Merry Christmas

Just a quick post here to wish all of you a Merry Christmas. Remember it's not about the shit you buy people or the gifts you receive, it's about the people you love and the moments you're lucky enough to share with them. So Cheers and Merry Christmas!
-Directorial Genius

Mindgasm

For someone that has rounded up a few of his closest and most opinionated friends and convinced them to join a blog and then to wait 8 months in between posts I should be a little disappointed in myself. Should be... However...I'm not.

Play it Loud!

If you are looking for a blog entry that sets up a series of arguments or that expresses a clear thought or point, this is not for you.

Stupid Fucking Ghosts

What the fuck is it about Halloween that makes people stupid? Don't get me wrong, I love the annual excuse for women to dress as a slutty nurse, slutty superhero, slutty slut...any of those things, really. I'm not huge on the candy part - too many calories and too much sugar for me. The part I just hate is that we suddenly have all these shows on tv about 'real ghost stories'. Fuck you, there is no such thing as a 'real' ghost. It doesn't fucking exist. The people that eat this shit up are the same ones that think psychics are real. I want to punch the idiots that pay money to see a psychic, but I want to skull fuck the psychics for capitalizing on the vulnerability of some poor schmuck whose loved one just died. Ok, i'm getting off track again.

Reasons Why Massachusetts Sucks

1) Worst. Drivers. Ever.

2) Everything is too expensive.

3) People generally lack any sort of courtesy.

4) Most of the employees at any given store treat you the same way that the burnt-out-on-life cashiers at Walmart treat you.

5) Everybody is in a hurry everywhere, all of the time, and throws a child-like fit if they are slowed down for more than 2 seconds.

6) 90% of the people in Mass. are inconsiderate assholes with bad attitudes, and it is highly contagious.

     - Please let it be noted that there are still some very nice people who live in Mass. In fact, some of the nicest people I have ever met live in Mass., and have decided to stay there for one God-forsaken reason or another.  By the end of my 4 years there, I had definitely started turning into a miserable, impatient, inconsiderate person due to the constant stress and negativity around me all the time. While living there, transforming yourself into a Masshole is necessary to complete day-to-day activities, such as going to the grocery store or really any task that requires leaving the house. If you don't, and dare to show human decency, you will never get anywhere and it will take forever to accomplish anything. It is like a "survival of the douchiest" situation.

7) It has pointless laws and regulations that make paperwork way more difficult, burdensome, and expensive than it needs to be.

        - Case in point: To register your car and convert your out-of state license, you need to present a MA-based insurance card, a dated, signed and stamped letter from your insurance company, your old registration, your old license, the title of your car, a special RMV-1 Form, an insurance waiver form, three separate documents that show a proof of residency, a proof of signature, and a proof of date of birth, and it can only be done at select DMV locations that are surely at least 15 inconvenient and traffic-heavy miles from your home.

8) Taxes are way too high and you don't seem to ever see the reasons why.

      - I am not sure where the money is going, but there certainly was not enough focus on things that matter like schools, infrastructure, and the environment. After teaching a 6th grade science class as part of my curriculum for grad school, I can confidently say that the money is definitely not going to public schools as much as it should.

9) You have to pay money to recycle, which doesn't seem very progressive for a progressive state.

10) The roads are under construction all of the time with absolutely no progress to be seen for years at a time.

     - Case in point: A short stretch of road in Worcester was under construction when I started pharmacy school in 2009 and was still going on and in even worse condition when I left the state in 2012

11) The road system seems like it was set up by drunk people with no foresight.

      - Case in point: You have to drive 8 miles to get to a place that is right across the street because of the over-abundance of concrete separations and one-way roads (Sorry, just can't get over how bad the roads are and it probably warrants more ranting, but I'll stop...)

12) I felt like I aged 5 years after being there for 1 due to the increased stress level

13) After living there for 4 years in 3 different regions, I cannot imagine why anybody would want to live there for their entire life (or at all) if they didn't have to.

