inanity

[mercat]

I a not brain functioning today. I slept like absolute shit last night. I don't believe I have posted my rant-on-my-roommate yet, but DEAR GODS SHE NEEDS TO NOT LISTEN TO MUSIC AT NIGHT. She is one of those people who has pretty much nothing to do, ever, so she listens to music and naps all the time. So, sleeping badly is not a problem for her as she can sleep in and/or take a nap. This is not an option for me, I don't funciton like that. So first (I didn't write that Pouliuli paper, btw) I went to sleep late because my roomies started Pearl Harbor at ten til midnight. I think we gave up around 1 AM but it was just getting good, you know? Anyhow, so then I changed and cleared all the crap off my bed and brushed my teeth and laid down and tried to ignore the music. And tried to ignore the music. Because it was stuff I didnt' know, right? Hawaiian or Samoan or something and pretty calm. And then Thriller. And then Whip It. And then fucking rap shit so by then I was frustrated enough to be crying, and I took my stuff out into the living room and tried to sleep on the couch. But then I was already frustrated and crying so I cried for a while and I kept being frustrated because I was super duper awake. I dont' know when I finally got to bed but it wasn't early enough. So... yeah. I am mucho tired-o, which is why this post is probably so off-the-wall.

GOOD MORNING, America; the pathetic stuff we call bread is, essentially, some sort of weaksauce doughy crap. I WANT MY EFFING EUROPEAN BREAD, DAMMIT. The "crust" you complain about is fuck nothing so getthehelloverit.

omgyeah, I'm tired, can you tell?

Because I'm not putting much effort into this post; here are the webcomics I read:
Questionable Content (nerdy, music/indie-based)
Xkcd (for all-around nerds, generally science and philosophy)
For the Wicked (a really good fairytale re-write)
Girl Genius (what they call "gaslamp fantasy", it's sort of steampunk, but as a general fantasy comic it's good, too)
Qwantz (aka Dinosaur Comics, a really cleverly done comic with the same panels everday and different random shenanigans; also the reason I use the conjunctive adverb [that's not the right term for it] "also" way too much)
Bunny (a comic about random bunnies; much more clever than it sounds)
Dr. McNinja (it's kind of exactly what it sounds like, except more awesome, and biased toward ninjas)
Terror Island (completely off-the-wall and yet still very clever)
Cyanide and Happiness (kind of like Mel Brooks; they'll insult everybody. really crude, but pretty funny, if you're in the mood for crude humor. every so often something really clever and almost not crude at all)
Order of the Stick (Dungeons and Dragons/roleplaying-based humor, with a lot of other references thrown in; sorry about the link for this one, there really is no good direct link to the comics)
Dresden Codak (super-science and philosophy. and awesomeness.)
Starslip Crisis" (this is what would happen if Star Wars and Hitchhiker's Guide ran into eachother in an art museum)
Indexed (life, in graph form. I think she might be from Ohio, because she sure knows how to mock it.)
Gone with the Blastwave (postapocalyptic art comic, kind of reminds me of Halo)
Scared of Bees (I think it was an art comic. I'm not sure what it is anymore. It's creepy, that's for sure.)
Shortpacked! (the exploits of a Transformer fan and his coworkers in the toy store)
Kawaii Not (cute hilarity)
Purple Pussy (a feminist comic I never got all the way through; but it's the comic that Todd Goldman [the guy who does the "boys are stupid, throw rocks at them"] ripped off)
Hockey Zombie (the title pretty much says it all)
Two Lumps (general cat hilarity)
Lackadaisy (gangster bootlegging cats [litterally--DOUBLE PUN INTENDED MUAHHAHAHA] of the 20's. hardcore art comic)
Irregular Webcomic (Cthulu, space RPGs, Indiana Jones, Steve Irwin, and much more, all done with legos)
Marry Me (I have no idea how I found this, but it's decent; altruistic superstar snaps in midlife crisis and marries a guy from the audience)
iharthdarth (the cute little Vader that started it all)
LilHouse (House a la iharthdarth)
icherisherik (Phantom of the Opera a la iharthdarth)
beatonna (an LJ-er from Canadia who makes history comics. HILARIOUS)
Abe & Kroenen (multifandom comic made with action figures; Hellboy/Hitchhiker's Guide/Pirates/LotR/others)
Digger (by Ursula Vernon; you have to pay to read regularly but every once in a while the archives open up and you can catch up)
[iharthdarth no longer updates; scared of bees, icherisherik, and lilhouse update rarely; lackadaisy and gone with the blastwave are also more rare because they're art comics]

Not technically "webcomics":
Homestar Runner (the best thing on the planet; watch a few of the first Strong Bad Emails to understand it)
Red vs. Blue (Halo machinima; pretty hilarious, and I have minimal experience in Halo. However, you kind of have to start from the beginning and watch them all for it to be funny--does anyone have a better link to get to all the videos?)
We Are Robots (why "YOU'RE FIRED" was funny before Donald Trump came around; you have to watch them in roughly the order they came out, though: Angrybot [the best], Sad Robot, Tendertron, Keg-O-Matic, BizBot, Robokopf, Geekbot, Gothbot, Angrybot: Recess)

Okay, yeah. =D Recommend anything on here you don't see that you think I'd like. More postation lataz.

