Monday, March 29, 2010
Let's give it up for music unrelated to the topic! R Kelly - If I Could Turn Back The Hands of Time

I am currently reading Robert A. Heinlein's The Number of the Beast, and have happily been introduced to a variation of my favorite writing style. I have always been a fan of a book that kicks off with action rather than exposition. I think exposition is absolutely necessary in any story, but I also believe that it is important to grab the reader's attention, and have him or her desiring the exposition, rather than simply forcing it down their gullet. Several years ago, when reading Clancy's Line of Control (an Op Center book), I forced myself through several grueling chapters of exposition, before a market square exploded and I was sucked into the story. Now, the book is not the first in the series, it is the eighth, so I understand the need for a lot of explaining who people are, but I think the writers did a disservice to the readers by doing a ton of exposition first, as opposed to starting with action. I write action first, in most my stories, though the story I tried to do for NaNoWriMo last year, and will be doing this year, starts with exposition.

On another note, I have decided that if i could indeed turn back the hands of time, I would love a sit down with Robert Heinlein, closer to his death, as to get the most from his wisdom. I think the knowledge level this man had was ridiculous, and an hour with him would result in an conversation of a lifetime.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Yes, indeed...there is a overstock of beef I have with modern society. Anyone that knows me can vouch for that. Children are spoiled, people are ignorant, and the lack of respect in today's society amazes me.

I won't lie to you, ninety percent of the time, I don't care about what anyone outside my universe says to me. I have had customers that I connect with, and have semi-meaningful conversations with, as well as people who I've met by happenstance and developed long-term friendships with. That, however, encompasses only that small ten percent of the time. The majority of the people that start going off about their personal problems, or reasons as to why they absolutely must return that XBOX 360, even though the damn thing has CLEARLY been used, I simply do not care. I don't need to know about the time you had a fifty year-old one hundred dollar bill, and no store would take it, so you had to go to the bank to exchange it. I don't care if your kid was bad and you decided to take his video game, which YOU bought him in the first place, away. It's a state law, I don't care if your son punched you in the twat, I still couldn't take it back, BECAUSE IT IS THE LAW. I don't care that you bought a game that is CLEARLY labeled with an M rating, and after opening it and seeing your six year-old cut a guy apart with an AK-47, realizing that "17+" isn't there by accident.

Don't get me wrong. I like connecting with people, but on my time. I am at work, and most of the time, I don't care about your life. I am there to hand you your PS3 that you're buying with your tax return, even though you have debt coming out your posterior. Now here's the crucial difference. If you ask me to get you an item, and i ring it up, and THEN you start telling me a story, I won't care. If, PRIOR TO me getting you something, you ask for my opinion, or bring up your sad tale, there's a better chance of me giving a damn. Here's the breakdown, since I am at work, I have (oddly enough) more to do, then just get you your crappy iCarly game for your four year-old with a DSi. Therefore, if you have already selected an item, rarely will I care as to WHY, except on certain things that I have made it a point to steer people away from, i.e. iPod Shuffle. If you don't know what to get, and ask for my opinion, I will give it to you, and there is your opportunity to lay a story on me. It might help me give you a recommendation.

Here, however is the difference between myself (along with a solid half of the retail industry) and the rest of the world. EVEN THOUGH I could actually not care about anything LESS than what you are saying, I will still listen, and still say "Thank You" and "Have a good one." Simple courtesy, oddly enough, will ensure you get a solid customer service experience, giving a bit of wiggle room for people having a bad day. Since we must remember, retail employees are also people, and they have their own lives, and their own universes to maintain.

I won't even get on the topic of insolent children today, it is too long a topic, and too much anger involved in it for me to get into. That will be a topic for another day, when I have had more cause for a blog about it.

