November 28 - Well, shit. I wrote a big long whining ramble about my hair in here, and it somehow disappeared. Oh, well. It probably would have been pretty boring to an outsider.
Anyhow, I added this today and put a new link on my links page. Go check them out. Also, please send me some feedback or sign the guestbook. Thanks. Enjoy the rest of your day.
November 27 - I don't know about the rest of you, but I highly enjoyed Thanksgiving.
I may have sounded a little mean in the last update. For this, I'm sorry. There are a lot of pages on the Internet whose entire purpose is to offend. I'm not setting out to offend people, but if it happens inadvertently, then it happens. I don't thrive off of people's hate for me, and I don't see being hated as a sign of superiority, intellectual or otherwise. There are plenty of people who do see it that way, however, and that's their business. But this page, for me, is just something to do. To disagree with someone is one thing; to mold and exaggerate one's own opinions for the express purpose of offending someone is quite another, and one that I'm never going to do. I've been down that road, and I find my existence rather more fulfilling when I don't live for the reactions of other people. (Note to readers: This isn't aimed towards anyone. I just wanted to clarify my reasons for writing this page.) Now enjoy the rest of the album!
Anyhow, the Christmas season is finally upon us! I'd like to make a request of you guys in honor of this event. Even if you don't believe in Christmas as it pertains to the birth of a religious icon, or have a total disdain for the religion to which the religious icon pertains, or have a disdain for all religion in general, this can apply to you. I'm not sure about my own religious beliefs as of right now or whether Christmas has any part in them, but in America, Christmas is one thing by which everyone's affected in some way.
Whether Christmas is a huge religious event to you or is just a commercial season of pretty lights and presents, please try to be nice. Jimbo, in one of his daily updates last week, wrote something quite nice about our selective consciousnesses (what is the plural of consciousness, anyway?) - that is, the way that we all consider some other people to "count," and some to "not count." We've all made fun of people. We also all know what it's like to be made fun of. So why is it that we continue to make fun of other people or even be downright mean-spirited? Because we make the unconscious distinction between the people who "count" and people who "don't count." Well, I propose that this year, in honor of the Christmas season (or how about just in honor of the month of December), we should all consider everyone as a person who "counts."
Even if you believe in the "create-your-own-reality" type of consciousness, that doesn't give you license to be mean to everyone who doesn't agree with you or doesn't look as good as you think that you do or is somehow inferior to you. Look for yourself in another person. Just try it. Try to relate to another person. I'm not saying that you have to like everyone you meet. It's as natural to dislike others as it is to like them. But just try to be nice. Treat others as you would have them treat you. Don't buy into the whole "if they hate me, then that proves that I'm superior in intelligence" theory. You may be, but true intelligence is like a river, folks: the deeper it runs, the more quietly it flows.
In our society, and particularly on the Internet, niceness has been overlooked in the quest for a type of underground popularity that revolves around cynicism and being hated. Can't we change that, people? We don't have to walk on eggshells around one another or hide our controversial opinions in order to be nicer. It really all boils down to common courtesy. When that fat, toothless, raggedly-clothed Salvation Army bell-ringer tells you to have a merry Christmas, thank him, reciprocate, and mean it. Does it hurt you to do that? No. It doesn't hurt anyone, but it might make his day. Just because he's unattractive, poorly spoken, and uneducated doesn't make him any less of a person. He has the same feelings that you have. Treat him like the person that he is. Make him "count."
Well, that takes care of my feel-good speech of the year. Please, guys, take it to heart. Let me be the first to say that in spite of my occasional cynical remark, I truly don't respect cynicism. It doesn't hurt to be a little nicer to others. Try it - you'll like it!
I changed my about page today. Check it out, beeyotch.
November 24 - Well, my birthday was great, everybody, thanks for (not) asking.
Thanksgiving. Ah, Thanksgiving. To be honest with you, I never liked Thanksgiving all that much because it always fell precariously close to my birthday, threatening to steal my thunder. Also, I didn't develop a voracious appetite for turkey until a couple of years ago. Now I stuff it in like there's no tomorrow. But seriously, folks...what's the deal with Thanksgiving? More specifically, people who bash Thanksgiving like we're celebrating Satan's birthday or something?
One of the things that bothers me the most about other people is over-analyzation. People amaze me in that they can over-analyze anything, whether it's television, music, fashion...nothing is sacred. And yes, they've even gotten their greedy little hands on Thanksgiving. So to save all of you over-analyzers the work, I will now give you the long version of "What is Thanksgiving?"
1. Thanksgiving is an American holiday that was instituted in the late 1800's by Abraham Lincoln. It falls on the fourth Thursday of November each year.
2. Thanksgiving does not celebrate the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World. In case you didn't get that, I repeat: Thanksgiving does not celebrate the Pilgrims' arrival in the New World. Are you clear on that now? Good. It is a celebration of all that we have for which to be thankful. The holiday's origins go back to when the Pilgrims arrived in the New World. The Pilgrims were barely scraping by, what with food shortages, blizzards, and the like. Then two friendly Indians (excuse me, Native Americans), Samoset and Squanto, befriended the Pilgrims and taught them how to grow things like corn so that they could last a freakin' winter without starving, already. In thanksgiving to the Native Americans, the Pilgrims prepared a feast for the N.A.'s. No one knows whether this actually happened, because none of us were there.
