Special Information:

I have recently created a new blog for a class.  The subject is about why Oklahoma sucks.  Here is the URL:

http://pmjb3623.jb.okstate.edu/students/nichorw/

I didn't get to pick the site, so that's what I'm stuck with. 

I've arranged for people to leave comments even if they're not members of WordPress.  When you leave a comment, just put in your name and email address.  I don't expect that you'll get any spam from it.  I think they just want that information in case I want to get a hold of you.  I wouldn't worry about it too much.  If you go the the site, and get spam afterwords, let me know.

Currently Listening Make Believe By Weezer Perfect Situation see related

It's here!  It's finally here!  Everyone is just so ecstatic about the special day coming up on the 14th.  I know it only comes around every so often.  But it'll come again. 

There will be plenty more Tuesdays.  There'll be one next week and the week after.  No biggie! 

Oh, it's Valentine's Day?  Well, that makes it a special Tuesday.  I guess I'll have to treat myself to an extra hour of self-loathing that day. 

Yes, it's another anti-Valentine's Day rant from another lonely, pathetic loser. 

Valentine's Day is the final, most severe assualt of the holiday season on us single people. 

It all starts on Thanksgiving.  On Thanksgiving, you usually spend the holiday with your family.  So it only sucks if you're away from your parents or other extended family members. 

As the season progresses, the holidays get more and more couple-oriented and more difficult for single people to handle. 

Think about Christmas.  Christmas is still largely a family holiday, but it definetly is better to have a romantic interest at yuletide. 

Next comes New Years.  New Years really isn't that depressing for single people because it becomes just another day without a significant other. 

The depressing part only last for a few seconds when all of the happy people kiss when the ball drops.  But after that, it's pretty much a normal day that just so happens to be an arbritary date signifying the beginning of a man-made measurement of time. 

The problem is that New Years isn't really a family holiday.  It's a holiday for lovers. 

Finally, there's the evil Valentine's Day.  V-Day (I like saying it that way because it sounds like V-D, which is what I wish for all my romanically involved peers enjoying their holiday) is only a romantic holiday.  It lasts for an entire day and is relatively impossible to avoid. 

So, what makes my sob story different from other people's? 

Well, for one thing, it serves as a yearly reminder that I am a few weeks from 22 and still have never done the following:

-dated someone;

-kissed someone in a romantic manner;

-held someone's hand in a romantic manner;

-been involved in a meaningful relationship. 

The list goes on. 

I haven't had a good Valentine's Day since I was in 5th Grade.  That was the last year the school forced kids to give me valentine's.  The next year, I got absolutely nothing. 

In middle school and high school, there was this fundraiser that allowed kids to buy ballons and candy for somebody and the stuff would be delivered during class on Valentine's Day to surprise the person. 

I always hoped that I would have like a secret admirer or something, but I never did.  I mean, I was optimistic, but also realistic.  I knew nobody was going to pay money to give the nerdy, fat kid a valentine. 

But I was idealistc because I had seen a lot of after school specials and teen sit-coms.  I had a lot of undeserved faith in my peers that exponentially decreased as I progressed into high school and later in college. 

This year will be the last year that I have a Valentine's Day among people my age.  Next year, I will probably be working with people several years older than me. 

I know that as I get older, it will probably be more difficult for me to meet new people and find happiness with another person. 

I'm not a person that likes to go out and meet people all by myself.  I'm not going to go to a club or bar by myself because it's pathetic and it's like pulling teeth just to get a friend to do something with me. 

Just ask my friend Nikki!  Just kidding (or am I). 

And before I quit this, I want to tell my mom in case she reads this: this is not your fault.  I love you and dad and all of my great family. 

We can live our lives wishing we had done things differently, but there's not a lot we can do about it now. 

I may have said things in the past that may have made you blame yourself for whatever problems you think I have, but in retrospect, I don't blame my family for anything. 

She has recently been reading my blogs and I know she feels bad about the things I say.  I want her to know a lot of the things I say are just me venting steam.  I feel a lot better after putting these emotions out there. 

They're also meant to be kind of funny.  What?  Well I think they're funny. 

Currently Listening Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory: Music From The Original Soundtrack Of The Paramount Picture By Anthony Newley, Leslie Bricusse see related

Contrary to popular belief, I am in fact, still alive. 

So far, my semester has started off pretty well.  Unlike last semester, which literally blew up in my face, this semester is going to be relatively relaxing. 

I dropped my Philosophy of Religion class because it was getting a little deeper than I was wanting to deal with this semester. 

We spent one entire class period discussing whether there had to be an unchanging cause of change and if that unchanging cause of change changed, then that unchanging cause of change is in fact not unchanging and is probably not God. 

Now you see why I dropped it.  This is my last semester here.  I'm looking for something a little more rational. 

Anyway, I am currently taking a sociology class named Social Problems.  It's a sophomore level course and, if you didn't know, I had Marriage and Male/Female Relations (also a sociology class) last semester with the incredible Ken Kiser.  This was like a senior level course. 

In Social Problems (notice how I capitalize it to distinguish the class from my own personal social problems like my desire to not be touched by another person and my inability to approach a member of the opposite sex for fear of rejection), we've had three lectures so far that have questioned, not my values or morals, but whether the professor has any idea what he's talking about. 

And I know what you neo-cons are thinking.  "Oh, he must have his first conservative professor and he can't handle it." 

Actually, my first conservative professor was my video documentary professor from last semester.  I took his blatant conservative propaganda in strides, questioning him when necessary. 

No, my problem with this teacher is he propagates liberal ideologies without backing them up or grounding them in any facts. 

During the first lecture, he talked non-stop about how corporations are destroying the world and how some sociologists believe wars over resources will break out between western nations in the next 5 to 10 years. 

OK, I agree with some of it, but where's your evidence?  Please show these ignorant conservatives, who would rather have a cheap pair of sunglasses than to protect the lives of 1,000 impoverished children in a Third World country, this is not just a liberally biased class. 

In the next lecture, we started talking about gender and sex roles.  He starts with the Greeks.  What does he say about the Greeks? 

He says they were all homosexuals and they thought women were freaks of nature and, therefore, equal to that of slaves. 

He went on to say the most frightening thing a young Persian warrior would encounter when going up against the Spartans, for example, was being captured. 

According to this professor, if he was captured by the Spartans, he'd be gang-raped! 

The professor claims this all stems from their ideology that the young male form was the ideal form or humanity, similar to how the young female form is today, i.e. Miss America. 

Now, again, I agree with some of this, but he really needs to ground this in some facts. 

I'm going to check the text book and see if he's using it for this lecture.  If he is, then so be it.  Otherwise, I'm going to have to assume not all Greeks were gay because some of them had to have had sex with women at some point.  Otherwise, their society wouldn't have lasted very long. 

The funniest part was when some douche bag actually raised his hand and gave an anecdote about how his high school's mascot, visible at all of the football games (you know, where the straight men gather to slap each other on the ass in a completely heterosexual manner) were the Spartans. 

"It's kind of funny because our mascot was the Spartan.  It's like the exact opposite of what the team is all about." 

He went on to say "Gang-rape, that's what we had to do to the incoming pledge class." 

No, I'm kidding about that last bit.  No frat guy admits they do that, but we all know fraternities are just socially permissable expressions of homosexuality, just like all athletic competition. 

Moving on, I am currently taking an internet communications class where we are supposed to make a blog. 

I will post the link here in a few days when the site in ready.  I'm sure everyone will just love it. 

I discuss in what ways and why the state of Oklahoma sucks!  I expect some comments from my friends on that site. 

Currently Watching Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin - The Untold Story see related

          So, this is Christmas?  I can't say I feel it yet.  I'm so busy with projects and assignments.  I can't wait for December 16th.  My family put up the Christmas tree, therefore, I didn't get much homework done.  I love the holidays, so I know that as soon as school is over and my stress level goes down, I'll feel a lot more "Christmas-cy". 

          I don't know if any of you know this, but writing a screenplay is hard.  Last night, I spent about 5 hours writing 2 and a half pages.  I'm not making very much progress.  The script is due next Thursday and the professor is a real hardass. 

          Speaking of Christmas, what's up with all of this recent holiday bashing.  It seems like the conservatives are upset about society celebrating the 'holidays' as opposed to 'Christmas'. 

          According to Bill O'Reilly, wishing someone "Happy Holidays" is anti-Christian.  And it seems that his concern is voiced by several people in the general public. 

          So, why does everybody have such a big problem with being politically correct?  I used to agree with them and accepted the idea that sometimes, it's easier to just let people sound ignorant, as opposed to correct them.  But this isn't the same issue. 

          Canceling nativity scenes at schools and flying 'happy holiday' banners at Wal-Mart are good moves in my opinion. 

          First of all, the government can't endorse any religion, and that includes Christian nativity scenes at schools and courthouses.  Usually, Christians get around most First Amendment controversies by saying "it's freedom of religion, not freedom from religion".  Of course, they're usually up against atheists. 

          In this case, they're not battling "God-hating atheists", who somehow hate God even though by defintion they don't accept his/her existence.  They're up against people with "bona fide" religions, people of Jewish and Muslim faiths. 

          Happy Holidays is an all-inclusive term that brings everyone into the seasonal celebrations.  Now, we have a phrase that will cover all of our bases and can wish well anyone we meet, without having to have prior knowledge of their faith or beliefs. 

          But that's not good enough for some of us.  Some people have to have it their way and their way only.  It's funny, because conservatives always blame liberals, when they try to be so politically correct (like when they try to take a fascist, anti-communist phrase from the pledge of allegiance), for rocking the boat and trying to cause a political debate out of nothing.  But this is a perfect example of their hypocrisy. 

          As far back as I can remember, there has always been a Happy Holidays and people have always tried to be politically correct during this season.  It seems to me that conservatives are trying to create a political controversy over nothing.  They've noticed that their golden boy isn't doing so well in the polls and their entire party is falling apart. 

          "Hey I have an idea, let's blame liberals and exploit this Christian holiday for political gain." 

          Ultimately, it really doesn't matter what we tell other people.  What matters is what we do.  If you think Christmas has become too commercial, don't participate in that part of Christmas. 

          -Donate money to charity and return all of your gifts or donate toys to poor kids. 

          -Spend the holiday in church instead of preaching about about how the holiday has become so secular, all the while wearing a Santa costume, opening your new X-Box 360 and your new copy of Dead or Alive 4. 

          I understand that this is a Christian holiday, but can you really still say that Christmas is still just for Christians?  I mean, so many of our Christian traditions actually come from pagan rituals.  And Santa, the epitomy of the secular side of the season, is actually one of the few remaining Christian symbols left in the holiday. 

          And Christians have spent centuries trying to force their beliefs on others so it's no surprise that non-Christians would be willing to celebrate it too. 

          The point is Christmas is not only about the birth of a man who might be the son of God, but it has become a time of good will, family and giving.  To me, that's the most Christian thing about this holiday. 

          And if you disagree, then I'll have to join you in shoving political correctness out the window.  Have a Merry F*#king Christmas, you rascist, bigotted, WASP cracker.  

Currently Listening This Is It: The Best of Faith No More By Faith No More Epic see related

          I hope this will be short (relative to the last couple of posts). 

          This has been a stressful week.  I'm glad it's over. 

          I'm really looking forward to Holiday break.  I hope to finish that OSU Senior of Significance controversy story over the break. 

          I also hope to write an essay for NPR's "This I Believe" segment over the break.  I don't know what I'll talk about, but that's what the break is for. 

          My other activities for the Holiday break will include sleeping in, watching TV, eating pie and playing video games. 

          As far as the documentary is concerned, I came up with a title: Faith in Action.  I must say the documentary is coming along quite well, despite the hardships last week.  I had to work around the sex thing, but I have some good stuff to work with. 

          I can't stress enough how grateful I am to the people that took the time to talk with me for the video. 

          This experience has been rather enlightening.  At first, I was looking to expose a way of thinking that no one I knew discussed.  I couldn't even think of a way to really describe what I was wanting when I interviewed my subjects.  There wasn't much vocabulary concerning it. 

          The only word that came to mind was "hypocrisy".  I don't like using that word, unless it truly applies to people.  I didn't feel like any of my interviewees deserved to be labeled a hypocrite. 

          This project has lead me to accept hypocrisy in people and realize that most people are trying the best they know how to live the way they think is best. 

          I now understand that you're going to chastise people who get abortions and have gay sex, but are still going to have pre-marital heterosexual relations with a stranger. 

          It's ok that you demand that the filth on television, on the radio and on the internet be removed despite the First Amendment, even though you just recently saw an R-rated film with a few hours of sickening violence and didn' care at all. 

          I realized it's hard for a Christian not to be hypocritical in American society.  There are just too many temptations.  Maybe that's why they rage against culure so much. 

          Honestly, I don't care if the person in the pew next to me has a stack of Victorian pornography under his bed and I don't care if my Sunday school teacher talks about what Jesus would do, then kicks a beggar outside of church and tells him to get a job.  

          All  I want is for everyone to accept each other and love one another. 

          I will accept your hypocrisy because it doesn't effect me directly.  It's not my place to judge. 

          But, if you're a Christian, will you please take the same attitude about the culture around you. 

          So what people get abortions.  It doesn't effect you. 

         So what two guys get married.  It doesn't effect you. 

          So what that film/television, music and interactive media contain indecent, maybe even obscene content.  It doesn't effect you. 

          You know, it's much harder for me to avoid a Christian hypocrite than it is for you to avoid gays, abortion and obscene material. 

Yay for more sickening violence! ( I forgot to mention that tomorrow, I will be picking up my Christmas present from myself at Best Buy.  I wonder what it'll be.  I hope it's a new Sony PSP, a copy of Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, a memory stick and the GTA strategy guide.)