Great...now I'm having dreams about skateboarding, and I havent done that in years.

My mind is going...

If my last blog seemed a bit harsh, it's because the trains and locals are driving me even more insane than I was to begin with, and there is no escape for just over a year.

At least I have books, the internet, and video games to keep me amused until I return to the Pacific Northwest, or at least the west coast hopefully.

Now where did I put my straightjacket...I know it's around here somewhere...

So I have been feeling more and more lately that I need desperately to get the hell out of the south, especially southern Louisiana. To be fair I guess, Louisiana is all that I despise, the rest of the south is just not my thing, and it's about time for me to go elsewhere as soon as possible.

I know, I know...I've been hating this place for quite some time, but I could deal with it. Now, I'm getting beyond that. I am over the hump, only about 13 months left out of three years down here, but it is really getting to me lately. For one, I hate southern hospitality - that thing where everyone is nice and friendly. But they are TOO friendly...they don't seem to get it that you have ceased paying attention and want them to go away. They can't take a hint. I like to be left alone, but it seems they can't just do that without taking it as an insult - if they see me outside, they walk up and strike a huge conversation. They talk to me in line at the convenience store. They talk to me about crap I don't care about...Example: they ask if I like football, I say 'No, I have never really liked football.' ...they don't like my answer, because they want to talk about football - so they start talking about football to me as if I had said 'Sure, love that football, lets discuss!'. Did I NOT just say I didnt like football? Get a frickin clue.

You can smell the desperation coming off these people. There's a guy down here, an old man in his 60's or 70's I would guess, who spends alot of his time in a convenience store near my place. He is in there for an hour or more, doing nothing but buying scratch off tickets, scratching them off, and trading in any winnings for more scratch off tickets, or just buying more. I have noticed that just about everyone seems to get these tickets down here, every time they go to the store for smokes or beer, much more than I have seen elsewhere. Not just one or two, but an average of 5 each of several different kinds. You can tell they want out of here, that maybe this next ticket will be the winner that allows them to buy a house somewhere else, but not many ever make it out...the leading cause of death in this area is suicide, which is a depressing fact. But hey, it's a depressing place to live. I have my government job as a security blanket, and even were I to lose it they would have to send me home too. I can't imagine having to be here knowing that you were here for life, with little chance of moving elsewhere.

Also, the weather sucks - too hot and humid. I like it colder, overcast more often. Pacific Northwest weather, to be exact.

And I hate the fucking trains. I know I have gone off about this before, but this incessant noise pollution has GOT to stop, it's driving me up the wall. They built all these towns around the railroad tracks, and you cannot get far enough away from them to avoid the asshole conductors blaring the horn much more than necesary at all hours...even longer and louder at night. Why? Because stupid fucking rednecks get drunk and pass out on the tracks. What happens then? Right, they get hit by a train. What happens next? Someone sues the railroad over it, as if it is the trains fault. Those things can't stop on a dime, but it CAN'T be the fault of the dumbfuck who passed out or stopped his/her car on the tracks and didnt see the bright light coming from a few thousand tons of metal barreling at them. No, of course not...so now they make it policy to honk the horn longer. And there is nothing you can do, because everything is built so close to the tracks that you can't get away from it. I'm sorry if someone you know was killed by a train, but sueing the railroad is, in my opinion, the same as sueing McDonalds because you ate their food too much and became overweight...the train didn't seek out someone to hit, and it isn't like people in modern society don't know to stay off the tracks when a train is coming. It's just common sense.

Even the French Quarter has lost it's amusement much of the time. There are only so many drunken idiots you can deal with on Bourbon Street before it's not fun anymore, so many random pairs of breasts being flashed - yes I'm serious, I can barely tell the difference between a girl with her shirt on and one with her shirt off anymore - before it all gets boring. I never ever thought the French Quarter would get boring for me - but most times...it has. The good clubs are few and far between, and they seem to not last long. Two of my favorites have closed down in the last year, and most of the people I went to them with have left as well. I had many good times, don't get me wrong, but I think it is definately closing time.

I need to get back to Seattle, or at least the west coast...back to where most of my friends are, and where people are not all reminescent of guests on the Jerry Springer show.

There, I have vented. Thanks for listening. Bitching and moaning will end now.

Couple reviews and recommendations for you.

First, I saw Dawn Of The Dead a couple days ago. My subconscious was preparing for it, as I dreamed I was running thru a mall full of zombies the night before I saw it. Then I went to the movie, and was expecting it to be pretty cool, but what I was NOT expecting was for it to kick as much ass as it did. Seriously, this is the best movie I have seen in a while. Go see it, sit through the credits when you do because there is more stuff going on there, and then bask in the greatness of it all. And yes, you DID hear a lounge version of Down with the Sickness there (courtesy of Richard Cheese and Lounge Against The Machine), your ears were not deceiving you. I was laughing my ass off. Beautiful movie.

