Goodbye My Darling, Goodbye My Baby

New plog.

Because this one is worn to bits.

Edit: link fixed.

Now with 90% more Hemorrhaging!

This week I've seen two very different movies. In terms of plot, genre, target audience, and overall quality, they're pretty polarized: Disney's Sorcerer's Apprentice and Christopher Nolan's Inception. But they shared one piece of dialog that was mildly integral to the reasoning of both movies, and it's a myth that has become extremely popularized and, to me, extremely annoying.

The "fact" in question is that we humans only use about 10% (or less, depending who's spouting it) of our brain's potential. PFFFT.

How it was used in Sorcerer's Apprentice:

Wiggy McWigerson Nicolas Cage explains to Jay Baruchel Bighair McNasallyman that normal mortals only use 10% of their brains, but Sorcerers use 100%, which is literally why they are able to create magic. The movie tries to tie magic with science and mentions science-y words like "nervous system," "electricity," and "tesla coils(I'mnotjoking)." It's pretty vaguely technical, but I really shouldn't be too hard on it since it was meant to be more of a lighthearted, family-type movie. (Though, the lady next to me seemed to have eaten the type of family it was aimed toward).

How it was used in Inception:

Leonardo DiCaprio's character, (which by the way, has the weirdest name ever. Dom Cobb? Is that what names are going to be like in the future? If so, I'm just calling my future kid Boss Haus. Try to steal milk money from a kid named that.) Dom, explains to Ellen Page why time slows down in a dream; why 3 or 4 minutes of dreaming is something like 3 or 4 hours to someone IN the dream. He starts by asking her to recall the common fact that we don't utilize all of our brain's capacity while awake, but concedes that we DO while we are asleep, making brain functioning much quicker, therefore slowing time.

The first textbook I ever read on Psychology was written extremely well and the author put it best by saying, "If we only use 10% of our brains, why would we be frightened by a gun to our head? Even if they shoot, there's a 90% chance they won't hit anything you really needed, right?" Don't be fooled, my people. We use all our brains all the times. Here are some citations if you dummies don't believe me:

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/tenper.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10%25_of_brain_myth

Now, it's probably not a big deal. And I'm only 20, so I'm not going to pretend like I "know the world" or whatever. But I do. And there are a lot of extremely gullible and impressionable people out there. (I know two of them!) But it really gets under my skin when I'm in a group of people discussing something and someone cites this factoid as evidence for some point they're trying to make.

"WELL, y'know, we only use like, 2% of our brain juices...so."

SO SHUT UP.

Letter to My Crush

I wanted to try out a bit of my friend Kerry's blogging endeavor where you write one letter a day to someone, and I chose this one. Long overdue.

Crush,

You're never blue, and it's why I love you. If you were, I'd really be at a loss. You're so bubbly and likable, I've really never seen anything like it. I get envious of that. Everyone loves you. But I love how, when I inch too close to you, you like to kiss the very tip of my nose. It's the sweetest thing ever.

You were with me during Sorcerer's Apprentice last night and if I didn't have you there, I might've killed myself because of how dumb it was. (Not that I truly expected that much from it, but my mom wanted to go so, y'know.)

I hope I get to bring you to Inception tonight. Oh, it'd be lovely. If not, I'll be able to pick you up afterward from McDonald's or somewhere. You'll always be the soda for me, baby.

<3

Oh yeah, I'm 20.

P.S. I wrote this to Crush, the beverage, okay? It was supposed to be kind of clever. So I wrote a love note to orange soda. That is where my life is going.

Apathetic Shuffle

OH MY GOD, SHUT UP ALREADY.

I'm so glad my brain is not as broken as some people's.

I'd also like to stay away from the internet machine for a little while. Maybe I'll concentrate more on something like the picture box or my tetris play set or something. Or read a book. Utilize my dwindling imraginration.

Cold Steel

There's a long, flat piece of wood running from my sternum to my gut.

