Wouldn't the truth be nice every once in a while?

By now we know all about our president signing the order in 2002 to allow the NSA to tap into domestic phone communications without first obtaining a warrant. Whether he had the authority to take this action is under investigation, we'll see if anything comes out of it...

What really piss me off are the remarks he made in April of 2004 about this specific issue.

To hear what he had to say, click here.

We value the constitution my ass...

Sushirific...

It's nice to be home for the break hanging out with the 'rents and not having to worry about school or my voice. I'm here until the 4th so if anyone wants to do anything, gimme a call... The other perk of being here is the fact that sushi costs less than half of what I pay for it on the east coast.

Konichiwa bitches...

Who am I?

A friend of mine did this on her blog, and I thought it was interesting so I decided to do the same for mine. As far as I can tell, it seems pretty accurate... Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion 86% Stability 83% Orderliness 56% Accommodation 43% Interdependence 76% Intellectual 63% Mystical 50% Artistic 83% Religious 10% Hedonism 76% Materialism 43% Narcissism 76% Adventurousness 70% Work ethic 36% Self absorbed 50% Conflict seeking 43% Need to dominate 30% Romantic 43% Avoidant 30% Anti-authority 36% Wealth 30% Dependency 43% Change averse 23% Cautiousness 43% Individuality 70% Sexuality 90% Peter pan complex 23% Physical security 70% Physical Fitness 70% Histrionic 43% Paranoia 16% Vanity 83% Hypersensitivity 36% Female cliche 36% Stability results were high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.. Orderliness results were moderately high which suggests you are, at times, overly organized, reliable, neat, and hard working at the expense of flexibility, efficiency, spontaneity, and fun. Extraversion results were very high which suggests you are overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense too often of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity. trait snapshot: social, outgoing, worry free, optimistic, upbeat, tough, likes large parties, makes friends easily, rarely irritated, open, enjoys leadership, trusting, dominant, thrill seeker, strong, does not like to be alone, assertive, mind over heart, confident, controlling, feels desirable, likes the spotlight, loves food, social chameleon, hard working, concerned about others

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Oh boy! This is gonna be the best Christmas movie ever!

Since it's that time of year, combined with the fact that I can't leave town until Christmas day because of my church contract, I've decided to make a list of my top ten Christmas Movies. Comments/oversights are greatly appreciated.

10. Santa Claus: The Movie - The sentimental favorite, I used to watch this with my mom virtually every year around this time. Though it's a little cheezy, John Lithgow and the late, great, Dudley Moore make this movie worth watching.

9. Scrooged - Very funny adaptation of A Christmas Carol, starring Bill Murray. This movie is never given the credit it deserves.

8. Christmas Vacation - Another brilliant chronicle in the life of the Griswolds. Oh Chevy, why have you forsaken us?

7. Die Hard - Possibly the best action flick ever made happens to take place at a Christmas party, thus making it eligible for the list.

6. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (cartoon version) - Though I really liked the new version of this movie with Jim Carrey, there was no way it was going to surpass the brilliance that was the animated movie. I make sure I watch this at least once every holiday season.

5. It's a Wonderful Life - This one is a classic for a reason, it's a DAMN GOOD MOVIE. This is the only one on my list that was nominated for best picture. I can watch this movie any time of year.

4. A Christmas Story - Yeah, it's overplayed, but I still watch it and I still love it. So many famous quotes and moments have come from it, how could it not be toward the top?

3. The Ref - Denis Leary at his best. Everything about this movie makes me laugh, isn't it funny how Christmas and disfunctional people seem to go hand in hand?

2. White Christmas - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney, need I say more? I first saw White Christmas two years ago, and have been hooked ever since. A lighthearted plot accompanied by great performances all around make this one of the all time greats.

1. Bad Santa - If I had to choose one movie that perfectly fits my sense of humor, it would be Bad Santa. I was laughing so hard I was crying through the whole movie, and it gets funnier every time I see it. The film is so deliciously twisted and dark, but at the same time makes you feel good about humanity by the end. If swearing doesn't bother you, rent this one IMMEDIATELY.

Honorable Mention: The Ice Harvest, Ernest Saves Christmas, Mickey's Christmas Carol

2 for the Price of One!

For my prinicples of analysis take-home final, we have to do an extensive analysis of some music(big surprise). All weekend I have been praying that it would be a Mozart piece, and not Beethoven... Well, I got half of my wish:

We did get a Mozart piece,

And a Beethoven piece...

Professor 1, Conrad 0

How does it feel to be beaten to death with a pair of Christmas shoes?

Since it is that time of year, I'd like to talk about my all time favorite bad Christmas song: The Christmas Shoes. For those of you who haven't had the (mis)fortune of hearing this gem, let me give you a recap:

A man is in a department store on Christmas Eve buying some last second gifts when he notices that a very poor young boy is in front of him in line holding a pair of shoes. As the kid tries to buy them, the cashier tells him that he doesn't have enough money. The child proceeds to turn to our narrator and explain that these shoes are for his dying mother and he "wants her to look beautiful if momma meets Jesus tonight." <Sigh>, it looks like there may not be a Christmas for little Billy this year... But Wait! The man, touched by this selfless gesture, puts the money on the counter and pays for the shoes, and explains that he knew that god had sent the child here to remind the narrator what christmas is all about... phew...

I thought this song was a joke the first time I heard it last winter. The plot alone does not do it justice, one has to listen to the overly sappy instrumantation and singing style (the little boy singing the final line doesn't hurt either) to truely appreciate how cheezy this piece of music is(overlooking the arrogance the narrator shows in thinking that god would choose to kill a child's mother just to remind his privileged-ass about the true meaning of Christmas)... I recently found out that a TV movie starring Rob Lowe was made based on this song, which has skyrocked to the top of my list of horrible movies I have to see.

What I really want to discuss about this song is that I had an epiphany the last time The Christmas Shoes came on the radio. The narrator totally got Scammed! I see this all the time living here and I can't believe I never figured it out before. This kid goes to different stores during the holiday season and tries to buy expensive gifts for his "dying mother" with a fraction of the necessary money. When he is told that he doesn't have enough, he tells his sob story to the unsuspecting, hand-picked customer behind him(the "mommy meets Jesus" line is pure gold...), and gets them to buy the item for him. Fifteen minutes later, he returns to the store, item and recipt in hand, and gets a full refund. It looks as though little Billy will get one hell of a Christmas this year.

I think I'd rather have the roasting chestnutz...