I think I'm going to start working on that webcomic again. I just need to find a good place to host it.

Also, the wikipedia page for Carroll High School is hilarious; Media4Carroll is a joke. Maybe it used to be big, and yeah they have lots of equipment, but they really don't do anything but fuck around.

Also, this, in athletics: "Carroll has recently attempted to make it to the State Swimming meet in Canton, Ohio, but sadly did not. Don't worry though, they will continue to think they're amazing and make shirts about it, but in the end... they are not going to the state meet, and if my sources are correct, Archbishop Alter High School is a school for future pediphiles."

LOL

[EDIT] The only edit I'm tempted to make is to change the spelling of "pediphiles" [sic] so that Carroll doesn't look so bad. It used to say "Alter [will win]", so... yeah.

FUCK ALTER

[EDIT2] LOL, someone on my IP (they're all Chaminade) is vandalizing "Jewish history" and "Jackson Pollock". wut

Comments

[malanai.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs! You should be reading Real Life; it's one of my favorite web comics ^_^

Media 4 Carroll

[(Anonymous)]

Hello this is one of the members of Media 4 Carroll, and I ask that you please edit this post about media 4 Carroll doing nothing but screwing around. It is offensive to the group, and... we do not lay around all the time... we are VERY busy. We have to do weekly shows (although our current director and staff prefers only a show every other week), make CDs for athletics and band, manage the equipment, film sports events and school events, edit them, upload them, and much more.

Please edit this post by March 27. If not, I have the authority to report this post to Mr. Sens the principal (if you didn't know that). Thank you.

part 1

[mercat.livejournal.com]

Hello, I am obviously the owner and writer of this blog. I am not yet prepared to edit this as it is my personal blog, but I may if you read this through and understand my points as well as I understand yours. First of all, I apologize for any offense that may have occurred, but it was not aimed at you nor at the group as a whole. Secondly, I take offense to the fact that you, a self-proclaimed media persona, have approached this in such a manner. Why, you may ask? For several reasons, that you are representing a media group, and are attempting to act professionally (rather respectfully and politely, I do note) and accordingly to the situation, yet you do not understand the medium, nor, it seems, the message. Allow me to explain.

As a member of a media group one would expect that you either have an interest in how media affects our daily lives (for example, perhaps, politics) or you are interested in going into the media field. I noted that you gave this a base attempt at professionalism, yet have committed several simplistic errors:

1. This reads like a threat; I would advise that if you are interested in making amends with someone who you may or may not have had a disagreement with that you offer up a chance for discussion, particularly in a medium such as the internet, and, going even further, a blog, where interaction is the name of the game.

Here I do note my first requirement: if you would like me to take this down, provided we agree it to be the proper course of action, that you supply your name and contact to me so that this is not a one-sided threat.

You have here a way of contacting me, and if you look other places in this blog you will see I have my information publicly in many locations, so I am making no pretense at being distant or unreachable to you.

Another note: In a medium such as the internet you are lucky at all that an anonymous comment was addressed; on most public forums (such as in the comments here) it would be simply deleted or ignored, which is obviously no help to your cause.

part 2

[mercat.livejournal.com]

2. This error in particular I find to be the most grievous of all: not reading for context. You obviously did not read any further than this entry to understand my writing style nor my situation. To me, most words are just words and hold little offense; it is their intention behind them that is the true nature. If you were to meet me in person--OR read any else of my blog--you would realize that I curse like a sailor, and I take it very lightly. And since this is my personal journal, it is my choice to do so. The error here is thus; that you believe I think the Media 4 Carroll club is a waste of time, and it is true that this one sentence could be clarified. However, that is what I am doing here, and since this comment is public, it shall be seen with the entry.

What you have missed in the context of me using "fuck around" is that at the time to which I am referring, Media 4 Carroll produced only silly skits and often could not get their technology to work. That is not to say that I did not appreciate the silly skits, I thought they were hilarious and awesome; however, it is not, by my standard, hard-hitting news. Furthermore, at that time, I had two particular friends who were members who would readily admit to being rather lazy people, and it could potentially be said (though it was not my intention) that I was referring to them.

In addition I must say I have always greatly appreciated the club's recordings of performances and have always purchased them, so do not be so quick to judge as to think I dislike this group.

3. Yet another contextual error: the fact that I have long since graduated. Not only did you misunderstand the sentence itself, but the fact that it is time-sensitive material. If you are a senior now, you would not know any of the people I knew in Media 4 Carroll, and my guess is that things have changed, as they are wont to do.

