Honor killings my ass

So another year is about to come to an end. 2005 went by rather fast. It was my last year in college, and for that I think it to be a great year. Im not one of those that likes to look back at a year right before the next one starts. Im about simplicity and progress. So instead of writing about the year that was, I will instead focus on something that has always pissed me off: people pretending they're morally superior to others.

I was surfin' the net as I always do, and I came across an article about this pakistani male who killed four of his daughters in order to maintain his family name. Apperantly the eldest of the daughters committed adultery, which in the minds of many muslim males is a capital offense. So, the guy figures that this act should cost the life of his daughter, for her actions have brought shame to the family. Furthermore, in a preventative move, he also decides that it is best for his family to get rid of any potential future acts of adultery by slaining the rest of his daughters, aged 4, 7, and 8. So, he purchases a machete and slits the throats of all his daughters. This is done in front of his wife and newborn baby boy (lucky for him he's a boy). There's nothing she can do about it, because he threatens her with her life if she were to resist.

So there you go. That's life in Pakistan. Daughters get killed for stupid shit like that. I find it ironic that killing four of your own daughters brings less shame than supposedly having sex outside the marrigae does. You might think this to be an extreme and rare case that only happens in backward countries such as Pakistan. Well, this is the 260th such incident this year alone. That's 260 people, mostly women, who were killed becaues they brought "shame" to their families.

While this doesn't happen everywhere, the faulty logic that leads people to reach certain conclusions is evident anywhere you go. For instance, people love to be critical of others. It's just human nature, I guess. I do it. Im sure you do it. Everyone does it. It's always easier to notice the faults of others better than your own. This is also a problem when it comes time to make decisions.

Usually in american politics, there are alot of issues that only concern a small portion of the country. Yet, the entire country gets to vote on it. For instance, many people have a problem with assisted-suicides. They feel uncomfortable with the notion that someone is basically given the license to kill someone else. It's unnatural, and it's immoral. But, none of those people are in that predicament. None of those people have to deal with the pain. Yet, without hesitation they put in their two cents, as if it is worth anything to someone.

This sort-of holier than thou bullshit needs to stop. Take care of yourself and your family, and stop pretending that somehow you're morally superior to anyone else. Before making decisions for others, think about if the decisions affect you directly (and no, the potential risk to your children does not count; stop using your kids as a crutch.... ill be sure to talk about that another time), and then decide if you should make that choice.

You're not better than anyone else, and im sure if we sat around analyzing your insignifant life, we'd find plenty worse than adultery.

How about them Colts! / King Kong's 'uncomfortable' moments

So it's all over. The quest for a perfection. The quest to become the only team to win 19 games in a season. All of that is no longer possible after the loss on Sunday to San Diego. Here's the thing: it doesn't matter. The only thing the Colts need to do is tune-up their offensive line enough so to protect Peyton and to allow Edgerrin to have an impact in the game. I mean, they were just being destroyed up front. If they get that fixed, they should be good to go come January. Nobody should ever be glad to lose, but I am glad that some of the team's weaknesses were shown. That way, they can correct their mistake on sunday, which is much more acceptable than them winning all 16 games and then lose to the Patriots. That would be a nightmare. I guess we'll see how it all plays out come January.

After the game, I went to go see the movie "king kong". I've seen the original, and thought it to be an okay movie. I didn't understand why it needed to be remade for a third time. I think everybody watched it the first two times.

The movie is over 3 hours long, which is usually a good enough reason for me to not watch. But since it was free, I decided to go ahead and watch it. For the first hour and a half, I went to sleep. I don't think I missed much, because when I came to, nothing actually happened yet. I guess they were developing the story at the beginning. Either way, the movie was still too long.

The movie in general wasn't bad. It looks like the directer and company spent a lot of time making this movie. The special effects were at times overwheliming, but overall they fused into the story rather well.