Summer's been nice so far. Light and airy. No real concerns, save for my normal worries about The Future. I only wish I was able to pin down a job to keep my mind from reverting back to thoughts I'd much rather forget. I must get my brain occupied with something. Perhaps I'll redo my room soon. That sounds time consuming AND frustrating!

Of all the knobs and switches and levers made in the world throughout History, why couldn't just one of them be used to turn off certain memories or emotions? I mean really, make yourselves useful, inventors. Get out your Tesla coil and break my brain. If you can't fix the oil leak, this is the next best thing. You'd think world hunger would outrank Memory Destroyer in this. You are wrong. So just sit in your wrongness and be wrong.

Maybe I'll just turn into an alcoholic. It's the new heroin-chic.

By the way, I really think soldiers under 21 should be allowed to drink themselves into a temporary coma after blasting the heads off of civilians. It's only fair.

Shutter Island is so damn good. I've seen it twice now and it's already become one of my favorite movies. It's just exciting. I read that it was supposed to come out in October as Oscar-bait, but that the Paramount execs figured it would make much more sense to release it in February. They were right in that it made much more money than it probably would have, and definitely stood out amongst the crowd of forgettable romantic comedies and kid's movies, but they also assumed it wouldn't have done so well in the awards arena, either. I just folded my arms and scowled.

Sure, the movie was a bit predictable, but it was stunning and extremely well made. There should be no doubt of it's superiority over Avatar, which is little more than a particularly vivid acid trip, remembering a bedtime story while staring idly at your Blue Russian. BOOM.

Uh, anyway. I'm making pizza today at a house that is not my own. BONJOVI!

A Jaded Necklace

Of all the things in Austin that are great, I love the names of all the small businesses here.

Juan in a Million, Hey Cupcake!, Sugar Mama's, Home Slice, Magnolia Cafe.

So, finals week next week. Have a final essay due by Tuesday and two exams on Wednesday. I could come back Thursday...MEH. I probably won't. I don't really know what I'll do. I don't have any money to spend. The friends I made will be gone already. The only thing I really haven't done is take my bike around. Guess I could do that.

I'm not really looking forward to summer. Sure, no more studying or stressing about grades, but nothing else to take up my time, either. I can't take anymore summer classes as I've transfered over too much. I need a job. But I really don't want one. Like on a scale of 1-10, 10 being really want and 1 being not at all, it's a 1. I don't want a job.

But my irresponsibility this semester is part of the reason I must get one. It truly is all my fault. I guess I accept that.

I need another haircut. Somehow I went in for a trim (against my will I might add) and came out with something completely different. I don't know my own hair anymore. I might as well had scalped myself and my roommate while she was asleep and switched hairsnotreally.

Uh. So I'm mainly updating because I should be finding definitions for this psychology exam prep thing.

What else. Oh. Well, I've had to deal a lot with someone suffering from a lack of willpower. I've really never seen so much apathy, even from myself which is saying something. Not a big something, as I do work hard when I need to, but a little something. For me, when I feel my ennui beginning to hurt my grades or anything else, I'll snap into overachieving overdrive for a while until they're back on course. I do the literally the least amount possible to get where I want to go. I like to be efficient.

Well I guess that's enough rambling for today. See ya next time!

A Momentous Occasion

Best weekend of the year, (one of the best in my life, actually) followed by the most horrible week of the year thus far. Simply terrible. But that's not the point of this post.

This post is to document what I've eaten today. This is a turning point. The start of a whole new me. I couldn't be more excited to begin this journey.

Breakfast: Air.
Lunch: Dollops of Vanilla, Pistachio, and Pomegranate frozen yogurt with almonds, mochi balls, sprinkles, coconut shavings, and a cherry (for the vitamins).
Dinner: Three brownies with chocolate icing and almonds.
-Nap to soak in the various fat molecules I might accidentally burn off watching Youtube videos.
Second Dinner: Bottle of Green Tea from the vending machine, with a bag of New! Cheez-It's BAKED Snack Mix: Extra Hot & Spicy (its contents are similar to Gardettos, just catered to the most awful people who buy snack mixes).

