Wow, it's been a week. I suppose that is allowed during the summer, since I'm taking three classes, working, and dealing with a brother and girlfriend disappearing for a while. Marcy is taking a vacation to Norway to visit family for two weeks, and Jim is leaving for three months to come back a US Marine. Marcy leaves Thursday morning, Jim next Monday morning.

I figure their absences will affect me, Marcy's more than Jim's since she is with me a lot more. Jim and I living in different homes doesn't give us the same chance to hang out that we had as kids; such is the college life. Despite all the negatives that go along with Marcy being gone for two weeks, I am forcing myself to look at the bright side: two weeks essentially to myself will allow me to focus on being a responsible young man and getting a few necessary things done.

Of course, she will come back, and I will turn 21 the next day and take three final exams the next week...

This weekend, I finally had a CD player installed in my car, taking the place that decided to make an early exit last month. I dropped my car off at Best Buy Saturday afternoon, then Jim drove us back to my house (mom's), where we had a huge family day to celebrate, um, Jim. Our neighbors moved in that morning and had no water or other things yet, and they came over and joined in the fun. (It's good to have some decent neighbors that aren't seventy-something years old.) After staying up playing Grand Theft Auto III like we always do, Jim took me to get my car Sunday afternoon, and I drove around in the rain listening to loud music for a couple hours to remember what it was like.

By the way, have I mentioned that Live is my favorite band? It took me a while to realize that. More trivia for you.

Jim and I are taking our dad to Atlanta to see the Braves play the Expos on Thursday. This is our Father's Day treat for the big guy that took us to so many ballgames as kids; we figured the least we could do is return the favor. Besides, it seems like the only way I can pull myself away from school and work is by investing time and money into something like Braves tickets. It's the only excuse I had to get away from responsibility so I could see my dad and brother before Jim ships off with a bunch of Marines.

Watch for us if you care about the Braves. We'll be in left field in about the fifth row.

You have had plenty of time to see The Matrix Reloaded by now, so I no longer feel bad about spoiling certain elements of the plot. If you have not seen it and don't care to have it spoiled for you, then look somewhere else...

First, it's important to note that Reloaded earns a nearly perfect score. The Matrix was and still is my favorite movie of all time. Generally, no sequel is better than the original since a true sequel requires the story of the original to stand. So the best score Reloaded could possibly get, if it were a perfect film, is a 9.9.

So why the 9.8? What's the imperfection? Many have argued that the movie was lacking or overdone in many areas. I disagree. I think the movie was executed almost to perfection -- almost. The dance scene in which the inhabitants of Zion danced for about four minutes was pointlessly too long; any point that the Wachowski brothers were trying to get across could have been made with about three minutes of dancing and sex taken out.

That said, I understand the purpose of the scene. The people of Zion were celebrating their will to be free -- the reality of their real lives, as opposed to the virtuality of the false lives lived in the Matrix. Defiant to the end, nearly every citizen of Zion was there to enjoy one last party before the war for Zion commenced. The scene had a clearly defined purpose; it just lasted too long.

The only other complaint that seems to echo repeatedly from the lips of those disappointed in Reloaded is that it was left too open. Explanations were offered only enough to get us involved with what was happening, but we have no idea what to expect next. Vague foreshadowing hints were the most of it, and the lack of understanding left many moviegoers perplexed and perturbed.

You know what I have to say about that? Too bad! This is exactly what was meant of Reloaded! It is the middle part of a trilogy, and all second-of-three installments of planned trilogies are plagued by lack of resolution. The second installment contains a beginning, a middle, and a beginning; there is no room for resolution or there would be too little anticipation for the third film, unless the two were to stand apart. In this case, Reloaded and Revolutions are connected in the same way that the three parts of The Lord of the Rings are connected; only, we do not have to watch each LOTR film several times in order to understand the story.

These are really the only consistent complaints about the film, and the second is (in my opinion) unjustified, especially since the final installment of the trilogy is due out in less than five months. Of course, I do not expect the mystery to be entirely solved in Revolutions. The story will end and the war resolved, but there will likely still be many questions left to be answered. (How else will the franchise continue to make money?) I look forward to the unsolution.

If you were disappointed at all in anything in the film other than the aforementioned faults, then you may disagree with what I have to say about everything else -- the wire-fu and computer-generated special effects, the psycho-philosophical babble, the almost cheesy love story -- because, as one of the few people who find the Matrix idea to be the best ever put to film, my opinions are biased to favor nearly every element of the movie's production. It all looked good to me; I don't care what you thought!