I have however gone three days now, without any significant motion on the website. And that upsets me. The cause, however, is primarily the fact that I have had no days off since last Friday. In that, I have excused myself from the issue. Next week, starting with this weekend, I plan on crunching out a few rough drafts, getting some ideas down. The Knight Rider fic that I have been slowly working on is coming together more. I have almost chosen all the vehicles for the new iteration of F.L.A.G. and the story is pretty much self-explanatory, once I have the vehicles.

I also need to find a place that will let me put something into the public domain. I have created the ultimate answer for all those nagging "extra-normal" prophecies that people end up with in their fantasy stories, and I would like to offer the explanation to the world. I conceptualized the idea many years ago, and I have been simply looking for a place to put it. It will be a short story, but it will be in the public domain, and will hopefully give some causality nuts a way out of their entanglements.

I have yet another shift tonight, so I leave you, web with this: Respect people. All people. Except for the French. I hate the French. I don't know why. (Joking. Mostly.)

Stay Frosty.
Dalibor
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I watched an Will Smith interview on Tavis Smiley, that gave me a lot to think about. During the interview, Will Smith mentions a book that inspired him.

I was recently one of the winners in a writing contest, and with my Amazon gift, decided to finally pick up the book. Well. Three attempts later, I have decided today is not the day for me to acquire this novel. The site is simply not working for me. However, another piece on my LONG wish list, has been sitting there for a long time, and I figured I would pick that up with my swag.

Thanks again, AJ Frey for the contest opportunity.

Stay Frosty
Dalibor
Saturday, March 13, 2010
I am unstoppable.

As simple as a statement as that seems, if you have the presence of mind to actually believe that about yourself, you are just that; unstoppable.

This idea is something I have pondered and postulated about. I have watched YouTube videos, and read blogs. I have watched inspirational films, and read inspirational novels. It always comes down to the idea of positive thought. That is something one must have.

I told you that little piece to tell you this.

I believe that comedians are the smartest and most underrated human beings in the world. They have the best possible attitude about life, and make some of the possibly most insightful observations about the human condition. These are the particular comedians I like:

Katt Williams
Eddie Griffin
Lewis Black
Robin Williams
Ron White

Each of those particular links are the stand-up specials that I have particularly fond memories of, and might be referencing down the line in this blog entry...who knows, it's forty past midnight, and I have to be up in four and a half hours...it would be five and a half...but an hour disappears somewhere into the aether tonight, to only return to us next fall. That, however, is neither here nor there.

Back to my point. Which I have, I promise.

In The Pimp Chronicles V1, Katt says something that is one of the best lines I have ever heard come out of someone's mouth. "I don't even go to niggas' birthday parties if they doin the same shit they was doin last year" That might not be the direct quote, but the gist is there. This is what my blog is about this fine Chicago night.

As Katt says, "'We try to get it pushin' 'round here!" And I truly believe in that. I think if you are a person with goals, any kind of goals, you should strive to do better all the time. I have the blog, the NEXUS site and blog, and I make a very irregular personal journal, but in all of that, I try to keep in mind that every year I want to do my personal year-in-review, and be satisfied that I have my improved my existence. I started last year, right after my birthday, and am truly glad I did. Here is why:

It keeps your life in perspective. When you break your successes and drawbacks to yourself as if you were a stranger, and you review the material you present to the world (because let's be honest, the public and personal material is rarely identical), it gives you a better idea of what you are doing. It gives you a better idea of where you were, where you are, and how close or how far you are from a goal.

A year is any number of things; it is the orbital period of the the Earth moving around the Sun. It is twelve months. It is fifty-two weeks. It is three hundred and sixty five days. It is eight thousand seven hundred and sixty hours, 525,600 minutes, and 3,1536,000 seconds.

Ponder that for a moment. Give thought to what you do in one minute of any given day. Think how much you CAN do with ALL that time. Whenever you have the urge to say something along the lines of "well it's only been a week", or any number of time, translate that down to minutes, and even seconds. There are some artists that I know and follow on dA that do sixty minute sketches. In sixty minutes, some of these people produce art that's better than art I spent hours on in my days of drawing. Now ponder that, and think what you can accomplish in sixty minutes. Even more, think what you could accomplish in sixty seconds. Next time you have the urge to use time as an excuse for something not being done, do the math.

