Double Mint

Just saw my yet-to-be-proofed front page article. Fantastic! I should really find out what assignments I have due round about now...

Shai is too smart for me. I'm always left pondering things he's said about an hour after he's said them. Such a cool, soothing voice. Very sage like guy. Never a dull moment. And he smokes roll-your-own cigarettes without filters. Rockin'.

[11/0 of 100 - 18 Days Remaining] (Expect this to skyrocket by Thursday!)

Can't Hold On

I was reading in Scientific American Mind that some genetic traits are predisposed toward depression, violence and attention deficit disorder. All of them are fairly debilitating illnesses, but it got me thinking - is ADD really that bad? I have some friends who have ADD and they're pretty cool guys. But is our surplus of attention just forcing us toward shit that isn't very interesting? I think the ADD guys are on to something here - there's a lot of crap out there that doesn't hold my gaze for more than about fifteen seconds, be it reality TV, horrible pop songs or people banging on about what kind of new crap is good for doing some sort of shit more efficiently/timely/cooler than previously. Hell, I couldn't stay still in my Cinema Studies screenings back in the day for more than about half an hour before I believed I could find something better to do.

But seriously - these guys are definitely on to something and it's definitely awesome.

My editor does some bastard things sometimes - first he doesn't print my interview (without repeated queries for a sufficient explanation) and expects another literary masterpiece by Saturday? Sleep deprivation? JUST BRING IT

[8/0 of 100 - 21 Days Remaining] (I really have to get a move on for this one!)

Embedded Boredom

Auditing is hell. This is what Dante was talking about. I can think of nothing more torturous.

Having a pretty good day today. I apply this belief:

"The idea that certain acts are awful or wicked, and that people who perform such acts should be severely damned -- instead of the idea that certain acts are self-defeating or antisocial, and that people who perform such acts are behaving stupidly, ignorantly, or neurotically, and would be better helped to change. People's poor behaviors do not make them rotten individuals." (adapted from Drs. Ellis and Harper, A New Guide to Rational Living)

And everything falls into place. Weights upon shoulders dissolve and drift away. Well, they seem to, at any rate! I love you Count Korzybski! I could kiss you, if you weren't so far away, ugly ... and dead.

Edit: $1000 to get a Certificate in REBT? Fuck that.

[7/0 of 100 - 23 Days Remaining]

Living Journalism

Easter holidays. They're pretty rock n' roll. I've lost my ability to write. It's just buried somewhere, waiting for yours truly to get out his shovel and start poking around to find it again.

To LJ users who are DYING to comment on my scintillating journal:

You may do so by using the "OpenID" function. Select LiveJournal from the dropdown box and follow the instructions.

I saw some of my friends over the last few nights and it felt very pleasant. Rock climbing is a thrilling experience - it may yet become my weekly treat!

[3/0 of 100 - 26 days remaining]

I Want Out

Getting up in the morning with a purpose is excruciating. I actually liked being wayward and full of choice. Curse this modern world we live in. I need to be a bit more...bold from now on. I'm only half-way sane and the world is boxing my ears in. I'm a faithless man, but the good book inspires so much from me I need to take it with me wherever I go... how irrational is that! (although I know I've seen worse. Much, much worse. Rae's daily rating system notwithstanding.)

Commuters are such polite, boring people. Remind me never to commute ever again. Easter holidays? JUST BRING IT

[2/0 of 100 - 29 days remaining]

Hot Damn

I have a new job. It consists of sitting at a computer while smartly dressed men with cool, calming voices talk on the phone. This job is not very stimulating. You will not be getting higher-level abstraction out of me so easily. It is time to start the challenge. If there was a God, I would be thanking it for the cool change it has bestowed upon us.

[0/0 of 100 - 31 days remaining]

I'm Recording, Do Your Thing

I'm going to attempt my own version of the Ellis Challenge. Balls to Catchy. Thanks babe, you've strengthened me in ways I've never thought possible. Actually, on second thoughts, you had absolutely nothing to do with it.

And now, some of that humor I'm renowned for:

What's the difference between crossing the Mafia and breaking up with your girlfriend?

Nothing, they both make you an offer you can't refuse.

Here's some fictional prose at my fiction blog.

From Reactions to Reactions to Events

I want to punch my boss in the face and tell her to fuck right off. Sweetly smiling each time, she attempts to cleave into my psyche with her blade of inadequacy, but I don't let her. But she *can* cut off the cash supply with that same knife, which would prove grossly inconvenient to say the least. Lesson 1: Money does not grow on trees, therefore you cannot tell your boss to fuck off. Become the boss instead.

I was watching Police: Behind the Force or something similarly oversimplistic and I almost cried when they destroyed all the drugs. Lesson 2: Drugs are awesome. Let no one tell you otherwise.

Talking to some people at random is liberating. But no one wants your attention, even though some crave it as if it was their life's blood. Lesson 3: If you're keeping score, then you're bound to win. (If) Life is a competition. (then) Love is imaginary. (which means) Sex is a contact sport. Know this and never go unhappy ever again. Believe whatever you like - its all the same to, well, you.

Hail to the creator of Steak and Blowjob day - a truly wonderful creation.

Retire Already

I did my interview with the intriguing Bob Schmidt of Flogging Molly. Nice bloke, a man of passion and conviction. I should be doing my write up soon.

Last night, my old mate Catchy (who is also embarking on a personal development project akin to my own) took me to the Comics Lounge. I have never seen such a thorough validation of the question: "If you put a hack in a comedy club, does that make him a comic?" I revile snobbery, but this performance was so intellectually dim, it actually laid my critical faculties into dormancy.

Russell Gilbert was the emcee for the night. Completely and utterly loathsome, his attempted quick-witted observations were merely statements of fact glossed over with puerile semi-shocking antics, making him seem all the more desperate for a laugh. He recycled moribund material, expecting us not to know any better, and when murmurs indicated imminent tanking, he resorted to shoving cigarettes up his nose. A truly crass and horrible man. He even hugged me. I can't wash the stain of his cigarette-tarred breath from my mind. The only standout was an Indonesian comic who was the only one that didn't devolve into dick jokes or cliche for a quick laugh. I said to Catch after the show, "If that girl took you up on that date (I was his backup, you see) she would never ever talk to you again."

According to the website, Russell Gilbert is:

"[I]s one of the country’s hardest-working comedians. The veteran star of television, radio and stand-up comedy is always switched on, upbeat and effervescent when it comes to performing – and is excited about taking a leap into the singing arena."

I can assure you, he is none of those things. I am very much looking forward to the Comedy Festival this year. You know, because I know whoever I'll end up seeing will actually be funny.

Flogging Who?

I'm interviewing Flogging Molly on Friday. Which is great. But what should I ask them?

Also picked up Steps to an Ecology of Mind by Gregory Bateson. He studied as a Korzybski influenced Anthropologist, psychologist, evolutionary biologist and epistemologist. Apparently there's nothing he couldn't do - well, attempt, at any rate.

Might be joining this cult-like AIESEC organization, apparently geared towards "unlocking potential" and "personal development." Some of their members' knowledge of influence techniques was impressive. If its free, how bad could it be?