It's Jason! He's Back, and you're all going to die!

It’s been a hella long time since I posted a blog, this I know, and my apologies. It’s been an interesting couple weeks to say the least. Basically last week I got laid off due to budgetary reasons. Turns out when the economy goes down the crapper and working for company that’s profits are based off advertising people are going to get let go. When it first happened yeah, I was a little shocked; but I’m pretty glad it happened. Honestly I haven’t been happy with my job since I took the promotion about a year and a half ago, so this happened at a good time so now I can get a job I want and finally finish school. So what have I been doing with all my free time this past week you ask??? Well I helped my parents finish their move to Nevada, filed for unemployment, cleaned my house, and honed in my Rock Band 2 skills. Needless to say since I’m not working I do have a lot of free time, and with it being the season of Old Hallows Eve(Halloween) I’ve dedicated to the majority of my movie watching time to Horror movies. Problem with that is a lot of horror movies… well suck! There’s nothing more disappointing when you love horror movies as much as I do and to go see a movie that has potential and fail horribly. Of course there are a few good apples left on the tree that’s out of season. Just to name a few…

1) Zombie flicks – This is probably the second highest genre of the most badly made movies out there. But don’t let that fool you. George Romero’s original zombie trilogy is quite possibly the best zombie movies ever made. “Night of the Living Dead,” “Dawn of the Dead,” “Day of the Dead.” There is a fourth movie “Land of the Dead” that was made 3 years, but it isn’t up to the quality of the original three. These are from the days when Zombies were slow, mindless, and had only one want, to feed. Then the 2000’s zombies were created, as audiences have grown it’s become harder to scare us, as such Zombies have gotten smarter and faster. Most cases this has failed until Zach Snyder’s 2004 Dawn of the Dead remake brought new hope to this genre. But not only did he make the zombies fast, gross looking and scary but brought dark humor to it as well.
One example of a 2000 zombie movie done wrong is the popular Sega shooting game made to movie called House of the Dead made by quite possibly the worst director to ever walk the earth Uwe Boll. You know Uwe Boll, he created such greats like “Alone in the Dark” and “Bloodrayne”... All three movies are based off video games. And all three have received an average of 0-1 stars by every reviewer across the world. But back to House of the Dead, this is the worst zombie movie ever made. It’s so bad that they use actual scenes from the game as filler for the movie to make it longer. No I don’t mean they reenact parts of the game, no it’s actually video from the game put in the movie. And every time the hero’s shoot a gun for some reason it goes into slow motion… The only reason I could come up for this is you paid money to go see or rent this movie and you should pay for it… I hate, hate, hate, hate, this movie! Please for all that is holy in the world do yourself a favor and stare at the corner of an empty room for 90 min, you’ll get more out of your time.


Another series worth bringing up is 28 days and 28 weeks later, technically not really a zombie movie, instead of the undead, it’s a biological virus that’s infects people called the “Rage Virus” causing people to instantly go insane, violent, and basically behave like zombies. It’s more action based than horror but still the makings of a really good series.

2) “The Exorcist” – This is hands down the scariest movie I have ever seen! I love this movie, one reason that I love it so much is that it seems like the movie goes on for hours when in fact it’s only just barely over two hours. The feel and ambiance of the film drags you in and makes it seem like you’ve been watching it for a while. For most movies this is a bad thing. But in this case it’s very good. You find yourself sitting there wondering when will this end, because you are so emotionally invested in the movie, you want it to end soon so you don’t have to witness the demonic horror that’s become of this little girl. And Talk about Linda Blair’s performance in this movie! She was 11 years old when this movie was made and acted out the most horrific monster in horror history. Not too long ago they re-released this movie in theaters digitally re-mastered with an additional 10 minutes added to it. While sitting in the theater watching it I was dumbfounded by the group of teenagers sitting a few rows ahead of me, like most teens at the movies they are loud, inconsiderate, annoying, talk and text throughout the entire movie. But what I found most insulting was that they laughed throughout the entire movie. Now I find this movie disturbing and I feel uneasy the entire time watching. I couldn’t believe that through the 7 year gap between myself and these teens that they have become so desensitized they laugh at demonic possession. How sad is it that this country has become so tolerant that “The Exorcist” is what makes the youth of America laugh. Sad day, sad indeed!
3) Hauntings – Another genre that like Zombies the majority of them suck… Well I have to give them some credit. Most of them are good idea’s executed very poorly. Then because they make just barely enough money over their expected goal, they merit an even worse sequel. 1982’s “Poltergeist” is a perfect example of this. The first movie is great! The special effects, even though they are dated, still look really good and believable. Course would you expect less from the same guy that did the special effect for “Raiders of the Lost Arc,” “Star Wars,” and “Ghostbusters?”But because this movie was really good and made money, Hollywood Exec’s saw opportunity to make more money by making 2 very horrible sequels. That have nothing to do with the original movie, just P.S.’s. “Oh yeah we didn’t mention this in the first movie, but there’s a religious cult that mass suicide under the Freeling’s backyard swimming pool… and they’re back (pause for dramatic effect)… and pissed!”

