It’s been a while since my last blog post. Seeing as I don’t really feel like thinking up stuff to type, I’ll just make a list of what I believe is worth noting: -I’ve been to Myrtle Beach twice in 2 weeks…had more fun the second time, visiting the Hard Rock Café, Broadway at the Beach, and a water park -I took a shower -I started watching 24 (in syndication…I could’ve sworn it would be harder to catch on) -The new semester starts next week -I’ve progressed some more in Oblivion -I’ve been thinking (but not actually writing) story ideas

Today I registered for the fall semester at OCtech. This is the first time I've actually felt good after the process. Despite being on Probation II, which is one failure from academic suspension. It's probably because I'm thinking of going with a different approach this time around...not being such an a**. I've practically skated by up to this point, a few passing grades here and there, but for the most part I've been treating it like high school. I hope to turn things around this semester. But then again I always say that. In other news, I'm going with some family members to Myrtle Beach, arguably the hottest vacation spot in the Palmetto state. It's been a while since I've been on an actual vacation; my mom and my aunt with her two kids used to go to Hilton Head Island every summer. Then one year we just didn't. I don't have too many memories of it, except I remember it's a really long way from where I live, one year me and my mother got sunburned, and I remember an incident when my mother's late 1980's Toyota had a litle car trouble before we left our house...at 5:00 in the morning. Somehow I think that will always stick with me. As mentioned in my about me on the profile page, the farthest I've been away from home was Orlando. Went to Walt Disney World when I was seven. Don't remember much about that except we stayed at a Travelodge that wasn't too far away, and it had a small game room with a bowling game in it. Oh, and I dragged my posse into this huge tower, thinking we'd somehow go to the top, but it ended up being a show featuring talking totem poles. I went on It's a Small World After All, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and at MGM we rode the Great Movie Ride, or whatever it was called. I think a cousin of mine came across Cinderellla. Shame I was too young to appreciate female beauty. That's it now. I'm sure I'm done for the night as NCAA 07 from Gamefly came in the mail. See you when I get back.

Since there's a faster connection at my school than home, I've uploaded a butload of videos today. Mostly commercials I find funny. The feature vid would have to be the RRXX one.

First of all, I should note that I’m a member of the mindless masses that watches television. It’s my personal belief that not all television is “crap” today; there are simply shows that interest you and some that don’t. Since I’ve gotten and understanding of how shows end up on television over the years, I just thought I’d make a few rants about broadcasters in general (you can thank the upcomming fall season for this). I always thought the idea for a television series was to last as long as possible. You know, like 20 years if possible. Which is why I didn’t understand things like Lost and Prison break when they first came along. I’d said to myself, “how long could it take to bust someone out of prison? Five episodes, tops? And what exactly is the story of people crash landing on an island? They try to survive, don’t, and die?” Apparently I was wrong on this, and I guess you could just add stuf as you go along. But I still wouldn’t go into a network exec’s office with an idea I personally thought didn’t have the potential (story-wise) to go a really long time. Speaking of series going a long time, one thing that has irked me with a few of my favorite series is how they seem to transform from a single story per episode to ongoing to stories. Or as I like to say, going from “the wacky mis-adventures of” to “the ongoing saga of.” One example being Charmed, which just ended. At first, there was one demon in an episode, it was killed, let’s get to the next one. Then there was Balthazar. All of a sudden if you missed an episode, you didn’t know what was going on. This is even worse when it happens with sitcoms (Friends anyone?). I have no problem with reality shows. I think it’s kind of cool to see what other people are like, especially if people all around me are the same. What annoys me though is when networks blatantly steal ideas and hardly even put a spin on it. Trading Spouses, Wife Swap rip-off (I know the spouses came first, but I read an article saying wife was in development earlier). Then there’s the runaway freight train that is American Idol (I know there was a Pop Idol first, but bringing something to another country doesn’t count) which now has “competition” in the form of America’s Got Talent…which clearly is American Idol only you can do something else besides singing. Not to mention ABC’s The One, which just adds the Real World to the process. And speaking of Real World spins, what’s the deal with One Ocean View? How, in any way whatsoever is it different from RW? It’ll probably just suck more, since network has limitations cable doesn’t. This sort of brings me to my next topic: “only on.” I can’t begin to tell you how much I hate it when a promo uses those words. They don’t bring any merit to a program, and if I hate it, it’s just a new reason that I can’t stand the network. Tells me “you’re only place I can see this crap.” I get personal joy out of opportunites when this can’t be said, such as ABC Family broadcasting Falcon Beach. It’s from Canada and airs on Canada TV, so obviously ABC Family isn’t the only place you can see it. Cable channels losing their way in the sake of the trend pisses me off as well. Remember in the 80’s and 90’s when there were cable channels specifically for any purpose? Now they most of the time find some excuse to broadcast reality or something completely out of the realm of the original intention of the channel. Cartoon Network is a prime example. On Memorial Day they showed Spider-Man, the 2002 movie. Two words: live action. Nice visual effects, but it’s not a cartoon. Neither is PeeWee’s playhouse. Then there’s Toon Disney with Power Rangers. Is this registering with anyone? Power Rangers? Toon Disney? TBS tries to make the very funny thing work by picking the funny scenes out of action films when they show promos. Everyone knows Drama and Comedy are important parts of any medium designed to entertain, so in that respect, everything’s comedy. But in my opinion that doesn’t count. Then there’s Sci-Fi Channel and ECW. I like pro wrestling, and I can see the reasoning; at one time, ECW was pretty graphic, which may relate to horror, and sci-fi and horror can go hand in hand. Now it’s all corporate, and nowhere near as bad as it used to be. That’s all I can think of at the moment. I should stop before more things come to mind.

