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I hate what I like.

I like pie and Burger King and ice cream. I like Godzilla movies and all those fucking direct-to-video horror movies that only an idiot would look at and think, “Gee, let’s rent this!” I like sitting at the computer for hours on end playing Halo.

It’s shit. It’s all shit. It doesn’t enrich my life in any way, but it does turn my brain off, quickly, conveniently, easily, cheaply. Not even a blink of effort. All it does is separate myself from living  and reduces my life to passing time. It distracts me and detaches me from the only thing I truly have – life – and therefore it is no good. Instead of doing thing, and becoming a productive member of society, all too often I am seeking sensory stimulation. Artificial feelings, stimulated most effectively through the passive consumption of things other people have done.

The very idea of wanting to be entertained is an exercise in self-nullification. I want more. I want that doing, I want that being, and I want it in a way that gives my life significance. I want engagement in the things I do.  I want meaning in the things I engage with. I want all the feelings that entertainment artificially instills in me, but I want them to be genuine.

Engagement and meaning is commonly attributed to those terrible things known as other people. I can’t socialize. I won’t. It’s embarrassing enough to know that I waste substantial periods of my life seeking and accepting entertainment, being mentally (and in some cases, physically) comatose instead of being active and involved in my own life. How am I supposed to be exposed to other people behaving this way and have a shred of respect for them? I want to shake them out of thier revere. “We are real people, we are together! We don’t have to be alone, dead in mind, vacant in spirit! We should do, we should create! Support each other in our times of weakness and make our mark in the world, for we are Human!”

But no.

Much of our interactions with others is simply wasting more time, being entertained; in some cases being entertained by discussing entertainment which has been previously experienced. There are instances where everybody even gets entertained together, focusing their attention on an infinitesimal speck while under the pretence that they’re spending time with someone else. Nobody actually discusses anything, nobody explores ideas together, nobody fucking does anything in their spare time with each other. Individual puddles of waste are flooded by entertainment to become great lakes of worthlessness.

The problem is made all the more frustrating by the fact that people seem to realize this. They know they are watching garbage, but they watch it “because nothing else is on.” They know that eating another bag of potato chips is against their best interest and could even contribute to the ending of their lives, but those things just taste so good, don’t they?

People settle for garbage because it is convenient to do so and we have all been conditioned to think that “effort” is “work,” and “work” should be reserved for those times when you’re laboring for the benefit of someone else in order to collect a paycheck. Work and effort outside of employment is a waste of time, so relax, sit back, and passively consume entertainment – you deserve it after all of that hard work you’ve done!

People have convinced themselves that they have no time. Today’s lifestyle is busy, on-the-go, so today’s entertainment had better be as fast-paced and compact as possible to deal with it!

This cycle of disempowerment and uselessness has crept into every facet of society, and it is no good, to say the least. Oh yes, change is constant in life, but not all of that change is progress. For all the pressure placed on people, the final responsibility for their lives is theirs alone. Being influenced by others is a choice that is made. And rising above all of the negative, defeating influences is a choice to be made as well.

Deny passive entertainment. Demand to be engaged, enriched, and fulfilled by your hobbies and by the people you choose to associate with. Reject convenience for convenience’s sake. It is good  to do things for yourself faster, better, and stronger. It is not good to hand the keys over to somebody or something else so you are no longer putting in the effort at all. Know the difference and what it means to genuinely live your life.

ANTI-VENOM will return.

 So first off, IT’S KOMBAT TIME! Recently, a “proof-of concept” reel was released for an upcoming Mortal Kombat movie. You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEhqcVHcslM . 

I’m excited to see this project if-and-when it is released. Obviously it’s a lot more realistic than the prior MK movies; the fight choreography is a lot more crisp. Obvious parallels can be drawn to the grittiness of the Batman Nolanverse; that’s what myself and the Internet find so appealing; plus Michael Jai White is in it!

