Wow. So much for writing on this every day.

Well, it's been a while, but I just found a quote that I love, so I feel obligated to share it.

So, without further ado...

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love.” ~Neil Gaiman

Now, I know this makes me sound like a horrible, heartless person, but if you truly read the quote, you will realize that it's quite the opposite.

Here is another quote that came up as related to that one:

“Love is when you shed a tear and still want him, it's when he ignores you and you still love him, it's when he loves another girl but you still smile and say I'm happy for you, when all you really do is cry.”

And, last but not least..

A final comfort that is small, but not cold: The heart is the only broken instrument that works. ~T.E. Kalem

Yes, I know I sound depressed and whiny, but I truly love these quotes. For some reason they remind me of my favorite band, Ludo, except the flipside of the song that I am thinking of.

My mind is extremely jumbled right now, so I am going to end this post here. A second one might follow it, depending on if I can shake some thoughts out of my head.

Why Valentines Day is Evil

Love is patient, Love is kind, Love means slowly losing your mind. ~27 Dresses

With Valentine's day approaching quickly, this quote seemed to make sense. Well, not really, considering this is my self-proclaimed "Valentines Day Rant". I needed to write some more, and this seemed like a good writing exercise. If it offends you, don't read it, my writing isn't meant to be taken wicked seriously anyhow, I'm often trying out different viewpoints, saturating it with sarcasm, yada yada yada. 

Anyhow... *clears throat* ... ... ...

Valentines day is the day of love, the day that happy couples give each other hugs, kisses, and chocolate. Oh, yes, lots and lots of chocolate. Of course, Valentines day is a day for couples. If you have no significant other, there is no significance to this "holiday". Sure, we're happy for all those happy couples that have found love, but what about us?

Obviously, Valentines Day is an scheme devised by people happily "in love" to make them feel special.  Valentines Day is simply discrimination in another form. No love interest that loves you back? Awe, too bad! No  chocolate for yoooou! For single people, it's national "Lets wallow in self pity over our singleness" day. Discrimination via Valentines  Day rears its ugly head in Elementary schools as well. The unpopular kids get no Valentine cards. In Middle School, the unloved kids received no carnations. Kind parents sometimes give candy to their kids on Valentines Day, though this practice seems to wear out half way through Middle School. 

Aside from all of this, Valentines Day also has poor choice in colors and symbols. While red may be the respective color of a specific drummer in a certain band, when it is taken out of that context, it is a rather unappealing color. The same can be said of pink, red's "cousin". While I do not have a problem with blood, which happens to be red most of the time, many people do. Furthermore, a heart? Really? What kind of a symbol is that? Aside from the fact that the Valentines Day heart looks nothing like a real heart, and the fact that the heart is not, in fact, the organ that makes you love someone (I said love, people, as in the emotion, so don't take that the wrong way), hearts also make an appearance at Halloween. I fail to see the link between these two holidays. If someone walked up to you and handed you a "Halloween" heart (ie, realistic looking heart, or actual heart), you would probably freak out and go inconspicuously puke your brains out. However, if someone gave you a "Valentines Day" heart, you'd probably make some sort of adorable, appreciative noise and flash them a smile. Heck, maybe you'd even give them a hug or a kiss. 

And, yet, through some of us rolling our eyes at this practice and despising the holiday, many singles have at least a slight yearning to possess a "Valentine". While this probably has something to do with the human characteristic "You have it, I want it", it is quite understandable. It is also human nature to love, or "like like" others, and as long as you feel this way, you have a natural want to express that love. One can't really blame people in couples for buying into the atrocious holiday, either, because, for one thing, their significant other would be hurt if they did not because this is the way that Society has programmed them. Secondly, it makes you feel special to give and receive chocolate and bask in love. Thirdly, there is an unspoken peer pressure to participate in any holiday that one is able to participate in. We wouldn't want to be shunned, now would we? And, lastly, why the hell not?

The bottom line is: Valentines Day overlooks the feelings of single people everywhere, has bad taste, and pressures people into its dastardly ways. What I'm trying to say is... We single people want some chocolate, too.

