A More Wretched Hive of Scum and Villiany

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK

2009-09-30T02:53:11Z

Seriously though, don't call it a comeback.

It has been...awhile since I wrote a post on this and I'm pretty sure the only people who still read livejournal are #Zach and John, but maybe...maybe we can change that. I've found my journaling needs satisfied by twitter, but something more substantial is needed.

So life, in general, is pretty good.

The Less Good

Right now I've got a wicked cold and have been dosing myself on safeway brand dayquil ("Day Time") and OJ.

Laura is in France, which means no spontaneous phone calls or texts and whatnot. However, this means my trip to visit her in January is closer to happening. We've been talking pretty regularly though and we're getting into a nice groove when it comes to talkin'.

I have been blowing off reading for class kinda lately. It's bad. I like my classes, I do, but theres not alot of motivation for me when we go over everything in class.

I'm getting on a kinda shitty sleep schedule. Don't usually fall asleep until atleast 2, get up around 8 or 9, repeat. Need to fix this.

My roommate, Ben, is kind of like Ross 2.0, in that he has a weird sleep schedule and is a total conspiracy theorist. He also has really heavy steps, it unnerves me.

The Good

Went to the Small Press Expo in Bethesda and it was a blast. Met some really nice and talented people, got comics, ate burritos, punched god.

Scribblenauts is a delightful, delightful game.

Baltimore Comic Con is the weekend after next.

Ben is actually a pretty cool guy and frequently quotes Ghostbusters.

My internship at City Paper has led not only to cool little perks like free tickets to SPX and to parties in Baltimore, but also paid work, which is rad as hell.

That's all I got for now. Lets make a thing of this.

oh, and Tumblr blows, sorry #Zach.

themaxrobinson @ 2009-03-25T14:04:00

2009-03-25T18:07:10Z

I've got a stomach virus!

This meant I spent most of yesterday at the health center throwing up and then the hospital for some quality time waiting for a room to open up. Carrol County General is a terrible hospital (though my nurse and doctor were very nice). I've never been this sick before, though the vomiting stopped yesterday.

bleh.

themaxrobinson @ 2009-03-09T15:32:00

2009-03-09T19:37:53Z

I Can't get motivated to work on paper about "Film Noir in It's A Wonderful Life". Which is weird, because I love those two things seperately and its only three pages.

I also have another 5 page paper due for lit methods by friday, but thats just a draft.

Oh, and maths.

I saw Watchmen on friday. I have never been more moved by an opening credits sequence. Despite some small flaws, a great movie. Need to see it again. Hurm.

Pretty excited for Spring Break and the potential for Dinosaur World/Seeing my family/General hangage/sweet, sweet Chipotle.

My Life In Music

2009-02-26T07:24:31Z

This is just as good a time as any to do a new lj post!

Hey Joe-Jimmy Hendrix, various Guns N Roses (age 4)

This is my earliest memory of listening to music, my sister would pick me up from kindergarten and she'd get me to memorize Jimmy Hendrix songs and play the Terminator 2 soundtrack. This is responsible for my fondness for both Hendrix and gNr, I think.

Kissed By a Rose - Seal, Batman Forever OST (age 7)

The Batman Forever soundtrack was the first album I've ever bought and I bought it because, like everyone in 1995, I really liked that Seal song. My mom bought it for me one day when I'd come into work with her for the day. I remember really liking that soundtrack for some reason. This was the first movie soundtrack I bought as well and it kicked off my lifelong habit of listening primarily to movie soundtracks.

Judge Dredd OST (age 7)

I have no idea why I bought this soundtrack, other than the fact that it looked cool.

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness - The Smashing Pumpkins, Various Mozart, Beethoven (age 7)

This is the first non-soundtrack album I owned, my dad bought this and some classical music cds for me for christmas(I was really into "Tonight tonight", mostly because of the music video). I remember feeling cool and grown up for listening to Smashing Pumpkins. The classical music cds got me onto a serious classical music kick that went on for a good five years or so.

Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (age 10)

Episode 1 coming out was so huge for me, to the point that I ended up skipping an elementary school chorus concert I was supposed to sing in to see it with my parents opening night (I remember being so amazed and envious that my-best-friend-at-the-time Mike Smeltz saw it at midnight). I listened to this soundtrack a lot as a kid, it makes me think of 5th grade and being friends with Mike and AJ Dean.