14) The motto on the Massachusetts license plate is "The Spirit Of America" so it does a great job of representing the entire country with all of the fantastic qualities above...

More (very) random thoughts on religion.

Only sheep need a shepherd. Maybe some people’s lives suck so badly, and maybe they just have such a lack of self-esteem and belief in themselves that they need to put their fate in the hands of something ‘greater’. How else could you possibly explain people believing in something as foolish as a man in the sky, who has nothing better to do than intervene in the mundane lives of humans (and in that case he would clearly be doing a shitty job, looking at the state of the world today). Believing that must make you ‘special’, huh? Well, we all do want to be special. We want to think that even though our dog or goldfish doesn’t have a soul that will go to heaven, we do. I’m still not sure if that idea shows an incredible sense of egotism, or just means someone is that afraid of not existing anymore. I can say without a doubt that I’m not afraid of being dead. Hell, I was dead for millions of years before I was alive. Dying? Well, that process could potentially suck in a very big way.

Life at 30

Everyone who is older than me has successfully done it. It’s just a number. So, why does turning 30 have such an effect on people? Suddenly, questions arise about where you are or should be in life. Should I be making more money by now? Am I too old to have this messy hairdo? What about my earrings – should I take those out now? How about my big-buckled watch? Is that too juvenile? Lots of people keep asking how it feels to be 30, as if I should feel different. It seems like everyone views it as one of the many milestones of adulthood.

R.I.P. Peter Steele

For those of you that follow the band Type O Negative, you may or may not have heard that the lead singer and bassist Peter Steele died of heart failure on April 14th. I just only found out today and I have to say I'm a bit heart broken. I have always been a very big Type O Negative fan and will always be. It's kind of lame that we only talk about many different things until after they're gone/dead/whatever but I had to mention this one. So I lift my glass in your memory Pete. I have many, MANY memories that involve the music you've made and I thank you for contributing to my life and memories.

Sacrifice, and pride.

So what's on my mind today? I dunno... let's talk about sacrifice... and pride...

The unbelievable, incredible, amazing personal sacrifices that adults must make when they have children. Most, well some, anyway, adults, when having children, come to the realization, that their life now has meaning, but has no meaning...

Confused?

Good.

Damn those kids and their remakes!

I’m a movie buff. No, that’s not right…I’m more of a movie snob. I like what I like, and if you don’t like it, you are wrong. Period. I would like to consider my taste in movies to be varied, but I think that those who know me best would probably argue that point to the death. I have a huge selection of DVDs, and even though Director Genius probably has a few more ‘Special Edition’ versions than myself, I think most people are impressed when they see the collection. Throughout the titles, you will only find a few movies of mine that have subtitles – I can’t freakin’ stand subtitles. I want to watch a movie, not read. Dubbing the English words over the foreign language is suitable, so long as the timing is somewhat accurate. High Tension is a great example of this, because there is little dialogue – it’s mostly just ass-kicking wonderfulness. In the case of Inglorious Basterds, I’m willing to turn a blind eye because the movie just plain kicks ass. I don’t like chick flicks as a rule, but have made a few exceptions when there is real substance and not just a reason for girls to cry (as a side note, I’ve never understood the idea that ladies sometimes want to watch a sad movie so they can have a ‘good cry’…WTF, seriously?). Don’t even think about having John Leguizamo in your movie – I won’t even rent it, let alone buy it. Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts bore me to death – they are exactly the same in every role they play. Highly overrated.

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My take on Paranormal Activity

Well, I finally broke down and watched the movie Paranormal activity recently, and thought it was well done, except for the finish. It was finally a new idea, and suspenseful enough, and creepy enough to keep my attention throughout. I mean what was weirder than the girl standing, motionless, staring at her fiance for hours on end as he slept.