Anhedonia- The Graduate

an-he-do-ni-a [an-hee-doh-nee-uh]
-noun
lack of pleasure or of the capacity to experience it.

---------------------

I've been in a very "Graduate" mood lately, and the announcement of their tour dates (which currently LACKS  NH, MA, or CT date.. but I hope that will change!) has inspired me to post this video here for all my blog lurkers to enjoy. :) The Lyrics are below!

In a dark room at the heart of the city
The basement brings a heavy crowd
And I know there's a right way
But I can't stop from getting down
These people are mad
Will they grow up
Why can't I do the same
Why can't I be okay
The style and the grace of a small town

Is there any truth to the recipe
I've been mixing thrills in the right key
But I don't feel right in my skin
So I don't feel anything at all
I leave emotion at the door
Like a desperate boy on last call
No, I don't feel right in my skin
So I don't feel anything at all

There's a bad place in the back of the room
No one moves without a cue
Cause they know there's a right way
Yeah, all the know is getting down
These people are mad
And so am I
Yeah, I caught on
In the nick of time
Before the lights turn on
I can blend into the crowd
Don't come with me tonight
If I said I cared for you I lied

Is there any truth to the recipe
I've been mixing thrills in the right key
But I don't feel right in my skin
So I don't feel anything at all
I leave emotion at the door
Like a desperate boy on last call
No, I don't feel right in my skin
So I don't feel anything at all

Don't come with me tonight
If I said I cared for you I lied
You waste no time tonight
Take me home if it costs your life

Is there any truth to the recipe
I've been mixing thrills in the right key
But I don't feel right in my skin
So I don't feel anything at all
I leave emotion at the door
Like a desperate boy on last call
No, I don't feel right in my skin
So I don't feel anything at all

Be Careful What You Wish For: A short.. story? with an unoriginal title. (a W.A.H. pondering)

Seven people in various corners of the earth, all at the same moment, catch a leprechaun at the end of the rainbow. He looks at each of them and says "I will grant you one wish, and one wish only, if you let me go." Each accepts the leprechaun's offer, and go on their separate paths. Each desires something different, and each end up on different paths. In the spirit of Fringe, these individuals each end up in a different, alternate Universe so they don't interfere with each other's happenings. Here is how each of their wishes:

• Number one is a woman that has never felt beautiful before. She has never caught the eye of a man and had him smile, never had a soul tell her that she is beautiful. Now, this woman, as one might imagine, wishes to be the most attractive person in the world.
• Number two is a general laborer. He is in the Lower Class and struggles to support his family. He is sick of having people look down upon him for the clothes he wears. He wishes  to be the richest person in the world.
• Number three is an ambitious young woman that wants to go to Harvard. However, even with her outstanding transcript, she feels stupid and as if she knows very little. She wishes to be the smartest person in the world.
• Number four is a rather nerdy young man that has been picked on all of his life. He has no friends and has a great animosity towards the world. He wishes to be the most powerful person in the world.
• Number five is a young woman that nobody seems to notice. She is quiet and shy, and is of average height, of average looks, and with average IQ. There is nothing spectacular about her. She wishes to be the most famous person in the world.
• Number six is a young man that has been very down on life. His path has been riddled with lost loves, lost friends, and addictions and hardships. His life is a constant roller coaster rides of ups and downs. He wishes to be the happiest person in the world.
• Number seven is a a young woman that has never been able to find love, try as she might. She has made several attempts at talking to members of the opposite sex, but to no avail. She wishes to be the most loved person in the world.

Attraction, Riches, Wisdom, Power, Fame, Joy, and Love, so are the wants of the human spirit. We can all relate to each individual, some more than others. Look below to find their paths and stop and ponder: do you really want all of this?

