Miscellanea update, oh and Terminator wasn't that bad, guys

**Spoiler warning**

Alright, so I need to get back into the habit of updating this scene right here I guess, so let's start off small, slow and easy. So what's been up with me? Not a whole lot I guess. Now living in Queens with an awesome roommate and his awesome cat. Still feeling like I'm just a kid when I see so many people who seem to be "growing up" by having kids and buying houses when I just want to go out to shows and make art or just fucking drop everything and go someplace. Being hit by the recent economic bullshit (though not as much since I was always kind of broke) just like everyone else and finding that even though I feel like wanting to just go out to shows, make art or just fucking drop everything and go someplace, I can't really do that. Then realizing I'd rather eat homemade cheap bean burritos and contemplate how to do things cheap/for free/via "creative appropriation" than worry about how I'm going to buy a house because I now have rugrats that need a yard/good school district/peace and quiet. Figuring that for me ambition isn't about how much stuff I can get, but how many different things I can do before I get too old to do anything. Hooray for Peter Pan syndrome.

I have little enough that I'm not too worried or put out about not having as much as before, but have just enough responsibilities to make it a little annoying, but that's life for you. Recently got my first Mac. First as in, "first that I bought with my own money and own, not the Macs in the labs when I was in school/learning print design." Realized the old machine had only 256MB in RAM. It had a good 5 year run though. Besides, it still has its uses for web work as a Windows machine with IE, so it hasn't been entirely put out to pasture. Went to some museums. FINALLY visited the Newseum. Met artists (my hero)/went to their gallery openings. Felt inspired. Haven't really put the inspiration to action yet. Now wondering if I should've just gone to art school like I actually wanted to. Now wondering if it's too late to do that now. Learned how to float shit in CSS, but just kind of sort of. Now trying to tackle Illustrator. More recently, find myself cursing Bacardi for getting that Matt and Kim song stuck in my head. Nothing wrong with the song, I just find it a little annoying when things like that subconsciously worm their way into your brain. And it's just weird when you hear songs you know in ads. Like when I'd see the previews for Fast and Furious and I'm like, "WTF. Is that Does It Offend You Yeah?" Oh, and probably finally working up enough courage to basically shave half the hair off my head. And just yesterday I felt triumphant after having successfully replicated Panera Bread's Strawberry Poppyseed salad. It's the little things folks.

So now we're caught up with what's going on with me when I found myself in D.C. post work-related event with a couple of hours to kill before taking the 3:15am train back to New York. I didn't particularly feel like crashing at anyone's place because I'd already spent a long weekend in D.C. the weekend prior, upping the punx, by which I mean I looked up a bunch of folks I hadn't seen in a while and thoroughly underestimated how busy I'd be just doing that. I wasn't really too keen on the idea of squeezing in on anyone's weekend plans either, mainly because it was kind of late and I didn't feel like navigating the city with the time I had before getting on the train. Though I have to point out, I guess once you get acquainted with using a subway system, after that all subway systems are pretty damn easy to navigate. Also, its fun to compare and contrast. I'd group the Metro with the Korean subway system and the Tube. Toronto and New York have their own things going on.

I texted some folks to figure out the nearest theater was, preferably within a stop or two, so Chinatown/Gallery Place preferably, and quickly walked into a theater and bought my ticket for the last showing of Terminator: Salvation five minutes into the previews.

I actually liked the movie. I really didn't think the movie was as bad as everyone was saying, though I'm totally on board with the McG distaste. The only thing I didn't really like about the movie was more or less a collection of what I like to call "McG wanking away at the thought of being part of the Terminator legacy." There were just way too many wink-wink, nudge-nudge moment and Easter eggs for people already familiar with the franchise. It was as if McG was in "holy shit, wouldn't this be awesome??" 13 year old mode.

Like say when Kyle Reese, as adorable as Anton Yelchin is, says "Come with me if you want to live," I have expected him to look into the camera and wink. Or when John Connor is heading off to attack Skynet and his wife is all "What do I tell your men when they notice you're gone?" and Christian Bale practically does a dramatic pause before saying, "Tell them...I'll be back." Really? REALLY? Or how John Connor turns on a boombox to lure those motorcycle terminators and it just so HAPPENS to play "You Could Be Mine." Yes, because apparently in a robot apocalypse one of the few songs to survive is the Guns 'n' Roses theme song for a movie based on events that previously happened.

I'm not saying references or paying homage is bad, but there's a thin line between paying homage and creaming your pants over references and your own perceived cleverness. Like cg Arnold was kind of funny and a little neat to see, and I'm not saying the lines were dumb, it was just so pointedly shoved in though that it took me out of the movie a couple of times.

The sad thing is those bits are annoying enough that I don't know if I'd watch the movie again. However, it did it's job, helped me waste some time. I actually liked how bleak it was and its depiction of human survival after Judgment Day. But goddamn it got a bit much at some points.