Another good ghost story is the Japanese re-make of “The Ring” I found this movie actually scary and good all the way through it was consistent and didn’t slow down. This is the key to success when making a ghost story. Unfortunately this birthed mediocre and often terrible new ghost stories that have come out over the past six years, nothing but remakes from Japanese horror movies. I.E. “The Ring 2,” “The Grudge,” “The Grudge 2,” ”Pulse,” “One Missed Call.” Yes we get it! Little Asian children are creepy looking; quit rubbing it in our faces! I miss the days when movies like the original “House on Haunted Hill” “13 Ghosts,” and “The Haunting,” were considered good ghost stories. Granted I wasn’t born yet when these originally came out but I watch them semi-regularly and am still frightened by them. They worked solely off atmosphere and didn’t rely on fancy special effects, and that is why they worked!

4) Slashers – Ah yes my favorite genre of horror to talk about filled full of clichés, bad acting, and looked for any reason to show a topless teen! You know the movies I’m talking about, “Halloween,” “Friday the 13th” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” Scream,” just to name a few. The only reason I rarely watch these movies is for a good laugh. Where else will you find a movie where Jason follows a group of horny, drunk, and drugged up teens to Manhattan? I laugh at this because why the hell would Jason go to New York? Then is defeated by being flushed away by the toxic sewer waters of New York, I imagine in my head after this happens Jason throws his machete on the ground punches the air only to mutter to himself “I hate vacations” then storms off back to Camp Crystal Lake for the next murderous adventure. There is one slasher that is pretty good, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”The reason I like this movie because unlike the other slashers, this movie is based off actual events in Texas of just plain psycho people killing for no reason. There’s a large sense of reality to this making it feel more real than like Freddy Kruger killing teens. And add the fact that one bullet will put down a member of the psycho family in Texas Chainsaw. Where you can take a shot gun at point blank range to Jason, Freddy, or Michael Myers, and it won’t kill them, they’ll get back up and come after you...

I hope this helped you determine what scary movie to watch this Halloween. Just please, please, please, promise me you won’t watch “House of the Dead” if you are even tempted to watch it call me up I’ll come down to the video store slap you across the face with a bag of my dogs droppings and take seven dollars from your wallet. That way you can feel how you would if you had watched it, and I just saved you 90 minutes of your life.

Unoriginal

I'll be honest I kinda stole this idea from my sister-in-law's blog. Where every Friday she posts "Five Senses Friday" where she writes what she's been feeling, seeing, hearing, tasting, and smelling for I'm assuming the week, or maybe for the day. And since I can't come up with an original idea I like, I'm just going to borrow her's. Just going to change it up slightly, instead of doing it every Friday I'm going to post on Thursdays, mostly because I work till 7pm on Fridays and usually go out with friends afterwards. Plus I figure it'll keep me posting more frequently.

Seeing

Since it was my birthday last week, I took the $250 In gift cards I received and decided to upgrade into the world of HD and purchased a Blu-Ray DVD player and "Great Googly Oggly!" it is beautiful!
Upon the ceremony of opening the box to set up and install my new toy I noticed something that just made me chuckle. Of course inside the box you'll find the player, instruction manual (which believe me ...you need!), remote, power cord, and this is what I laughed at; Standard audio/video RCA cables...If you want any kind of a low end HD picture you need cables similar to these...

I just found it laughable that even though you are spending $300 dollars plus some, Sony couldn't fork over the extra $6 dollars and give you a cable that will actually give you a high definition picture.

My best friends Grant and Amber got me Iron Man in Blu-Ray which I crisend my new player with that night. I also purchased A Nightmare Before Christmas two weeks ago in Blue Ray the second Ironman was over I immediately played it. Blu-Ray is so clear and beautiful I almost needed a moment alone with my setup. I just wish the world of HD was cheaper.

