So I really suck at updating...

I'm either working or recovering from working, so in time I hope to have the money to dedicate myself to this full time, without worrying if I'm going to eat.  On the other hand, perhaps this is a sign that I don't really have anything to say.  On the other, other hand, maybe this is simply a slump I need to overcome.  In any case, I'm probably better off starting small and focusing on individual subjects.  We'll see.

-Me

It's a jumping off point...

The problem with seeing the same things everyday and interacting with the same people everyday and engaging in the same activities everyday is that there is nothing new to inspire and/or write about.  Football starts tomorrow; I'm on a fantasy team.  Also, I'm gathering up ideas for an analytic sports site, a comprehensive stats site that uses all of the available publicly known methodologies to predict the outcomes of all the games ever.  We'll see how that goes.
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There are a lot of hot chicks at work, but since this is Pittsburgh, they all have boyfriends that they've dated since high school and I'm not even ready for a relationship, which is something I've been meaning to write about, so I should probably do that some time.  It's worth its own post, so I'll do it Friday.
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My brother is in Boot Camp.  I sent him a card, but haven't heard back from him.  However, Parris Island is supposed to be rugged Hell, so I'm guessing I won't hear from him until October, which is when he graduates.  I'll go to Family Day and Graduation, should the opportunity arise, but I'm not going to actively pursue it, since I'm vastly low on funds and, more importantly, my biological family will be there.  The apprehension is mostly caused by my grandfather, whom I hate and with good reason.
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I really suck at NHL 11, so much so that my roommate will no longer play it with me, which is alarming and liberating all at the same time.  I won't really have any opportunities to get better at it, but I won't have to endure my friend's petty judgments and massive anger issues.  It's pretty awesome, actually.
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I hate my job.  I hate it.  I hate it.  I hate it.  I hate it.  I hate it.  /Molly Shannon parody.

I decided my blog needs to be contrasted with something lighhearted.

Here's a dancing monkey.

Jimmy Murray's Infinite Playlist...of nary 100 songs.

One of the biggest aspects of my life that seems to be universal amongst every citizen in a developed country is my lack of media player.  Growing up, I really only listened to what my mom listened to on the radio and when she lost her car, I pretty much lost my gateway to the world of popular music.  Granted, I took a modicum of music classes, learning some theory and history along the way.  I can break down whatever I listen to into its constituent parts: key, meter, genre, instrumentation, post-production after-effects, etc..  Since I never had any access to the world of pop culture, much less the world of elitist indie music, my playlist consists mostly of show tunes and sound tracks.

I love video game music.  I can and do listen to it all day.  Some of my top picks, in no particular order, and in no way complete, would be "Frog's Theme" (Chrono Trigger), "Stickerbrush Symphony" (Diddy's Kong Quest), "Song of Storms" (Ocarina of Time), "Flying Battery Zone" (Sonic and Knuckles), "Still More Fighting" Final Fantasy VII, "Kid Icarus" Kid Icarus, "Rainbow Road" (Any Mario Kart, however Double Dash has the best one).  Video games were, for a time, my escape and a huge part of my childhood, probably main contributors to my desire to hear them again and again.  Penny Arcade has a comic called "The Mega Man 9 Effect" that visually describes what I'm writing here.

Due to these unfortunate circumstances, this is just another way I can't relate to people.  I know nothing of music trivia, save for the slumdog stuff I picked up when I visited a friend.  And it's hurtful.  It sucks only knowing either the facts that everyone knows, like pop culture trivia or the facts that no one cares about, like anything about classical music.  I guess the only qualm I have is the fear of being described as lame, which I guess I am, and, apparently, I have come to terms with it.  The other good news is that I do know just enough to get by and everyone seems to like Miley Cyrus.  Better brush up on my Hannah Montana.
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I'm a really boring writer.  I used to be good at this stuff, never the creative fantasy stuff, but definitely the entertaining expository stuff.  I hope this is just a result of stress and exhaustion and not anything chronic, terminal, or epidemic.  The cathartic effect is good for me, though.

***Didn't really have a place for this, but I feel it belongs here***
/*When I was a kid, I wanted to be an actor.  I loved singing and dancing to any music I could get my hands on, even if it was just catching a spare note on the night air.  Disney musicals rocked the 90s.  The first musical I ever saw was Grease, I believe when it was released for its 20th anniversary, and mostly in response to some girls asking me to sing "Greased Lightning" in middle school.  I portrayed Vince Fontaine in college and I had a small role in "The Music Man" in high school.  I've watched a number of them and there is nothing like the vigorous energy emitted by the performers who deliver these tuneful poems.  I still want to be an entertainer.  I think I'd be good at it.*/

Rather than go for an everyday thing,

I may just post Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.  I want to focus more on quality rather than quantity, although ideally, I want to produce both.  So I'll try to catch up on the nine days I missed and then switch to that format.  Awesome.

