Sometimes, I just want to understand what it is you’re saying

Sometimes Wikipedia can go overboard with the academic language and tone. Take this entry on Cheese Sandwiches:

cheese sandwich is a basic sandwich made generally with one or more slices of any kind of cheese on any sort of bread. It may have lettuce, tomato, pickles and/or condiments such as mustard or mayonnaise added. Cheese sandwiches can be raw, or heated so that the bread toasts and the cheese melts (a dish referred to as a grilled cheese sandwich or toasted cheese).

Cheese sandwiches with added meat are generally referred to by more specific names; if ham is included, for example, the result is a “ham and cheese sandwich”.

It basically describes what a cheese sandwich is and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s an encyclopedia entry about a cheese sandwich, a detailed explanation of what exactly a cheese sandwich is is expected. If like me, you read the above paragraph with a documentary-type voice, you’d probably be rolling your eyes and wanting to kick some snobbish scholar’s posterior.

But okay, I need to chill. It’s an encylopedia article on cheese sandwiches. I should go rant about something more academic, something that makes more sense. How about my usual Wikipedia experience?

1. Open topic
2. read first few lines
3. run into an unfamiliar term/jargon/concept
4. Open topic on unfamiliar term/jargon/concept
5. repeat 2 - 4

It gets worse when the topic goes mystical. Here’s an excerpt from the entry on “Prima Materia,” a term used in Alchemy:

Thus, prima materia is the seed of the process, which takes place in the natural mind; it is the seed of enlightenment. The Crown of Creation is an overarching symbol equating with the top sphere Kether in Qabala. It triumphs over the terrible Dragon of the primal, unrefined condition, represented by the dragon or Terrible Mother. In the bottom-center is Atlas holding the earth to symbolize the material sphere of Malkuth. All is one magical movement from Kether through Malkuth.

“WTF?” is right. Unless you’re a scholar of obscure topics like the Qabala (or however it’s spelled) and Alchemy, the entry itself is just some weird gibberish that seems to have been written by some guy high on crack.

I just want to read a Wikipedia article that’s simple, easy to read, and informative. But then I probably shouldn’t go to Wikipedia that much anyway >.>

Just that old monthly update

My quiet happy days are now coming to an end. I may be exaggerating, but all in all it would be a wretched experience. It’s a seasonal event really, and I should have been prepared for it. But preparation was never really my strong suit. So once again, I am caught with my pants down, cursing the fates, the powers that be, and whoever or whatever is running things in the cosmic upstairs.

You see, even a creature of wanton disorder like me still clings to some resemblance of a routine, or a sort of general order of things. In my current state of aimless wandering, it has been my custom to wake an hour or so before twelve noon to find that I would be the only one at home, save for my dad who would be reading the newspaper while the radio drones business news and commentaries. The one computer in the household will be mine to hog for hours, wasting my time with a random assortment of entertainment and trivial information. Other than the complete control over the computer,  I enjoyed the simple quiet of the house. It may be messy, but at least it’s not screaming with a cacophony that drowns out any possibility of hearing yourself think. I am free to traipse around the Internet, or read a book without any auditory stress. In a few days, I will lose that happy atmosphere of calm silence.

In a few days, my younger siblings’ school year will be ending. That means that instead of a faint Business Radio coming from the living room, I will now be waking up to a blaring mishmash of Pokemon reruns, tired pop music, and good old sibling rivalry screamfests. The only upside that I see to this situation is that I will now be forced to leave the house and have another go at life outside it.

For now, I still have two days’ worth of morning quiet time.

(PS The somewhat formal tone of this post would stem from the fact that I have just finished reading The Once and Future Kind, and The Book of Merlyn. Blame TH White and his style of writing.) 

I WILL BE A MORE ACTIVE BLOGGER SO STOP THE SPAM ALREADY!

I do not need herbs or penis enlargements or whatever. STOP THE SPAM.

Random rant from a computer-deprived boy

Two weeks since my computer died on me.

It's been hell, trust me.

But then, I'm finding out some things about stuff. Like, say, I've been spoiled by having a desktop.

I'm experiencing computer withdrawal symptoms, methinks.

 
(more…)

The unthinkable has happened

The world can be such a bitch mother that's fond of irony.

Gah…

(more…)

Don’t you just hate it when you have a crappy computer?

The most annoying thing happened last night. I was blogging, typing some incoherent stuff and I was already, maybe, about 4 paragraphs into the thing. And they were long paragraphs too. (I still have to work on my paragraph jumping and stuff, but hopefully the stuff here gets better) Okay, they were a bit senseless but still, they were long paragraphs, and then the thing happened

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Why being a girl would be nice

My sister walks in and says, " I just watched Transformers!"

Turning away from the computer, I ask, "Again?"

"Yes, and for free. I love being a girl!" 

There has to be some kind of consolation for being a guy…

School, Experiencing Princess Princess, Anime fads, The five colors of mana

Pardon the crap that will follow. I'm just going to ramble for the sake of posting, which is all I ever do.

School's just started and we've been flooded with readings (that I haven't photocopied yet). People who already have copies found that the damn readings have eaten a large chunk out of their money. I spent my money on food and novels. Denial is such a sweet defense mechanism. I just hope I'll be able to scrape a passing grade again . Well, of course this not-doing-anything period  couldn't possibly be good for a secure future but whatever.  If I continue this train of thought, I'll be turning it into another post full of self-pity.

