I decided it was time for a new title & subtitle. So there you have it. You can check out the real benvis (if you so desire).
[corrected, thanks JJ]

So these two ladys came to my door to talk about how God is the only person any of us can trust. One of them showed me a quote (from the King James Bible) telling me I can't trust Nobles or Common Man. I'm pretty sure King James was a noble, and that lady was a commoner. Despite all, I think I can trust people; I mean, I trust everyone not to run me over in a crosswalk (except when I'm in Berkeley... then I have to carry a flag).

What do Hilary Clinton, Al Gore, Johns Paul II, Sandra Day O’Conner, Bill Moyers, Ralph Nader, Gene Siskel, Margaret Thatcher, Joan Baez, Nelson Mandela, Martha Stewart, Mary Poppins, The Amish, The Puritans, The Church Lady, Mr. Spock, and I all have in common ?

Oh, hey, any suggestions for Halloween activities? I'm taking my girlfriend's godsister (who's 2) out trick-or-treating, but that will be over before 9 pm. After that I want to do something else fun.

And! my birthday is on Sunday, Nov. 2. I'll be turning 24. Call me and wish me a happy b-day. Or just leave a happy birthday comment!

I seem to be having mixed results with my comment stuff. If you're having trouble, the blogspeak servers may be down. Try again later, I guess.

So i'm wrestling with the question of what to do with my life. I just noticed that Genentech is hiring people with my skillset. I guess i'll give them a shot. I can work for a giant faceless corporation without completely surrendering my soul, right?

Metrosexual, eh? [definition] [article]

I have mixed feelings about the term. For one thing, it represents corporate America supporting and encouraging stylishness in straight men (something I also support). However, it's perpetuating the idea that it is ok to assume something about a person's sexuality based on largely non-sexual factors. Essentially, we've got straight men engaging in stereotypically gay behavior. Rather than acknowledging that stereotypes are breaking down (because they're largely useless), a new stereotype was invented.

I had the odd experience of watching a taped football game. Last night I watched the 49er game I missed last Sunday. It was pretty fun, but I felt a little weird getting excited about a game I knew the outcome of. But that wasn't all. It seemed strange because I knew my hoping, excited (beer fueled) energy wasn't going to change what was going to happen (since it had already happened). But really, when does my quasi-participation make any difference when I watch a sport on TV? I guess it never really does. I've just been duped into accepting television as a surrogate for experience. But I guess it's more entertaining that way.

So i'm back from my e-sabattical. And it was well worth the wait. After a week of not checking my e-mail, I had some cool stuff in my inbox. I got a message from my friend Melissa (currently living in Korea), my cousin Alex (currently living in Romania), and my girlfriend (currently living in her mom's house).

It was cool hearing from my cousin. It sounds like he's having an experience very similar to mine when I was in Sweden. Apparently Romanians all speak pretty good English, so he's having trouble finding ways to practice his Romanian.

My girlfriend pointed me at some cool cartoon called Girl & Cat. Maybe i'll provide you all with a link so you don't have to google it yourselves (google for president!) Then again maybe not.

Also, as a surprise, I got an invitation for a job interview. Ok, so maybe it's bad that I didn't respond for almost a week (due to above-mentioned sabatical). So I may yet get to do cool research on the human auditory system. Ok, laptop battery dying. Time to post and run!

My horoscope told me that I was going to have an impromptu party tonight. So I think I'll have a party tonight. Anyone that a.) reads my blog and b.) knows where I live is welcome to come to my house at around 9:30 tonight. Nothing like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Oh, and call before you come. Oh. and bring beer.

I just got finished watching Ronin [imdb] with Robert Deniro and Jean Reno. It's a pretty awesome movie. I think Jean Reno [imdb again] is one of my favorite actors.

On a completely different note, last night I tuned into my NPR and heard, much to my surprise, the grating, condescending voice of Bill O'Riely! My former roommate, Richie, is a Fox News Junkie, so I got to know Mr. O'Riely from his show. I have long wondered what would happen if Billy-boy were to have a conversation with an articulate, intelligent liberal and Bill didn't have control over the situation, like on his show. He's a pretty smart guy, and amazingly good at arguing, but unfortunately, he usually resorts to bluster and bullying on his show. I would love to hear him go at it if he couldn't use those lame tactics and was forced to address the inconsistencies and hypocrisy he so cleverly expounds but conceals at the same time.

Unfortunately, rather than address the challenges Terry Gross[a link to the interview] was bringing to the table, he walked out of the interview. He held his own for a while, but when she was about to read a quote that pretty directly called him a hypocrite, he talked over her for a bit then walked out.

In discussion with Richie, later, he said "Yeah, it was disappointing, but not really surprising". It's true. Oh well.

Oh, and to re-iterate: Everyone should know about Instant Runoff Voting!

So, Arnold's it. My friend JJ [his website] pointed out something that gave me small consolation. Maybe we'll get a new, cool reality TV show! I don't have cable so I probably couldn't watch it, but I can imagine it would be pretty entertaining.

I suppose that's the positive out of all this recall terribleness. Our state government will be entertaining once again. Many have pointed out that this will get more people involved in politics. Whatever, that's great and all, but let's not kid ourselves. We care about entertainment value, and Arnie's (hopefully) gonna give it to us.

Another friend, Samay [his blog] pointed out that on the same day that Arnold won, the Mariners (correction: Marlins) won. Creepy Florida connection anyone? The Bush family seems to have their collective finger in just about everything.