I am five months removed from my first personal review, and I have to say that I, personally am doing better on all fronts. Come October, when my year hits, I will be doing even better.

Here are some of the things I keep tabs on for myself, and will be reviewing in October:

Money - let's be honest, you need money to get things done. If hard work was currency, I know a lot of broke people that would be rich.

Love - The people we are with are, in fact, a good indicator of where we are in our lives. If you take an objective look at the person that you are with, you may realize that they are holding you back from achieving your goals.

Family - The most important group of people in your life. Or at least it should be. These are the people that will be there no matter what, that will support you through your tough times, and cheer you on when you need cheering on.

Business - Now for myself, I take this to mean my goals. I see a job as a place you go to or a thing you do to pay bills. Business is what you do, the thing that drives you. It is the goals that make you sit/stand through your JOB, and come home with energy enough to still work on the things that make your soul burn with passion.

There are other things, and this is not by any means an exact science. I simply had a philosophical morning, and it grew into this.

Stay Frosty,
Dalibor
Friday, March 12, 2010


Fantastic! Yup...after a week, or just short of, I got this video edited and uploaded. The FB version is what's here, but the YT version is up also, but copyright settings don't let me upload with the songs, so it's just the raw vid. I have officially wasted four hours on this, now to go have some breakfast and get to work on the websites.

Lots of stuff to do for the NEXUS site, and am working on OPARC's page today, doing some updates.

Stay Frosty

Dalibor
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
I completed the Marvel Chronicle, which I got for Christmas from Steffanie (among a plethora of other gifts). Nearly seventy years of publishing trends, character histories, and intra-company events. I have come away with it with an improved knowledge of some Marvel characters, a better understanding about some of the numbering systems, and more. What's more, I got somewhat of a firsthand look at how publishing has changed over the years, and how national and global events have an impact on something so presumably as insignificant as comic books.

I am moving on in my literary journey...I stole the Avengers/X-Men Bloodties trade from Daniel, which I will be reading next, before moving into either the next MTG Ravnica Cycle book, or possibly Another Lost Angel, the author of which I met while working at a comic book store.

In the meantime, I feel obliged to borrow from The Man, and end this with Excelcior!

--Dalibor
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
I post the image above to prove that I have what I would call an "authoritative" viewpoint on the subject of my review. I have listened to every Ludacris album, including, if you notice Incognegro, his original, independent album. I have to say, I have become somewhat of a fanboy on the subject, going so far as to purchase the last two albums on release day. In the past, I might have even conceded the point that it clouded my judgement in terms of Ludacris records/albums, but I believe this newest albums proves that otherwise.

Battle of the Sexes...5/10
A rare Ludacris miss...the two singles, How Low and My Chick Bad are really the main features on the album, and the My Chick Bad Remix, with EVE's presence. The rest of it is really mediocre. I think the main thing to note is the fact that Luda really showed out in terms of speed...giving a new depth to his abilities, but as far as good hip-hop...not on this album. If you want a couple good lovemaking songs...go for it. I am actually finding myself having to listen to Theatre of the Mind, to get the stain of the new album off my brain. Not saying I'll never listen to it again, but not anytime soon.

In the meantime, the Ludacris verse on Khaled's Victory track "All I Do Is Win" is a good example of the speed I mentioned, if you don't want to listen to this album. I'd say if you are a Ludacris fan, buy it, listen to it, just to say you have. Otherwise, cop the singles, and you'll get the best of the album.

