Sunday, September 28, 2008

New! New! New!

I've got a new layout, new fonts and colors, and a newly updated playlist on my blog! Let me know what you think!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Creepy Foreign Languages?

No, this is not a slam against any of you that speak a language other than English. Rather, this is something that I've noticed in myself, and I'm pretty sure it must be just an autistic trait. I have noticed that, whenever I see/"read" something in a real language other than English, it keeps me awake at night just thinking about it. It happened with someone's translation of a TobyMac song on a dc talk forum; I still think about the one time I heard Rammstein (or whatever their name is) and it still creeps me out, as does a foreign-language version of a decade-old Disney computer game demo (the dub of Piglet's voice was so shrill…ugh!); and, just last night, I made the mistake of watching Spain's version of the Wizards of Waverly Place theme song online after catching the end of it on Disney Channel.
Foreign languages don't just scare me in real life, though. I've had dreams about them (or, at least, simulated versions of them) and they creep me out, too. I don't even think I could count on one hand the dreams that I've had like that. More than once, it's been about hearing them on TV. In fact, once, I had a dream that was almost entirely in fake German. The dream was that I was laying down in a hospital waiting room, and that's what was on the TV in there. There was even a fake German "version" of The Happiest Millionaire, complete with closed captioning on the screen in some brightly colored, Old-English-style print. (The only line I remember from it was "Stooooooooop en esto gluven," which probably means nothing in any language.) The dream concluded with Jason and Maggie Seaver (yes, from Growing Pains) arguing in English about whether or not they should continue the German shows.
That happened years ago, but similar things also happened recently. Just a few days ago, I had a dream about a rock band dancing around a library (really) and singing songs in Latin. I woke up scared after that one, too. I expect it will happen quite a few more times.
I don't know why foreign languages scare me like they do. I have nothing against anyone of any race/culture/ethnicity/etc. In fact, I studied Spanish in high school and enjoyed it quite a bit. Foreign languages don't always scare me, anyway; I have Josh Groban's "Canto Alla Vita" on my iPod, and it has gotten quite a few plays. It's probably just an autistic thing. Who knows? Maybe my "fear" of foreign languages will help me actually learn and be able to speak them! I did pretty well in Spanish class; should I try French, German, and Latin? What do you all think? Let me know.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Ballad of Crushing and Limerence

BALLAD OF CRUSHING AND LIMERENCE
Parody of "Ballad of John and Yoko" by the Beatles

Waited to get back on the Internet
So my feelings I could confess
She then wrote me back, said
"Don't like you like that"
You know, she didn't even give me a chance

Crushing ain't all that easy
Especially not when you're me
Not even when she looks
As good as Mrs. Jefferies

One day, I watched Ella Enchanted
You may think that that was insane
But, I know that was the day
I found Anne Hathaway
I ditched Miss Hilary quickly and fain

Crushing isn't so easy
But, oh, how fun it can be
Plus, there isn't anyone
Quite like Miss Ashley T.

In Physics, yeah, that's where I met her
Fell in love immediately
But we're no longer friends
I think she wants me dead
Just because of my reactions to rejection by she

Crushes can leave you freezing
They can make you feel weak
Especially when they do not
Know about your feelings

Never paid attention to the Disney thing
Until I found out about Hilary
That's when everyone said
Will you just put an end
To all that talk about that Disney girl, please?

Still, can't cave in to peer pressure
Kept looking her up on the Net
And all of my friends
Knew me just for that
She was on the screen of my Mac

Crushing can be quite pleasing
But, oh, how hard it can be
What are you gonna do when
Your crush is happily married?

My friends know all about these women
Yeah, me and them go way back
Still, on I will press
And always have a crush
That's one thing I will never lack

Crushing usually is fleeting
At least, that is how it seems
But sometimes it becomes
A love everlasting
You just have to know when
The person returns your feelings

Monday, September 8, 2008

Let bygones be bygones.