Feeling

Broke and Disappointed!!! I was supposed to go to Vegas tomorrow after work to spend a weekend with my friends from down south in Provo for two of their birthdays. But as reality would have it my car started acting up... next thing I know my car is in the shop having it's water pump replaced and its timing belt changed; costing me a total of $414.57 cents. So needless to say I can't afford to go to Vegas now... (sniff) I'll just have to catch the next vacation that comes up...

Smelling

Bath and Body Work's: Warm Vanilla Sugar. Say what you want; but I really dig this lotion! It's the only good smelling lotion that's not too girly and over powering.

Tasting

I had a Meatball sandwich from Granato's today from lunch and i just can't seem to get the taste out of my mouth , I've drank a ton of water, chewed gum, and had leftover ham from last night since then and just can't seem to shake the taste of Meatballs. Not that I'm complaining I do enjoy Meatball sandwiches, but come on 7 hours is plenty of time for a lingering taste to leave.

Hearing

I've kept my iTunes on shuffle the past week and stumbled upon a band I haven't listened to in a long time, called Jack's Mannequin. Seriously a terrific band, a great mix of Piano and alternative music. And come to find out a great band to listen to when you have your heart ripped out and trampled on by an elephant stampede; funny how music speaks to you like your best friend when you're down and depressed. And come to find out they have a new album out this past week which I should go buy when I get some more money.


Thanks Sara for letting me steal your weekly blog idea. Granted I didn't run it past you before I did this but, I'm sure over time you'll come to forgive me. I promise next week it won't be such a blatent rip off of your blog.

Seriously!

I just want to thank everyone that said "Happy Birthday" to me yesterday. Even though two people didn't say it to me... haha, but I see or talk to them almost every other day so it's all good. I know I'm over dramtic and keep stressing over getting closer to the big three zero. But seeing people go out of their way to say happy birthday or buy you a $10 starbucks giftcard even though they don't have to, really make getting older worth it.
Yeah I got cake, Ice Cream, more cake, $200 giftcard to best buy from my coworkers, but the best part of my day was reading the blog that my sister-in-law posted lastnight. Here is a copy of what she posted. Thank you and I love you all!

Happy Birthday to our brother and uncle Jason dear,
We’ll celebrate in style with a water and no beer.
A talented artist and photographer true,
He is humble as pie and doesn’t hog the loo.
We love when he visits, especially his bro,
They play nerdy xbox games and eat funyuns you know.
Handsome as a hunky dude and smile bigger than the moon,
I just know he has a fan club affectionately known as “Faint & Swoon”.
He says funny things, a right jolley ol’ chap,
A stand up comedian that makes you slap your lap.
His clever mind is always brewing deep thoughts like Jack Handy,
I hear he even stays clear of strangers danger offering candy.
They know him very well at the theater showing movies,
A connoisseur of fine sound systems, popcorn, and all things groovy.
Often seen with books, this boy knows how to read,
even a comic would suffice as he finishes in record speed.
He also likes his music, varied taste does he have,
One moment he’ll be hearing indie, then electronic or some jazz.
A puppy companion steals his heart and tugs at his strings,
The lady folk will melt when they hear how he sings.
The little kids adore him and jump when he’s around,
Always a listening ear to humor their stories kindly found.
We love our Jason dearly, and hope he knows how much,
A real cool cat with oodles of talent, dependable, loyal, and such.

Happy Birthday JASON!!
Remember who you are and don’t party too hard:)We love you!

A Year Older, & A Year Wiser... Maybe...

Well that time of the year has one again rolled around, and as hard as I try to prevent it time just sneaks up on me and "BOOM!" Its the day I was brought into this world. All throughout my 20's I've had a hard time accepting that I'm getting older. The first half wasn't so bad, then 25 hit... Ok yeah I had a bit of breakdown on my 25th birthday, sure tears were shed, and cake was to be had. When I turned 26 it wasn't as bad, I was still in my mid-twenties. And now... 27 years of age I begin my late-twenties. I'm now two years away from starting the long haul of the bottom of the ninth of my twenties.

Okay yeah I'm being a little over dramatic but I do still have a hard time getting older every year. And with every birthday I take time to sit back and reflect on where I am in life and what has happened over the past year.

