I had a very bizarre weekend to say the least, but thats another story (a story that’s not going to be blogged). But what struck me was that people love to bitch. Mostly about others. Maybe it just feels therapeutic to talk badly about others, even friends (good friends at that), maybe it’s a subconscious way to feel good about their own lives. Who knows. It just seems like everyone wants to complain endlessly and don’t even appreciate the small things. Are we so shallow as human beings that we are nice to friends when they are around us, but as soon as they leave we have this almost primal need to take them apart viciously with verbal claws?

The state of our society is depressing. Really.

“Walking up the hill tonight and you have closed your eyes,
I wish I didn’t have to make all those mistakes and be wise,
Please try to be patient and know that I’m still learning,
I’m sorry that you have to see the strength inside me burning,
Where are you my angel now don’t you see me crying,
And I know that you can’t do it all but you can’t say I’m not trying…“

Anyways, getting to the point – go watch the movie and buy the soundtrack, you won’t regret it. And on a random note, Wikipedia rocks.

A couple of months ago, I had the pleasure of finally getting to visit the Dali museum in St Petersburg, Florida. In between visiting family and watching Tampa Bay get their ass kicked, I managed to get a few hours to explore what the museum had to offer. I was excited but nervous too, would only a few hours give justice to the world’s most comprehensive collection of Dali’s art work? But it was a memorable visit, looking at the vast collection of his paintings, watercolors, drawings, photographs and sculptures.

There were a couple of eye-opening facts that intrigued me, firstly, that Dali was influenced by the impressionist movement and in fact a lot of his earlier works are in that style (he was still developing his famous “paranoid critical transformation” method then).

Secondly, Dali was involved briefly with filmography and he even did a brief dream segment for Hitchcock’s Spellbound. Interestingly, he had, at one time, denounced film as an art form.

Anyways, Dali was always stretching the boundaries of surrealism. Even when desire was identified and accepted as a major aspect of surrealist art and writings, not everyone in the movement was willing to confront & explore the most basic of desires, eroticism & the darker side of sexuality. Not Dali. He was openly defiant and his art showed open perverseness and vice. He was not afraid to venture into the darkest regions of his mind.

“I feel absolutely no embarrassment in making public desires generally considered as the most shameful, which means I have never done so to the limit despite my very strong tendency towards exhibitionism. I have secret desires that even I do not know about as I am constantly discovering new ones. I think that secret desires represent the true future and, what is more, that the true spiritual culture can only be a culture of desires. No desire is blameworthy; the only fault lies in repressing them”. - Salvador Dali, 1932

What importance do you give to your desires? Do you have secret desires that are sinful, immoral, vile or filthy? Do you struggle against them, repress them? Or do you satisfy those desires in your imagination or, in real life?

Ponder.

Whew.

As a footnote, here are my three favorite commandments of proper urinal etiquette -
1) Thou shalt keep your hands on your equipment at all times..
2) Thou shalt not stand four feet away from the urinal…
3) Thou shalt not talk to another guy at the urinal…

(Enter Me. First in queue. Armed with a smile. Amidst chattering of the people behind the counter.)

Coffee boy: (as he goes to the back) She’ll be right with you.

(The coffee girl approaches)

Coffee girl: Morning! what can I get for you?
Me: Tall vanilla latte, extra hot. And a cinnamon coffee cake, please. Thanks.

(The coffee girl dabs at the touch-screen monitor. Out of habit, she mutters without even looking up)

Coffee girl: And how are you this morning?
Me: Oh I’m just fine today. Its a great morning isn’t it!! I thought it would be raining, but today morning looks just perfect. I even drove with my window down. Thanks for asking!

(The girl has a surprised look in her eyes. She thinks: couldn’t he have said “Fine. Thanks” just like everyone does. Why is he making me speak. While setting up an empty cup for the coffee boy, She manages to say)

Coffee girl: Yeah, isn’t that nice!

(Hands me the cake and the change due)

Me: Thanks

(Coffee girl retreats to clean the espresso machine)

End Scene 1.

I’m sticking with “Fine, thanks” from now on.

Time to wake up the neighbors again to some Madonna. Hehe. Or some underground asian remixes. Hell yea.

Ok so I’m a geek. Sue me.

Hehe.

Doesn’t everyone have a mild case of OCD?

Now “Shaun of the Dead” is a cult movie. It is a classic “zom-rom-com” (translated as a romantic zombie comedy). And i’m partial to british humor/comic timing and, ahem, their accent anyways.

Anyways, after having had the pleasure of watching these movies in the recent past, and after flipping over The Zombie Survival Guide for a full 11 seconds at my nearest Borders, I think i’m well prepared to handle any zombie related crisis. Apparently, the city of Pittsburgh is not.

Are YOU prepared?

This past friday, in a moment of inspiration, I named them. Finally.

The blue one is called Freedom.
The red one is Enterprise.

(Thanks for the inspiration, Jim)

UPDATE (8th Mar ’08) : Sadly, my fishes, my beautiful fishes, have passed away. I say this with a very heavy heart. Sniff.
(The fan died).