So let's hit the highlights:

Of course, all the ear- and eye-candy is matched by some equally tasty treats for the mind -- unanswered questions about what Smith is up to with Bane, how Neo stopped attacking sentinels with his bare hands, who was being escorted away from the Merovingian's table, and much more. I would ask about the roles of the Merovingian and Seraph, but in the trailer that aired during the Superbowl some five months ago, there were scenes that ambiguously indicated what their roles will be, or at least whose side they're on.

I have much to add and potentially explain about what actually happened in Reloaded versus what you may think happened, but in keeping this post to a review, I will save it for another time. Please feel free to send any thoughtful questions or speculations my way, and I'll address them in this space. In any case, we have fewer than five months remaining before the release of The Matrix Revolutions, in which we find out exactly what is meant by "Revolutions" and exactly what will happen to Zion when the sentinels breach the gates...

Last week was rough. If I added right, I was either in class or at work for 47 hours. Then there's a couple of hours for lunch one day with the family, four hours to see two movies, one hour to drive to Forsyth and back, and a couple of hours driving back and forth to school several times. That's nearly sixty hours out of my week spent outside of the house, and it doesn't count time spent at the mall getting clothes, at Barnes & Noble reading books and magazines, or at home doing homework. I got less than six hours of sleep every night of the week. In other words, I had an extremely exhausting week, and I don't want to do that again!

Saturday could have been a lot worse. You see, Saturday was unofficially "Harry Potter Day". The fifth installment of J.K. Rowling's series, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, was released Saturday at midnight, and several hundred buyers lined up at Barnes & Noble at midnight Friday night to get their copy -- they were sold out by 12:30am and taking names for a list of those to be called as soon as the next shipment came in. Others who were to get their copy still had to wait in line for a couple of hours to purchase their copy.

In case you have forgotten or never knew, I work at a library, which supplied me with an extra dose of anxiety in the morning before I went to work yesterday morning. I was expecting a day full of filling out reserve cards for the Potter book. (So you know, filling out reserve cards is a royal pain because we have to verify a name, phone number, book title, and library card number... and then enter it into the system to reserve the next available copy of the book. With a book in such high demand as the new Potter book, everyone thought it was going to be a very long Saturday. Total requests: three. Yes, three. My explanation: maybe everyone bought their copy already...

So let's just say that Saturday was a very slow day at work. Slow is better than busy, but I still had to work for eight hours on Saturday after a very exhausting week. Needless to say, I was somewhat worthless last night. I tried to come home and take a nap, but people talked to me just enough to keep me awake... so I ended up remaining exhaustingly awake until about 12:30, when I finally crashed hard... And then I woke up with a headache at 10:00am.

Oh well. Maybe this week will be better.

Few have questioned the lack of political commentary in recent weeks. The answer is perhaps simpler than the one I am about to give. Such is the nature of answers of most questions asked of me.

Reason the First: On March 19, the war in Iraq resumed. Suddenly, Iraq dominated the airwaves. The election cycle was in a stagnant phase, so politics as usual was unusually quiet. There was no sense defending the war once the fighting had resumed, because it made no difference any more. So I attended Dr. Tate's current events discussion groups until the end of March, when I was sidetracked.

Reason the Second: Around the end of March, I realized that I had spent the last three months solid living virtually as a hermit. (This realization may have been severely delayed if I had continued to let political thoughts dominate my conscious mind.) I had spent an inordinate amount of time taking notes outside of class (for Macroeconomics and International Relations, two of my favorite topics if you haven't guessed), and while my grades were through the roof, my social life was through the floor. This was partially a result of devoting 99% of my social life to a single person for nearly two years. In any case, I woke from my domancy in late March and, for no apparent reason, just started sitting around and doing nothing -- you know, in the Jerry Seinfeld way. I met some cool people, started hanging out, and had an inordinate amount of fun for the rest of the semester skipping class to play Ping Pong with Rory. (There's more to this story, which includes chasing the girl. Maybe later. Summary: social life kept my nose out of current events.)

Reason the Third: As April progressed, final projects and exams approached. Between sociableness and studiousness -- aside from the fact that politics is boring while fighting is going on -- I found little time to post to my web site, and even less time that I actually wanted to use for that purpose -- meaning I posted more than I cared to, just for you, my loyal readership ... all three of you (there were four... oh well).