Well to begin this year alot has come to pass and I've had some trials to overcome. One I am still battling and hopefully will have slain this diabolical beast that challenges me so this year. I awoke this morn with a great amount of depression and a severe case of no motivation, yeah I was late to work today... oh well. "Why the case of Debbie Downers?" Well let's just say that I thought by 27 I wouldn't be where and who I am today. Sure I've had my fare share of setbacks but they were suppose to just be goomba's walking back and forth aimlessly on my trek to the flag at the end of the level. Yet I've treated them like the huge gaping hole at the 3/4's mark in level 8-1. (hehe, yeah I made a Mario Brothers reference.) I hoped by now I'd have accomplished some personal goals, and have a certain thing in my life where I can say "Best thing to ever happen to a shmuck like me." But since I'm lazy and have been letting things hold me back; I haven't given the time to sit and personally reflect on where I want to be heading and what I want to achieve. And doing this now makes me wonder... Am I the person I was supposed to be, by letting opportunities pass me by or not taking them head on changed what the Lord had planned for me.

Well there is only one thing to do now; I have three years to wrap up my twenties. Time to make the best of it by making things happen, and not just waiting for them to come to me. As in the Famous words of Pig Pen in Out Cold it's time to "Carpe the Diem. Seize The Carp."

Nine Inch Nails Salt Lake City '08

Not last Wednesday, but the Wednesday before that I got to enjoy something I’ve been waiting for since November 4th of 2005. If you think it’s a re-run of Law and Order; you are oh so beyond wrong. For instance here is the line of what I’m talking about...

And then here is where you'd be if you were somewhat close to what I’m talking about...

Here is where you are drowning because you’re an idiot!

I’m talking about getting to see one the greatest musicians of all time perform live at the “E-Center.” Still don’t know what I’m talking about? Then I shall spell it out for you, on Wednesday September 3rd of 2008 Trent Reznor’s Nine Inch Nails graced the good city of great salt lakes with his presence. The reason I call Nine Inch Nails as Trent Reznor’s is how Trent has set this band up. If you follow the bands time line of putting out new full length CDs you’ll notice the decent sized gap , almost four to five years between each album. Trent disbands the members at the end of each album then finds new musicians to record and tour with him for the next album. Granted 99.9% of the creativity and writing is done solely by Trent and I’m sure he brings in the influences of the new members into his ideas and direction for the current album. By doing this it keeps the band with a constant fresh and new sound. Listening to all the CDs on shuffle you can easily tell this song is from Pretty Hate Machine or this one if from The Fragile without having to look.

There are so many reasons I could go off on why NIN is one of the greatest things to happen music. And all that Trent has done to evolve rock, Industrial, alternative music genres into what it is today. And how NIN is in my top 5 favorite bands. But that’s not what I’m here to write about. I’m here to share and try to help express the just how amazing Nine Inch Nails was in Concert.
Now being that I work for a radio station group here in Salt Lake City I get the opportunity to go to a lot of concerts, I average about 40 concerts a year. The bands I love and support I go through the promoter and pay for my tickets, all the others… yeah I’ll go for free. Sorry I’m not paying my hard earned money to see Green Day, or Kenye West; they’re a bunch of overpaid prima donnas’ who deserve to have their music illegally downloaded.
I got to The E Center at about 7:45pm; oh and before I get into talking about the concert one little gripe I have with concerts. If a venue is planning on making everyone pay to park then that should be included in the ticket price! Half the reason you sit in line to park is because people don’t plan on paying to park and hold up the entire line. Especially in a society where we are moving closer and closer to doing rid of printed money. After spending a half hour in line waiting to park I get frisked, my ticket ripped, and I’m off to find the suite my tickets are in after a quick look at the merch table. I sat down halfway through the opening band‘s set, a band called Deerhunter, who honestly sounded like a dark and more industrial Death Cab for Cutie. Which wasn’t bad, they did an alright job, its alwas nice to go see a concert and not have the night almost ruined by a horrible and shotty sounding opening band. But I found myself digging their music and started to tap my feet after a couple songs. After they had finished the arena lit up and I couldn’t help but notice just how empty half of the seats were, even in the GA floor which could have easily fit 500 more people. The E-center on a full stage concert fits 12,000 people; I’d say there were about 5,000 there. I’m sure I could use my connections with the promoter of the show to find out exactly how many tickets were sold, but honestly I don’t really want to put forth that much of an effort; only to be possibly disappointed. I kept hoping that more people would show as it got closer for NIN to take stage.
After about an hour’s wait the lights turned off and Nine Inch Nails took the stage (if you have ever seen footage or gone to one of their concerts you’d know why it takes an hour to set up their stage; look at my pictures to see the reason) They opened with “999,999” going into “1,000,000” “Letting You” and then to “Discipline” off of their latest digital release album The Slip.

