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G-Killa's Journal  You can bet I'm having an exciting New Year's, seeing as I'm on the computer at 12:39 eastern time writing a livejournal entry. Oh well. Everything's good over here in GA; Nancy and I are just starting to get this apartment looking decent. We have a whole bunch of cheap metal bookshelves up to hold our stuff - couldn't afford the good furniture yet, and needed something to hold all my junk so it's not in a pile in the living room. So I got some good stuff for christmas - among the best; "freaks and geeks, the complete series" - This show is great. I was really surprised by how good it was - it's done by the same guy who did "40 year old virgin", and it really impressed me. Kind of a cross between "40 year old virgin", "the wonder years", and "almost famous". In a good way. Too bad it got canceled after only one season. Gifter: Nancy "firefly, the complete series" - Well, that's kind of a lie. I ordered it for myself like three days after christmas. I can't help it. "Serenity" was awesome, and if the show is even close then I'll be a happy man. Gifter: Er, myself. "Lost, season 1" - Wasn't really expecting much out of this show, even though it was critically acclaimed and Stu-acclaimed. I don't know why, I just didn't think I'd be feeling it. But it was awesome. I'm hooked now, and I'm doing to start downloading episodes of season 2 as soon as I'm done here. Gifter: Stu-Pac "Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way" - this book looks hilarious. Haven't read it yet, because I'm still working on a book of short fiction by Neil "I'm Garrett's New Favorite Author" Gaiman. But as soon as I get done - watch out. Gifter: Cait XBox 360: Psyche. Not really. But I kick myself in the butt every day for not going out and buying one before christmas so I could sell it on ebay for a cool grand. They only sell for 60 bucks extra on ebay now. Gifter: I didn't get one. Freakin' read next time. ...And some Calphalon pots and pans from the folks. They're all metal, and you can use them in the oven or on the stove, just like cast-iron cookware. Sweet. And those are the picks. Much love to everybody - Happy New Year, ya'll. I'm dreaming of summer, and getting to see you guys for a week of craziness. That's my new year's resolution, anyway. Current mood: awake. Current music: The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin'. Myspace. I feel like I'm cheating on LiveJournal every time I go there. But everybody's on Myspace. Except for you Erik. I think you gotta get on the bandwagon too. And Caitlin, that goes for you too. So it's getting to be Christmas time... Me and Nancy put up a tree in the old apartment - it looks pretty good. We listened to music off of yahoo Launchcast - traditional christmas music, then latin christmas music, then urban christmas music. Fun stuff - only thing missing was some eggnog. Also saw King Kong today. It was freaking awesome. Freaking. Awesome. I don't have anything else to say about it. Down in GA, for anybody who don't know. Still getting acquainted with Columbus - it's a pretty nice area, lots of shopping around here. Reminds me a little of Union City at some parts - brings back pleasent memories of getting "McKrispy Kremes" and seeing movies with the crew. Nancy's having mixed feelings about the apartment - I don't know what the big deal is, just because there are rats in the walls and what not. ;) But seriously, they freak me out a little too. Anyway, holla atcha boy. -G Current music: Makaveli feat. Scarface - Smile. Man, so I finally went and got on myspace. Pretty cool, in a weird sort of way. So I was watching TV a few weeks back and I heard about this band called "Prussian Blue" - it's these two teenage girls who are known as the "Olsen twins of the white supremist movement." I, of course, visited their website to tell them and their fans how retarded they were (I'm not above insulting teenage girls), but it would have involved all sorts of signing in and giving my email address, so I didn't do it. But I did read some of the posts on their forumn, and some other people had already beat me to the punch. The thing is, there were a LOT of white supremists on that site, and all of them completely believed that they were smart for believing as they did. They would make witty little responses to the insults non-white supremists threw at them. I just got this sense, from reading what they said, that no one would ever convince them not to be racist. And their kids, if they had them, would grow up with just the same beliefs - they would be poisoned by their parents, just as the "white supremist Olsen twins" were. On a different track, there's an way of looking at ideas as living beings, called memes, that I heard about a few years back. Ideas can share many of the same characteristics as living beings - they reproduce, they can evolve, they are born and they can die. People have fights/disagreements/arguments/wars when their memes conflict. Islam is a meme, Christianity is a meme, racism is a meme, the belief that we should give poor people charity is a meme, etc. So we have this white supremist meme that is still alive, and strong in the minds of all these freaking people, even in the US. Which got me thinking - how would you stop it? What's the most efficient way to kill a meme? Seriously. How do you do it? Do you kill or persecute everyone who believes in a certain meme? Well, that might be a little overkill in this case, but even that drastic step wouldn't guaruntee success by a long shot. Early on, the romans tried to wipe out Christianity and persecute all of its followers - they killed and tortured