I've mentioned on here before that I have somewhat of an overactive memory. I remember most of what I've done/said and seen/heard other people do/say in the past decade and a half. There is a problem with that, though: Sometimes, that makes it hard to forgive anyone (including not just others, but myself as well.) The emotions of something that happened years ago are still fresh to me today. Sometimes, being older has given me a broader perspective and made me realize that what I did was wrong.
No matter what horrible things I have done, though, I know God has forgiven me, even for all that terrible stuff I did in middle school. (Seriously, you don't even want to know.) Why rehash old memories when I'm the only one that remembers them? God is forgiving, and all that stuff happened before I was a Christian, so, all that means nothing to Him now. I just have to stay on the straight and narrow, which isn't going to be easy, but I will try my best, and hopefully, when I leave this Earth, God will say, "Well done."
Any comments?

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Mr. Autistic's Book Recommendations

I'm pretty sure there are at least some of you reading my blog who enjoy a good book. (If you don't, I'd suggest you not read this post, because it would be a complete waste of your time.) So, for those who like reading novels, I'll suggest some of my favorite books. (You probably already know what my very favorite book is. If not, check my profile.)
If you like Christian fiction, I would suggest the Babylon Rising series. The series was created by Tim LaHaye, the same guy who created Left Behind, but is not written by Jerry Jenkins, so the writing is much better in my opinion. It has everything you could want in a story: action, romance, suspense, and a villain you'll love to hate.
For those who like spy stories, I would suggest the Alex Rider series by Anthony Horowitz. The stories are about a teenage boy working for M-I:6. (Yes, the series is British.) The further you get into the series, the better the books get. I'd suggest reading them in order, though, and not even bothering with the terrible movie.
Now, here's a young adult series I'm not too sure how to categorize. Maximum Ride by James Patterson has been described as a combination of The Boxcar Children and X-Men. It's about six kids who are normal, except for the fact that they're 98% human, 2% avian. The series has action, humor, and even a little awkward romance, making it a fun read.
Pretty much everyone has seen the Star Wars movies, right? Well, if you liked the films, I would suggest checking out the books. They're written by actual sci-fi authors instead of George Lucas, so that means no awkward, cornball dialogue. My personal favorite SW novel is I, Jedi, written by Michael A. Stackpole. There are some other great ones, though, such as the Jedi Academy Trilogy by Kevin J. Anderson, and the New Jedi Order series written by various authors. (If you want to read NJO, start out with Vector Prime by R.A. Salvatore.)
Any comments?

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

"I get back down, but I get up again! You're never gonna keep me down!"

If you've listened to the radio in the past few years, most likely you've heard the song the subject line is quoting. While the song is about a bar, that line I quoted is actually a positive line when taken out of context. It's a lesson that I should have learned long ago, and will try my best to live out from now on.
Why do I bring this up? Well, because I had my fourth failed attempt at a relationship today. While I won't give out the girl's name, it was a good friend of mine who I really liked. Unfortunately, she didn't feel the same way. I can totally understand why she said, "I don't think it would work out because of the distance." In fact, she's probably right. Maybe my interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13 is wrong. I mean, it doesn't seem like the girls I've tried to date are interested in that sort of thing. I can't help but think that the people who told me that long-distance relationships never work were actually right. Maybe it's time I get a realistic grip on the way society works. (I still think some of society's rules are stupid, and probably always will. That's part of being autistic.)
What am I going to do about this? Well, I'll tell you what I won't do: A) turn bitter, B) block her from contacting me, C) spend the rest of my life blaming her for what happened, or D) bash her for doing as she did. What I will do is A) continue being her friend, B) forgive her (although I really can't blame her for what she did; I wouldn't want to date someone I didn't have feelings for, you know?) and C) treat her like today's events never happened. She's still my friend, and I don't want to lose my friendship with her just because she doesn't like me as anything more. After all, what would Jesus do?
Any comments?

Monday, September 1, 2008

Labor Day

Gotta love the Tubby Tabby. :D