Furthermore, since I am clearly no longer a student there, what could bringing it to Mr. Sens' attention possibly bring you? This is a single comment in the wide expanse of the internet; my guess is he has better things to do, and, if anything, it might harm your organization more than help to recieve "criticism" that it is lazy. If you are searching for "revenge" for what you percieved to be injury, you must first reexamine this (as I am currently doing for you) and then perhaps we can come to a sensible conclusion with discussion.

4. A final, small error: I would like to note that a person who wishes to be involved personally with media should probably do their best to be grammatically correct. If you do not understand what I am referring to, please feel free to ask as grammar is one of my favorite things to inform on, ever since I had the great Miss Downie and Miss Wourms.

part 3

[mercat.livejournal.com]

A further note: The medium here is the internet. Not only is it the internet, but a journal, not by far what I would even consider to be a public high-traffic blog, on the internet. I will give you the benefit of the doubt that you do not spend much time on the internet, so I would like to offer you some advice. You should probably be more familiar with internet etiquette if you are truly interested in media in your future, and if you are heavily serious then I advise not only etqiuette but culture. I covered a few etiquette notes above, but here are a few notes more on the culture side, since that is significantly more informal.

Since this is a public journal, others can comment on my entries. I am warning you of this because it is common for commenters to post in reply to you with image macros and other things to make fun of you; this would be because, in the context it is in, your comment is seen as too serious. As I said before, in any other places an anonymous comment would be ignored or deleted as spam, but as I hold a special place in my heart for the education Carroll gave me, I hope you find this note to be educational to you. The internet is a fast-paced thing and comments are often direct and there is little time to deal with offense; the general ideas are that 1) if you are offended you will stop reading/visiting and 2) if you would continue to visit that you "lurk" long enough to learn the culture of the place. As I said before, these messages will often come at you brief and offensive so they get straight to the point: phrases such as "lurk more" and "stfu" are common.

So, as a warning, you will probably get spammed with rude comments and macros here; the Internet, as a culture, does not take lightly to harsh comments, and it is a form of entertainment to pic-spam and "troll".

Now, you may be wondering, what gives someone the right to act so rudely? Well, obviously other than freedom of speech and obviously other than your lack of etiquette which I have already pointed out, it stems from the fact that the internet is a strange cross between a printed newspaper and a gossipy lunch table. There are many places of serious news, but there are also many websites where the cultures are much more relaxed. This stems from the fact that they are either social or personal in nature and that millions if not billions of comments are posted every day across the internet. You reach a point of saturation at which the noise is much greater than the signal, and it becomes apparent that very few comments should be taken with such heaviness, especially as it takes no great skill to post something.

Now, each internet user often find a social community in which they feel most comfortable; for some facebook or myspace, for some Second Life, for some 4chan, for some subject-specific forums, and so forth. In particular you have stumbled across livejournal, a network of personal blogs that also encourages a community of comments and group blogs. It is therefore not hard to comprehend the rudeness you would most likely receive, as it is much like forcing yourself into someone's home and threatening them to do something pointless like rearrange the living room. It is to be expected that people will defend themselves and their home.

I can understand that as a media group you are concerned someone will find this and get a bad impression of you; however I already told you how it was misread and how it does not particularly apply to you, yet furthermore it is highly unlikely that anyone would take so seriously a comment to be found in so un-serious a source. It is much like gossip; one must have a strong enough self-esteem that a small piece of bad gossip does not send you into a depression. (Just a comment for you to ruminate on; you do realize there exist people who entire profession it is to criticise politicians, the government, the media, and the whole world? And do you also realize that contradictory news, whether or not it is completely accurate, is more likely to push papers? Simply some food for thought)

Furthermore this is far from one of the least or most serious places on the internet, and if a comment on someone's personal blog is so offensive there are many places I can advise you to stay away from, if you would like.

part 4

[mercat.livejournal.com]

A final question; I am curious as to how you found this entry. It is not on any of the earlier pages on a google search for "media 4 carroll" and it is not on the first few pages on searches for "mercat media 4 carroll" nor "mercat livejournal media 4 carroll" either. I am an avid internet user and I am interested to know if there is some search site or capability that is unfamiliar to me. So, your turn to educate me, haha! =)

To summarize: if you would like further action from me please read this in full and leave some way of contact (preferrably email--I detest phones), and be prepared for discussion in case I have missed anything. Yay Patriots!

P.S. Another newbie hint: to reply specifically to this comment, hit the small blue "reply to comment" link (next to the small blue "thread" link) rather than the larger "reply to this entry" link under the entry and the comments.

P.P.S. If you are interested in cases of real-life-legality in intersection with the much more free culture of the internet, may I suggest the blog BoingBoing? The writer is very knowledgeable and I admire him greatly for it, and it may hold great pertinence (obviously tangentially to this discussion) to your interest in media, of which the internet is a constantly exponentially growing and changing form.


(My apologies for having to split my comments up over four comments, but there is a character limit.)