My Birthday Celebration

.: Birthday
I have to admit that I was a little weary of celebrating my birthday this year. It’s the first year that I celebrate my birthday without my mother and it just didn’t feel the same. Not having my father with me last year was bad enough, even though it was softened by the fact that I had the trip with my mother on my mind, as well as still having my mother around. So yeah, I was a little weary.

But it all started with cake, and suddenly it started to look up a bit. My work got me a present as well, or rather, they gave the money they were going to use to get me a birthday present to the most prominent cancer research foundation in the Netherlands. That made me happy. After work, I was joined by my siblings and a bunch of friends, including Jim, who had extended his trip so that he could stay for my birthday, and we had drinks at L’Affiche. We headed to Burgermeester for some burgers and quickly returned to L’Affiche for more drinks. It was such a beautiful evening.

Eventually I was taken to Paradiso to go to Noodlanding, and we danced until we couldn’t dance anymore. I had a lot of fun, and I was really happy with my friends who arranged for everything. I couldn’t be more grateful. There is photographic evidence of this, which some of you who are on Facebook may have already seen. Once I’ve collected all of them, I’ll put them up here as well. Warning: we might look a tad sweaty, happy… and slightly retarded.

~/ Get stupid, get retarded, ’cause we will get the party started… /~

.: Fox Report on the Child-Killing Stoners in the Netherlands
Besides that, I came across an old Fox report on secularisation and our pinko-commie-hippie ways that was nothing short of a hit piece. Here’s a choice quote that I particularly enjoyed; “After euthanasia and infanticide, the next move in the Netherlands is probably a suicide pill, not for those who are terminally ill, but just tired with life. While it hasn’t been legalized and is probably still several years off, people are already talking about the idea.” Here’s the full clip.

.: Poverty Entertainment
Another thing that I was thinking about yesterday; with the current economic climate being the way it is there are many different television programs that pop up or redevote their effort to cover this in one form of another. Some of them exploit the current misery to make quality television. One sub-genre of reality television that falls squarely in the latter category is the type where rich people are forced to live as poor people, on welfare or on minimum wage, so that we can all watch them flop around like fish out of water trying to make ends meet. What strikes me about these programs is that by the end of the season the participants claim understanding and empathy towards those who have to live that life instead of pretend they do. The big deceit in that conclusion at the end of the season is that you can learn how to do deal with and survive on less. The biggest problem is what a situation like that does to you mentally, and how taxing it is not knowing when you will see a sign of improvement. The participants know that at a certain point, no matter how difficult it gets at times, the show will be over and they can go back to their life of lavishness and affluence. In the meantime they are to make rich people look spoiled and make poor people look pitiable. I don’t like it.

.: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (T:SCC)
I’ve also been watching T:SCC, which is really quite amazing. The cast is great, the stories are solid, and the direction the show is going is really good (up until the last few episodes of the second season, although it’s entirely forgivable.) It’s unfortunate the show was cancelled after completing season two. I would like to make special mention of Brian Austin Green, of Beverly Hills 90210 fame, who plays the role of Derek Reese, Kyle Reese’s brother, and John Connor’s uncle. He is dark, brooding, dedicated and disturbed, and there’s something about his eyes that fit really well with what I would think John Connor’s men would look like. Just like Michael Biehn, who played Kyle Reese in Terminator, Brain Austin Green has a look in his eyes that is equal parts harshness, exhaustion and grim determination. An awesome show.

Here’s a rather fanboyish set of compilation videos of Derek Reese’s best moments in the two seasons.

.: Jim
It was really good to see Jim again, even though I only got to see him two or three times while he was here for a week. If this had been a year or two ago, I would’ve felt really bad for not being able to see him more or longer, but I suspect that I’m no longer the primary reason why he comes to visit. He diversified his portfolio of friends here rather significantly and I really feel that it’s only a matter of time before he decides to pack up and move. It seems like it’s becoming harder and harder for him to leave, so it’s the only logical conclusion. Maybe not now, or maybe not in the next three or four months, but eventually we’ll get him. Now if only I had been able to lift that second boarding pass as well… :)