 Anyhow, enough noise was generated to stir the WB entertainment division, who released this trailer for the upcoming Mortal Kombat video game; the 9^th in the series, if I remember correctly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4WKGweLeeY. Needless to say it looks very cool; it seems to be based off of MK 2, some of the stages are identical but with some twists. For example, Tira is chained up in the Outworld Arena instead of Sonya. Once again, my interest is definitely piqued. With this on the horizon and Transformers: the War for Cybertron coming out on June 22, it won’t just be my mana sources being all tapped out; it will be my Wallet.

I finally saw The Hangover with Marty a few days ago, it was quite humorous, but not necessarily relevant, I should have seen it when everyone else did. Still, I found Alan to be particularly witty, he’s such a Goon, neckbeard and all.

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I attended several Graduation parties within the last 48 hours. Although I was not formally invited to any, everyone seemed too tired to care that I crashed; the majority did just getting in from Ocean City that day. IU tried to be a good little boy and did not allow myself to be too hostile, especially when the tales of drunken stupidity reared their hung-over heads. Most enthralling was the Caveman’s tale of public urination observed by a security camera. Situations like this make me glad that I have dedicated myself to SES. I even shaved my head, and yet I’m the bad guy for not wanting to imbibe in a metabolic acid in copious quanities while engaging in irresponsible behavior. Surprisingly, none of them got maimed, killed , or arrested for their stupidity, but a gal can dream, right?

In any case, it further solidified my justification that I had no need of attempting any of the past SEN10R “traditions”, I hang out with my friends, no drugs, alcohol, or beaucoup bux needed. Whether I do so with 5, 50, or 500 individuals is irrelevant. From here to Miskatonic U is where I determine the kind of adult I want to be. No matter what anyone else thinks or says; I am happy with the decisions I’ve made, and will continue to make decisions of that nature, it is, after all, ultimately up to me.

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When I was first going to type out this post (and what was responsible for the noticeable delay), I was going to give my thoughts on the Byran Danielson situation. There have been several developments over this timeframe, and having watched RAW, I feel as though I can make an informed decision on my opinion on what happened to AmDrag. I feel as though his release was legitimate (a shoot), but I don’t think he’ll be off of TV long, probably just enough to appease the Powers That Be that wanted him fired. It could be that Mattel or another sponsor finding issue with the NXT beatdown on Cena and they needed a scapegoat, or Vince couldl be trying and succeeding in working the IWC. I don’t have enough information at this time. In any case, I’ll be wearing my black armband and growing out my chin beard until Danielson is back in the WWE. I’m with Bryan.

On a lighter note, in about a fortnight, Marty and I will be driving down to Orlando Studios to attend a few TNA tapings in the iMPACT! Zone. To pass the time during this odyssey, we are coming up with a list of wacky things to do as we go down the east coast; like conduct a convenience store transaction in an Olde English and Jamaican accent. Marty has to find some reference to a DeLorean, and I have to punch out a Justin Beiber standee; tomfoolery of that nature. There is a good likelihood of us taping segments and posing it on YouTube, the epic called The Quest for Hogan. We’ll try to infiltrate the Smark Secion and bring at least one *Cornette Face* sign with us.

 Oh, and spit in Terry Bollea’s face.

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Truly, the reign of Academy X is over.

The Blizzard of Noz is just beginning.

-Sorry Ozzy.

Last post was certainly a rad bromance of ill-considered ideals. A self-vindication that cried “No, I‘m not pathetic” and took way too damn long to get into a digital format. In light of this, I’ve decided to go off topic for a bit here, and put forth some cursory reviews and witty banter about my interests and popular culture. If we get too deep here @ ANTI-VENOM I fear we’ll drown, just like that Voorhees kid. So for the sake of our survival, bring on the nerdage!

