunch to something as grand as wanting to be a professor someday. They can last mere moments or stretch on for our entire lives. The fact that I am even writing this sentence is due in no small part to the fact that I want a good grade.

Desire itself seems to be a disparity between ones current circumstances and their ideal circumstances. While it can be argued that sometimes people act to perpetuate their circumstances (such as those who have already attained their ideal), is it not true those people are still working towards their ideal by preventing its decay? Our ideal circumstances seem to present us with some measure of happiness and perhaps it is this rather than the ideal circumstances them selves that we seek.

Some philosophers have said the key to happiness is not achieving greater satisfaction but by limiting our desires. It is almost like a math equation, where

Happiness = Satisfaction/Desires

Unfortunately, American culture seems to be solely concerned with inspiring desire. We’re constantly bombarded with advertisements that persuade us to believe their products or services are the solution to our woes. How often have you really wanted something, only to get it and be disappointed? It wasn’t that it did not provide enough satisfaction so much that your desire for it was too great.

I often wonder why so many in our society seem to be discontent. Is it like this all around the world? Has humanity always been this way? Is true happiness impossible? These are all questions I am sure most have asked at least once.