My problem with the movie concerns the whole "connection" that exists between kong and anne (naomi watts' character). Throughout the whole movie, there these awkward romantic scenes between a human and a freaking ape. What's that about? I know, i know, he saved her from all those creatures in the island, and i know that she wasn't really accepted back in New York, but come on. They could've done without all that, especially the sunset scenes and the ice skating scene. Just freaking ridiculous.

Aside from that, I thought the movie was alright. It's not my sort of movie, but what can you do. Now that im out of school, im going to start watching more movies in the theater. The movie that i've wanted to see this entire time is Syriana. I am going to make it a point to watch it before this week is thru.

Graduation Day

Friday started just like any other day. I woke up rather late (2 in the afternoon), ate some breakfast (reese's puffs), and took a shower and brushed my teeth. At 5, I headed off to work for what ended up being a 14-hour shift. That was it. That's usually how friday's go for me, at least for the past two years. Saturday, on the other hand, was different. Saturday was graduation day.

Finally..... after 4 1/2 years, 10 semesters, and achieving an unprecented academic cycle [similar to baseball, completing a semester with averages in the 1's (hitting a single), 2's (double), 3's (triple), and a perfect 4 (home run)] I am finally done with post-secondary education.

Nothing about graduating is bad. There isn't any bitterness that accompanies the sweet. As one would say, it's all good. For the next three weeks, I am going to be on a holiday break. I will not be going to school nor will I be working full time (ill still work my regular shifts at papa john's). So, in essence, this going to be a great stretch going into 2006.

But, if you know anything about me, and judging by all the previous posts I have made, you know that I only write on issues that piss me off. So, for this week's installment, I am going to talk about the unbelievable hassle of graduation ceremonies.

Just to be clear, let me make my point here: Graduation is incredibly lame

First of all, this doesn't apply to most schools. In most schools, the graduating class is recognized individually for graduating with a college degree. I mean, after supposedly busting your balls to graduate (I didn't bust no such balls), and after forking over thousands upon thousands of dollars for earning the degree, you'd think the school would be more than willing to give you your two seconds of limelight by simply addressing your name in front of the family members. It seems to make sense, right? well, not to the University of Georgia.

Undergraduate ceremonies at UGA are very pointless. You wake up early on a saturday morning (unless you got off work an hour and a half before the event), and you get all dressed up and you sit there for a couple of hours in an uncomfortable chair and listen to some old geezer talking some nonsense. After all that, they address you by major, and voila -- you are a graduate. That's it. That's all there is. And im fine with that. Im okay with not being addressed indivdually. Actually, im glad we weren't addressed individually (that would've taken forever). The only problem is..... why even have a stupid graduation ceremony?

The only reason why people go to these things is very evident as soon as you walk outside the venue and realize what most parents are doing with their kids. Graduation is all about the pictures. click click click .... that's all you hear (well, maybe not literally, but you know, the other word that's opposite of that).

My family was no different from the rest. We were out there taking unreasonable amount of pictures, and after 20 minutes of that, we all went home. As I was driving home, I thought of only one thing: couldn't we have done that at home?

Get a cap and gown, get a camera, go outside, and take some freaking pictures!!! that's all. What's the point of all this song and dance anyways? It was a complete waste of time. At least for me. I know im not wired the same as many people. I don't get emotional about stupid shit like graduation. It happens, and then you move on. It's a good thing, don't get me wrong, but I would rather have celebrated it at home..... asleep. That's reward enough for me. I don't need to be seen walking around with a ridiculous costume, and a dumb hat that requires you to think about which side you should place your tassel.

Maybe im just mad I didn't get my sleep in, but overall my impression of the day was this: glad to be out of school, but could've done without the graduation.

Now that saturday is thru, I can now look forward to the day that I was looking forward to this whole time -- even more so than graduation day -- and that is Sunday. The Indianapolis Colts are going to win their 14th straight game, and if they were to do just that, my experience at the graduation ceremony will be all forgotten.

Talk about a bad student

Today is Tuesday, which is the second of exams. I just took the first, and more difficult test. It's worth 40 percent of the final grade, and since this is a major course, I cannot get a bad grade in this class (or else id have to come back to school next semester, at which point im going to start a cult and plot to take down the professor who failed me).