Speaking of Richards, Orlando Jordan of TNA infamy now carries around a Shake-weight. My mother owns a Shake-weight. I don’t want to think about it. One thing I do want to think of is the NXT revolution that seems to be going on in the WWE. On RAW they demolished Cena and the ring, to put it mildly. Now on NXT, the pros tried to avenge their fallen Chain Gang Soldier. Whether this was effective or not, your guess is as good as mine; I haven’t watched the episode yet, but I am real excited for this story line. If (and it is a big if) WWE books this right, it will be like what the ECWCW InVasion should have been. They are pushing NXT as this outside force, and are giving them the chance to make new, more credible stars in both factions. Most important is that no-one in the Internet Wrestling Community has any “insider” information on its resolution; WWE has done a great job of keeping us out of the loop. I’m so excited I may actually watch Smackdown for the first time in 2 years.

Or, they mess this up and bury everyone under HHH when he returns. Welp…

Next up on the list is the Magic: the Gathering trading card game. Since Transfomers have gone up in price by $2 per unit, and the new molds coming out in September, I figure I might as well switch over too my other Hasbro-supplied vice: Black Mana. Yes, for the first time in 5 years, I am actually buying cards, cracking packs, and making decks. I took my very thematic Zombie deck and made it a lot faster and more competitive; an infusion of Phyrexians here, Vampires there. The base strategy is to get out so many cheap baddies that my opponent will be overwhelmed. I call it a Suicide Black deck as I have all of these undercosted creatures and effects that hurt me, yes, but hurt my opponent much worse, like the Phyrexian Negator. Aa 5/5 with tample on turn 1, yes please! I finally put the deck together tonight, and I’ll be playtesting it this weekend. I’ll keep you posted.

Speaking of Vampires, I figured what I’ll be for Halloween this upcoming October. I’ve decide to scrap the Slenderman idea and go with a parody of the Twilight “saga”, an “Unholy Couple” if you will. I’ll be Edward, but be a really grotesque nosferatu, with more in common with Count Orlock than Robert Patterson; prosthetics and all. My “Bella” as the case may be, will be a gory, blood drenched Ghoulfriend that hungers for the flesh of the living. All I’ll need is that really badaass truck and I’ll be set for Miskatonic U’s Pumpkin Parade. If I can’t find a female companion to pull this off, I guess I’ll be Herbert West, Re-Animator.

Appropriate, isn’t it?

Yes, you guys made it out! Stay tuned for Friday’s episode, a scathing indictment of Justin Bieber and merkins. Same Noz time, same Noz Channel!

No I am not on drugs.

With any endeavor, I find it important to first gain a little perspective. In this post-AcX world, so many options are presented to me as I try to put my best foot forward on the long, winding path to adulthood. It is a must in our globally networked world to see the forest for the trees, if only to burn them. In an attempt to gain such a perspective, I have been keeping abreast of certain events on the so-called SEN10R week in Ocean City. “Certain events” meaning, of course, whatever the rapscallions decide to post on Facebook.

I do this not as some kind of stalker, nor do I follow their activities out of jealousy. No, I study them for SCIENCE! Seriously, though, it is some vain attempt to understand them. They are unsupervised and left to their own hormone-drunken devices; their choices entirely their own, for better or worse, with no authoritative filter. Yes, while they party and act as they are wont to do; I labor for meager restitutions because I have already discovered something about adult life: go for the jugular, or don’t go at all. My critics claim that I make no effort to connect with these people, and yet here I am, attempting to study my “peers” like gorillas in a zoo-provided false-forest, mainly so I can understand them, and hopefully understand more about myself.  My actions are not the least bit morally ambiguous, they are entirely justified. How am I supposed to measure my abilities without the closest thing to a measuring stick?

Self-interest at the expense of others is a thought that the weak-willed and deluded claim to be a “bad thing”. To them, I riddle them this: Who can care for you best besides yourself? Life is competition, and who worthy of survival is going to let life pass them by? Carpe diem certainly; no doubt a founding part of Decepticon philosophy. I know I am better than these fellows, but I need them. I need them to provide some meaning to the data I gather in life, a confirmation of the binary code of the senses. Without other beings to share experiences with, I daresay life is meaningless. Therein lies the catch-22; all information gathered by an individual is useless without context from others. If that is so, what does that say about intelligence and “unique” thought then?

AND that is why I lurk behind the cathode ray sunshine of my monitor, a slave whose bondage is measured in keystrokes.

