This movie touched me:

I don't know how many of my LJ friends are gamers, but this is fucking impressive. Here's the link to the genius that pulled it off: http://www.mojang.com/notch/j4k/l4kd/

LJ won't allow a Java applet to run, but the code is on the site that I linked. It's a really impressive thing to pull off with 4 kb of data.

Very cute:

http://www.albinoblacksheep.com/flash/noises

My mom was in town for four weeks. On her last night here, she started feeling very ill and was having a hard time breathing. She was delusional and had a very hard time putting her thoughts together, but went to bed shortly after my wife and I got home. Her flight was leaving the next morning at 11:40 am. I got up 9 am to start getting ready. My mom was sitting in the dark on the toilet with the door open. She'd been trying to get up for over 2 hours but wasn't physically able to. She never called for help, just kept trying to get up to no avail. When I walked past the bathroom, she finally asked for help. I pulled her up until she was bent over, but leaning into the wall. I turned so that she could get herself in order, and she fell back into the toilet, as if she had no muscle control at all. I was very worried at this point and asked if she needed to go to the hospital. She refused adamantly. There were insurance reasons, but more than anything, she just wanted to go home. It was very hard to help her as she was being incoherent for the most part. She was having a hard time breathing, and was complaining that her back and ankle were hurting. My wife and I did our best to get her dressed, which was an arduous task. Finally, we got her outside and down the stairs after I'd had her take her Vikaden. We were running very late, and I was annoyed, but doing my best to get her to her flight so that she could get back to LA and go to the emergency room. My dad was calling in short intervals and begging me to get her to the airport, while checking with me on her condition. Jennifer and I got her through the check-in and had a person with a wheel chair come to get her. I went along with her through security, and had to help her go to the bathroom on the other side. The plane was delayed several time for some check that they had to keep rechecking. My wife and son were waiting on me back on the other side of security, but my mom was in so much pain and was so disoriented that I couldn't leave her. She looked into my eyes with so much innocence, like a young child that doesn't understand why they're in pain after taking a fall. Eventually, the plane was ready and they took her on board. I got back to Jennifer and called my Dad several hours later, after the plane landed and he had a chance to get her to the hospital. He said that she was completely gray by the time that she landed and he got her through the emergency room wait by claiming that she had a heart attack. We both knew that she has kidney stones and was in immense pain from this. The next morning my Dad called me and told me that Mom had really had had a heart attack and that her kidneys had failed. They had to take her into surgery as there was also an abscess in her kidney. She made it through surgery and was given a tube to help her breathe. They said, after the surgery, they she was septic, and that they wanted to start dialysis on her. My Dad has been calling me for the past two days with updates, alternating between weeping and being very matter-of-fact. I've been crying on and off for the past two days. I don't want to lose my mom. I've got a weight on my heart that just gets heavier as this situation continues. The latest update is that she's improving, but the Doctors are still unable to get her to urinate (she's been unconscious through most of this, btw). The Doctors are cautiously optimistic, but she remains in Critical Care. This is very hard to write, and much harder to go through. I went to work today, because there is nothing else that I can do. I'm terrified to make the call to my dad at the end of the day for fear of the worst news, but needing to know, nonetheless.

I've come to a milestone in my life because of my latest gout attack. This was the second time in my life that gout put me in a wheelchair. The last time was just a year and a half ago. This means that my gout attacks are far more destructive than they were just a few years ago, and that they have the ability to eventually put me in a wheel chair, or the ground, for good. The attacks will do this if I don't make some drastic changes, and make them quick. So, as of 3 weeks ago, I've become a vegetarian (more strict in some parts of the diet, and less strict in others). This is hard for me, as I love red meat, chicken, fish, etc. I am not the vegetarian type, I'm not an animal advocate... if you can make the meat more tender, no matter the technique, I'm all for it. So, it's probably karma, at least in part, that I'm forced to become a vegetarian. I'm more strict in my diet in that I can't have any legumes (beans, soy, peas, etc), spinach, alcohol, cauliflowers, bread with yeast (so, I can have tortillas, matza bread, crackers, etc), more than 2.5 g of nuts a day, beef, chicken, or fish. But, I can have some sugar, I can have eggs and coffee (the only acceptable bean, as it's the only one that can reduce urate acids). I am going to stick with this life change for a year at the least. Also, I'm going to start going to the gym and lose 100 lbs. It's not because I give a shit about what I look like, but I know that gout will attack me far less if I'm in the weight that's appropriate to my height (202 - 220 lbs). So, this will be the new me. It's going to be a rough year, but I will live me more years for the sacrifice of one. Hopefully, once all of this intermittent pain is gone, I can be a happier person, be a better dad to my son, and a better husband to my wife.