So how about yesterday I "read" over 500 pages of semester-long readings that were exam material. I seem to know alot about the social security reforms now (400 pages of social security history will do that to you). Hopefully, my 8 hours of hard-work pay off come final grades.

I should be gearing up to take the second exam, which is later tonight at 7 pm, but as you can tell by this post, im not. I realized something. This class is an elective. Furthermore, this class is based on a points system. As of now, im eliminated from getting either an A or an F. To get a B, I need to get a 78% on the final; 35% to get a C; just show up to get a D. So, im thinking I don't need to put too much effort into this. You would think i'd go for the easy B, seeing as how I only need to get a C. However, after I did the math, it turns out that my overall GPA, which is the only factor since im not going to fail this class, is only going to move up 1/100th of a point, whereas a C would move it down just as much. So, I have a pretty big cushion going into this exam. Make a 35% or better, and im set.

Alright, enough of this school stuff. It won't matter much in a couple of days anyways, considering that im GRADUATING!.

How about we talk about how horrible of a student I am. I have been in the library for a considerable amount of time in the last day or so. I've noticed students take studying rather seriously. I mean, every fifteen or twenty minutes I take a break. These idiots are all over their books for hours on end. I mean, it's a sight to see. Im thinking "what's that about?". Are they trying to impress future employers with their "work ethic"? Do they think they will have a leg up on me? .... well, they're probably right. But, the important thing here is that I continue to take my breaks and pick my battles. Soon enough, my plan will pay huge dividends. Either that, or as some moronic comedian once said, "im fucked".

Soft Thursday

What a crappy ending to an otherwise dull college career. Today was the last day of regular classes, which really didn't mean anything considering there's a full week of exams left. As far as the weather was concerned, it was one of those foul-looking days; freezing rain, chilly temperature, and just plain uncomfortable for anybody's taste. Thursday also marked the busiest day this week for me. Not only did I have a truckload of assignments that I somehow overlooked and needed to complete, I also had to attend four 75-minute classes, that included a group presentation. That wasn't the bad part. Today also was my courtdate for that bullshit of a citation I received some two months back.

So this asshole cop (not even really a cop; he was a UGA cop) pulls me over because I "failed to yield to the pedestrian". Now, I tell this degenerate that I did actually yield to the pedestrians in front of me. He agrees, which was rather confusing considering he already drafted the citation and was just waiting for me to sign. Apperantly, under his unique interpetation of the ordinance, I was supposed to yield to every fucking pedestrian within the city limits!! I mean, the next pedestrian (the one i failed to yield to) was a good twenty feet away, and it made no sense for me to sit around and wait (especially when it wasn't even clear which way the pedestrian was heading towards). So, anyways, I go to court to challenge the ticket, but instead they tell me there was nothing they can do, and although they didn't just come out and say it, they suggested to me that going forward with such a small case was not worth my time, especially considering it was going to take the better part of the afternoon. Now, seeing how I still had two classes to attend, I couldn't possibly afford to sit around all afternoon. So instead, we worked out a deal to where I would plead no contest (what kind of stupid ass plea is that anyways) and have 60 days to pay off the 75 dollar fine. What horseshit that was. Man, I can't wait to become a Governor; id clean house in this town.

After I got done with classes at 6:15 pm (day started at 7 am, which I think is one of my longest school-related days i've had in a good while; i've been pretty slack the last couple of semesters) I went home. Usually, I go home content with the effort (or lack thereof) that I put in. Not so much this week. In the past two days i've turned in two papers, with another due on friday (actually in about 9 hours, yet im here writing a bullshit blog) and all of them are horrible papers. Now, the last paper i've turned in, I got an A-minus, so maybe im overreacting, but I just don't think any of the papers were substantive in any way. They were just plain garbage. Im now just counting on the professor overlooking my poor papers and escape with a half decent grade. But with the way things turned out in court, I highly doubt that.

Countdown to graduation: 8 days