austin and i miss you.

DYLAN LAKE DAVIS, the 6th of March 1991 to the 27th of January 2008, our beloved son, brother, cousin, and friend touched our hearts and changed our lives in so many ways. He wheeled through life with tremendous enthusiasm and a contagious smile. Even though his physical life was more complicated than some, he greeted each day with a positive attitude. He swam, jet-skied, and rode kneeboards at the lake, and enjoyed his summers at Camp For All. An avid sports fan, Dylan loved them all: from baseball and basketball to the X-Games to the WWE. He loved his time running the lighting board for theatrical productions at Memorial High School, where he had many friends. Dylan was a whiz at video games, Guitar Hero, and his favorite computer game, World of Warcraft. Dylan was loved dearly and will be greatly missed by his parents, Leslie & Brad, and brother Thad; aunts and uncles Ron & Mary Ruth Davis and Susan & Phil Schawe; cousins Jay & Jessica Davis and Skyler, Hannah, & Ella Schawe; the McGraw and Ricks families in Brenham, TX and the Breed family in Boston, MA. Friends are cordially invited to a visitation with the family from six until eight o'clock in the evening on Tuesday, the 29th of January, in the Library of Geo. H. Lewis & Sons, 1010 Bering Drive in Houston. The funeral service will be conducted at eleven o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, the 30th of January in the Sanctuary of Chapelwood United Methodist Church, 11140 Greenbay in Houston, where Rev. Bob Johnson and Rev. Joseph Klam will officiate. Interment will follow, via an escorted cortege, at Memorial Oaks Cemetery, 13001 Katy Freeway in Houston. In lieu of usual remembrances, contributions in memory of Dylan may be directed to: Spina Bifida Association of Houston Gulf Coast; 440 Benmar, Suite 3052, Houston, TX 77060. Published in the Houston Chronicle from 1/29/2008 - 1/30/2008.

"Sometimes girls tell us not to measure their bust yet because they're getting boob jobs."

Today my mom and I attended our very first trunk show.

Somehow I had gotten the impression that trunk shows are when a salon or store gets a designer's entire, new collection and has some casual models walk around in selected pieces of the collection, and sometimes the designer themselves comes too. When I awoke this morning, I was thinking "hmm, will I need to buy tickets?" Well, apparently trunk shows like that do exist, but only as special events. No friends, when someone says trunk show, that likely means that a store has all the new pieces in a designer's collection for you to come in and try on. And usually you need to have an appointment. Also, they only have one of each dress, and they're all the ones that the ("six foot tall, anorexic") models wore. what!

That quote up there is how my consultant liked to describe the models. (And the quote in the title is her, too, but she was describing their clientele.) Anyway, I went to a trunk show for three different designers at Houston's premier salon Louise Blum. And I was almost scared shitless, once I realized that I would be trying dresses on, because, well, I'm comfortable shopping at places like Old Navy or Urban Outfitters, where you sometimes must mount an expedition to find employees to help you out. Also, every item in that place is around the price of three years of rent. It's not my element. (My mom even found a tiny, white flower girl dress that was around $800. Seriously, it was like 1.5' of fabric.)

**I also want to add that when I look back, I realize that it's probably pretty uncommon for people there to work with anyone with a facial piercing. I really forget that thing is there almost all the time. Ha.**

Overall it was a good experience. Luckily the consultant I was paired with was a nice, older woman who used to teach high school history and english literature. She secured a large dressing room in the back of the store and never hinted/suggested that I needed to step outside of it (and stand on the pedestal in the middle of the store). It also just so happened that one of the designers featured at the trunk show (Christos) turned out to be a designer I really liked. Which I wish to qualify by saying that it's hard to find dresses I like because I dislike beading or anything sparkly 99% of the time, which means that I dislike the majority of existing dresses in the world. But I'm not picky, I swear!

The only downside to the visit is that my consultant warned me that with a wedding in August that I should order my dress by Feb. 1st. Yipes!

Okay, that's enough wedding shit for today. Goodnight!

The eyes of Garai & McAvoy emote like few others

I want to warn everyone out there that if they consider themselves romantic then they should NOT see Atonement.

I suppose this qualifies some form of an explanation. Was it a bad film? No, quite the contrary. It very well may be one of the best love stories I've experienced; one that might have the staying power of some of my other favorites (The Painted Veil, I Capture the Castle). And cinematically ... well it's perfect. Really well made, filmed, written, etc.

I've heard an ad comparing it to Titanic for some reason. It's nothing like that movie. No, the reason I say do not go is because it is so realistic and so heart wrenching that it will haunt you.

Plus it's too sad.


PS - Hey, I thought the male lead was familiar...he's Mr. Tumnus from Narnia!

?!

I'm watching an old episode of Chappelle's Show, and suddenly I notice Karen Filippelli in one of the skits. Look!