I did however notice several inconsistencies that bothered me throughout the movie. Often times the footage shot with their camera had a date/time stamp, yet other times, did not. There was no obvious reason to have omitted it... maybe they just forgot. Anyway, it was noticeable, and annoying. I also picked up on, again what was supposed to be footage shot from an unmanned camera on a tripod, several panned shots, zooms, and close ups... Again this was from a camera that was supposedly on a tripod while the couple slept. It certainly played to the audience, building suspense, but, THIS WAS SUPPOSEDLY FROM A CAMERA MOUNTED ON A TRIPOD WHILE THEY WERE SLEEPING! C'mon now, there are people in the audience that will notice things like this.

Is 30 the new 20?

So I've been on a bit of a weight loss quest now for about 5 years. When I started it took me 8 months to lose almost 100 pounds. Then I gained about 30 of it back and then I see-sawed a bit for a few years. Then something bad happened...DUN DUN DUN. I started working at a pizza place. Which was alright except, like almost everyone, I love pizza. So right before I moved here to NY last July I was up to 240 again. Well I lost a bunch of it to get back down around 220 or so. But there's been a lot of weight lifting involved so I don't really pay attention to my weight. I'm still a bit from my lowest at 205 but I'm in WAY better shape now than I was at 205.

America's Pastime is Upon Us

The birds are chirping. The sun is out. The grass is green. Yup it's my favorite time of year...BASEBALL SEASON! I'm a die hard Red Sox fan. If you boo this is, bugger off and go read some Yankee blog about sodomy and payroll or something. I have to say though, I love baseball in general. Not just the Sox. There are players all over the league I love. Guys like Pujols and Mauer. Verlander and Griffey (I'll always love Griff). That's why I really like fantasy baseball. I get to follow everyone around baseball and I pay attention to everyone, not just my favorite team.

Bruce Willis is the MAN!

I'm sitting here watching "Live Free or Die Hard" and thinking to myself how badass Bruce Willis is. I don't always like his acting and he isn't even particularly great in this movie. But damn he's kicking some serious ass at the age of, almost, 55. He'll be 55 in a couple days according to IMDb.

Why I love Quentin Tarantino

Those of you that know me, know my relative obsession with Quentin Tarantino. I've been a fan since the first time Reservoir Dogs blew my brain off. Being around 12 at the time, this movie scared the shit out of me, confused me and kept me enthralled all at the same time. It's what any Tarantino fan watches his movies for in the first place. He does what he does and NO ONE else is like him. Many, and I unfortunately mean many, have tried to do what he does.

So... I flew to Florida on Wednesday, to visit with my Mom who was having major abdominal surgery. The flight was uneventful, if a little rough. I left Bangor at 45 deg, and clear skies, beautiful, sunny day. I arrived in Orlando (Sanford Airport) in the midst of major thunderstorms which have not yet stopped (36 hours later). So much for Sunny Florida... I picked up a rental, a Kia Rio, at Alamo, who knew ANYONE still made manual crank-up windows! In hindsight, I should have paid the extra $30.00/day for the Camaro... but whatever, I didn't come here to review cars...

Life + Dying

I hate, but can't help myself from reading the obituaries in the local paper. I can't help myself because I am intrigued by what I read, intrigued by the choices made by the surviving family chosen to highlight the deceased individual's life. The very finality of our obituaries can, appropriately, or inappropriately speak so much of our very short life on this earth. No matter what we do, no matter who we are, we ALL end up as a simple paragraph or two in the paper. I find it incredibly depressing, yet irresistible to peruse the local obits on a (an all too) regular basis What can be said about us when we die? Face it, we're all going to die. Like it or not, it is an un-fucking-shakable truth! It really is the only thing in life we can be sure of.

Josh Genius's Genius Horror Film Formula

Now I have to say I love movies. Hey, who the hell doesn't? But I really dig horror movies. I love 'em all. The cheesy ones and the good ones. So in honor of horror movies I present to you a specific formula to make a horror film any person would enjoy.

