You were one of the only people ever to talk to me in person from this site. You were one of the only people who gave me a chance. The fact that I see the world differently than other people was okay with you. You were my favorite journal writer. You were my birthday buddy. Now who will write my favorite journal?

You have to do what is best for you. I understand. I just wish it never had to come to this. You know my take on it so I won't repeat it. It's an unfortunate situation.

Jason

What? You're 25 and not married with babies yet? WTF? (Only kidding)

One of the great things about being a guy is that when you turn 25 your dating life really is only beginning. Nobody looks at you weird if you don't have a serious girlfriend or a wedding band. Finally you have some dollars in your pocket and are somewhat stable, so your dating pool becomes larger. I don't know too many guys who care about marriage at this point. Why would they when they haven't even reached their peak yet?

I don't think that anything is "wrong" with marriage itself, but most people give themselves a hell of a lot more credit than they deserve when it comes to keeping a commitment. They don't fully understand what they are getting into. They don't have what it takes to stay faithful or to be compassionate. We aren't raised to be able to get through the hard times. People think they should never have to go through hard times. I can't believe how many stupid, selfish young kids get themselves into a situation where it is so painful and expensive to get out of it after they realize they weren't made for each other after all (we expect and demand perfection, nothing less).

You've said yourself that you aren't a very commitment minded person, so who cares what other people think? You're doing what's best for you, not what's best for someone else. Forget about the pressure. I'm glad you march to the beat of your own drum when it comes to this. I have a friend who is 26 and is dying to meet her husband and pop out kids before she's 30. She has an agenda and wants the perfect man to fit the agenda. I feel sorry for her. You know yourself better than anyone and I'm glad to read about someone being realistic and doing what they like. Good for you.

Jason

Anybody ever heard of this? 20% of men get 80% of the women, through their looks or money or power. Women are willing to share a "winner" rather than being with someone who isn't the creme de la creme (after all, we all deserve the best don't we?), leaving many men unable to find a partner. This may explain why you see girls trying to go after married guys. I don't particularly think it's true or false. I want to know what you think.

Jason

See, this is the extent of my artistic ability. Good for you who can do this stuff!

Jason

I mostly agree with Doc C on this. I think he made some reasonable observations. I've had conversations with an unnamed e-stripper about art because I want to understand from their perspective. I appreciate people who have the creativity and imagination to produce art works for us to enjoy because I know sure as shit that my stick figures are not impressive.

I tried really hard yesterday to come up with some art using Photoshop. All I wanted to do was take Doc C's face off of his user photo and superimpose it on Max Julien's body using my VHS copy of "The Mack". I couldn't even come close to doing it. I suck at Photoshop, so maybe I'll just stay with what I know: stick figures!

Jason

.....but so little time to say it. I'll have to pick one topic for now. I want to add to what (e:Aswierat) mentioned, but that will have to wait until I get some more free time.

I want to talk about Chakras. I asked before if anyone is into meditation, yoga, breathing exercises...stuff like that. I am curious about metaphysical study. Basically what I've learned so far is that the Chakras are points of energy aligned vertically (and symmetrically) along your body. Each represents a non-physical point assigned to different aspects of your health. From what I can tell the idea is that meditating and thinking about a specific Chakra will enable you to control energy flow levels, allowing you to use the spiritual part of yourself to heal in a certain way. Different authors like Deepak Chopra (sp?) suggest the body has everything it needs to heal itself physically, while giving you spiritual benefits as well.

So I want to hear from skeptics and proponents alike. I don't necessarily like the idea of using chemicals every time you don't feel well, so I want to look into other things. Nobody answered me last time, but I'll ask again. Does anyone know anything about this stuff? Maybe I should just ask my neighbor Michelle who teaches Yoga by Globe. I don't know. I guess I just want to learn more. Anyone? Bueller? Anyone?