And, of course, there was that movie that came out that has received a lot of my attention in the last month. A lot!

So there. Stuff happened. Things changed. Yet things remain the same. I'll get back into it as politics gets juicy again (fair warning). And now you know.

My degree audit has gone through and come back to me, and I will not be able to graduate with my associate's degree in political science until at least after the fall semester, unless I successfully petition the dean of the institution to allow a particular technology course count as a political science elective.

Why I think I stand a chance: I've taken more than three years' worth of classes, and I only need two years' worth to get the associate's degree. I am also planning on taking two more classes that would qualify as political science electives in the fall. The problem with waiting to get my degree in the fall is that I would have to take a 20+ hour semester (seven classes) in the Spring of 2004 in order to get my bachelor's degree without pointlessly dishing out a couple hundred bucks for a class or two next summer.

There was a bit of confusion involved. You see, I have the necessary amount of hours, but I am short one class. I was told that the three extra hours could qualify as an elective course three years ago; apparently that was either wrong or that policy has expired. In any case, I have some quick thinking to do. Whee!

I think I'm back into one of my weird social funks again. I seem to have lost the only female friend (to whom I am not emotionally attached) this week, and I don't exactly know why. I have an idea about what triggered it, but it's too late to do anything about that. And, well, just like that, I'm back into the relationship-with-no-other-friends mode. Not that I don't enjoy every minute I spend with Marcy, but I wouldn't mind having someone else I could share things with that I don't kiss or study with. (Well, I guess it can't just be anybody. There are a range of factors that I don't understand that allow me to be comfortable with people in that kind of a situation. I just can't share much with most people.)

Skipping ahead... I've rearranged the site a bit. The picture you're seeing at the top was taken April 18 when Rachel was in town. She and I went out to eat, and my camera was actually working for about four seconds, and I got a good picture of the sunset over the outskirts of Warner Robins. The picture at the bottom was taken by Chris on April 10, and is of the ampitheatre at Macon State College. All I wanted was a bottom for the site, so the grass and brick was perfect.

Life is getting hectic. School is picking up, and I'm having quite a bit of homework, and it's only going to get worse. I'm going to have to figure out how to be a good Student Government President sooner than later, because I will have real responsibilities when the Fall semester arrives. I need to get on that ball before it rolls past.

I've been on a Matrix binge lately. I still haven't posted any of my thoughts on the new movie yet, but mostly because I've been too busy to find time to organize my thoughts into something coherent for my web site. I might get around to doing that soon, but I can't make any promises.

Time for sleep. Also time to figure out why people who think they know me but only know what they assume about me continue to decide to dislike me because they think I am egotistical and do not care for them. I admit that, as an optimist, I have a healthy ego, but no one who really knows me thinks I am egotistical, and people know that I care more than most people will see me show. Still, those who know me best know that I express myself in strange ways. And the one person that I thought knew me better than just about all others has now turned away from me. So, I'm going to try and figure that out.

Or, actually, I'm not. I'm just going to say I am, and then hope that some solution finds me. Because, honestly, I don't have time to sit back and think about it with all the work I have to do.

In the past, people who have criticized Fox News for being spokes-network for the political right have, among other things, attacked the tendency of the right to attack such things as violent video games. That is, people critical of such an attack have attacked the right's tendency to censor the morally unacceptable.

Fox News is not a right-wing network, though. It's simply a network that lets some right-wing people talk on occasion. And this article is not one of those articles, because instead of slandering those video games the right loves to hate, this article suggests that those same games sharpen the minds of those who play them. Why? Who knows? More studies are needed. But it's good that I can now blame my SAT scores on Mario and Luigi.

This time, it's my bias I'm talking about. You might not care as much as I do, but today is a special day for me. Today marks the first time the New York Times has ever printed one of my letters. Modified slightly, but that's fine! Because my name is in the New York Times! See for yourself (registration is free and they don't send you junk mail)... And if you care as much as I do (and you probably shouldn't), go buy a copy of the paper and show mommy and daddy!

I usually like the New York Times. Despite that they horribly botched the headline for an abortion story and ran this silly editorial. (Thomas Friedman suggests that Democrats should refer to the President's tax cuts as "service cuts," and that their slogan in 2004 should be, "Read my lips, no new services. Thank you, President Bush.") But, you know what, I agree with that editorial completely.