The Rugrats Movie OST/The Best of Godzilla 1954- 1975 (age 11)

I recieved both these albums for christmas, I think they were both from my aunt. The rugrats soundtrack is a pretty weird range of stuff (Angelica covering a Blondie song?) but I remember liking it alot. The Godzilla soundtrack is a funny story. I asked for the soundtrack to the American Godzilla movie (I really liked that Puff Daddy Zepplin remix thing, I guess), but my aunt got me this. I only listened to it once and my mom and I ended up laughing at it. Then is just kind of sat in a box for 10 years until I found it a few months ago, burned it to my itunes and realized how awesome it is (and far superior to the Rugrats soundtrack. Good call, Aunt Diane!).

The Beatles Anthology tapes (age 11)

I got really into the beatles around middle school, specifically on a trip to visit my grandparents in Boise, Idaho. The White Album sticks out. Listening to these tapes is largely responsible for my love of the Beatles.

You or Someone Like You -Matchbox 20, Kryptonite - Three Doors Down (Age 13-15)

Kicked off a love of what I can best describe as "wuss rock" that lasted until around sophmore year of high school, wherein that thankfully stopped.

Abbey Road - The Beatles(age 13)

This was the first Beatles album I actually bought, after hearing it while Jeremy Embrey and his dad and I drove to a boy scout camping trip. I listened to it over and over while on vacation in the US Virgin Islands and I remember being super proud of myself for picking up Paul McCartney laughing alittle bit in "Maxwell's Silver Hammer". After this, I'd officially fallen in love with The Beatles.

Sargent Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band/ Shrek 2 OST(age 15)

I ended up listening to both of these alot over the period of like a month. I think my mom bought the Shrek 2 one for herself and Sargent Peppers for me. The Shrek 2 soundtrack is weird, but has an interesting cover of "Changes" on it that was the catalyst for me really getting into Bowie a few years later. Sargent Peppers became my favorite Beatles album and I listened to it like nonstop on this one boy scout campout at Solomon's Island. To this day, it's my favorite album (for some reason it isn't in my itunes, which is an oversight I will correct immediately). "Being for the Benefit of Mr.Kite" is such an underrated, awesome song.

Various Johnny Cash (Age 17)

I spent a large chunk of the first half of senior year being super depressed and began listening to almost nothing but Johnny Cash. I'm still a huge fan, but I can pinpoint the lowpoints of my teen years by looking at how much Johnny Cash I was listening to at the time. Then and the summer of '07 were bad times, man.

Of Montreal/Ratatat (age 18)

My roommate Ross loved these two group and got me into them when we moved in together freshman year, officially getting me interested into music that isn't older than I am.

There's alot more I can talk about, but I'm exhausted. Look for part 2 tomorrow.

themaxrobinson @ 2009-01-21T19:15:00

2009-01-22T00:28:21Z

Well, after four months and alot of emotional blackmail bullshit, its completely over. I still feel like shit, but I'm glad that she finally made a decision, ANY decision regarding getting back together. I tried my best and apparently I'm still an asshole and all that was pretty much for nothing. She said she likes being single and that she wants to focus on school and "moving to boston after I graduate".

Despite all of this, I'm looking forward to the semester starting. I'm taking interesting classes, my friends will be around, and I can throw myself into Contrast editorial/CockTales/TV club/work/the blog.

I really, really need to find an internship.

The Top 8 (plus 3, minus 1) of '08

2009-01-13T05:53:25Z

I sure haven't updated this with an actual "livejournal" post.

10.Pineapple Express
I think this movie is as high as it is because James Franco perfectly plays my crazy ex-roommate, to an almost scary degree. Hilarious movie and has some of the best physical comedy sequences I've ever seen.

9.Slumdog Millionaire (Pronounced "mill-on-ahre")
This was the last movie of 08 I saw and I feel bad having this movie so low on the list. This is a good movie and I really enjoyed the framing device (The questions relating to key points in Jamaal's life) and thought it was a really well shot and enjoyable flick. I don't really get where "best movie of the year" is coming from, but it was solid.

8.Forgetting Sarah Marshall
This movie grows on me the more times I see it. It's not only a really funny movie, but it has a really great message behind it and delivers it really well. Fantastic ensemble cast too.

7.In Bruges
I watched this movie on the plane to England, slightly drunk on red wine. Thats pretty much the best way to watch this movie. Manages to be really funny in parts and super-dark in other parts and it doesn't feel forced.