3. Thanksgiving does not have to be any more than just a day on which people eat lots of turkey, watch football, and take a nap, just as Christmas does not have to be any more than a day on which people open gifts from one another and eat a lot. If you personally feel as if you have things for which to be thankful, go ahead and thank God for them. If you feel as if you don't, or you don't believe in God, just eat turkey and watch football and take a nap. You can also do both.
What is so hard about this? Why do people have to get all self-righteous on everyone else's ass and denounce Thanksgiving? There are things called traditions that come with every culture on earth. Most of the people reading this page take part in the American culture. Please, get used to it, or leave.
November 21 - It would figure. Everyone's hot for napster.com and mp3's and Winamp, and it's all being raved over as if it's the best thing since sliced bread. And I am the only person who is unable to participate in this booming new trend. Why, you ask?
Because my Goddamn speakers refuse to work.
Of all times for my speakers to defect, it would be now, when the wonder that we so humbly dub technology allows me to listen to my favorite music without even buying it. For free. But noooooo. My speakers, after a good five years of working perfectly, have decided to just putter their lame asses out! Why? By the way, I added this. Check it out.
Question of the day: How do I fix my damned speakers? They're attached to my monitor. I have a Packard Bell computer, circa 1994. Send your replies here.
November 20 - Two days 'til my birthday, folks! Thank God it doesn't fall on Thanksgiving this year. Do any of you guys have birthdays that sometimes or always fall on holidays such as Thanksgiving or Easter or Christmas? Isn't it hell? There's nothing worse than sharing the one day of the year that's all about YOU with some other day of celebration.
Oh, yeah - I also added my links page and this.
Question of the day: There isn't one.
November 16 - Well, in my humble opinion, folks, I think that my page is coming along pretty well. I've realized the error of my previous ways - whenever I'd try to make a webpage, I'd try to do it all in a frenzy so that when I "opened it to the public," so to speak, it would be all ready. I think that by taking things one day at a time and not overdoing it by typing 38110 essays in one day, I'm doing a much better job. This leaves time for a little quality when I'm only adding new things every few days. Of course, I'm sure that one of these days, I'll write five opinions in an hour and put them all up. But hey, as long as I'm in no rush, all the better for you, baby.
So keep reading, Hank, and I promise that I'll keep putting up my scintillating ramblings for you. I love you, baby. Who's your daddy?
Question of the moment: What's going to happen at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2000? Send your thoughts here or sign here.
November 13 - Damn, I am HONGRY. Not hungry, HONGRY. Picture Fat Albert saying the word "hungry" and that's HONGRY.
Well, not much is new. I added this little thing today. That's pretty much it. Oh, and I'm going shopping on the day after Thanksgiving, so you guys can send me your gift requests at robey@knownet.net
Question of the day: Are gay people born gay, or do they become gay? Send your feedback to me here or go here.
November 8 - Well, 3 people have visited so far. That sure makes me feel good. Oh, well. I need...I mean, I don't need the acceptance of my peers in order to maintain a positive self-image! I don't!
I think that I ought to design a links page. I've been inspired by so many internet authors out there (read: I've ripped off their ideas and formats and pretended that they were my own) that I think that I ought to give credit where credit's due, hmm? Oh, well, one page at a time here. This page is developing ssslllooowwwlllyyy enough without me committing myself to 334171138 other page ideas.
November 6 - I don't know about you guys, but there's something about the fact that there's only 49 days until Christmas that's making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Although I'm not a Christian anymore, I always have and always will love Christmas. I think that Jesus did exist, and even if he didn't, the Christmas story is a beautiful one. I also love Christmas carols.
I'm sure that I'll be adding something new by the time the day's over. I just haven't figured out what yet.
November 2 - So here I am, finally at work on my beloved page again. I feel like I've just decided to remodel my house or something. I couldn't decide which way to format anything, and what color text did I want, and which font should I use...until I finally just said to hell with it and opted for simple 10-point Times New Roman and a kindergarten color scheme. No new midis, no pretty pictures (unless I find something truly priceless), no 1-point Arial font, nothing but the truth straight as I type it. At least on this part of my page. I'll probably have a lot of essay-type rant things on my main page, and this will probably serve as some sort of update page. Just go with the flow. I'm assuming that there's at least one person reading this, so Hank out there in Omaha, keep the faith, brother.
I had an interesting thought today. If I were to somehow get everyone on earth to hate me, could I leach the energy from their hate and become an all-powerful demigod? A few years ago, I used to be into the whole "vampire" thang, and I read a lot about supposed "psychic vampires," who suck the energy out of the psyche of their victims. That's some weird shit. I've always kept by the theory that when hate transpires, it's the hatee who benefits, not the hater. Hate is a powerful energy. So think how much energy that I'd have if I had the collective hate of the entire world! It's mind-blowing.
Keep coming back for more updates, because I'm sure that once I get on my page-maintaining high, it'll be a while before I come down.