The energy off the first three songs played I could have left the show and felt completely satisfied with the evening. But alas there was still an hour and forty-five minutes left.
Of course following the newest songs NIN pulled out the golden oldies with “March of the Pigs,” “The Frail/The Wretched,” “Closer,” and “Gave Up.” Then Trent changed it up and showed off what’s new in the world of concert visuals. The stage went dark and then all the band members were at the edge of the stage with a large LED backdrop behind them and proceeded to play “The Warning” and “Vessel” off of Year Zero, which is an album centered more on keyboards and other synthesized instruments. Of course the lights and animations on the LED screen synced up with the music. It was hands down the coolest thing these eyes have witnessed.

The next part was in my opinion the downer of the evening. All the energy that NIN had built up and got everyone going, was almost killed by the next three songs. The Stage went dark again and when the stage lit up to revile yet another LED screen, (separate from the one before, Here is a diagram of how these were set up…) They then began to play the three song set from Trent’s little side/instrumental project called Ghosts. Which if you have playing in the back ground while you clean, read, or just plain relax is an amazing project pulled off soundly! The idea behind this project was that they go into the studio and just played the first thing that came to mind, and didn’t edit or put any real post-production into it, very experimental. So it’s basically free mind writing but with instruments. See music like this is great but doesn’t really fit into a concert. Thankfully they ended this segment with a remixed Ghosts version of “Piggy” Which was incredible to hear a classic NIN song redone.

The Stage went dark yet again and the front LED screen lowered then begun to play an animation of what looked like cells from a microscope view with “The Greater Good” playing. Slowly you hear the faint sound of Trent singing and all the sudden you start to see a face come onscreen and you realize it’s Trent singing into the viewer of a camera being projected onto the screen with a filter to match the animation. It was really cool he’d move the camera so it would be just a close up of his lips singing to his eye, then back to his face. Again the stage went dark and was reviled back to its original form then proceeded to build and bring the energy back with “Wish,” “Terrible Lie,” Survivalism,” “The Hand That Feeds,” and “Head Like A Hole.” Trent thanked the crowd and walked off stage, The Front LED Screen Dropped and displayed the NIN logo glowed in red.

Of course this is the intermission for the encore. The screen then lifted and Trent walks out. Now every NIN concert I’ve been to Trent never really talks or addresses the crowd except only to introduce the new band members. But this show he actually addressed the crowd, He was saying how he didn’t get a chance to watch Deerhunter perform earlier but as he was walking on stage to begin the show he saw through a gap in the speakers the huge empty area in the back of the arena and thought to himself “Sh*t no one came to see us!” Then proceed to thank us and tell how grateful and appreciative he was for everyone who did show up. You know how every band that comes through they always say how “This show is the best so far on the tour,” or “Salt Lake is their favorite city to play.” When you know they are going to Pocatello or Denver and saying the same thing to them. But you could really tell Trent was being sincere and meant it. From the suite I was sitting in I have a good view of the majority of the arena and I noticed the change in the crown for the rest of the show, it was amazing to see the attitude change in the entire stadium. Everyone cheered louder, got into the music more, and just made the last four songs the best part of the show. I couldn’t have imagined the show ending any better. This concert is easily number two on my list of all-time favorite concerts.

And "Yes" I did take all these pictures at the show I have more, and some video's that I'll try to post them after I do some editing.

Worth Dying For.

Last night I finally finished watching season 2 of Showtime's Dexter. If you haven't heard of this show; or just passed it by along with the rest of the TV to DVD shows, which seems lately like every TV show from “Mork & Mindy” to “So You Think You Can Dance” is just popping out of the DVD birth canal faster than a beer guzzled by a NASCAR fan. So it's easy to miss the really good shows out the pile of crap they keep pumping out to make a quick buck. Because movie studios & TV studio's don't make much of a profit off of the opening weekend or on first air of the show. Unless the movie is a huge blockbuster it'll make it's money back while in the theaters then afterward everything is just profit for them. But a movie makes almost twice as much when it's put on dvd; so if you break down the cost to make and press each dvd the production company pays maybe 1-2 dollers per dvd, then they spit it out onto the retail market for a comfortable and satisfying $20 on average. So needless to say movie and TV studios make more money off dvd then they do with the initail first release. Back to the reason I'm writing this entry, Dexter is an amzing show, it's suspensful, smart, and full of dark humor. You should definately check it out.

