Not only did I get White Castle, I got a package of frozen white castle, from the gas station by campus, at two thirty at night, after walking half a mile in the snow. I don't know what it was, (other than the fact I hadn't eaten all day) but I had a huge craving for some of these crappy little sliders. That desire is what I'm looking at now.
What is it with cravings?
We've all had them. For some unknown reason, we really want something to eat, and it's usually the strangest thing. For me it was the White Castle, but people crave some weird food they might have had in another country, or even something terrible they ate, but want again. Why? Never do we crave a healthy carrot stick, or a salad. It's always the food that clogs arteries and causes bloated comas.
Is there some imbalance of hormones or something? Pregnant women get some serious cravings during their time. When else will someone ask for a chocolate and blueberry covered halibut? Could all the chemical changes be the explanation? I'm not saying women are unstable (*cough*) but could that volotile period be an illustration as to how hormones affect our taste?
Cravings also tend to make us eat things that we might not like. I hate onions. Yes, I know they have no real flavor, but the texture really bothers me. Yet a craving sends me hunting for White Castle, known far and wide for having basically two ingredients, "meat" and onions. I eat it, and I enjoy it. Explain that too me.
Also, speaking of odd food, I feel a tinge of craving for an acorn right now. No, I'm not a squirrel. This autumn, I decided to eat an acorn, just because I was curious. It wasn't too bad, though a little bitter. I wanted another one a few weeks later, just out of the blue. Cravings are weird things.
Also, White Castle burgers and Sour Patch Kids are an interesting flavor mix....
Just something to chew on.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
To be or Not to be?
All you intelligent (*ha*) literary people might notice that the title if from Shakespeare's Hamlet. In the play, Hamlet is wondering whether it would be better to kill himself or not. My topic isn't so depressing. Rather it is a thought on the theater.
A lucky few who are in my inner circle should know that I am right now in a production of The Count of Monte Cristo, here are Taylor. Since I'm only a few minor characters with little to say, I've had time to watch some of the more "professional" actors work. Every now and again, they would replace a word, or use a similar word, instead of the one written in the script. The director, at one point, went into a long speech about how the actors need to get the words exactly right. There was no room for anything but word for word recital.
Here's what I'm wondering. That same director has told us all to pour as much as we can into our characters. We are supposed to think like them, feel like them, be them. But this strict holding to the given words seems restricting. I'm a writer, and I know how important my words are, and i want people to use them right, but more importantly to me is that the story I want told is being given. What I've seen are words that mean the same thing, and sometimes add to the character. Using wish instead of want in some parts actually sounds better.
I am making no claim to know more than a practiced director. She's a good director and I respect what she thinks. This whole thing just seems like a set of mixed messages. We;re good enough to seem like the character's but not enough to speak like them? How little faith people have. I guess as long as the show turn out well, then this really doesn't matter too much.
Also, I'm amazed how powerful the urge to push certain theater majors off the stage can be.
Just something to chew on.
A lucky few who are in my inner circle should know that I am right now in a production of The Count of Monte Cristo, here are Taylor. Since I'm only a few minor characters with little to say, I've had time to watch some of the more "professional" actors work. Every now and again, they would replace a word, or use a similar word, instead of the one written in the script. The director, at one point, went into a long speech about how the actors need to get the words exactly right. There was no room for anything but word for word recital.
Here's what I'm wondering. That same director has told us all to pour as much as we can into our characters. We are supposed to think like them, feel like them, be them. But this strict holding to the given words seems restricting. I'm a writer, and I know how important my words are, and i want people to use them right, but more importantly to me is that the story I want told is being given. What I've seen are words that mean the same thing, and sometimes add to the character. Using wish instead of want in some parts actually sounds better.
I am making no claim to know more than a practiced director. She's a good director and I respect what she thinks. This whole thing just seems like a set of mixed messages. We;re good enough to seem like the character's but not enough to speak like them? How little faith people have. I guess as long as the show turn out well, then this really doesn't matter too much.
Also, I'm amazed how powerful the urge to push certain theater majors off the stage can be.
Just something to chew on.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Fun For All
As I write this, there is a Rock, Paper, Scissor, tournament going on in my dorm. Everyone has been assigned brackets and pools, and everyone is supposed to play. This brings me to the topic of this little blurb.
I hate mandatory fun.
I like Rock, Paper, Scissor just fine, and I'd play on any other occasion. The thing is, i hate being told I have to do something that people think is fun. If I want to do it, I will, I don't need someone telling me that I have to participate. Camp of the Woods suffers from this same pulsing brain tumor of an idea. If I want to not have "fun" and be miserable, I have every right.
Here's the main flaw with this mandatory fun that kills it. Making something mandatory makes it a chore, no matter what it is. You send a group of kids to an amusment park and give them the criteria that they have to eat such an amount of cotton candy, then it isn't about enjoying the treat. You're fulfilling a requirement. If a thing is supposed to be fun, give people the freedom to make it so.