Dalibor
Thursday, March 4, 2010
With the RENT final performance special features behind me, I recall a thought I had earlier today. I think I have a compulsion to share my knowledge. What's more, I think that I have a compulsion to show off my knowledge. I get into a lot of discussions with people, and find myself almost always arguing an opposing point of view, weather I agree with the point or not. I justify it to myself and others by saying that these are the arguments they will hear, but sometimes I think that I simply want a challenge. At the same time, I think that it's also a self-checking system, because I have more than once been brought to the point of doing research for the point I tried to make. Here's why; Weather I win or lose, I still have to know more. If I win, I check myself, because I have to be sure. I think that one's primarily driven by the fear that if I did just win an argument with faulty information, or bad facts, that it will then be brought up against me later on. So then I do the research, and increase my knowledge, weather reinforcing something I already knew with newer facts, or getting my facts straight.

At the same time, I think it is an equal part of me trying to fit in and find acceptance and admiration from as many people as possible. I find that one coming in to play with customers, co-workers...really anyone that shows the slightest interest in the things I like. For instance, I had a guy, a fairly regular shopper at my store, come in, and start browsing our new Iron Man figures, and adjoining action figures. I started spouting factoids and little tidbits that I knew, like that Terrance Howard was really kinda pushed out of IM2, and that TF3 will be shooting in Chicago. I also threw at him the new info that I got earlier today that 2 of my favorite shows ever are on DVD, the 90's Iron Man Animated series, and King Arthur and the Knights of Justice. He ended our interaction with "Thanks for giving me that info." I got a satisfactory feeling out of that. I think I like informing, and I like being right, and I like being appreciated. I mean...everyone likes being appreciated...but more so for me. I think it's nearing a compulsion.

That right there was a genuine introspective, for the...0...people that read this...but one day, when I'm famous, maybe more will. I leave this as a record of the time that I realized that yes, I am a douche. HA! <---I'm really trying not to use the acronym for laugh out loud.

--Dalibor
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
One of my favorite new songs is Sickology 101, by Tech N9ne, Chino XL, and Crooked I. I listen to a lot of music, I've noticed. In fact, if I can't listen to music during my day, I don't have a good day. If a mix CD that I've made doesn't work for one reason or another, I get rather upset. For instance, the playlist that's up here, is my most recent mix CD that I've made. Playlist.com didn't have two of the songs, Demigodz - Empire Strikes Back, and Mos Def - Jump Off (Ft. Ludacris), but it's still a solid list. I will probably bump this disc for several weeks, honestly.
Certain music gets to me, and speaks to parts of me that I don't even realize, but I end up being able to listen to it all day every day. Like The Blueprint 3 by Jay Z...it is a CD that I can listen to all day long. Same thing with Nickelback's Silver Side Up...there is something about those albums that one part of me or another latches on to, and simply cannot give up. Tracks like The Game ft. Lil' Wayne - My Life speak to me on such a fundamental level that it took me a while to figure out why it spoke to me, while tracks like DMX ft. Faith Evans - I Miss You speak to something obvious.
Music is definitely a huge part of me...and I simply cannot imagine a world without it.

--Dalibor

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Monday, March 1, 2010
I've been trying to read regularly. The most recent reading has been the Marvel Chronicle, which Steff got me for XMas, and I believe next is 3rd Degree, followed by book 2 of Ravnica cycle. More reading, to make my mind work on language, which will hopefully help in my own writing. Here's hoping.

Dalibor
Well...Here I am, distracting myself, yet again. Lots of work still left to do on the neXus site, but I saw the round robin post Michael did, and I had to jump on board. I have to take a page out of his book, and write more. At the same time, I really do must draw more. Lots of pies, as my friend Robert would put it. But what can I say? I'm a fat guy! Ha.

Check out the round robin at A J Frey's blog.

I will try to blog here regularly. I think I might even use it for my rhymes. (That's the chocolate pie)

Till later, holla.
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a.k.a. SinSeer, Cerebro, Frankenstein, The Crimson Fist, and more commonly Dalibor.
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