Step 1: Assemble an attractive cast...mostly.
Now this is essential. People watch horror movies for a few reasons but many watch for one very important thing...Boobs. Any guy that tells you he doesn't watch horror movies for boobs is mostly full of crap. Yeah the rest of the pieces of the puzzle are good but boobs are pretty much it for guys. Now as a counter point it's important to have at least one attractive male. I mean you need something for the ladies right? Like many things in film, balance is important if you want to reach out to an audience other than 16 year old boys. You pretty much need to make sure everyone is in their 20's. They need to drink and engage in coitus. These are their "sins" that makes it okay to kill them off. They will also make fun of the person mentioned in Step 7.

Snow. I might indeed live in Maine, but I hate it. This year has been more tolerable because we have gotten less of the fluffy white stuff (until this week, but it wasn’t so ‘fluffy’), but also because of another change. To understand my hatred of winter, you must understand a few things. Aside from having poor circulation and carpal tunnel syndrome, both of which cause me agony when snowblowing, up until this past year I have had to deal with something more treacherous than either condition…my old 2 wheel drive, green, 1995 Chevy S-10. Yup, from 1999 to 2009, that was my baby. Not like the baby you love because you want to love it. It’s more like Rosemary’s baby – you love it because it’s all you have, and in many ways you probably have an underlying hatred for it.

Ice fishing + Big bro.

So I had a chance to go ice fishing with my big bro this past weekend. He's got a sweet bob-house (that's ice shack to you non ice-fishers) on Lake Umbagog in northern ME/NH. Matt + I left Friday night, stayed at a tiny little motel in a tiny little town called Errol, NH. This town, after 9pm is like Barrow, Alaska, from the movie 30 Days of Night.

Why I love Alfred Hitchcock

Unless you've had you're head up your ass for your entire life, you've heard the name Alfred Hitchcock. You may not know who he is, but I'm sure you've heard the name. For those of you that spend too much time paying attention to uselessness such as The Situation and any other blob of vomit that might be on MTV, Alfred Hitchcock, more or less, invented the thriller. Some might even say his movies spawned many modern day horror films. If it wasn't for Hitch we wouldn't have MANY iconic films that so many have grown to love over the years.

Marlow and Sons

This past Saturday Josh, two friends and I took an awesome trip into the city, mainly Brooklyn. Josh did an amazing recap of the day's events, so I'm here to go in depth about two things. For starters the Brooklyn Brewery. What an amazing place that was. If you love beer this is truly a place for you. I plan on brewing beer so I was in awe at the giant tanks of soon to be brew!

First trip to NYC

Yesterday, I took my first, certainly not last, trip into New York City. It was a day I will not soon forget.

We started off a bit late but got back on track. My buddy James picked me up and we trained in the city then met up with Derrick and Bobby.

Our first stop, my choosing, was Katz's Deli. Famous for it's amazing sandwiches and seen on shows such as Man Vs. Food and No Reservations. After arriving and realizing we were going to be standing, in what was, a huge, giant ball of people. It started out as a line but soon the ravenous hunger overtook everyone and they all huddled together, mouths watering, eyes bulging with desire. After what was about an hour wait, I dug into the most tasty pastrami sandwich I've ever had. Words cannot describe unless you've eaten there. We then met up with my cousin Patric prepared to head to the Museum of Modern Art. Never happened.

Happy February 14th

One of my very best friends recently echoed this exact sentiment... which then brought other friends sharing their thoughts.

I felt compelled to share a little more than a what a comment on FB will allow...

This site is SWEET!

Ok I'm a pretty damn big nerd. I played D&D growing up and through highschool. I've always played video games starting with my old Tandy 1000. I'm terrible with chicks. I'm just a great big nerd of the not-all-that-smart variety. But at least I'm not COMPLETELY socially awkward. Anyway, to get to the point. For all you nerds out there, this website has some AWESOME t-shirts. Especially this one. I mean seriously having your own soundtrack emitting t-shirt just plan old rocks. So for all you nerds...ENJOY!