Another reason mandatory fun shoots itself in the foot is because of how people thing about the term "mandatory." Many people will refuse to participate because the activity is mandatory. This is what happens a lot at Camp. When speakers come, or events are scheduled, and are "mandatory," many of us go out of our way to not attend. I'm guilty of this, my brother is, and I know a number of our friends are as well. Honestly, fun is arbitrary. Some people really like the whole Rock, Paper, Scissor tournament. Me? I hate these idiotic little games, they just aren't fun to me.I have every right not to participate then.
Look, not everything needs to be voluntary, there are things out there that need to be done. Yet trying to force people to have fun is just not a useful. I feel things would flow so much smoother if we all stopped trying to force our own perceptions of entertainment onto people. Heck, if that happened, we'd be rid of all those annoying movie critics and judge things solely one what we enjoyed.
On a related note, I'm the only one undefeated in the dorm.
Just something to chew on.
I hate mandatory fun.
I like Rock, Paper, Scissor just fine, and I'd play on any other occasion. The thing is, i hate being told I have to do something that people think is fun. If I want to do it, I will, I don't need someone telling me that I have to participate. Camp of the Woods suffers from this same pulsing brain tumor of an idea. If I want to not have "fun" and be miserable, I have every right.
Here's the main flaw with this mandatory fun that kills it. Making something mandatory makes it a chore, no matter what it is. You send a group of kids to an amusment park and give them the criteria that they have to eat such an amount of cotton candy, then it isn't about enjoying the treat. You're fulfilling a requirement. If a thing is supposed to be fun, give people the freedom to make it so.
Another reason mandatory fun shoots itself in the foot is because of how people thing about the term "mandatory." Many people will refuse to participate because the activity is mandatory. This is what happens a lot at Camp. When speakers come, or events are scheduled, and are "mandatory," many of us go out of our way to not attend. I'm guilty of this, my brother is, and I know a number of our friends are as well. Honestly, fun is arbitrary. Some people really like the whole Rock, Paper, Scissor tournament. Me? I hate these idiotic little games, they just aren't fun to me.I have every right not to participate then.
Look, not everything needs to be voluntary, there are things out there that need to be done. Yet trying to force people to have fun is just not a useful. I feel things would flow so much smoother if we all stopped trying to force our own perceptions of entertainment onto people. Heck, if that happened, we'd be rid of all those annoying movie critics and judge things solely one what we enjoyed.
On a related note, I'm the only one undefeated in the dorm.
Just something to chew on.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Tolerance and Complacency
Before you delve into this wonder how I'm going to rant about races and equality and all that, I should clarify this. What's been itching me lately is media tolerance and complacency. Now I'm sure you're thinking, "What do you mean Todd?" To which I would say, "We're only two lines in, so stop being impatient and shut up and let me write."
The tolerance part is how we expect companies like Pixar and Bioware to keep showing excellence in their work. I am not saying that holding an industry to a high standard is a bad thing, but we've become tolerant of their work and tend to not look at it fairly. It's like if you were married to a rich person. They might give you a large diamond ring every month. After a while, you would get used to getting the ring, and even get bored with them. Has the diamond become less valuable? No, but the awe has worn off it seems. We start to take excellence as the status quo. A critic once said that Bioware doesn't get points anymore for having amazing writing. Seriously? Other companies can't even compare to the level of quality writing Bioware has, but that quaity, since it came from Bioware, doesn't matter? My issue is that we ask more of the companies that already give us some of the best.
And somehow, complacency is the exact opposite. We are fine with the complete level of garbage than we tend to get. Look at Twilight. I know that insulting Twilight is like playing a quadriplegic in basketball, you'll always win, but you won't have that satisfaction of a hard fought victory. till I feel that my point will be well illustrated by beating this dead horse, (who I have decided to name Gambit, just to mess with some people who might read this.) Most of you should know all of Twilight's faults, but what has been done about it? Nothing. Our society has decided to except that mediocre work of self-pleasing word vomit. Basically, the community has said, "We can't really expect anything better, so we'll just go with it." The film world is especially guilty of this. Things like romance movies and action films are so poorly done that we should be ashamed, but we still go to them since, "things will never get any better."
You want to know why things will never get better? Be cause we don't want them to. We support all the crap that gets put out there with our money. Why is it we don't let the crap that shouldn't be fade away? Don't buy bad books, don't go to see terrible movies, and for God's sake, turn off that reality T.V. The only way for all of the industries to get better is if we hold them to higher standards. What kind of weird, inverse relationship is this world coming to? The better things are, the more we want changed, and the worse things are, the more we settle. These industries serve us, and they need to meet our standards of excellence, no matter how high they are.
Also, I think Hollywood needs to burn Megan Fox at the stake.
Just something to chew on.