I just received this knock-off Xbox 360 HD VGA cable I ordered from ebay. I was skeptic about it and a few times I was going to get a $40 Microsoft one, but this one seems to play just fine. Playing games in high definition is awesome. I thought it would be completely new to me, but it reminds me of playing pc games (not high end ones, mind you, just higher resolution). The thing that really excited me was being able to play in widescreen. I have all 4:3 standard TVs in the house, so I was lucky if a game defaulted with black bars. A few do, but most don't. Now that I can choose the 1024 x 768 option to play on my pc monitor (720p), the games play in widescreen automatically since 720p is not a 4:3 format. Most people can't stand black bars, but I think playing in widescreen no matter what the sacrifice is awesome. That's what irks me about by Jawbreaker DVD, but that's another story. I have a wireless controller on order, and I want to save up for a hard drive in the fall when I go back to school. On my way to the full Xbox 360 experience (except for live, crap). Oh...and I haven't been around the past week because I was suspended. While most people would take the opportunity to get back to their lives, I don't really have one, so I kind of sat here and read topics without posting.

There are three health clubs/gyms in Orangeburg. There may be more, but there are only three worth mentioning. There’s the Orangeburg Athletic Club, but it’s in the proximity of Club Dazzler, Platinum 301, and a few of those old non-chain “Bates” motels (as a teacher of mine once put it). Do the math. There’s the place next to the fun center, but it’s rather ladies’ oriented after a management change about two years back. Then there’s the rehabilitation facility at the local hospital that was open to the public only a few years ago. After an extenisve search with my other and aunt, we ended up enrolling at the latter. Today I took my first serious session at the club. I ache like who knows what. I used some foot-paddling machine for 20 minutes and then a treadmill for another 15. Then I successfully completed four crunches. I’d considered myself finished, but my mother insisted I try out all the upper body stuff. Wore me out. Couldn’t get home fast enough. Fortunately I’d stopped to get something to eat on the way. The good news is, I’m on the road to physical fitness. The bad news is, it hurts.

I seem to become a different person on the Gamespot Off-Topic Forums. I chalk this up to my bad social skills. I try to be funny with snide remarks (which is out of my non-insulting character), I defend my country as if I actually have a flag outside (I like it here, but I really can't tell you why it's better than anyplace else), and my views on any given subject could sway at any time, and I try to back them up what may either be facts or just really bad guesses because I haven't experienced enough to actually know anything worth discussing. I can tell someone how to hook up a TV, but I have no idea why I shouldn't watch Fox News Channel. I'm really going to make an effort to read sometimes and not post like an idiot.

It's a cool movie. It's so realistic that you actually want to laugh when you see Superman lifting really heavy things since it's impossible. After all the cartoons and tv series I'd seen, I thought it wouldn't look all that silly. Just goes to show you how far visual effects have come. I was right about the man of steel flying through the city (and above). Think Spider-Man web slinging in the Sony films...on steroids. It'll probably be another year until I hit the multiplex again, unless I see "My Super Ex-girlfriend" when it comes out. Can't pass up the chance to see a woman lifting things.