The £inal Harr¥ Potter movie will b€ released in two part$

So did you hear that "deathly hallows" is gonna "kill bill"-it? Good thing or bad thing?

[EDIT]: I wanted to add to this that I read that they make not make any more of the golden compass series because the first didn't gross enough. I hope that doesn't happen, though.

nothing nice to say

I don't know where the fuck I've been, but the first web comic I ever loved returned over a year ago. I'm very excited to discover this, and that might have a lot to do with the fact that I'm so lonely and bored right about now, but...shrug.

It's interesting to read more of Mitch Clem's work now, now that I have gotten into the likes of Achewood and Penny Arcade. Nothing can make me laugh like Achewood, but the return of NN2S is like re-finding an old friend and realizing how you've missed their simple, but unique style of humor.

Also, does anyone know if a black, circular sticker with a white number is a traditional way to honor deceased teammates in the NFL? I find it weird that the redskins' design and the patriots' design for their teammates are identical. Couldn't they use a different font or change the color?

No! Bad quarterback!

Gerrard just referred to the time that his son was in utero as the time that his son was in the stomach of his wife. That's maybe acceptable in front of your neighbors' young kids who don't understand gestation, but don't say that on national television.

Weird!

If you have ever wondered how people with no hands type, you can try out the program here (java required):

The Link

or...

http://www.inference.phy.cam.ac.uk/dasher/
TryJavaDasherNow.html

*I hate how this blog cuts off web addresses...

*Hey, I learned something!

News Headline of the day

"Flasher in minivan drives away after two young girls scream, point, and laugh"

Unfortunately, it's not true, but I loved it anyway. Go fark!

Mass Effect is "moral danger"!

Sex in Video Game Makes Waves Through Industry
By Evan Moore
CNSNews.com Correspondent
January 11, 2008

(CNSNews.com) - A new, best-selling video game, Mass Effect, made for the Microsoft Xbox 360 console, allows the characters to engage in explicitly graphic sexual intercourse. Some game experts and pro-family analysts say Mass Effect is marketed to young kids and presents a moral danger to them and that the companies making and marketing the game should be prosecuted.

The game is "clearly marketed to minors," Cathy Ruse, a lawyer and senior fellow for legal studies at the Family Research Council, told Cybercast News Service.

"There are cultural implications for feeding porn to kids in this way," and "when you do this, you're teaching them a distorted lesson about human sexuality and human dignity. These are lessons that they will take with them into adulthood and ultimately society," Ruse said.

Mass Effect is made by BioWare Corp., in Alberta, Canada. The game has a strong, plot-driven storyline reminiscent of the Star Wars films or television shows like Babylon 5.

As part of that story, the playable character can become romantically involved with a woman, if playing as the default male character; a man, if playing as a woman; and an alien that looks and talks like a woman, for any play-through. This storyline culminates in a cutscene in which the characters copulate in full digital nudity.

The game is rated "M" for mature, as are many video games, and was banned in Singapore last year, though the decision was later reversed. Mass Effect has sold over 1.6 million copies since its release in November 2007. The game scored "Best RPG" in the 2007 Spike TV Video Game Awards, and it has been nominated for Game of the Year.

Critics blast

Bob Waliszewki, media specialist with Focus on the Family, told Cybercast News Service, "We never shy away from sexuality in the media. It's just a question of how is that sexuality portrayed. One can use the media to portray some very healthy forms of sexuality. And when done wisely with taste and age-appropriateness, it can be done well."

"Unfortunately," he said, "Mass Effect doesn't do that and even goes so far as to allow homosexuality to be on par with heterosexuality and heterosexuality outside of its proper context of marriage."

Ruse said, "I don't know if people are really aware about what's in this game, but [the people who made it] should lose a lot of money, and they should lose consumer confidence, because this is a stupid move."

She noted that "when you expose children, whose brains and personalities are still developing, to degrading and harmful material, you've got to believe that's going to have an effect on the way that they view themselves, others, and the world."

"People try to raise a straw-man argument and say that people from my perspective are saying that everyone who views something is going to go out and become a serial sex killer. Nobody's saying that," Ruse said.

"But, it is profoundly naive to suggest that feeding children graphic sexual material is going to have no effect on their psyche. That's just stupid to think that," she added.

Waliszewki noted that numerous reputable studies from firms like the RAND corporation have emerged over the past four years that show causal links between exposure to sexual images, profanity, smoking, and violence to a higher degree of sexual activity, greater use of profanity, higher smoking rates, as well as higher aggressive tendencies and violent action.

"This is about money," Ruse said. "This isn't about a First Amendment debate. This is about [BioWare] making as much money as it can. It's putting elements in its games which they think will help them sell more games. They don't care about what they're doing to kids."