I do apologize for my lack of posts.

This was definitely meant to be an everyday thing.  Then I got a new job and didn't have a day off for seven straight days.  And then my days off have been simply to unwind and catch on up shows that I've been missing so I can rightfully hang out with my best friend's friends.  Also, college football started.

I have plenty of topics in queue, so I'm hoping by Thursday to get back on track.  I've gotta be up at 5 AM for at least two days in a row and I'm awfully tired and growing more unhealthy everyday.

I'll be back.

I am severely depressed today.

I may have to double post for the next couple of days or retroactively post. :(

Dashing and daring, courageous and caring.

I hate my job.

What is it about people that, upon entering a store, they become helpless, stupid, frantic, entitled, and angry children?  The entire idea behind retail, food service, anything that's at the bottom of the supply chain is that it's supposed to be foolproof, easy, and efficient.  The rational players that I read about and grew to love in Economics are nowhere to be found in America's stores.  People whine, people yell, people barter, all in the hopes of making me crack, which sucks for them, because I really don't, unless I find it more hurtful to the company that doles out such a piss-poor wage.  I'm really not paid enough to care about their petty problems and, while I definitely could, I'm not technically trained to deal with them, so I have what I consider to be a pretty valid excuse.
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In lighter news, I have just finished the second season of Dexter, at the behest of my roommate and since my newfound Internet interests don't take up as much time as I'd like, I'd thought I'd kill the spare moments with the show about a serial killer who kills serial killers.  To her credit, I watched my first episode over at my friend Alex's house.  The thing I love the most about this show and wish to talk about right now, is the amazing use of dramatic irony.  Through the mismatch between Dexter's inner monologue and the external dialogue arises some of the funniest moments in the show.  Also Debra.  Debra is freaking hilarious.
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Tomorrow, I will talk about how bad I suck at relationships.

It's log! It's log! It's big, it's heavy, it's wood.

The 90's were my golden age, but it was my childhood, so I suppose that would be true for anybody, unless you're having the best adulthood, which I am not, but I'm happy for you.  Anyway, this was, incidentally, the Silver Age of Cartoons (definitely for Disney and WB and Hanna-Barbera; I'm probably forgetting others), probably the Golden Age for Nickelodeon, with their institution of "Nicktoons".  Elsewhere, you had the emergence of the Disney Channel and Disney Afternoon shows, with a good blend of original material and movie-based TV shows, few of which were ever allowed to last more than 65 episodes, in an effort to keep the big D fresh and innovative.  Warner Brothers was making its return with its own channel as well, giving us kids "Tiny Toon Adventures", "Animaniacs", and "Freakazoid".  Cartoon Network debuted giving us this wonderful library of classics in addition to its "World Premiere Toons", which later became "What a Cartoon!", which later became "Cartoon Cartoons", most of which now air on "Boomerang".  In spite of what I may say in later posts, it was probably the happiest time in my life and most of the reason why I spend my days off streaming any number of these classic shows.  Also, I'm going to apologize for my horrendous use of commas.  I did learn the 18 rules in the 7th grade, but that hasn't stopped me from overusing and misusing them, like Charlie in "Flowers for Algernon".

Why did I write this?  Ah, yes!  My eternally futile quest for happiness always seems to send me to anything that possibly made me crack a smile at least once before and I suppose I like spouting off random facts about the 90's, pretending that I'm the voice or the echo of the Millenial generation, although most would agree that today's shows are pretty awful.  The members of Generation Y can safely say this without ironic retribution from previous generations, because we also have a fond appreciation of the classics.

I'll try and plan better blogs and avoid the semi-stream-of-consciousness style.

Do female androids use iPads?

Hi, my name is James R. Murray.  It is my sincere hope that, in the short term and the long run, that you find my blog entertaining, emotionally moving, and thought provoking.  If, in the end, nothing has made you laugh, cry, or think, then I haven't done my job, which I'm not paid to do, but still hope to accomplish to the best of my ability.

I look forward to hearing everything you have to say, breaking it down, discerning the various patterns, recompiling it and helping you (whoever you are: the person, the entity, the world) move forward.  I only ask that you keep me accountable.  I need to be told to do this daily and I need to be criticized so that I can continue to grow as a person and an artist.

Without any further adieu, ladies and gentlemen, my blog.