Christians in horrible ways. They didn't quite succeed - in fact, Christianity grew stronger despite their efforts. Do you... make fun of everyone that believes in a given meme? Mel Brooks made all kinds of fun of Hitler and the nazi party, but there are still plenty of neo-nazis out there. Is education the answer? Well, it works great to weaken racism's grip on an individual when they are educated - but anyone can choose to remain ignorant and turn away from the facts. For every fact taught, someone else could teach an alternative "fact". Many of the lessons we teach about science and technology today are too complicated to prove before a student's eyes. You can't show them evolution taking place, or let them look directly at a strand of dna. You have to kind of accept some lessons on faith, and someone out there could always give you a different faith, one based on what they're making up. Here's one statistic proving that racism is retarded, and here's another someone just made up that completely vindicates racism. A student can't always tell which is valid. What would be the most effective way to kill a meme? What would work? Figuring that out is the key to power, the key to changing the world for the better. What do you think? I'm just gonna cut and paste this letter: Dear Friend, In October, we alerted you that the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act was in danger of dying in Congress. You responded in a big way, and we're so happy to report that the Act has passed the Senate! Senate staffers told us that you made the phones ring off the hook, and that it directly affected Congress. Viva Democracy! Now we have another emergency. There are a few thousand African Union peacekeepers in Darfur. They don't have enough weapons, vehicles, or equipment, but they're all the world has done to help protect the people of Darfur. Now Congress is about to cut $50 million from funding for the peacekeepers, leaving them almost helpless to do their job. Please take a minute to call Congress this Tuesday, December 6th, and ask them to restore this funding. It's easy, just call the Capitol switchboard operator at (202) 224-3121, tell them which state you're from, and ask to be connected to one of your Senators or Congressmen/women. Then you'll chat briefly with a very nice staffer who will note your concern, and record the fact that you called. Your representative is told at the end of the day how many people called on each issue. If Congresspeople get just 10 phone calls on an issue it can make them pay attention to it!! Don't be scared to call. America is a democracy, and your elected representative works for you. You're the boss. So tell 'em what to do! To help you further there's a call script below, but it's better if you just use your own words. It doesn't matter to your representative how much you know, what matters is that you show that you care. In solidarity with you and the people of Darfur, Ricken Patel Call Script: Hi, this is ___ calling from ___. I'm calling to urge Congressman/woman/Senator ___ to do everything he/she can to make sure that $50 million for African Union peacekeeping troops in Darfur is included in the Defense Appropriations conference report. Experts from the State Department, NATO, and leading think-tanks have repeatedly said that funding the African Union is critical to stopping what both the President and Congress have declared to be genocide. Please tell the Congressman/woman/Senator that his/her constituents care about Darfur and expect Congress to fund the peacekeepers. Hit 'em up if you care. Whattup playas? It's been way too long since I've talked with all ya'll. I finally finished this army school, MOBC, formerly AOBC. Used to be called Armor Officer Basic Course, now they call it Mounted Officer Basic Course. Fun stuff. The last month I didn't get any time off - no weekends, and in the field probobly 3/4 of the time. The month before that was when they taught tactics, and I had no time to let ya'll know what was going on. But now I'm done, and life has slowed down a bit. Gonna move from Fort Knox, KY, to Fort Benning, GA. That's my permanent station. Don't know what they're gonna do with me when I get there, but it should be fun. There's a possibility they'll send me right back here for a three week school. That'd be funny. As far as the important things go, everything's going good. Nancy had a great time working at Sylvan Tutoring Center, and her boss and co-workers were really impressed by how great a job she did. I met them yesterday and they told me they were telling her to leave me so she could stay here and continue working at Sylvan. ;-) My folks are doing good in North Carolina, and my sister's doing good in school. So that only leaves my homies - tell me how ya'll are doing. I hear the Oakland House is coming along nicely. What's the latest dirt on Brian and Justin, how are they living? (I know they don't read LJ) Erik, how was your thanksgiving? Calvin, been snowboarding lately? Jordan, you should watch "Some Like It Hot", that old Marilyn Monroe movie - it sounds old, but it was so funny. It'd be up your alley. And you should tell me what's going on. Same goes for you Stu, though I get to talk to you on AIM more than anybody else (still not enough). And Luke - Luke, Luke, Luke... how you managing school and getting this house rennovated? all that while leading the Bloods? It's inspirational, man. Much love, homies. I'm out. Current mood:  content.Current music: Tom Petty - Freefallin'. This one's a short movie. For anyone who's ever been cheated on, here's an idea for how to get those cheatin' fools back. http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/241017 