Regarding the previous post, I actually found the experience of being a human Bratz doll amusing. There we were just hanging out at the OSAD when Betch suddenly wanted to practice applying makeup on somebody else. The not entirely protesting victim was me. Should I have protested and said no with all my might? … uh… Whatever. The only colors Lizette had were of a reddish hue. Yes, very geisha like. I think. Punch me if I'm not making sense or just being a pretentious prick. They start putting eyeliner (?) on my eyelids and the people watching were complimenting the application of the product. And then came the blush and stuff and the clips. Well, they told me that I looked pretty nice. (I feel pretty… Oh so pretty! I feel pretty, and witty, and -) I hope they meant that. It would be fun if I could really pass myself as a member of the opposite sex … not for drag-queen purposes, just that it makes me a little different from the crowd. (Don't we all want to stand out?)

Of course, cameras were taken out and pictures galore were shot. I think I need a camera phone, just to camwhore and practice looking good in pictures. I never really look good in pictures… or is that a too self-depreciating statement? Where's my cutter? Oh yess… Life-bringing crimson, flowing from my empty, human shell… There is no meaning for my continued existence… -cut the emo crap. I'm quite glad that none of the pictures have found their way to the intarnets… Or have they? Are people looking at those pictures and thinking, Ting's wearing make-up, I knew he was queer! Or… maybe not. I don't think the pictures have that strong a hold on me that they can be used as effective blackmail material.

I need a job so I can runaway from home.  I'm still in my teens and my raging hormones are telling me to throw out old rules and bind myself  to new ones and call that independence. Yes, I'm a hamster wanting to get out of the safe tediousness of my cage without knowing how much harder it is outside the confines of the plastic prison.

Yay! We're descending to incoherence again!

I liked Death Note when I first saw it back in November 2006. I liked it immediately. Since I liked it, I introduced Death Note to my friends, who maybe introduced it to their friends too. I was afraid that Death Note would be the next anime fad. I didn't get started on Bleach since almost everybody was going Bleach this and Bleach that. The same goes true for Naruto. My fear didn't reveal itself as simple paranoia, it was quite true. The live-action Death Note movie was released here in the Philippines by 2Rats and Comic Alley along with the first few episodes of the anime. (I was able to watch the anime before the Comic Alley release thanks to Bionic HQ. They used to have a branch near UST but they had to close shop. The only other branch I know of is in Greenhills, Theatre Mall 2nd floor.) I haven't watched the movie yet and I may have lost all interest in watching it. Raito (Light) wasn't good-looking in the movie (though L was), Ryuk looked really fake, and a whole lot of other complaints. Thanks to the Comic Alley release, Death Note was made known to a wider audience. Comic Alley then stocked up on Death Note merchandise. Posters, keychains, necklaces, "Death Notes" (notebooks), pins, and plush dolls (Though I have to admit that the Ryuk and L dolls are cute (imagine if I typed kawaii…)). Pretty soon, everybody was talking about Death Note. I find it annoying that most  people only know of the movie. Basically, what I'm just saying is: I hate it when everybody likes what I like.

The book I bought is about a kitty that's tasked to save the world. It's not Brian Jacques pirate kitties that stand on two legs, it's a kitty kitty, white with a few black stripes on him. It's cute.

So much for a review

You know, I should get started on my research about the current human rights situation but joining an RPG messageboard sounds more fun.

Speaking of RPG boards, I'm a member of Terisia City but then I just mostly lurk. Terisia is a fantasy role-playing messageboard that's pretty centered on the Magic: The Gathering card game. I don't think you really need to know how to play Magic in order to join, but it would help though. What you just need to know is that magic is fueled by mana which is split into five colors: White, Blue, Black, Red, and Green. White is the color of order and it is used mostly for healing and protection, but it can also be used for divine punishment and stuff. Blue is the color of logic and trickery, it is used to gain knowledge and to play tricks on reality, like countering magic spells, or unsummoning creatures. Black is the color that is obsessed with power, users of black mana are willing to do anything for power, raising the dead, summoning demons, sacrificing life, that kind of stuff. They also excel in using fear to destroy other creatures. Red mana is the mana of fire. Stereotypical red mana users are impatient and chaotic, they pretty much want to destroy their opponents as fast as possible using fire, lightning, or simple brute strength. Green mana is the mana of nature lovers. It doesn't have much in the sorcery department except that it can induce rapid growth in its creations and their creatures can rapidly multiply and overrun the opponent. Okay… forget everything. You do need a little M:tg knowledge to join. But if you still want to, go ahead. Terisia isn't just for mage-battles and the like, it also offers romance and a bit of drama. So-and-so's warrior hooks up with Somebody's drow  (dark elf to people who aren't familiar with fantasy races) enchantress and flirting happens in the inn. Oh yeah, Terisia is also the place of general SPAM. Shadow's Bar is the place where most of the veterans just hang around and be retarded. (Note: Shadow's Bar isn't involved in any storyline whatsoever… start a serious, dramatic scene there, and people will just get ticked off). Anyway, I'm just trying to get a few people to revive the city since it's been in a slump since a massive OOC (out of character) flamewar happened due to a few rules constraints. God I probably look like a nerd right now.

 (I'd like to bash wannabe Death Note fangirls and fanboys but that would just be plain hypocrisy since I find myself sitting like L)