Jason

Normally I don't pay attention to the Academy Awards. I have a real problem with the superficial "who are you wearing" type of conversation that goes on. Let's give this some thought for a moment. Who outside of the "fashion police" industry honestly cares what kind of dress someone's wearing? Does it really make a difference when most American women will never be able to afford the clothes? Even Michael Moore, hero to unshowered, unshaven populists everywhere is starting to wear a spiky hair cut and those "nerd chic" glasses that almost everyone on Elmwood sports. WTF, Mike? You had a lot of people fooled with the "average guy" bit. Why change for change's sake? Bring back the Made in Canada hat and stick it to those fashion police dorks!

Anyway, about the awards. Umm. I'm glad Jamie Foxx got the Best Actor award. I wish Uncle Marty would win an Oscar someday. Other than that I really don't care at all. I didn't see Million Dollar Baby or The Aviator so I can't comment on them. I'm not a movie snob - basically I'll watch it if it's somewhat funny or entertaining - but I don't get out to see many movies so it's hard to compare the two films. Maybe I'll check them out later.

Sometime during the broadcast I said "screw this" and decided to go to Borders. I love to support the Elmwood businesses but Talking Leaves doesn't carry most of what I want to read, other than their selection of Dover Thrift Edition materials. Their selection of politically charged material is shockingly narrow (their explanation to me was "Well, we have to cater to the neighborhood" - kinda hard to argue with that one). Now that I think of it, New World doesn't always have what I want either. Borders has a wide selection of music and books so I'll make a special trip out of Elmwood to go there for a couple of hours every now and then. I picked up a couple of items so the next time I'm bored like I was yesterday I won't have to resort to watching the freaking Oscars.

Jason

(e:Paul) - I'm glad that you put a link up for Alt Press. I know what you guys are thinking..."But but Jason, I thought you hated the alternative rags!" Well I must say that of all the alternative publications in our city, I think Alt Press is the best by far in terms of its news coverage and opinion columns. Obviously I don't agree with everything Grady Hawkins has to say, but he does a much better job of articulating his point of view and backing up what he says than anyone else. It's not a publication that is filled to the brim with hate speech. No fluff, no BS, no childish ranting. Just the story as an uber-liberal sees it. So although I maintain my skepticism when it comes to the other alternatives, I fully support Alt Press. They take the giant responsibility of informing the public seriously. Kudos to them.

Also - (e:Matthew) - Yes there are now twins on e-strip. I promise you he's real! I think he'll be accepted about as much as me. He's also the evil twin (waiting for the inevitable (e:Ajay) wisecrack). It's nice being the good one.

Jason

I'm not as cynical as (e:Joshua) - in part because the project was privately funded. It's not my money being wasted, and it's not my park that is being "decorated" as such. I suppose I don't care. If people enjoy it, fine. If people think that it's garbage, that's fine too. Some New Yorkers think it makes the park look ugly. Others don't. There are a variety of opinions.

One thing I've learned recently about the art world is that it isn't always meant to give people happy feelings. Sometimes it's there for shock value (like Piss Christ), and sometimes it's there to get any kind of reaction out of you (good or bad). It's there to make you think about things differently. So while I may look at a piece and think that a third grader could do it (therefore lessening its value in my mind), others may find something interesting about it. It's all in how you allow yourself to perceive it. I'm still learning though, admittedly.

Jason

I went to the Car Show this past weekend. A friend had tickets so I thought it would be interesting. Other than being completely unprepared and grubby looking when I ran into the object of my affection it was alright. I thought there would be more concepts and sport automobiles but I was disappointed. Then again, this is Buffalo and nobody has enough loot to buy those cars anyway. I did see the Lamborghini though and snapped some photos with my Sidekick. Hopefully none of you will be offended by photos of a car.

One thing that annoyed me were the young bar hoes who are there to try and get you to go to their establishment. They're all over Thursday at the Square, and nobody wants the stupid flyers there either. I don't know whose bright idea it was to trick out a Neon, either. Oh, look, a Neon with DVD players and racing buckets and all sorts of other things! But it's still a Neon! What's the point of tricking out a Neon, anyway? Chances are there is an issue if you spend more money on car accessories than the car itself.

Jason