6.Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull
Everyone hated this movie but me, apparently. This isn't Raiders of the Lost Ark, its not even quite as good as Last Crusade, but man did I love this movie. Its by no means a perfect film, but sequences like Jones in the nuclear test site and the jungle chase are classic Spielberg fun. This was a really great adventure flick and a great farewell to one of my all-time favorite fictional characters

5.Iron Man
Iron Man kicked off the summer movie season and it's maybe my favorite marvel movie. It pulls off being both a great superhero movie and a great subversion of superhero movies (especially when you compare the angst-filled never ending drama of Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson to the more realistic and emotionally mature romance between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts). This isn't the best comic book film of the year, but it manages to be the most fun one. Faverou and Downey have created a fantastic start to a potentially amazing franchise.

4.Tropic Thunder
I have never laughed so hard so quickly at a movie. An unbelievable ensemble comedic cast, a really sharp satire of the film industry and its a crime that Robert Downey jr. won't get nominated for this, because he gives one of the best performances in a comedy I've ever seen. This is easily the funniest movie of the year and that says alot in year of really spectacular comedies.

3.Cloverfield
I haven't seen this movie again since I saw it the one and only time I saw it in theatres. My lack of desire to watch this again puzzled me for awhile, but I realize now its because this movie just crushes you. Its a terrifying film and, as much as people give it crap for the "shakey cam", it puts you in the film and you don't feel comfortable until the credits roll.

2.Wall-E
I dunno what to say about this movie other than its a truly beautiful film and Pixar's best yet and the fact this is accomplished with very little dialogue is astonishing.

1.The Dark Knight
I'm still not sure if this or Wall-E should be in the number 1 spot, but I'm giving it to Dark Knight if only because this is the most ambitious movie of the year. It's not only a great comic book adaptation and a great crime film, If Superman:The Movie created is the first great superhero movie, The Dark Knight is the first great movie about superheroes. Bale is great, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman are amazing and Heath Ledger is,unarguably, perfect.

The Bottom three

3. Get Smart
I don't understand how this movie managed to be not funny at all, but it was bad. I felt like I was watching the Agent Michael Skarn script from that one episode of The Office.

2. The Happening
This is one of the most unintentionally hilarious movies I've ever seen. Everything about this movie is terrible and it alternates between being unbelievably stupid and depressing. It was like watching Shyamalan fall apart on film, you almost believe the "oh it was meant to be a comedy" damage control bs he tried to spin, its that bad.

1. Disaster Movie
This was the most excruciating awful movie I've ever seen and I hope the directors get eaten alive by animals.

Speaking of movies, check out my new post on Fire Lisa Shwarzbaum, the blog about terrible movie reviews created by myself, John and Zach!

http://firelisaschwarzbaum.blogspot.com/

whew.

themaxrobinson @ 2009-01-07T00:57:00

2009-01-07T06:00:14Z

I am completely fucking useless.

The end.

Comics: A Year In Review

2008-12-31T05:42:17Z

Best Comics-Related Book: Watching The Watchmen by Dave Gibbons and Chip Kidd

I haven't finished reading it, but my god what an impressive book. It's essentially a coffee table book with pieces of art related to Watchmen (early sketches, alternate costume designs, promotional materials, etc). Along with Gibbon's insightful commentary on the evolution of Watchmen from early ideas to the published issues, it's both a great behind the scenes look of the greatest comic book mini series came together and a collection of some fantastic artwork.

Best Cover Artist: Marko Djurdjevic (Daredevil, Secret Invasion)

He's been doing a ton of covers for Marvel lately and I think the pictures posted here really speak for themselves. His work has this great, Alex Ross-like realism, but with a way better sense for stuff like composition and symbolism. His cover for Daredevil #100 is what got me buying the book.

Best Penciller: George Perez (Final Crisis: Legion of Three Worlds)

Perez has always been one of my top 3 comic book artists and it's impressive how the quality of his work hasn't dropped at all over the years. Legion of Three Worlds is proof of this and, jesus, is this a well drawn book. Theres no one else in the industry better at drawing large groups of people than Perez and that along with his brilliant use of panels makes this the best drawn book of the year for me.