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/a5bf/

Who Dat?

So it's Superbowl weekend... one of the biggest weekends for consumerism in the country. People everywhere are going to overeat, over-drink, just overindulge... It's the one weekend that even non football fans will join the party. What is it about this game that draws such attention? Certainly bigger than the World Series, bigger than the NBA championship, and definitely bigger than the Stanley Cup playoffs. What is it about this day? MARKETING!

It's not THE job that makes you a man... it's HOW you do it.

It's not the job that makes you a man...

Hmmm... what's this gonna be about... I guess just a few thoughts on life + work in general. I grew up in a home with very hardworking parents. Dad was the Budweiser man, meaning he worked at White Mountain Distributors, delivering Anheuser-Busch products all over northern NH, as his primary job. He also worked as a local gas station a couple nights a week, and cleaned the local Yellow Freight front offices a couple nights a week for added income. Oh yeah, he ran the local aluminum recycling center for a number of years too. Mom, meanwhile ran a daycare at our home.

Brew Master

Hey I'd like to start a new endeavor. I'd really enjoy learning the fine craft of brewing beer. I don't know much about it other then I really enjoy testing out different kinds of brews. I love exotics and hard to find beers. Recommendations and suggestions are appreciated! Culinary is my passion and I'd love to own my own eatery and maybe have a brewery on premise. If anyone can aid me in my quest I'd really appreciate it. If you have any tips, hints, or suggestions let me know. The worst case scenario, I walk away with a sweet hobby.

How did I ever take a crap without my iPhone?!?!

In this day and age of mobile technology and social communication via internet, I'm still wondering if it's good or bad. I think I've come to the conclusion that it's a little of both.

I own an iPhone. I have to say I hate cellphones...just not quite as much as I used to. It's really not cellphones I don't like, it's the cellphones users and their lack of manners when using one. The next time I catch someone on their cellphone in a theater I'm going to neuter/castrate them. I mean is posting "At the movies!" really that important to all your Tweeple? Do you really have to announce to all your Facebook friends that you're "out to eat. What should I get?" Are you no longer capable of making a decision without hearing from Jane that you graduated high school with 8 years ago?

Can a man get a pair of shoes, or at least some respect?

Here is my rambling for the week and I’m all worked up about it. Yesterday was one of those days where I just couldn’t catch a break. You know when all the little things go wrong and the whole world is scheming to make your life more difficult. And they were, the people of the world, scheming to piss me off. And it almost worked, like when the girl and I are on the subway and it’s late and we get to our stop where we’d get drinks and food because she was hungry from working a double shift. We get to our stop and the doors open and people pile onto the train, without letting us off, because they’re in some goddamn hurry or something, then the door controlling lady in the black boxed door controlling room on the train in front of us, thought it’d be awesome to close the doors and proceed on down the track without letting us get out. So we missed our stop, myself and the lady who’s tired from working a double shift, and so we had to get off at the next stop and turn around.

Heres to you Dad.

Ok now for something a little lighter in topic...

Let's talk about, oh, I don't know, lets talk whiskey... Love the stuff. Jack Daniels Old No. 7, Jim Beam (white or black), Johnnie Walker (red, black, or don't forget 'bout that Blue Label we had too), George Dickel, Gentleman Jack, Jack Daniel's Single Barrel, Jameson's, Wild Turkey, Canadian Club... OK, those last two... I could really do without... Although Wild Turkey's American Honey is a nice treat, if mixed with good plain whiskey. There are sooooo many more out there to be sampled... so much to taste, so little time. My favorite right now seems to be Jim Beam's Red Stag (a black cherry flavored whiskey... It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up), blended 50/50 with Jim Beam white. So full of deliciousness... I think I got this penchant for whiskey from my Dad. I fondly remember him coming home from work, asking me to “Get my medicine.” Hmmm, a future topic of why I became a Pharmacist? Anyway, his medicine was a classic Manhattan. As he taught me: not too much ice... 2 fingers of vermouth, topped with his whiskey, Canadian Club if I remember right. So a few years ago, out of, I guess out of curiosity, I tried a few Manhattans, and, was, duly impressed... I remember thinking “Good stuff, Dad, good stuff”. Anyway, thank you Dad. I Love you, and miss you every day... Here's to you...