Number 1 is granted her wish, and is instantly transformed into the most attractive person in the world. Her looks are of unimportance, as to any individual that looks at her, she is beauty defined. Leprechauns do not go back on their promises. However, she forgot to read the fine print. At first, she thrives with her newfound beauty, and watches as heads turn everywhere she goes. Every day numerous men throw themselves at her, and she soaks it up in joy. Soon, she falls in love with one of them, and they plan to get married. They stay married for about a year before things start to go downhill. All the while, men still throw themselves at her left and right, telling her to leave her husband. They go to extreme lengths, and are treacherous and lying. Her husband seems to be getting more and more distant, and when she confronts him to ask what is wrong, he confesses everything. "I have never been good enough for you! There are so many more attractive people in the world than me, you belong with one of them! I feel like nothing around you." She is speechless as her husband walks out the door, leaving her. He soon dies of depression, and she later dies of a broken heart.

Number 2 is granted his wish, and is soon rolling around in money. He soon buys a mansion with 500 acres of land, and every possession he and his family has ever wished for. He buys his friends and family presents and donates to charity organizations. He feels great and wonders how he got so lucky. What he realizes, however, is that he has been cursed. Soon, the money gets old. He has to work for nothing, do nothing. He runs out of things to buy, and soon his friends start leaving him as the money has corrupted his personality. He watches as his wife takes his kids and leaves him, and he finds himself alone. He soon realizes that he had everything he could ever wish for before he had met the leprechaun, and would do anything to get it back.

Number 3 is granted her wish, and becomes the smartest individual in the world. She can read a novel in record speed and retain information as if it was nothing. She makes her way through all of the books in the world, and soon finishes them. She then moves on to other fields of science, math, and technology. She flies through every part of every subject until she knows everything there is to know that has been discovered, so she begins to conduct her own research. She soon finds the answer to life, and the answer to everything. Eventually, there is nothing left to discover. Many of her discoveries have been troubling, and she dislikes many of the things that she has discovered about the world. On top of that, the world has shunned her for her wisdom, labeling her as an outcast. She soon slips into a state of madness and loses the one thing that she treasured most: her mind.

Number 4 is granted his wish and becomes the most powerful person in the world. He begins to make changes for the better of the world, and starts by combatting world hunger. Soon, the whole world is fed, and he is rather happy with himself. Next, he combats war, abuse, crimes, and many other things. However, he soon runs into a problem: he lacks the resources to carry out his plans. Soon, he orders people to give him money. He slowly begins draining the resources around him, taking people's money, and people begin turning on him. Soon, assassination attemps begin. He manages to survive them, but his friends abandon him to avoid the danger. He decides to combat the assassination attempts by executing all suspects. Soon, his family leaves him as they realize the monster that he has become. Things continue to go downhill, and soon, he finds himself completely alone and despised, and realizes that he has become the very bullies he loathed so much.

Number 5 is granted her wish, and soon becomes the most famous person in the world. She is the hippest, hottest thing. Her face is over magazines everywhere, and there isn't a soul who doesn't know who she is. She gets to meet all of her idols, only to find that she is their idol. She gets invited to fancy parties, movie screenings, and tv show filmings. Soon enough, however, things start to go downhill. Her family accuses her of abandoning them as she hasn't seen them since her fame. She decides to visit them, and the paparazzi follow her. Her family renounces her, and tells her to leave. She is heartbroken. She goes to her best friend, only to find that she has lost her as well. None of her old friends want anything to do to her, as they accuse her of being snobby and over-rated. Like most celebrities, she is stalked by the paparazzi and can't get any privacy. She soon breaks down and falls into a cycle of drug and alcohol addiction, which is soon all over the news. She begins to develop anger issues and becomes agoraphobic. People soon begin to hate her, and she remains the most famous person in the world, and one day she realizes that she is the opposite of what she wanted to be: the most hated person in the world.

Number 6 is granted his wish to be the happiest person in the world. He soon feels a wild elation fill him, and he beings to make amends with the friends he had once alienated. His bright personality gets him even more friends, and soon everyone knows him as the "happy man". He is wildly popular, and gets invited everywhere so people can soak up his happiness. Sure enough, though, his happiness begins to go downhill. Due to his overly optimistic nature, he begins to take nothing seriously, and eventually gets behind the wheel drunk. He crashes and, while he survives, 3 of the 4 friends he had with him die in the crash. However, he is still wildly happy. He shows up to their funeral wearing bright yellow, smiling and joking all the while. People begin to shun him for this, accusing him of purposefully killing his friends. He gets thrown in jail for manslaughter, and can't seem to stop smiling about it. He finds himself wishing for a different emotion, as he just can't remember what anger, jealousy or depression feels like. He was last reported diving off a cliff into the sea, laughing the whole time.