I haven’t moved that far from where I graduated high school. Okay, I haven’t moved at all. The same mobile home I came back to after I received my diploma and the same place I’m in now as I type this is the same place where:

My cousin threatened to kill her brother and her mother about five times each (or together, I can never remember)
I shut my eyes and covered my ears when Mr. Clean commercials would air
I was called from when I was told my grandmother died
I returned to after learning my grandfather died
I anticipated and happily opened a Microsoft Xbox, 3 PlayStation 2s, an RCA Lyra, two CD Players, a telescope, countless DVDs and CDs and my first piece of designer clothing (a gray Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt…it mattered a lot at the time)
I was happy to return to after my stint at MUSC’s Institute of Psychiatry
I was happy to return to after my stint at Richland Springs
I sat in as I was on suspension for sexually harassing classmates Anyway, my point is I tend to see the people I went to high school with. Not very often, just now and then. I didn’t really have friends, so I wasn’t close to any of them outside of occaisonal conversation. During this time, I developed what one would call “crushes” on a few females, students and faculty/staff alike. My personal belief is because I was subconsciously proving to myself that I’m not a homosexual, as I was jokingly accused of since I have no sexual experience to speak of…a total contrast to most of these people (this wasn’t a bunch of “everyone’s doing it” lies—girls were frequently pregnant). My school wasn’t a Dangerous Minds situation, though. It’s too rural for that. One of these crushes was on a girl named Oletta. I vaguely remembered her since when I first entered high school she was a senior. Anyway, there’s nothing really special about her, except she was kind of tall, had a really nice walk, and was nice to me. In retrospect, I think the Dominique girl I knew later on was sort of her replacement. Anyway, Oletta graduated, and I moved on. Lots of girls occupied my time until Dominique in my senior year: Shauna, La’Shay, Jamie, (Wal-Mart is public, priceless) Cierra, Sierra, Tiffany, Latoya, Tamika, Lacey, and even Ashley for like two seconds (I’ve heard she’s now a lesbian). So basically I’d forgotten about Oletta. Then today, late for an appointment, my mom drops me off at Burger King so I can get a burger since I hadn’t eaten all morning (I skipped the OCTech café hours because I couldn’t leave the computer alone; I have a habit of procrastinating even if I’m putting off something unimportant). I’m watching someone else order when this girl behind the counter looks familiar. At one time I was horrible with names (thank you soap operas), so I couldn’t remember this chick. The only thing that would come to me was there was a “V” involved and it ended with an “A.” So I order, and she says, “Justin do you rember me?” (or something to that effect) I hate to reminisce with someone when I don’t know they’re name. Fortunately, she was wearing a tag; Oletta. I’m like, “Oh, Oletta. Hi.” She says, “When did you graduate from Bowman?” I thought she said, “When are you going to graduate?” as in from college. As I’ve explained my post high school bonanza in an older blog, I wish not to do it again. I simply said, “two years, it’s all messed up.” I’m pretty sure I’m off by like ten. So she says again,”when did you graduate?” That’s when I realized she didn’t ask what I thought she asked. My heart starts to beat out of my chest. I hate f***ing up conversations as it only makes me more nervous than I already am in the first place. I say, “Oh, 2003.” To be specific, the commencement ceremony was on May 28, 2003, in the Martin Luther King Auditorium on the campus of South Carolina State University, and I balled like a baby after it ended. However at the time, for all I knew it was December 90, 2003 in that very Burger King as it was on its way to Mars. She said, “oh, congratulations.” I say, “yeah, thanks,” and put up a hand to signal bye, crying for joy as I cross the proverbial finish line. I’ve survived another encounter with…the Alumni from Bowman High. To date, I’ve seen about 10 people I wasn’t super close with (and haven’t gone to tech like I have), two of them more than once. It’s not really that bad unless I come across someone I liked. In other news, I plan to see Superman Returns tomorrow. I read today that Roger Egbert didn’t like it. I usually agree with him, but I have to check this out for myself (I consider myself an outside fan of comics, into them in every way except buying books themselves). Also, fooling around with iTunes, I determined (if the not the exact) a good point to start the song Still Running from Chevelle’s This Type of Thinking... to skip the rant at the beginning and still retain the “bump-bump” of the drums before the guitars hit: 0:07.73 seconds.

It's been a while since I've written anything. The last story I completed was back in April, called "Not so tough now," where this woman, all of a sudden holding her abusive husband in her hand, tortures and kills him. I've been spending the summer on the forums around here and playing video games. I figure in the moments that I'm watching TV, I can churn out the latest idea to come across my mind; a superhero wants to share her true identity with her boyfriend, who at the same time starts to suspect it. It's crazy, I know. But it's the trend of most of my writing, with the aforementioned story going against my usual style. Girl Problems would be a prime example. I spent around 20 minutes (at some time this night) thinking up a hero name. I was going to just call her Supergirl, but I wanted come up with something myself...even though the character has the same abilities of Superman. Anyway, that's it for now. Oh, and the Hurricanes are Stanley Cup Champions!