She concluded, "This is unethical, and they have a duty to be good corporate citizens. There's no First Amendment right to exploit children ... They're making money at the expense of children in America, and they ought to be vilified for that."

The state of the industry

Calls made to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) for comment were not answered by press time. However, a report from the ESA says that the game player population is older and diverse than conventional wisdom would assume.

According to the ESA, the average game player is 33 years old and has been playing games for 12 years. Also, 38 percent of all game players are women. Women over the age of 18 represent a significantly greater portion of the game-playing population (31 percent) than boys age 17 or younger (20 percent).

The voice of the video game industry also says that parents are strongly involved when their children buy or rent games. Eighty-six percent of game players under the age of 18 reported that they get their parents' permission when renting or buying games, and 91 percent say their parents are present when they buy games.

Furthermore, the ESA reports that the field of choices available to consumers is very family-friendly. Eighty-five percent of all games sold in 2006 were rated "E" for Everyone, "T" for Teen, or "E10+" for Everyone 10+ by the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB).

Cybercast News Service also sought comment from BioWare Corp but did not receive a reply.

Preventing exposure to children

"When parental involvement is at a high level," Waliszewki said, the warning labels provided by the ESRB could deter children from being exposed to inappropriate material. But he warned that "in many cases, where parents are less involved and oblivious to the world of entertainment these days, an 'M' rating is almost a badge of endorsement."

"Parents really just need to be involved in [their children's] entire entertainment world," he said. "There's just too much gunk out there for parents to be 'hands-off.' They have to be involved. They have to know ... what their kids are into in today's entertainment."

Ruse noted that "most states have what's called 'Harmful to Minors' laws on the books that say that selling sexual material that a jury would deem 'patently offensive to minors, which lacks literary, artistic, political or scientific value.' ... might be prosecutable."

However, she also noted that these laws are "very likely not enforced." Rather than new laws, "we need state and local prosecutors with spines and backbones to prosecute some of these companies that are violating the law" in order to prevent children from being exposed to indecent material, she said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCulture.asp?Page=/Culture/archive/200801/CUL20080111a.html

Way to ruin the fun

Lately the episodes airing of AFV are the ones hosted by that Fuentes girl and some male guy, and it really blows. I never thought that the hosts made that much of a difference, and I never thought I would actually miss Tom Bergeron.

Of course I miss Bob Saget the most.

Four Mates to a State

It's been too long since I've seen one of my bands in concert. So I went to the Mates of State website, because their shows are always so enjoyable with a pleasant crowd. But when I looked at their news feed, they're pregnant again! And not just pregnant, but planning to induce within the next 48 hours. So hooray for babies, and tears for no Mates of State shows for a while. Maybe another group I love is more active.


"Open Book"
Mates of State

DAMMIT!

Me: Mom! I've made a huge mistake!

Mom: What?

Me: I just realized that DJs don't carry the music that I listen to!!! And when we met all of those DJs, I didn't ask them "what if I want a song that you don't have"!!!!

Mom: Well? Email them.

Me: ... *whines* But I wanna know right now!

I am pretty upset about this, and I cannot believe that it slipped my mind, but then again, I only made it through that extravaganza because of massive amounts of flu meds and cough drops.

My Imagination

It really doesn't matter what's going on around me or what mood I am in, because whenever I hear the phrase "I need to tell you something important" (or any variation thereof) I immediately envision the worst conceivable news and begin to wig out.

Of course, I'm almost always wrong. This time one of my good friends called to tell me that she is engaged.

Please let the Seahawks win.

Feverish Dreams

My entire family and I are sick. It's probably just a cold, but we're all fairly miserable, and our alternating coughs sound like a handbell concert of influenza. And despite the fact that my every sneeze is followed by a terrifying, raspy scream (from the pain), the worst part of all of this for me are the dreams I have each time I sleep. They grip me and refuse to let go, and I feel like I have to physically fight to wake up. And when I finally wake I'm in a daze where I feel weak and incredibly alone. So now I dread falling asleep.

I watched bits and pieces of a show on cataplexy last night, and another show on primordial dwarfism. The former is terrifying, and the latter I've seen half a dozen specials on recently. What's interesting for me, about the primordial dwarfism, is that with each individual I see with the disorder, the more I notice a distinct bone-structure pattern, and the more that pattern resembles someone I know (who does not have the disorder).

Finally, I recently re-watched the two UK specials of The Office, which made me even more convinced that the UK Office is, for me, #1 all-time favorite.

First post

Slowly I am coming to the realization that it is now 2008...that school will end and everything will soon be alarmingly different. I'm looking around my room at all the souvenirs I have hoarded over the years, and I'm terrified of the hour when I'll have to go through all of it deciding what to take and what to leave behind.


"Walking is still honest"
Against Me!