Number 7 is granted her wish of being the most loved person in the world. When she wakes up the next day, she finds her phone filled with texts from various boys, and her email flooded with love letters. When she opens her door to leave in the morning, she finds a group of boys and men alike standing there gazing at her. She steps on something as she leaves the house and realizes that a pile of love letters has been placed on her front steps. Later that day, she finally pursues the one guy that she has always loved. They begin dating and plan to be married, but her other lovers aren't very happy with this. Eventually, her true love goes missing and his body is found a week later. Ridden with grief, she locks herself in her house, only to find a few men already lurking in it. She begins getting restraining orders on some of these men, but they are only replaced by others, and soon, the police department begins ignorning her altogether. One day, she goes into her house and never comes out again. No one really ever knew what happened to her. Some assume she died of a broken heart, and others assume of of her "lovers" committed a "romantic" act of murder-suicide.

While these endings may seem horrid, one cannot really blame the Leprechaun. Human nature is often corrupt, and he was only doing his job. The people are not to blame, either, though, as they are, in part, in all of us. There was one question that would have yielded a favorable result, but none of the 7 people thought to ask it. Can you figure it out?

Aaaaaaaaaaand the moral of the story is... Don't capture a Leprechaun. Just don't..

Weird Movies Have Taken a Liking to Me\Gossip\Exam\Quills Micro-review

Hello, nonexistent people reading my blog. Today I am going to talk about... movies.

About, oh say, 2 maybe 3 months ago now, we got Netflix. Since then, I've been wading through their massive online instant-streaming movie collection. It's filled with hidden.. gems?

Ok, so maybe I should be expecting some oddities in the movies I am watching as they are not exactly blockbusters. Yeah, ok, I haven't heard of half of them before. But, I will give you a brief explanation of some of the movies I have recently watched, and what I thought of them:

Gossip- The main reason I watched this was because it has two of my favorite actors in it, Joshua Jackson and James Marsden. It was a fairly interesting movie with a good concept and a few twists and turns along the way. It ends with a bang, though some of the biggest twists you might be able to predict if you watch carefully enough. It kept my attention until the end, though it didn't come off as strong as it could have.

• Rating: 7.5/10

Exam- This was a mind-boggler. At the beginning, the man states a few rules to "the exam" and the fact that there is one question asked of them, and one answer is required. I spent the whole movie carefully watching, pondering what this question and answer could be, fully knowing that the answer had to be right before my eyes. I shall not give away the ending or the various twists in the movie, but one should know that the "Exam" is solvable by any individual watching the movie. Other than that, it was a bit slow and predictable in some aspects.

• Rating: 8.5/10

Quills- To be honest, the only reason  I watched this was because it had Joaquin Phoenix in it (the perverted Prince/King in Gladiator that wanted to have a baby with his sister. Yeah, him.) but it was wonderfully twisted, all in all. I found myself cringing at a few moments, yet mesmerized by the plot. It was acted wonderfully, from the central character found in a "madman" and the one individual he cared for, to the supporting characters, to the odd, tortured character portrayed by the brilliant Joaquin Phoenix.  The scenery was excellent and gave you a sense of the dreariness found within the asylum. It has a few twists and turns along the way, and keeps you watching until the end. It's worth the watch, if you can stand some vulgarity and grotesqueness. This movie is not for the faint of heart.

• Rating: 9/10

My 10 Favorite Things That I Own (version 1 as of 1/23/11)

Just a quick before-I-fall-asleep-oh-crap-I-haven't-been-writing-on-my-blog list... Soooo 3..2...1.... GO! (Note: this does not include pets, or other living.. things.)