 Care to join me?

Dudes:
1x Kozilek’s Predator
1x Emrakul’s Hatcher

Sweepers:
2x Earthquake
3x Day of Judgment
3x Martial Coup

Fogs:
4x Fog
3x Safe Passage
3x Angelsong

Draw:
4x Howling Mine
3x Font of Mythos

Other:
3x Vicious Shadows
4x Awakening Zone
2x Growth Spasm

Land:
2x Forest
3x Mountain
3x Plains
3x Arid Mesa
3x Jungle Shrine
2x Kazandu Refuge
4x Greypelt Refuge

My current sideboard is 4 O-Rings, 4 Manabarbs, 2 Pithing Needles, and 2 Ajani Vengeants. I still have 3 slots left, and no idea what to put in them (Sadly, I don’t have more needles/ajani’s, or they’d be there.) Any suggestions?

Yes indeed, I am a GRADUATE of Academy X. That means no more high school drama, no more terrible school lunches and no more tears. Unfortunately, that last statement is not as true as it should be. Yes, I have finished my secondary schooling at a public institution, but I still have four more years at another to hone my craft and discover who I will be as an adult. Another Odyssey to be sure but let us not discount the effect of these past years @ AcX. Allow us to reflect on the briefest culmination of my past sacrifices, my commencement ceremony.

How underwhelming it was! I was the only person with the cajones to wear their pins for athletics, their pins for academia, and their class letter on their gown. I certainly did look unique, but that was not why I did it. I cannot articulate how many times people asked me what they all meant. If I was in a rush, I would simply exclaim “X-Box achievements!” and scurry along. As with anything belonging to me, all 20 of them had a story to go along with them, and I was more than happy to share their tales with those truly deserving. In reality, it was just to brag. One thing I’ve found in these 4 years @ AcX is one must self-promote because no one will do it for you. So in a word, YES, I did enjoy the attention.

If we arrived early to the ceremony, we were treated to an hour’s stay in a dance class room with no Climate Control to speak of. It was 93 degrees Fahrenheit today, mind you. 100 Teenagers in dress clothes, caps & gowns; all shrill over the whomp-whomp of the lazy fans, their reflections twisted back into something human by the floor-to-ceiling mirrors is not something I’d hope to experience again. When it was time to proceed outward we did so down a flight of stairs only to meet Pomp and Circumstance’s 4^th movement. I was angry only because I couldn’t do my Macho Man impression.

Mercifully, the Commencement was brief, and we only had to sit through 3 vapid speeches by individuals who could never possibly relate to me. Our class president, Ryan Uranus talked about red lights and green lights and what they mean to us. I don’t know to what he meant my “us” as I always run those red bastards. Our National Honor Society president (?) Kelly Zappmann also drones on and on about acronyms and TTYL and G2G; not about ROTFLcoptors or goatse unfortunately. I also think there was some walking corpse from the Board of Education who droned on, but it could not stop the inevitable; we were called up by rows to receive our diplomas. I was glad it happened so soon, I could only heckle from my seat for so long before I would’ve had to cripple something.

Alas and alack, the moment was mine; “BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!” and across the stage I went, shaking the hand of the principal I’d barely known for a year, snatching up the scroll like a thieving magpie, the Mannon sign flashed before I took a bow; then back to my seat.

That was what 4 years gave me. No glory, no love, just a piece of cardstock in 12 point Cerillic. I was underwhelmed to say the least, and still am. But now with Thought and Memory flanking me at my side I see that what was really valuable was what I had learned; never the written word or that in a textbook. What I had learned about myself and my friends and society was worth it’s weight in bullion, and I would not trade it for all the silk in China.

So where does that leave us? There is rest for the wicked tonight. Me, sitting in my red race car bed that’s almost as old as I am, in a Miskatonic U shirt, cradling a bottle of Deer Park, finishing this chapter of my journey through the quantum oscillation. I set the book down, but it knows something beneath its cobbled leather cover almost as well I do.

I am more than ready to turn the page.