Best Graphic Novel (Reprinted Material): The Immortal Iron Fist volume 2: The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven by Ed Brubaker and Matt Fraction, Tony Aja and others.
Runner up: The Daredevil by Brian Michael Bendis Omnibus

This list is going to be pretty Brubaker heavy, so all I'll say is that The Seven Capital Cities of Heaven is what happens when you take Enter The Dragon and The Karate Kid they make a beautiful, beautiful baby. The fight sequences in this are stunning and the way Brubaker and fraction balance the tournament with the background conflict of unrest in K'un L'un and Hydras attempt to destroy the city by HITTING IT WITH A MAGNA-TRAIN LOADED WITH EXPLOSIVES. Definitely the best new purchase I made this year and I can't wait to pick up the next trade soon.

Best Digital Comic: Dinosaur Comics by Ryan North, www.qwantz.com

Dinosaur Comics is consistently the funniest and most entertaining webcomic I read and this year was no exception.

Best Humor Publication: Perry Bible Fellowship: The Trial of Colonel Sweeto and Other Stories by Nicholas Gurewitch

PBF is on a hiatus of some kind for awhile, but this collection of nearly every PBF strip is a great package and a must have for anyone who's a fan of the strip. The unused strips with commentary are pretty cool and the candy land inspired design of the book is lovely. I might be biased because I got this signed by Gurewitch, who is the nicest guy ever.

Best New Series: Incredible Hercules by Fred Van Lente and Greg Pak, Khoi Pham & Stephane Peru and misc other artists.
Runner up: Secret Six by Gail Simone and Nicola Scott

It's the adventures of a greek demigod, a 15 year old asian super genius and his pet wolf cub. It's shaping up to be a great series and not only that, but its tie ins to the the two big Marvel events of the year were much better than the events they were tying into.

Best Limited Series: Age of The Sentry by Jeff Parker and Paul Tobin,Nick Dragotta
Ramon Rosanas and misc artists.
Runner up: Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge by Geoff Johns and Scott Kollins

This is maybe the funniest comic I've read from Marvel in years. Parker and Tobin perfectly parody the ridiculousness of silver age Superman comics and the concepts they introduce (Truman Capote: Daily Bugle Reporter, Harrison Oogar, the Caveman of wall street) are brilliant and hilarious. Not only that, but the subtle way the reader's been introduced to the fact that there is non-humorous plotline connecting the stories gives the whole mini a level of depth that is truly impressive and suprising.

Best Continuing Series: Captain America by Ed Brubaker and Steve Epting
Runner up: Daredevil by Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark

It's a testament to how great a writer Brubaker is that he can kill off Captain America, bring back Bucky and have him become the new Captain America and make it the best on going storyline in comics. His run on the book is going to be remembered as the best in the character's 60 plus year history. Captain America is like a great spy movie and I can't wait to see where it'll go next.

Best Single Issue: Amazing Spiderman #579 by Mark Waid and Marco Martins

It's kind of sad that, in a year full of "big" Spiderman stories like One More Day, the best story the character's been featured in came out a few weeks ago. But that said, this two part story is not only the best Spiderman story of the year, it's the best story of the year. It manages to distill every great Spiderman story element into two issues. This is issue is the second part and you have highlights like an exhausted Spiderman pulling a dozen people up a subway shaft while covered in rats or J.Jonah Jameson running to meet his father, only for him to disappear before he can. Marco Martins' art, which I've been a fan of since his work on Dr.Strange: The Oath, is eye-popping and fluid. It's a pitch perfect comic and I would kill to see this creative team get their own run on ASM instead of a two issue fill in.

Best Writer: Ed Brubaker (Captain America, Criminal, Daredevil, Immortal Iron Fist)

Ed Brubaker has, over the last year, become my favorite writer in comics. He write suspenseful, action driven comics with an intelligence and depth that isn't seen very often in mainstream comics. The one series I didn't get to talk about as much as I'd like in this wrap up is Criminal, which is maybe the man's best work, combining brutal noir stories with some really fascinating articles on crime fiction. Brubaker is probably the best writer Marvel has right now and he's writing some truly amazing work for them.

Tomorrow? My top 10 films of '08!

Happiness Meme

2008-12-30T19:48:49Z

Monday:

Got a haircut! looks ok, I guess.

Fun game times at Josh's was fun.

fin

Happiness Meme

2008-12-29T05:09:55Z

Sunday:

Work went by reasonably quickly. Can't really think of anything else to be happy about.

Happiness Meme

2008-12-28T05:25:05Z

Saturday:

Watched Dark Knight and Breakin' 2: Electric boogaloo.

Had a pretty amazing multi-hour conversation on skype that will not be soon forgotten.

