Apparently, my pure, undistilled hatred for The Matrix Revolutions isn't shared by the populace at large. In fact, I've heard several state they preferred it over Reloaded. Well, whatever. I don't plan on ever watching either of them ever again, to tell you the truth, so the question of which was better is totally irrelevant to me. And yes, those who there on the night I watched The Matrix Reloaded (and lived through the most untimely power outage in the history of the universe) are probably thinking, "Hey, you liked Reloaded! What's this about never watching it again?" Well, I did watch it again, two days later, actually, and it did not hold up well on a repeat viewing. Certainly, some parts were still entertaining, but it was not as enjoyable as the first time. And since Revolutions renders pretty much all of Reloaded completely pointless, I feel no need to revisit it a third time. I did watch the original yesterday, though. It still rules.

Is the poll over there working for anybody else? Because it doesn't work for me.

I'm working on a big idea for a end-of-2003 review. Bigger than just a movie top ten list. Not sure what'll happen, but I'll keep you posted.

And I should probably tell you this, though I'm not proud. I told myself a long time ago that I would never go back, that I was through with it, but the old habit cropped up again today.

I'm a Cubs fan again.

It came as a shock to me, too. Especially considering that it's November and nobody gives a fuck about baseball right now. But I heard a rumor today that the Cubs are working a trade to get Alex Rodriguez, and I thought, "Yes!" and I realized I couldn't deny it anymore. I cheered for them in the playoffs, but I told myself it was because I wanted them to lose to the Red Sox. But now, I've seen the light.

I'm still an Astros fan, by the way. I'm not a traitor just because I like another team, too. And the Cubs are way down at the bottom of the list of teams I like, behind the Astros, the Dodgers, and the Red Sox. So no need to panic, okay? (And yes, I'm talking to you. You know who you are.)


I'm gonna get free
I'm gonna get free
I'm gonna get free
Ride into the sun
She never loved me
She never loved me
She never loved me
Why should anyone?

The Matrix Ruinations

Oh no. No. Dear god, no.

This can't be. I mean, it was a dream, right? Surely, that's it. Yeah. Of course. The movie I saw doesn't really exist. Only a hallucination brought on by too much Dr Pepper and not enough sleep. Obviously.

I mean, really, let's be honest here: there's no way that the version of The Matrix Revolutions I saw this morning was the real thing. Couldn't be. Because that movie was a horrible piece of garbage (and that was during its better moments), a sure-fire DUD, and a serious challenger to Jeepers Creepers 2 and Underworld in the Worst Picture of the Year race.

Last night, a friend of mine suggested that the conclusion of the film would be Bill and Ted waking up from their horrible nightmare. "Whoa, Ted..." That would have been a better idea, Wachowskis. And as if your bloated sense of self-importance weren't obvious enough, that grand, epic score during the end credits was fucking awful. What happened to the Rage Against the Machine songs? That worked well in the first two. But then, since you decided to diregard everything else (and I do mean EVERYTHING else) that worked about the first two, I shouldn't be surprised by your music choices.

And I KNOW you weren't hinting at a sequel (or sequels) in that last scene, right? That was just the tail-end of your mythology's flame-out, right? Better be.

The Matrix Revolutions is the worst cliffhanger resolution since they revealed that an entire season of Dallas was all a dream. And a dream is what I'm banking on. Hoping for.

You can chime in with your two cents over on the left there. Feel free.


This time nobody goes home.

My modem is moving slowly, joints creaking, trying to cycle itself back out of hibernation. My monitor actually looks darker than it did before...maybe that's just my imagination, though. You know that feeling you'd get on the first day of school every year, the one where you know where everything is, but the knowledge just comes slower than it should? No? Well, that's how I feel about the internet right now.

Yes, I'm back from my involuntary internet vacation. I wish I could justify it with some vitriol-dripping diatribe -- "FUCK THE PHONE COMPANY!!" -- but it's my fault. So I'm mad at myself. But the problem is fixed now, and shouldn't flare up again any time soon. But you never know.

Let's see, what did I miss....oh, the Yankees lost. I'm still happy about that, by the way.

I also missed We're Fucked Day, which pisses me off. I had planned on replacing my picture of Dr. Strangelove up there with this upside-down flag and a Rage Against the Machine quote: "It has to start somewhere. It has to start sometime. What better place than here? What better time than now? All hell can't stop us now" (from "Guerilla Radio"). But the phone company had other ideas. Oh well.

It's time for work now. I'll get back into the groove of posting pretty quickly, don't worry. And a new short story is coming. Aw yeah.


The teacher stands in front of the class
But the lesson plan he can't recall
The students' eyes don't perceive the lies
Bouncing off every fucking wall
His composure is well kept
I guess he fears playing the fool
The complacent students sit and listen
To the bullshit that he learned in school

Europe ain't my rope to swing on
Can't learn a thing from it
Yet we hang from it
Gotta get it, gotta get it together then
Like the motherfuckin' weathermen
To expose and close the doors on those who try
To strangle and mangle the truth
'Cause the circle of hatred continues unless we react
We gotta take the power back