Just to give you a brief synopsis, the show follows the main character named Dexter who works as a blood spatter expert for the Miami Metro Homicide forensics department. Which is the perfect gateway for his dark secret. You see Un-beknownst to all of Dexter’s friends, girlfriend, and sister; Dexter is a serial killer (I mean the term "friends" loosely, Dexter admits in his own commentary during the episodes that he doesn't really have friends or a girlfriend, just people he interacts with show the world the mask he wears that he's just an average normal guy). Now by actual definition yes Dexter is a serial killer, but watching the show you sympathize for him because he's using the monstrous skill of killing people for good... Dexter uses his skills and his access to police files to hunt down and kill people who themselves are murders, rapists, and other serial killers. So in a twisted and very realistic kind of way Dexter is more of a vigilante/hero. He doesn't kill innocent people only people who have done wrong and managed to slip by or walk free from the justice system. Now the majority of season one follows Dexter doing his normal routine, and the introduction to another serial killer who knows all about Dexter and his secret, then proceeds to play games with him. Dexter now makes it his personal goal to find and kill this man before his coworkers arrest him. Now I'm not going to give anything way from season one because if you watch the first two episodes you'll have the season finished in three or four days, it's that good.

Season two picks up right where season one left off, but this season is dramatically different. Season one followed Dexter going through his code and rules for killing people, Season 2 Dexter's underwater cemetery is found by local treasure hunters, and Dexter is quickly named the new target of the Miami homicide department and the FBI. Of course nobody knows that’s Dexter is the "Bay Harbor Butcher" so with every episode the suspense builds and builds and the more evidence that is found you wonder when Dexter is going to get caught. If you watch the show you know that Dexter is calm and manages to keep his cool in every situation, not this season, on top of being target of every cop in Florida his life that he has so perfectly created with his code is falling apart. The relationship with his girlfriend is on thin ice, Dexter can't calm the monster inside by killing since there is a sate wide manhunt for him, and to send Dexter eve further down hi downward spiral there's new sexy British female is pulling him further and further away from his code and rules.
Dexter is bizarre, creepy, and intense and quite possibly one of the best shows currently running. Along with Battlestar Galactica(the new version, not the seventies series) which unfortunately has it's crappy episodes from time to time just like every other show out there; they can't all be winners... unless that is if you're Dexter... Go watch this show now! If you don't have Showtime you can check it out on CBS they air the edited episodes which I don't entirely agree with; so minus the intense language, the very very small amount of nudity (like we're talking maybe out of the entire season two or three episode have nudity in it and it's for maybe less than a minute long), and the graffic scenes involving dead bodies. But I guess something is better than nothing. I believe you can also watch the first season for free online on hulu.com.

Whilst I've Been Away

Hello all It's been a while since my last expose ((ex-po-zay) I forget the code to put the little {chick} over the "e".) And needless to say a lot has happened over the past month and a half for me. I apologize for not posting anything; life has been interesting and busy... So in the famous words of the late Heath Ledger in his role as The Joker... "Where do we begin?"

I'm going back a full almost two months and a half here so I guess you could say it's a story... I'll try to be brief. But lets be honest probably not going to happen...