Happiness Meme

2008-12-27T06:49:32Z

Friday:

I worked at Borders today for the first time since September and it went well, so cash was earned and I got to do something productive. Totally excited to use my employee discount to buy a copy of Bat-Manga. Got to hang out with John and Zach and partake in hiijinks/hunt for pez.

Happiness Meme

2008-12-25T17:37:35Z

Thursday:

It's Christmas and watching my nephew upwrap his presents makes it even better.

I got some really cool presents, including:

*Watching The Watchmen! which is a big coffee table book filled with all these conceptual sketches and whatnot for Watchmen.

*The Dark Knight on dvd! I will watch this many times.

*A DC Comics Silver age/Golden age cover calendar

*A Signed copy of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard book!

*Spaced: The Complete Series on dvd (Plan on watching some of it today)

*John Hodgeman's new book!

Sweet Christmas.

Happiness Meme

2008-12-24T19:56:23Z

Tuesday:

Celebrated Christmas with my dad and stepmom, recieved the following:
*Daredevil Omnibus by Brian Michael Bendis (30ish issues of sweet, sweet blind superherory)
*A sweater
*$20
and maybe best of all...
*A tie that plays "silent night". I may have to work this into my new years party outfit.

Wednesday:
It's christmas eve! That alone is enough to be excited about.

Happiness Meme

2008-12-22T22:08:56Z

Monday:

*I got 99% of of my christmas shopping/wrapping done!

*Josh and I had a delightful afternoon of shopping and making missed connections with strangers.

*I picked up a copy of The Proposition for $9 at Target.

Happiness meme

2008-12-22T05:32:15Z

Rules: For 8 days you have to post something that made you happy that day. If you can read this, you've been tagged.

Sunday:
I'm back home from England and I got to spend the day with some of my best friends, eating Chipotle and "not" going to the mall!

Things I need to do before I leave, in chronological order.

2008-12-13T23:37:59Z

Sunday:
*Study for Archaeology final
Monday:
*Study for Archaeology final
Tuesday:
*Get my second English paper back from Brit/Irish lit Seminar tutor
*Attend final Brit/Irish lit seminar
*Study for Archaeology final
*Last Shambles meeting
Wednesday:
*Last minute studying for Archaeology final
*End of semester/"Max's farewell party" party
*Go to bed at reasonable hour because ohfuck final tomorrow morning
Thursday:
*Take Archaeology final at 9:30
*Run errands in town
*Pack
Friday:
*Drop off keys, leave
*Catch 12:30 train to London

This was going to be a What's On My Mind, In 5, but I have too many things to discuss.

2008-12-03T13:37:39Z

It's beginning to feel a great deal like Christmas and that makes me happy. I need to start doing some Christmas shopping, possibly today.

My improv show with The Shambles last week went really well and I may be performing in the last one of the semester next week. They are awesome kids and I will miss them.

I emailed my boss at Borders and will be working there for the two weeks I'm home. This is kind of a necessary evil, as I'd rather use that time to hang out with people, but I'm going to need some money.

Hard to believe I'm going to be home in 17 days. This semester went by really quickly, I have to believe the four weeks of almost back to back papers helped in that aspect. It's weird thinking about going back to McDaniel, it feels like I've been away from there for much longer (though I guess I have since I haven't had classes there since May).

Pretty excited about my classes next semester: I'm taking Film Analysis, Scriptwriting, some English Major requirement filling Lit analysis class and Astrobiology (Which is apparently a pretty easy class about theoretical alien life. Lots of movies are watched). I also may be taking a non-credit math class that will get my horrible public school system math skills back in shape in order to take the math equivalency test I have to pass to graduate.

I can't stop thinking about Marina and I'm really worried about how stuff goes when I get back, even though I know I shouldn't be. I can't decide if she doesn't want to get back together or if she's just waiting until she sees me to tell me how she feels. In any case, she's apparently getting me a christmas present, so I guess thats a good sign? I'm mentally preparing myself to be heartbroken, but hopefully being home with family and friends will soften that blow. I know I should probably just forget about her until I get home, but that was pretty much what I did when Alex and I broke up and it just made things worse ultimately.

I found out I have to turn in a revised version of my first English essay as well as write an "essay" comparing Sappho/English poetry for my english class which won't be collected or looked at by my seminar professor. This is frustrating because I thought I really only had to do some reading and study for my Archaeology final. It's certainly not the end of the world and it really isn't that much work, but uggghhhhh. My first English paper was kind of a mess too, but I'm going to just try and knock it out this saturday and change as much as I can without having to go back and do more research. I'm not at all prepared for this Archaeology final, which is silly because all I have to do is answer one essay question in an hour. Next week will be spent studying powerpoints and notes.