10. My New Heathers Poster
9. My Jurassic Park Signs (I'm not a nerd! >.>)
8. My Video Camera
7. My Camera
6. (Ok, don't laugh...) "Polar", this white stuffed Polar Bear these people I didn't even know gave me forever ago
5. My  (growing) Ludo/Graduate/High Pilots/Without a Face/New Heathers CD collection
4. My collection of.. a lot.. of markers (probably over 300 now) all kept in a handy bag
3. My Laptop
2. My iPod Touch (I don't go anywhere without it)
1. My Ludo Shrine Collage-Board thing (with a signed Broken Bride poster, pictures of me with all four members and a ticket to their 9/16/10 show at the Paradise Rock Club.. I will put a picture of it on here at some point)

This will probably change. But, yes, I am serious, if there was a fire, the first inanimate object I would grab would be my Ludo err, Collage Board thing. :P After the first 2 or 3, you could scramble around the order a bit more, but I am too lazy to actually think right now. Goodnight and good riddance for now, blog lurkers.

Skewed Opinions Volume 1: Why Pessimism is the Way to Go

I wrote this a while ago, so I figured I'd share it with you all (or just myself... whoever ends up reading this.) After pondering how to explain my, shall we say skewed point of view on this, I shall just say this: This was a random writing exercise that I created for myself that was probably inspired by some movie, book, experience, or happening in my daily life. That does not necessarily mean that I believe everything I write, unless I specifically say so.

With that said, may I present... Mistydog's Skewed Opinions, Volume 1: Why Pessimism is the Way to Go:

                

Some of you may wonder, or may have asked me, why I can be so pessimistic sometimes. After giving it some thought, I have finally formulated answer for you all.

                Pessimists are people who expect the worst. The Optimist is quite obviously the opposite of the pessimist. These are the people who wake up in the morning expecting to win the lottery. Optimists are bouncy, hyperactive go-getters that take all the risks because, hey, nothing can go wrong in the land of the optimist.

                The land of the pessimist, however, is far different. They wake up and glance down at their powerball ticket with a heavy heart, because they, my friends, have already accepted the fact that they won’t win. In this case, this is a good thing. If you buy a lottery ticket every day for a year and, indeed, lose every day, for a year, you’ve just lost a good sum of money. Pessimists are generally viewed as melancholy, down-on-life people. Personally, I think that people who assume this are barking up the wrong tree. Pessimists are generally very cautious and assume the worst, so they won’t have to be disappointed later on. Then, when good comes their way, they get a shot of adrenaline straight out of the land of optimism, before they return to their pessimistic ways.

                Let us take scenario 1, for example. On the same night, both an optimist, and a pessimist decide to stay home alone, in their own respective houses. They are both teenage girls of the age of, oh, shall we say, 16? Their houses are across the street from one another. The Pessimist assumes the worst, and takes the cautionary action of locking her doors and window, then proceeding to curl up in the back of her closet with 911 on speed-dial so she won’t be kidnapped and murdered. The Optimist, on the other hand, opens her shades and sits out on the porch with the light on waiting for Taylor Lautner to break down in front of her house. Now, these would be the extreme versions of these examples, the Obsessive-Compulsives of the “imist” world, shall we say?

                Now, at the crack of dawn, the pessimist is found passed out in her closet, fast asleep with the phone in hand. The Optimist is found on her porch, still waiting for Taylor Lautner to show up. The Pessimist can be pleased that she survived another day, and is pleasantly surprised that she was not kidnapped and murdered. The Optimist, on the other hand, has to suffer the brutal reality that Taylor Lautner is nowhere near her crapptastic, hole-in-the-wall town. Though, because she’s an optimist, she’ll still be sitting out the next night, waiting for him cruise though the neighborhood and fly over the speed bump that the pessimist placed in the road. Pessimists are so considerate, don’t you think?

                The littlest thing can make the day for a Pessimist, while the Optimist has to suffer the downsides of always being at an extreme high. So, next time you pass a Pessimist in your daily routine, why not give them a cookie, or throw them a smile? You just might make their day.