1- As all of you I'm sure know, Brooke and I broke up back at the beginning of July... or was it at the end of June??? Anyway for those who aren't aware of this, It wasn't a pretty break up. In fact you could say it was a "bad break-up." So here's a short recap of what all went down. She felt I wasn't progressing at the rate she wanted me to progress in my voyage of becoming a faithful member of the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons for you non-utah'n peeps). Well all her male friends who she associates with at her church are all green off the mission "Peter Priesthood's." So obviously comparing me to them I'm going to come off as a person who has a seat reserved next to Hitler and Stalin in the poker championship in the afterlife. Cause I'm not going to lie, I'm not ashamed of this and it's my personal choice, I do have a little bit of a foul mouth which I keep it under control, I have tattoo's and plan on getting some more later in my life, I watch and listen to movies/music that I enjoy regardless of the rating "label" that it receives. If it's something I know I'm going to enjoy why should I deny myself that enjoyment. I'm a mature adult who knows that works of fiction are just that, fiction; and shouldn't be associated with reality. I do agree there are movies and music out there that do nothing but decay the mind and the senses of morality, i.e. The Saw movies, or the majority of ghetto trash rap music. So due to the differences listed earlier we called it quits and it just proceeded to get ugly from there. Don't get me wrong, I don't think or feel hatred or ill feeling toward her, I still do care a great deal about her and wish her the best in life and hope she finds what she's looking for. Now I know that the spoken items above are things that the church frowns upon and disagrees with. But they have also said that member should use their own digression and judgments on said topics. Just because I do have tattoos, curse from time to time, and watch Rated "R" movies doesn't make me a bad person. No one has said that; I don't drink, smoke, do drugs, sleep around with women, treat people poorly, and ect... I do go to church, and have been for a while now. And am making and working on the improvements to becoming a faithful member and the person I want to become, not the person others want me to be. I am truly grateful for all that I have been through and the obstacles the lord has given me to overcome. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for these experiences.

2- Yes, I did in fact slice of part of my finger on the morning of the 4th of July. May I say that spending three hours in the Lakeview Hospital ER is not my idea of a good holiday... to briefly catch you up on how I managed to pulled this off; Family was coming over to my house for a Barbeque that night, And I was cleaning up the back porch. Well I had the leaf blower going, well there's a plastic cover that goes over air way for the fan, and this plastic cover made for safety reasons had broken off without my knowledge. So I placed my hand a little too close to where the fan is and my left index finger got sucked right up into the thick plastic fan that turns close to about 300 mph. It ripped off my finger nail, and the side tip of my finger off. I remember noticing it happened and the next think I remember is lying in an ER bed. I don't recall anything in-between. Just what my mom and sister filled me in on what happened. It's healed now; my finger nail is almost all the way grown back. And the part that was cut off has grown back and almost healed back to normal. And I must say it happened at a good time, it was good to have something take my mind off the break-up.

3-Sadie my Boxer puppy, okay she's a year old but she still acts like a puppy. Managed to get out of the house and run away for five days three weeks ago. It was one of the worst experiences. I never before have been so upset worried and sad. I spent a great deal of time driving around all of Bountiful and can officially say I have driven on every road in Bountiful city's boundaries. On day four I had pretty much given up all hope on finding her. I had gotten home from work the next day and received a phone call from one of my neighbor’s four houses up the road saying they had a brown boxer hiding under their back porch scared and it wasn't coming out and wondered if it was my dog. Well the second I walked into the back yard and got in view of the porch Sadie came running out and about took me to the ground when she jumped at me. I couldn't have been more relieved and happy to see her alive!

4-I have been playing a lot of Halo 3 over the past few weeks, and am greatly disappointed in myself by succumbing to sucking on the Halo teat and am now addicted. I used to very against this game, more because of the type of people that play this game. Take your generic average douchebag college frat boy, you know the kind; wears straight legged Abercrombie Jeans, a slightly too tight t-shirt purposely to show off how much time he obsesses about looks at the gym with a popped collar polo only half tucked into his pants to he can show off his large belt buckle with a bottle opener made into it for uncapping the beers he consumes with his "Bros" while practicing playing the first half of Dave Mathews Crash so to swoon the ladies on campus quad. Have I painted the picture for you? Now I wouldn't mind playing with these guys if they would actually play the game but instead they get on the headset and talk about how high or drunk they are, and usually every word is followed by the explicit "F" word or "Dude" saying it repeatedly, I imagine he does this then to glance at his "Bros" looking for acceptance among the clan of apes. Then after each kill proceed to squat on top of the corpse of the of the player showing he's either humping or pushing out a duce on your dead body. I don't know which because while these guys were slipping rufies in girl they plan to date rape that night drinks, I was actually going to class, studying and wasn't a complete ass and a waste of skin. And I didn't need to get girls drunk to go out or make out with me. I have what these cave men lack... a personality. Back to the topic at hand when not playing against these creatures that evolution passed by I actually have a lot of fun. And found out I'm not half bad at the game. I still love Call of Duty 4 and Rainbow Six Vegas but to be honest I'm just in a mood to frag douchebags on Halo 3.

Well I think I officially wrote more than I have ever written in my life, but that’s what’s been going on for the past two months. I promise I'll keep up on this more often to avoid these long rants/updates. But enough about me. What have you been doing?