Guys, Dinosaur Kingdom is not open during December/January! This means we can't go (though I'd be down for it during spring break/the summer). We have to come up with something else. Something awesome.

Zac Bittner's incredibly entertaining, sprawling epic of a Facebook note is one of the funniest things I've ever seen, if only for the Pat/Zac flamewar.

it's 2 in the afternoon and I still haven't showered, should prolly do that.

Later skaters.

What's On My Mind, In Five.

2008-11-19T15:08:27Z

5.I got into The Shambles, which is University of York's Improv troupe! I'm pretty excited and suprised about it, given that they had a ton of really impressive people auditioning along side me and I'd assumed that my being there for only one semester would've probably hurt my chances. It's a really funny and talented group of people and they seem really excited to have me, so I feel like I've really found my niche here.

4. Still feeling down about ex-girlfriend stuff. Things seem to be at a standstill, it doesn't look terrible, but we don't talk alot and I'm beginning to worry she'll have "moved on" when I come back (I...have experience in this). Ultimately though, theres nothing I can do about it for right now, so I'm trying not to focus on her. Needless to say, things will either go really well or really poorly when we finally do get to see each other when I get home in December.

3. I've gotten B's essentially on my last two papers (well, a B- and a B), which is fantastic, as I was expecting to get atleast C's on them. Now all I have to do is knock out my last paper for English/Irish Lit (due monday) and I will literally have nothing to do but read for class until my Archaeology final.

2.I'm really excited for Dinosaur World with Josh, Sisson and Corey (and presumably others). I'm only going to be home for a few weeks because of Jan term, so I feel like this kind of adventure is needed.

1. Despite the fact that I've spent alot of my time abroad missing home, it really has been a great experience. I feel like I've managed to lose alot of anger that I've had inside me and become less of an asshole. I guess being in a really beautiful city and out of your comfort zone will do that to you.

themaxrobinson @ 2008-11-17T09:39:00

2008-11-17T14:46:33Z

So this is pretty much the greatest thing ever:

http://io9.com/5084491/the-alternate-history-theme-park-where-dinosaurs-fought-the-civil-war

Who is up for a trip to Natural Bridge, Virginia?!

themaxrobinson @ 2008-11-11T17:11:00

2008-11-11T17:17:18Z

My grandmother died yesterday. I just found this out today in a one sentence email from my dad. I didn't get to say anything to her and I feel really bad for not atleast calling her. We weren't that close, but she was my grandmother. I hope my dad calls me tonight. I hate that the one time I'm out of the fucking country, someone in my immediate family dies.

I would really like to go home now.

On top of this, my internet in my room isn't working, which is frustrating in terms of trying to check for responses from my parents about this.

Halloween

2008-11-01T16:33:19Z

Went to a party on campus and then ended up at a club, which was nothing but people in costume and techno (Including a techno remix of the Ghostbusters theme :]). Various shenanigans ensued, but heres a break downs of the costumes I saw:

*Multiple Smurfs, Hulks (aka dudes in a body make up and no shirt. Must have been a cold night for them)

*A ton of supermen, a fair amount of batmen, though I didn't see as many jokers, all of them seemed to be the facemake up/lipstick/eye shadow with a hawaiian shirts, no Creed from the office-esque quality. There was a Captain America and that made me happy.

*Trashy chicks in trashy outfits. Though two of my friends were dressed as cats and they managed to look classy.

*Zombies

*Possibly my favorite costume: Guy dressed as Dracula, but with an uzi. I called him "South Central Dracula".

*No Palins, McCains or Obamas, but that's to be expected.

I was pretty happy to be seemingly the only Indiana Jones. Though drunken

themaxrobinson @ 2008-10-28T18:03:00

2008-10-28T22:31:39Z

I haven't updated this in way too long.

I've been in England for almost 4 weeks now and I'm getting into the swing of things. I'm taking two classes (or "modules" as they call them here):

*English and Irish Literature- This is my big, 40 credit class. I have three lectures a week and then a two hour "seminar" that is basically a 12 person sit down talk/lecture with a professor. There are about three lecturers, two of whom are American. The professor for my seminar is kind of crazy and spacey and was by the far the most casually dressed person in the room (t shirt, jeans and tennis shoes). He's like a coherent version of keith richards. The class itself is interesting, if dense. We started by reading Woolf's To The Lighthouse, which I wasn't crazy about and we're now on Yeats' The Tower, which I'm liking.