Second, go play The Suffering. It's a video game where you have to escape an island prison that is over-run by demons and other oddities, sort of a mix between GTA3 and Resident Evil, with a good amount of Silent Hill thrown in. I cannot put this game down - once I start playing, I'm playing it for hours. Everything in it has me hooked - the sound is awesome, the gameplay is great, the graphics work well, and the story is killer so far. If you like action/horror/survival games, this is it. Watch the documentary on Haunted Prison in the bonus materials before you play, it sets the mood perfectly.

In other news, I should start some college courses soon, so that should take some of my time. Culture Jam is an interesting book, you should read it to learn more about rampant consumerism and the evils of big corporations. It is written by Kalle Lasn, the founder of Adbusters magazine and the Media Foundation. Not sure how I feel about the whole thing yet, but thats because I am a consumer whore. Still a good perspective and a good read.

That is all for now. Go see the movie, play the game, and read the book.

Did you ever suddenly notice that stuff changed suddenly, while you werent looking? It's been happening to me lately...lights with regular bulbs in my apartment suddenly seem brighter and almost flourescent, my bed seems more comfortable, and I seem to have more energy than before. There is nothing that spawned any of this that I can see either...no change in diet, no major life changes, nothing...it just seems to have changed. Weird.

Not much new going on other than that, as usual...new katana should be here later today, watched Seven Samurai (awesome movie...207 minute cut), the movie Party Monster was interesting, as was Interstella 5555. Soon I should have some new video games to talk about, and maybe some new cd's, but I wouldnt expect much of an event chat coming up...other than seeing Dawn of the Dead tomorrow, I'm pretty happy just sitting in my apartment and getting some of my many books read. I'm even at a loss for topics for my radio show, which is why I ended up cancelling it this last week, I just had nothing to say. Maybe soon...

Well, this'll be a short one because I just don't have much going on right now.

Been playing Golden Sun: The Lost Age, and I'm about 10 hours into that, hit some Jet Li action in Rise To Honor on PS2, and been reading some books and watching Star Blazers Series 2: The Comet Empire. I grew up watching Star Blazers, so a little shiver goes up my spine when I watch it, a little bit of a thrill from having my childhood fave show back. Good stuff.

Other than that, I talked to my cousin and an old friend, both of which I havent talked to in a long time since they are both a bit tough to get ahold of. I missed talking to both of them, so that was really cool.

That about covers what I've had going on. Maybe next time I'll have more to ramble about...

There really is nothing quite like the smell of a steak, seasoned with garlic salt and onion powder, cooked on a George Foreman grill. I forgot how good that smelled, having just dragged out and used the grill in...well, I'm not sure really, but a long time. Add some A-1 and we are good to go.

In other news, my second hard drive is back in my computer and ready to go, which may just be one step closer to some AtomicFreak Radio coming back on soon.

I beat Onimusha Tactics for the GBA, and I have two things to say about it: A: Fun game, it was tough to put down. B: a bit too easy. Now I'm working on some of my platform side scrollers until I am in the mood for some RPG or tactics style action again. I've also been working on beating other games I have had sitting around for awhile too, like Fatal Frame 2 on the PS2. I picked that up several months ago and could barely put it down, awesome stuff, totally had me engrossed. Then, as happens often with me and video games, I had a tad bit of trouble with the Kusabi (he's the final boss) and didnt touch the game for months. See, the thing about this guy is that if he touches you, you die. No healing items, no stone mirror to bring you back to life if you die, none of them work with the Kusabi. One hit, and it's game over man, game over. Like the Aliens reference? Anyways...after beating Onimusha Warlords, I figured I would give it another try, and didnt have any trouble beating the Kusabi. Sometimes I just have to step away from the game for awhile, then come back to it and whatever was giving me trouble is suddenly easy.

I also picked up a bunch of the figures from Masamune Shirow's Intron Depot series (which are awesome), the Tenchu figures, a couple small Akira figures, and a Jin-Roh figure. My new entertainment center is starting to look pretty cool with these things sitting on top of it.

I've gone back to wearing combat boots with my uniform again, because I can working nights. At my last unit, and at this one when you work days, you have to wear the low quarters or dress shoes, which are your standard ankle high shiny black shoes, and uncomfortable as hell. But now, I can wear boots again. I had to get new boots, because my old ones were covered with grey and white paint from when I was on a ship and the CO decided he wanted the whole thing repainted. But damn, I cannot tell you how awesome combat boots are. I had forgotten how comfortable it is to wear a pair of them on a regular basis. I used to wear combat boots all the time, from around my freshman or sophomore year of high school up until I joined the Coast Guard, so it's like my feet are coming back home again. I'll probably start wearing the old boots with the paint on them on my days off too now. Total foot bliss, nothing like a pair of steel toes!

Other than that, I have Vol 5 of Samurai Deeper Kyo to watch and I have to go to work soon, so I'm off for now. Bai Bai! >__<