You guys have to see these videos... This one (http://www.utsatt.net/media/sub_1631.w This one is cool too. (http://www.big-boys.com/articles/huntl Fun stuff. I'll update more later. Peace, G So I saw this commercial. A while back there were these commercials calling for "a fair up or down vote" on Bush's judicial nominees. Their point was basically that Democrats were being completely unreasonable by threatening to fillibuster to block radically conservetive nominees. Nevermind that Republicans had huge, obstructionist fillibusters at least four times a year when Clinton was in power, the democrats are wrong if they try it once now. Well, anyway, the Democrats backed down, and a full half of them voted for John "I'm a huge conservative and I won't explain any of my beliefs when you ask me" Roberts. This new commercial basically patted the Democrats on the head for giving Roberts a "fair up or down vote" (basically giving him a free "go" in a Republican pwned (I learned that from Stu, it means "owned") congress). It also said that they should keep up their "good work" and give any more candidates a "fair up or down vote". I really miss the days when the Democrats had spines. Good old FDR. I also saw an awesome commercial... it was an old one. Terry Tate as an "office linebacker" in a reebok commercial. He's so awesome. He throws all kinds of regular white collar workers all the hell around. Hillarious. I liked that commercial better. Holla, playas. Hope you're all doing good. Been way too long since we got to chill - I miss summers in cali. So I spent a month and 2 weeks in Washington. It was really busy - basically worked from 4 in the morning to 10 at night every day, but they gave me a couple days off and I got to drive down and see Ben in Oregon. That was an awesome time - he's doing really good, really focussed on school. We hung out 'till five in the morning, and he had to go to school at seven. It was nuts. Played pool with some awesome guy who reminded me of the cowboy from the big lebowski - he had a big mustache and he was full of sage advice. He thanked me for being in the military, never mind that I hadn't done anything of account yet. Ben beat me soundly in pool (he says he lost because he scratched on the 8 ball, but I still had four balls on the table when he did that so I maintain that he won), and then the mustache guy challenged me. I think he was going easy on me to give me a chance to clear the table so I wouldn't look too bad when he won, cause he was really good, but I ended up having the biggest streak of pool luck in my life, and got three balls and then the eight ball in during one turn, so I ended up winning. Also got to try Patron that night - a clear, uber-expensive tequila that Ben sprung for. We ended up talking about the past and the future, just shooting the breeze for about five hours on a street corner after we left the bar. After that experience ended, I drove down to Kentucky with Nancy to start Armor school, so I can learn all about tanks. United Airlines screwed over me and Nancy - they ended up trying to leave her in Oregon overnight rather than flying up to Washington, and they didn't tell anybody. I didn't have a cell, so Nancy couldn't let me know she wasn't on the flight, so I ended up waiting in the Seattle airport for about 40 minutes after her flight got in, trying to figure out what was going on. I ended up driving back down to Oregon to pick her up that night, then driving back to Washington to get on a more direct highway to Kentucky for my cross-country trip. It was really great seeing her again - being apart for more than a month sucks. So they're keeping me pretty busy here right now. I'm getting tested on tuesday to try to identify 40 different types of tanks. They all look the same. But it's all good. Best wishes to all - sorry about the long time between updates, it was just really busy here for a while. More updates to come. Much love to my homies in the CVK. Late. Current music: Tupac - Changes. Okay, so in the past month I have: Studied for finals, written a 30 page research paper, taken finals, prepped for a wedding (including cooridinating getting people from the airport, getting a dj, finding a hotel, working with the reception hall getting invites, favors, cameras, and candy, and getting a photography), gotten married, prepped for a honeymoon, gone on a honeymoon, got a new computer, saw star wars 3, got commissioned as an officer in the army, driven from New Orleans to Chicago and back to Kentucky, and passed a PT test with my fastest run ever (a 13:13 2 mile). Thanks to everyone who came to the wedding or otherwise expressed your well-wishes. Official thank-yous are on the way. Kudos to Erik on an awesome speech as best man and a great outfit before the ceremony. We had a great time with everybody at the wedding and in the days leading up to it. Much love, ya'll. Our honeymoon was in Chicago, and we got some delicious food and saw some not so delicious exhibits at museums (dinosaur bones taste terrible. and that whole "bodyworlds" thing where the guy took human corpses and infused them with plastic so they wouldn't decay, then splayed them open in all kinds of crazy positions was freakin' gross.) I'll be back in cali on friday at 1:30 in oakland, coming in on Southwest flight 660 H. If anybody wants to pick me up, holla. Otherwise I'll take bart or a taxi or something (I don't even know if there is a bart at the oakland airport?). Anyway, hope you all will be able to chill a little bit... I'm going to leave sunday morning, probobly. That's all for now - take care kills. Much love to the CVK. |
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