Check it:

Family Pics 08

I went to the slam at Red's Scoot Inn. It felt good to be on stage again with a slam poem. I definitely need to get the feel of the Austin Poetry community. I had a mediocre score (25.3, I think) with what used to be a strong poem. But, then again, that poem only works really well when I follow 3 or 4 "revolutionary"-style poems. The Austin poetry crowd seems to dig comedy, love stories, and, as BPE told me, narratives. So, I'll take the advice, and give it a shot. I need to remember that I look fairly intimidating and soften my image up a bit. Anyway, here's the one poem that I got off last night (I know it's an old one):

You Say You Want A Revolution?
I see many poets, rappers, and singers talkin' about a revolution, but why?
I see these same poets, rappers, and singers decked out in Nike, drinking Pepsi, I shake my head and sigh
Why? I ask myself over and over, what the hell do they want a revolution for?
When, with corporations and what they represent, they're basically corporate door-to-door whores
Are you "revolutionaries" aware of your oh-so-visible hypocrisy?
Do you enjoy dribbling words without actions just to watch the public agree intently?
Look at them, they don't know what the hell they're inspired for, not even remotely
It's a vicious cycle of talk without a real goal, but the words still abound mercilessly
Now, let's say hypothetically, that you do start a revolution... now where do you go?
You want to change the government? so what's your new plan? how will your new nation grow?
Can you even think beyond your shallow bullshit? Or are you just thinking of that next show?
A revolutionary isn't just a fashion statement complimented by dreads, shaved head, or Afro
A revolutionary has a plan laid out, for not IF, but WHEN their revolution is won
And, only two revolutions were successful without the power of anger and a gun
Are you ready for that? Do you have any real concept of what you've begun?
Dressed in Nikes and drinking a Pepsi, what is this to you? an expression of mock rage for fun?
Well, fuck you, you bullshit, wanna-be, overdressed, underplanned revolutionary
Collect another paycheck, write love songs and poems, but I'm warning you, don't fuck with me
You're not the next Malcolm X, George Washington, or Michael Collins… you're not even a Bob Marley
Give me something of substance, I don't want something to clap about, I want leadership qualities
When I'm covered from head to foot in the blood of bureaucrats at the end of the first day
I want not just a dream, but a system to give me reason for what seems like pointless gunplay
I want you in the frontline at my side, encouraging me to back the bullshit you now just say
And, when it's all said and done, the revolution won, I want a healthy family and a payday
So, you bullshit, wanna-be, overdressed, underplanned revolutionary, when's the fight start?
When are you going to stop dribbling out political poetry, and actually show some heart?
I'll step in front and take a bullet for you, but I demand that you don't just talk, you best take part
I'll climb a mountain of bodies for a cause, but not to watch you climb a music chart.

- Dingo

Man, I have gotten a lot of shit done today, and it's just 10:30 am. I woke up at about 5:50 am after passing out last night at around 9 pm, I guess; can't really say as I literally just passed out in my way-too-comfortable Lazy Boy recliner. Seriously, I need to stop sitting in that chair if I want to get anything done.

Anyway, I got up, packed up all of the laundry in the house, and drove to the laundromat. I did just shy of 8 loads of laundry, folded it, put gas in the car and came home. Then I put the bed sheets on both the beds, cleaned up the house and vacuumed.

Things left to do:
- Pay Bills
- Do Dishes
- Wash and Vacuum the Car
- Pick Jennifer and Jacob up from the Airport

My wife and son are finally coming home from Des Moines, IA today. Five weeks is waaaaay too long. If my Mother-in-Law has another surgery, it's up to my Brother-in-Law to go take care of her next time. I love my Mother-in-Law, but she's got a son and a daughter... it's the son's turn to play nurse.

Okay, off to pay bills and do dishes. I'll catch you peeps on the flipside (I stopped learning new slang in the 90's, I refuse to update :) ).

I need to write new stuff, so I'll just freestyle something here, off the dome.

Disconnect

I've got a cell, a laptop, a computer, three email addresses, and a home phone
I've got a fax machine, two printers, a scanner, and an overwhelming sense of being alone
I've got an Xbox360, a PS2, a PSP, books, and games to fill my small home
I've got wireless internet, 802.11b, basic cable, three TVs, and a fear of the unknown
I left my friends and family (excluding wife and son) in L.A. just over five years ago
And I seem to be scrambling for meaning and social connection in every new place I go
It's a slow go, I mean, a no go, I just get farther and farther away from everyone I know
I find myself on stage from time to time, from rhyme to rhyme trying to reconnect through flow
But, it's just not there, that closeness of old, getting a sense of a greater community
I miss knowing people better than acquaintances, and knowing that they, in turn, know me
It's a huge task to build trust from the ground up in a mature, busy, adult society
I miss the simplicity of high school with its forced conformity, and the ease of finding my place socially

I'm extremely disconnected despite my love of the implied connection of technology
It's unseemly, I've reflected, and found myself plugged into everything but humanity
I'm completely removed from those who once knew me, and know them still only through memory
I've found myself on Livejournal, Facebook, Myspace, and still find myself most often just lonely

-------------------

Well, it's a start. I might add to it later.

So, I went over to Penny Arcade and came across this video. The best part is that there's a series of them. If I ever end up working at Chucky Cheese then I will add to this collection. :



Actually, as funny as that is, the background story is very interesting to me. I may actually go see the whole movie when it comes out: