Mattlog

My Space

Myspace.com is taking over the world. Mark my words. It's the google of personal sites. Here's a quick and easy to make your own webpage while being able to easily link to your friends and tell the world who all those friends are.

The technical term for these types of sites is social networking sites. The kids I work with say they spend probably 2-4 hours a day on the site... messaging new friends, blogging and generally sending all those damn fwds you used to get in your e-mail accounts. But kids have been spending so much time on the site many Austin and surrounding area high schools have set their browsers to not allow Myspace because kids in computer class and study hall we're spending all thier time on Myspace.

Interestingly enough, parents are setting up their own Spaces so they can keep an eye on their kids' space. Check out their kids friends and see if they need to worry. Parenting made easy.

MySpace reportedly has 57 million registered users and Tom who started this whole thing is super excited about it. He remains president of the site and I'm sure is income is gi-normous (to use a term of the kids these days... Which I'm sure will go by the wayside like "choice" and "gag me with a spoon")

I've only been on myspace I think 5 days and I already 15 "friends" who I send the occassional bulletin to that makes no sense and only makes them think I'm wierd. TOdays bulletin will read "What happend to CB radios? I think it was cell phones. No one needs a CB if you can just call your "Good Buddy" behind you. It's sad. I guess I just miss saying stuff like "Braker, Braker." and "Can I get a 10-9 on that Big-Ben?" However I do think I'm ready to watch some Smokey and the Bandit though, while listening to Convoy!"

Anyway check it out here... there some logs there but they're nothing special... not like this one. :)

http://www.myspace.com/mgauck

Matt

Crappy Valentine's Day

I started writing a blog entry about Valentine's Day and how much it sucks being single when you're a hopeless romantic like myself and then I realized that it was so depressing and would bring the happiness of those of you in it down but not you single people like me who would rather hole yourself up in your house and avoid the day all together.

So instead... I'll write about why I've always hated the holiday anyway.

Here's a day where you have to buy something to tell someone you already tell on a daily basis that you love them. And worse women think that what you buy on such a day has to be,not expensive, though that's usually helps, but highly romantic. Maybe it's the first little love you note you wrote to each other some bored day. Or maybe it was a flower peddle from the first thing of flowers she bought YOU. Or maybe it's the little antique broach that you saw two years ago in Raliegh, North Carolina that she never mentioned again but this year you had it sent to the house for the big unveiling on the 14th. Whatever it is, it's sad that there has to be a day for you to remember to tell your special someone I love you. And worse if your special someone makes a big deal out the fact you didn't do anything extra special on the day.

For no reason I've bought girls flowers and I've left I love you notes around the house and I've even left their favorite brand of chips in the car so they can eat them as a tasty treat on the way to class. These are even more special cause they're unexpected. They're some random Monday little things to make life better. For Feb. 14 to be blown up into a holiday where you must plan the most romantic thing you've ever done (and top last year) is just a shame.

In some ways I forgotten about Romance. You want to look for a major reason Kirsten and I broke up... well that's a little bit of it. A lot of it. I always told girls that a man shouldn't want to change you, he should want to change for you. It just sounds romantic. It's a romantic ideal. And for some reason I damn pig headed when it came to Kristen stuff. I couldn't change. I blamed age. Old dog, new tricks. All that. But I guess the truth is what are you willing to change to be with someone? (Answers here may vary)

At the risk of getting too heavy, here's some Valentine Day don'ts:

DON'T get candy. I don't care if it comes in a heart shaped box they'll either throw it at you asking if you them to be fat OR they'll spend the next week eating complaining about how fat they'll become.

Don't just get a card. I know it's easy. Unfortunatly this damn holiday goes above and beyond it. You gotta think special.

Lastly, most importantly,

Don't bring her to a strip club. I know that sounds horribly obvious but two strip clubs down here are offering cool specials for the day. Along these same lines don't try for a threesome either. That's not romantic, to the ladies, that's just creepy.

Well enjoy (or don't) your day. I'll be behind a bar wearing black and hoping that the next couple that nuzzles their noses will break up in six months.

Matt

PS If you're looking to buy me something for V-Day anyway-- Try this:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00067F1CE/sr=8-2/qid=1139883292/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-4355561-4853549?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance

Generations

I got this movie for Christmas. Of all the Star Trek movies I always felt this one was uneven and a really bad way to start off the Next Generation series of movies (Especially considering First COntact which was to follow.)

One of the things I loved about this movie was Kirk's death at the beginning of the film. Saving the Enterprise B. Kirk's want to jump i and take command despite his retired status. There's a great shot when Harriman first hears about the trouble in the sector... Kirk stands. Just stands ready to go. Harriman tries to find another ship in the sector. Kirk gives a look like SET A COURSE FOR GOD SAKE!

It's awesome. The rest of the movie felt uneven. Very little of the shows wry humor and it didn't "feel" like a Next Generation episode (despite RIck Berman instance that it was.)

So I watched EP III again the other night (be glad I'm not wrtiting yet a third review of that film which is STILL amazing.) And I wanted to keep my Sci-FI extravaganza going so I popped in Generations.

I liked it a lot better this time, I'll admit. I hadn't seen it in probably 10 years. Picard's story is pretty touching with the death of his brother and family. (Now he is the lone Picard to carry on the line.) And meeting Kirk in the Nexus is totally great. But I guess the ending is what always bit for me. Running around the mountains of Veridian III trying to stop Soran.

In the extras on the DVD they have the original ending they shot and it was even worse. In that Kirk doesn't even say anything and there's even less of a point to Kirk's death. It always felt like Kirk dies in a punk way. Falling off the mountain. With a million other ways to kill someone why not something better. His first death at the beginning overshadows his final one at the end of the film. This is same thing that happened on Smallville a few weeks ago. They killed LANA in the first half. It was brilliant Lex was the cause (causing more reason for their eventual rift) and Lana was a boring character anyway. But, no, Clark goes back in time with the help of Jor-EL and even though Lana survives Jonathon Kent gets it this time. And John Schnieder rules that show.

Back to Generations, on the commentary the writers even admit they wish they had another pass or two on the script. With such a heavy story as realizing one's mortality the movie doesn't have a conistant flow. That story doesn't push the A story enough.

Which is what I thought all along. Still it's not as bad a picture as I've always said and would probably rank it with three out of five stars... I should come up with my own ranking system like Lightsabres or somthing (thought that's probably been done.)

Matt

SHOCK!

I haven't posted. Where have I been? Does anyone care?

Clearly not.

But in caser the three of you who read this want to know I've been nowhere. I've been working bunches. I've been playing XBOX alot and I've been slowly prepping for a short I'm about to shoot in April.

But that's after Aj, and Jeff and my trip to Vega$. We're staying at the new Hooters Hotel. For all the obvious reasons* and the fact that for the strip it's pretty cheap.

I've been putting some work into my Mercedes (and by *I* I mean I've been paying Lamb's) to pass my car for inspection, (our new emissions in Texas failed it) so that's catalytic convertor.

Then we got my squeaking tire qhich needs some work and new struts... al in all about another 1300. WHen I called to whine about it to my dad he asked how much the car was (free) and that I should get over it. I really wasn't complaining just looking for sympathy.

Which I never told you about I realize looking back. My dad's new wife handed me her old Mercedes 190E which Ryan and I drove back. It's awesome. It needs a new stereo, it only has a tape deck and the amount of sound coming through the speakers is small. I've been using my MP3 player through the casette recorder as my main source.

I've been listeing to the Ricky Gervais podcast and they are hilarious everyone should check it out.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/rickygervais

Here's a pic of a car almost identical to mine.

And... Gauck.. out!

*obvious meaning the wings.