Because of these real life choices, my stomach has become sentient. I feel like it's trying to claw itself out of my abdomen. I really hope it succeeds. I'm rootin' for ya, old pal. I'm rootin' for ya.

Well! Off to start my Philosophy paper at 2 AM! Did I mention it's a third of my grade? 'CUZ IT IS!

Holy Jeez

Zounds! I am really, really pressed for time, so I thought I'd post a little ditty about how I'm pressed for time. The amount of stress hormone (cortisol) coursing through my veins right now is at the perfect point for creativity.

I enjoy this feeling. I hate getting to it, admittedly. And curse myself later for waiting to get stressed out, but I'm getting something done, at last. And I like what I'm getting done. I remember now why I love English. I realize now that this prof does not assign enough papers. I hated writing one a day in the summer at first, but I came to not mind it, and then to kind of enjoy it. I miss that now. It really improved my writing.

OK. Please wish me luck for tomorrow. I'm playing some part in Othello at 8am. Even if you dont' read this till much later, wish me luck anyway.

DO IT.

YYYYEAH.

So it's been two weeks since I said I'd update every week. Sorry 'bout that, y'awll.

This past week was Spring Break and SXSW. I didn't get a wristband or anything. It was just me and three, sometimes four friends going to free shows around Austin. Was really awesome, duh.

If you are a cool person, you recognize that burly comedian in the picture with me and a couple o'friends as Eugene Mirman. Look at us standin' there. We're practically twins.

If you're NOT a cool person, get cool now. (You're welcome.)

In all seriousness though, it was so much fun. One of my best Spring Breaks ever.

+++

Found a quote today that I really needed to read.

I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer. ~Jim Carrey

I've just been questioning what it is I want to attain at the end of my senior year of college, only a couple years away. It's too easy to forget what gives life quality. A big pillar of the culture I've been raised in, and in fact, in most cultures, is financial stability. That makes sense, of course. But it's emphasized so relentlessly, we think more money invariably equates to better life quality. At least at some point in our lives, and not just for a day. It's difficult to reject that ideal when it's constantly and consistently being reinforced. Things like that quote help to remember reality.

Anyhow, Happy Go-Back-To-School-You-Miscreant-Kids Week!

Everyone does this

I need to improve my writing. I used to be not so bad at it, but now the 'not so' is kind of GONE.

I keep forgetting it's a skill that can get rusty if you don't continually or habitually practice at it. I'm going to try and make it a habit by writing something at least once a week. No promises, though. I'm a busy lady after all, a-ha-ha.

I really wish I had had enough sense to take a creative writing class in high school. It would've been so much fun. I could probably take one next semester, as I'm an English minor, but I'm a little rattled and unconfident in my writing abilities to say so right now.

But I really think it would be fun and keep my appetite for creativity satiated. I thought of this because I was looking at my profile here on blogger, and reading my answer to the "random question" you can answer when you edit your profile. All too often the questions seem to be made up by someone shaking a drunk Lewis Carrol awake and writing down the nonsensical questions he, disoriented and half-asleep, asks them. I mean, "Whoops! Your tongue is now a magnet. Whatever will you use for silverware?" sounds like something you would ask if you were on acid or writing for a Japanese game show.

So anyway, I wish blogger had a stupid generator like that for blog topics.

G'night.

Fashhhhhhhhhhhhh

I want to recreate this outfit pretty badly. I have a striped shirt like that, and opaque tights like that. I just need a yellow skirt like that, and maybe I could substitute black oxfords for Doc Martens. Also don't really have a jacket like that. I really need a light jacket. They're so much more versatile than the peacoat and raincoat I have now. I do have a brown cardigan sweater though, that I could substitute for that jacket there. I don't think it would look half bad. That old rule that black and brown shouldn't be worn together isn't relevant anymore, I've noticed.