*Introduction to British Archeology- This is only 10 credits and only two one hour lectures a week. Two people from my study abroad program are in it with me, so we sit together. It's a really interesting class, I feel like I'm learning alot.

Combined, I only have three papers due. Two 2,500 word essays (Lit) and one 1,500 word essay (Archeology). The good news means they're super short. The bad news is the first two are due on friday and monday, respectively, and I have to do alot of reading/research despite how short these papers are. I figure once this week's over, the rest of the semester will be pretty laid back.

My mom flew out to visit me this from friday until today. I took the train up to london and we did touristy things, I have a ton of photos to put up on facebook. Ate some really great food (including maybe the best spaghetti and meatballs I've ever had, strangely enough). Went to the British Museum, Tower of London, Portabello Market and our hotel was right next to The Eye and about half a block from the Houses of Parliament/Big Ben (Which, as I discovered, is not actually the name of the clock, but a bell inside the clock).

Things with Marina are at a pretty comfortable point right now, I feel really good about things.

All in all, things are good. I'm not really looking forward to missing Thanksgiving, but there was some talk amongst the folks in my study abroad group about doing a thanksgiving, so we'll see how that goes. I definitely need to update more.

Up next: Halloween!

Goodbye

2008-10-08T20:59:32Z

Cya
So Long
Happy Trails
Adios
Auf wiedersehen
Salut
Heippa
Vale
Take Care
Take It Easy
In a While, Crocodile,
and L8ter Sk8ters.

Say hello to your mother for me.

The Lasts

2008-10-08T04:40:28Z

* Last Cigarette: I've never smoked a cigarette, but I did smoke a cigar with Ross about 4 weeks ago.
* Last Alcoholic Drink: Had some SoCo with Ross last weekend. I'm beginning to notice a pattern hear.
* Last Car Ride: My folks picking me up from College Park yesterday
* Last Kiss: Sunday from Marina. Actually, my dad kissed me on the cheek when I hugged him goodbye on monday, but both were important.
* Last Good Cry: Hmm, going to say sometime last week, I can't remember exactly when.
* Last Library Book checked out: Rising Stars vol.1 if you count comics, The Yiddish Policeman's Union if you don't. I also checked out The General Guide to Racism from Borders.
* Last Movie Seen in Theater: Disaster Movie (Why god why)
* Last Book Read: Planet Hulk (Comic), The General Guide to Racism (Book)
* Last Movie Rented: Semi-Pro
* Last Cuss Word Uttered: Gonna go with Fuck.
* Last Crush: Marina
* Last TV Show Watched: Curb Your Enthusiasm
* Last Time Showered: This morning
* Last Shoes Worn: my brown leather Clarks
* Last CD Played: The mix cd Marina made for me this weekend.
* Last Item Bought: Medium Orange bubble tea
* Last Download: Shape of My Heart - Noah and The Whale (Definitely the best free download I've ever gotten from iTunes)
* Last Annoyance: Today
* Last Disappointment: Sunday
* Last Soda: Caffeine free Diet Pepsi (I will never understand why my folks buy all this diet crap)
* Last Thing Written: God, I can't even remember. Probably a poem I wrote a few weeks ago.
* Last Key Used: House key, by default
* Last Word(s) Spoken: "Thank you and good night"
* Last Sleep: From roughly 2:30am until 12:30 this afternoon.
* Last IM: Josh Kemper
* Last Weird Encounter: This weekend had a few. The obvious answer would be sitting on the steps of the psych building drinking with Ross, but the subtle one would be semi-crashing the theatre party saturday night and getting a few weird looks.
* Last Ice Cream Eaten: Cookies and Cream with magic shell.
* Last Time Amused: a few minutes ago, watching Dan Ackroyd talk about the power of Crystal Skull Vodka.
* Last Time Wanting To Die: Early last week
* Last Time Hugged: Today by my nephew, Christopher.
* Last Time Scolded: Tonight
* Last Time Resentful: Sunday
* Last Chair Sat In: Kitchen chair.
* Last Shirt Worn: my Hoco film fest t shirt that is rapidly decaying.
* Last Webpage Visited: Livejournal.