Yes! No new services, and let's get rid of some of the old ones while we're at it. We have had way more than enough "services" for decades! It's about time somebody finally understands! I hope to see those bumper stickers all over in 2004. Of course, I hope people would realize what the slogan means: a cut in services means a cut in expenses means a cut in government intrusion into our daily lives! Isn't it about time we rewarded ourselves with freedom again?

Disclaimer: the government has likely refined its methods of intrusion, so they could feasibly cut back and still intrude more. So let's cut its budget even more and not let that happen.

Yes, it will open up old wounds, but five years is a long time to heal them. Hillary Clinton will run for President in 2008 and probably win easily, but let's hope not.

The Animatrix is now available for purchase on DVD. Information on the release is here, and here are links to buy from Amazon, Best Buy, Circuit City, and Suncoast. In addition to the nine animated shorts (a brilliant mix of Japanimation and CGI), is a documentary on the history and culture of anime called "Scrolls to Screen" -- very cool. If you like the music you've heard in the Animatrix so far, I recommend getting the special edition that includes the soundtrack (72 minutes of music, mostly techno); buying them separately costs a few extra bucks. (FYI, Circuit City has the best first week sales prices, so take a Circuit City circular from your Sunday paper to your preferred movie seller and get the DVD/CD pack for $20.)

I bought the DVD/CD package, and last night I watched four of the episodes that I had already seen with Marcy. This way, she is caught up with what I have seen, and we can watch the other five together later. The soundtrack is playing (rather loudly) now, and while some of the tracks seem odd, the ones I have actually heard already by watching the Animatrix sound really good! So I imagine that, after watching the last few Animatrix shorts, I'll really love having this soundtrack. So you know, it's mostly (if not all) techno, with a hint of Don Davis' sound from the Matrix movies.

Sidenote: tens of thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people are this week experiencing anime this week and are enjoying it for the first time. Andy and Larry Wachowski have not only awakened millions of minds to deep thought with their movies, but they continue to free many minds more from their previous constraints, opening them to new thoughts and new media to feed their insatiable desire for the rest of the story.

Revolutions is only five months away...

While many of my friends will be working nearly full time to take advantage of their time off from school and make lots of money, I will be in class fifteen hours per week, and time spent in my office will probably means that I will be on campus over twenty hours each week. This means that I will probably be able to work only twenty hours per week at most, and I will probably end up working fifteen or fewer ours per week, which means a meager paycheck or two until August comes along.

School will be worth it though. You see, I'm essentially a nerd, because I actually enjoy school. (Evidence that supports this fact: I am President of the Student Government Association at Macon State College.) Besides, the three classes are on three topics I love anyway: economics, cyberlaw, and multimedia. Aside from seeing Marcy a bit less than I'd prefer, I expect to enjoy my first (and perhaps last, since I'm a senior) experience with summer school, um, ever.

Keep in mind that I turn 21 on July 18 (Friday!), and I have already arranged to get the weekend off. I'm planning on hiding from you all to stay out of trouble, unless you all want to pitch in and buy me something nice like you did two years ago, when about twenty of you (including big contributions from mommy and daddy) got together to buy me a PlayStation 2. I wouldn't need anything nearly that expensive this year; the Xbox can already be bought for less than half of the $330 you spent on the PS2 two summers ago... Cough, hint.

Song of the Day: Deftones - Back to School (from White Pony, 2001)

It's back to school for me. Today marks the beginning of an eight-week summer trimester at Macon State College, where I am taking three classes and learning what it means to be President of the school's Student Government Association. For interested parties, the three classes I am taking are Legal Issues in Information Technology (ITEC 4205), Introduction to Multimedia (ITEC 3236, which ironically has nothing to do with multimedia), and Principles of Microeconomics (ECON 2106). I expect each to be an easy A, though the multimedia class could give me problems, since last I checked the instructor doesn't like me (I like a challenge, or I wouldn't have signed up for his class).

I hope those of you who are not taking classes enjoy your time off. Those who are taking classes, like me: I hope you grow up, like me, to run the world along with others like you and me! Go for it!

"It feels like a go to me." That was Harrison Ford's response when asked if Indiana Jones 4 is a go. Ford also acknowledged that nothing is final; it will be at least a few weeks before he gets a script, and only if he approves will the project even begin to move forward toward pre-production. Still, the prospect of a fourth Indiana Jones film is mildly exciting. If it's actually a good movie, it would be a cinch box office smash...