Family, Friends and Beer.

As I sit here in NY, I have to express some things I didn't quite have time to do before I left Maine. For those of you that don't know, I recently moved to NY from Maine. I was born and raised in Maine. I come from a small town where almost all of my family still resides. Pretty much all except for my mother and two sisters, who are here in NY. They've been here for six years. Anyway to move forward to my point, after I graduated high school I did a lot of nothing only to find myself working in a pharmacy. In this pharmacy I met almost all of these people you see on this blog.

2nd amendment anyone?

Saw this the other day at Maine Military Suppply...

Actually laughed out loud...

The 2nd amendment to our Constitution reads:

“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”


When I bought my 9mm last year, ammo for it was sold out damn near everywhere. The guy at Maine Military Supply said he'd been having a hard time keeping any semi-auto guns, and the ammo for them in stock. He was thankful for Obama's election. He said business has never been better. Even now he says sales are still strong.

How to Beilieve in Christianity: A Lesson in Mental Decompensation

We all need something to believe in, and it seems that believing in yourself isn’t a popular choice these days. So, what do you do? Well, it’s much easier to believe in some remote being. You see, this removes responsibility. Things didn’t work out your way, well “god works in mysterious ways”, or it’s all a part of “god’s plan”. Things do go your way, and you get to praise jesus, allah, or whatever other deity you happen to worship (yes, they are lowercase on purpose). It’s nice because you don’t have to try as hard for results when you believe that you aren’t the one ultimately responsible for the outcome

The real things in life.

In this day and age surrounded by a failing economy, cynicism and a lack of communication face to face, I find myself thankful for the things I have in life. I, like many people, have plenty to be pissed off about. I'm not a glass is half empty or even a glass is half full person. Personally I don't give a shit. If there's just something in the glass I'm stoked. I'm not rich. I don't have supermodel looks. I'm not married. I don't have a formal education. Hell, I'm not even a real filmmaker...yet.

Two party system and the stupidity of mankind.

Is anyone else tired of our two party political system? Well i am..... I hate that its become a race between Democrats and Republicans. A hundred years ago their views on politics were completely reversed. Its gone from elections that meant something to now who has the most money who has the most influence over the masses, with the relentless help from the fucking media which i hate. And my fellow geniuses will tell you the same thing I'm about to say..... The masses are stupid.

Survival of the Fittest...oh, no, wait.... Weakest???

Darwin’s Law of Natural Selection: “The process by which by which heritable traits that make it more likely for an organism to survive and successfully reproduce become more common in a population over successive generations. It is a key mechanism of evolution. This theory is also known as ‘Survival of The Fittest’”

On one hand, I feel like I should apologize ahead of time for the things that I am about to say as it is not my intention to offend anyone. But, on the other hand, these are things that definitely need to be said…

Shout out to those that earn a paycheck!

I've recently moved from Maine to New York. I don't live in the city but I'm pretty close. There, of course, are many differences in the culture, most of which I enjoy. I've met many people from different walks of life, which I love. I enjoy meeting new people who are from different places with different points of view and cultures. I come from Maine and for those of you that don't know it's 97% white. So experiencing different things is something I love about NY.

help me I'm losing my house...

There's a quote in today's paper in response to the question “What is the state of the state of Maine?” that reads: “Pretty poor. I've been out of work for almost 17 months [Maine needs] relief for mortgage holders. Right now I'm losing my house, because I can't make the mortgage.”