The tolerance part is how we expect companies like Pixar and Bioware to keep showing excellence in their work. I am not saying that holding an industry to a high standard is a bad thing, but we've become tolerant of their work and tend to not look at it fairly. It's like if you were married to a rich person. They might give you a large diamond ring every month. After a while, you would get used to getting the ring, and even get bored with them. Has the diamond become less valuable? No, but the awe has worn off it seems. We start to take excellence as the status quo. A critic once said that Bioware doesn't get points anymore for having amazing writing. Seriously? Other companies can't even compare to the level of quality writing Bioware has, but that quaity, since it came from Bioware, doesn't matter? My issue is that we ask more of the companies that already give us some of the best.
And somehow, complacency is the exact opposite. We are fine with the complete level of garbage than we tend to get. Look at Twilight. I know that insulting Twilight is like playing a quadriplegic in basketball, you'll always win, but you won't have that satisfaction of a hard fought victory. till I feel that my point will be well illustrated by beating this dead horse, (who I have decided to name Gambit, just to mess with some people who might read this.) Most of you should know all of Twilight's faults, but what has been done about it? Nothing. Our society has decided to except that mediocre work of self-pleasing word vomit. Basically, the community has said, "We can't really expect anything better, so we'll just go with it." The film world is especially guilty of this. Things like romance movies and action films are so poorly done that we should be ashamed, but we still go to them since, "things will never get any better."
You want to know why things will never get better? Be cause we don't want them to. We support all the crap that gets put out there with our money. Why is it we don't let the crap that shouldn't be fade away? Don't buy bad books, don't go to see terrible movies, and for God's sake, turn off that reality T.V. The only way for all of the industries to get better is if we hold them to higher standards. What kind of weird, inverse relationship is this world coming to? The better things are, the more we want changed, and the worse things are, the more we settle. These industries serve us, and they need to meet our standards of excellence, no matter how high they are.
Also, I think Hollywood needs to burn Megan Fox at the stake.
Just something to chew on.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Astronomy: Who cares?
So, it's break time in Astronomy, and this is the first thought I have...
This is all pretty worthless. Don't get me wrong. All this is interesting sure, I'm enjoying the class. Last night I was stargazing and listening to classical music, and I can say that it was a good time. My gripe with this is that there is no real benefit for it. My professor and book have both admitted that you study astronomy simply for it's own sake. Engineering, physics, biology, chemistry, they all provide some kind of benefit to human kind, but astronomy? Not so much.
Did you know NASA is going to be shut down? The government is putting less money into space exploration. What do astronomers have to aspire to now? Sitting in their living room with a telescope? Doesn't sound so hot. I think that if we ever do get serious about using space for our benefit, then astronomy will be worthwhile. I would volunteer to be on of the first people to join a Mars colony if I could. I'd trust that our astronomers knew how to keep life sustained there.
I want to study something that will benefit me. Astronomy and the science behind it aren't really key to my life. If I want to writer about the stars, I'll look at their Greek history, rather than what their magnitude and distance are. And honestly, I don't care about light waves and radiation. I'm a fiction writer, if I can't explain something in a book, I chalk it up to magic and move on. George Lucas did the same thing with Star Wars and the Force, so why can't I?
Just something to chew on.
This is all pretty worthless. Don't get me wrong. All this is interesting sure, I'm enjoying the class. Last night I was stargazing and listening to classical music, and I can say that it was a good time. My gripe with this is that there is no real benefit for it. My professor and book have both admitted that you study astronomy simply for it's own sake. Engineering, physics, biology, chemistry, they all provide some kind of benefit to human kind, but astronomy? Not so much.
Did you know NASA is going to be shut down? The government is putting less money into space exploration. What do astronomers have to aspire to now? Sitting in their living room with a telescope? Doesn't sound so hot. I think that if we ever do get serious about using space for our benefit, then astronomy will be worthwhile. I would volunteer to be on of the first people to join a Mars colony if I could. I'd trust that our astronomers knew how to keep life sustained there.
I want to study something that will benefit me. Astronomy and the science behind it aren't really key to my life. If I want to writer about the stars, I'll look at their Greek history, rather than what their magnitude and distance are. And honestly, I don't care about light waves and radiation. I'm a fiction writer, if I can't explain something in a book, I chalk it up to magic and move on. George Lucas did the same thing with Star Wars and the Force, so why can't I?
Just something to chew on.
A beginning
I've decided to set up an online journal.
Why?
Well, most of my professional thoughts end up in an article somewhere, but sometimes I just need to spew words. This little spot will be my storage room for all the late night random that so attacks my head. How often this will be updated us pretty up in the air, but it's good to have it just in case.
If you're wondering about the name, a cup of soup at 2 am is pretty common for me. In fact, I'm eating one as I write this.
Wish me luck.
Why?
Well, most of my professional thoughts end up in an article somewhere, but sometimes I just need to spew words. This little spot will be my storage room for all the late night random that so attacks my head. How often this will be updated us pretty up in the air, but it's good to have it just in case.
If you're wondering about the name, a cup of soup at 2 am is pretty common for me. In fact, I'm eating one as I write this.
Wish me luck.
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