There was this girl in my Speech class in high school who chose to write her Pet Peeves speech about how annoying it was when people wore black and brown. Other people have normal pet peeves, like the phrase 'pet peeves.' That's normal. Although, orange and blue are never a good combination, fyi.

What a safe post!

Hystory Mystery

If there's anyone out there following my life, you should be aware that I've recently moved to Austin for college. My particular school has more than 50,000 undergraduates. The school I transfered from had half that.

In this crowd of 50,000, there are some pretty attractive people . And, being a straight female, I notice men. AKA, TH3REz L0Tz OF H@WT GUiiZ HERE, y'@LL!1~1

But, the History Channel has ruined some of them.

Like today, there was a particularly cute guy standing all nonchalantly against a building. He was perfect. He didn't give a damn about you or anyone else, and his stance communicated that flawlessly.

My first thought was "Why, helloooo ;) " but then suddenly shifted to Ted Bundy. Luring unsuspecting women in with his fatal charm and KILLER good looks.

I believe more women should be aware of this possibility. Especially with school starting up and men and women suddenly being thrust back into close proximity after two months of an unusually cold winter.

So, ladies and particular gentlemen, next time you see a hot guy, don't think ,'UR HAWT.' Instead, imagine your bloody, severed head jammed onto a wooden stake with that same hot guy dancing an odd squatted dance (naked, though ;) ) in a circle around it. But I don't know. You may like that kind of attention.

Ice Capades

Last week, I, along with some friends, went ice skating again for the first time in probably four or five years. Now, I've never really been known for my extraordinary poise or coordination. In fact, there was this time I forgot about the last step on the bus in middle school, which took a while to live down. But I could always, eventually, hold my own going ice skating or roller blading once I got used to the lack of friction.

And so I did; after the initial five minutes of paralyzing fear and awkwardness, I found my footing, and was landing triple Salchows like nobody's business. I'm actually writing this to recount my observations on all the types of people you normally find on your standard, public ice skating rink in your average shopping mall, *hawk, spit*.

So, A.) Children. No surprises there. I might as well have said, 'people.' But I mean the type of children that are literally snot-nosed because of the cold. The type of children whose parents are using this ice rink to teach them the adage, 'if at first you don't succeed, blah-da-bleedle-do' to everyone's, namely MY, great freakin' annoyance. It's like Bobo Dolls on Ice out there.

Maybe if you were watching them from behind the glass, you'd be nostalgically reminded of Bambi's first time on the frozen pond. How shaky and knobbly his legs were, and how he fell so adorably and got right back up. You'd probably think it endearing how they fall on the already soaking knees of their pants, and continue going the wrong way around the rink.

But on the other side of the glass, which is basically a petri dish of every known germ and disease to have ever existed, these kids are wily, sniffling, goombas.

B.) Couples. Ugghhhhhhhh. There was this one couple who were pretty good, and would always end up skating directly in front of me. The guy had a pony tail, and I wanted to pull it pretty badly, too.

We stayed till it was time for it to close, and saw all the overly-touchy couples asking other people to take pictures of them and shit. A lot of them were overweight, too, for some reason. Oh right, I live in Texas.

C.) The GOOD one. The 9 year old ice skating prodigy who stands in the middle of the rink to do tricks and laugh at the mortals with her coach/father out there in a track suit. When she falls, they laugh like it's the most ironic thing to have ever happened. If this is what hard work turns you into, it'll be my next excuse to continue lying in bed and imagine things in the clouds that must be passing by overhead.

D.) Skatefags. The label says so much about these people. They act like faggots. They skate at about 5,000,000 mph. They only use the internet to go on 4chan and look at the new stuff at Spencer's Gifts. They've been skating to get rid of the "darkness" and stress of social interactions since elementary. They have 5+ pet snakes. Their name is Geoffrey, and they once got on top of a desk in 8th grade and threatened to burn down the school after being harassed by some dickweed.

There might've been more, but since I waited about a week before writing this, I can't remember the rest right now.

Hope errbody had a Happy Christmas and wonderful New Years.