Manhattan Merry-Go-Round

Writer's Block: Role model

2009-12-10T11:22:12Z

Is there any character from a novel or film that serves as a role model to you? What kind of advice do you think she or he would give you regarding any major issues you're facing right now?

Submitted By masakali

View 682 Answers

Duke Leto Atreides was the kind of husband and father that I'd like to be remembered as. I don't really have any situations going on that would require his guidance, though...if I had to change my lands because of Imperial edict, though, he'd be the first one on my speed dial.

In response to smilerla

2009-11-21T14:17:00Z

Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."

* I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity.

* Update your journal with the answers to the questions.

* Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions.

1.) Have you ever regretted joining the Guard?
Absolutely not. Even though it takes me away from the people I love, and is attendant with hundreds of little annoyances, I really love this job.

2.) What's the one thing you want out of life?
To be remembered as a good husband and father, and a better than average guitarist.

3.) What's your favorite food? Be specific.
Sushi. Specifically, a sushi lunch or dinner from Sakura. Surprised you had to ask.

4.) Who, if anyone, would you go gay for?
Chuck Norris.

5.) If you could change one thing in your life, what would it be?
I would want the girl I'm in love with to quit fartin' around and wasting our time and get together with me!

Visited France the other night...

2009-11-12T00:55:04Z

visited 11 states (4.88%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Added a couple of new ones...

2009-11-07T09:55:33Z

visited 11 states (4.88%)
Create your own visited map of The World

Day 179

2009-10-27T13:08:05Z

Hey, kids! Well, absolutely nothing going on worth mentioning, I just wanted to update and let everyone know I was still alive. I'll be heading to Britain in a couple of days for a short vacation, and I'll be back here in the dust bowl. Looking forward to seeing a place I've never seen, should make up for not being able to go off base and sample the local food. I'll let you all know how it's going.

I Totally Lol'd...

2009-10-21T13:15:28Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

Enjoy!

And the Award Goes To...

2009-10-11T12:44:43Z

So, congratulations to President Obama on winning the Nobel Peace Prize. But I'm curious to know who Kanye West thinks should have won it.

Roman Freakin' Polanski; or, Why I Don't Like the French Right Now.

2009-09-29T04:22:55Z

Not many know this once famous director of Rosemary's Baby. His wife, starlet Sharon Tate, was murdered by Charles Manson's "family" while pregnant with his child. Dude's seen some hard times. Of course, that's no excuse for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl, which he did in 1977. He plead guilty to unlawful sex with a minor as part of a plea deal. So far, so good, right? But when he believed the judge was going to renege on the deal, he fled to France, where he continued his filmmaking career.
So now, he's finally arrested for skipping out...and what's the reaction of the French? "Come on! Sure, he drugged and anally raped a 13-year-old girl...But that was YEARS ago!!! She got over it! Why are you making such a big deal about it? It was so long ago! You Americans are too uptight! You need to loosen up! What's a little statutory rape between friends?"
Gods and fishes, how can they sleep at night?

Writer's Block: Most memorable concert

2009-09-27T13:38:04Z

What was the most memorable concert you ever attended? What made it so magical?

View 1501 Answers

Pink Floyd in New Orleans 1994. It was my first concert, and Pink Floyd at the time were my absolute favorite band.

Day 148

2009-09-25T10:47:46Z

Hey, everybody. Just wanted to let you all know I was still alive. It's been slow here, and that's how I like it. The air is turning cool and gentle--I didn't think that kind of thing happened here. I wish I could have an opportunity to explore the country, but it's just too dangerous.
I wanted to give a shout-out to someone in Nevada who was kind enough to send me a postcard, but left me no name or return address, which makes it kinda difficult to respond. Dude, thank you for your kind words and encouragement. Give me an address next time, and I can thank you directly.
I've been hit unexpectedly by homesickness on an unprecedented scale. This isn't my first deployment--I've deployed twice with the Navy, both times to the Mediterranean. In those days, though, I didn't really have close friends that weren't on my ship. I had no roots in Jacksonville, so when we weighed anchor and cast off, it was almost like a massive RV road trip. I hated my job, but at least all my friends were with me. Now, it's the polar opposite--here I have only co-workers and colleagues. My family, friends, everyone who matters to me is in the States, eight thousand miles away. Also, a Navy deployment is typically six months. I'm away almost a year. I miss my people badly.
Guys, I think of you every day. I miss you, and I'm literally counting the days until I can come home again. You guys give my life meaning, you put me in context. I can't wait to see you all again.

K, here we go again...

2009-09-18T13:28:02Z

100 Truths
LAST...
1. Last beverage: Grape juice.
2. Last phone call: Sister Bonnie, from my church.
3. Last text message: "I have a sponge in my ear!"
4. Last song you listened to: I cant read the title, it's from the Utena soundtrack.
5. Last time you cried: I don't remember, but it was awesome.

HAVE YOU EVER...
6. Dated someone twice: Like, twice in a row, or dated, then stopped, then dated again?
7. Been cheated on: Yes.
8. Kissed someone & regretted it?: Yes.
9. Lost someone special?: Yes, luckily she's back.
10. Been depressed?: Yes.
11. Been dumped?: If you don't know the story, you don't know me!

LIST THREE FAVOURITE COLOURS:
12. Red
13. Red
14. Red

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU:
15. Made new friends: No.
16. Fallen out of love: No.
17. Laughed until you cried: Probably.
18. Met someone who changed you: That was, what, five years ago?
19. Found out who your true friends were: I know who my true friends are.
20. Found out someone was talking about you: People talk about others all the time.
21. Kissed anyone on your friend’s list: Yes.
22. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life: Almost all of them.
23. How many kids do you want to have: Three-a boy and two girls.
24. Do you have any pets: No, but everyone else does. I miss the ferrets.
25. Do you want to change your name: Nope.
26. What did you do for your last birthday: Went to the chow hall, had a slice of carrot cake.
27. What time did you wake up today: 2:30 PM
28. What were you doing at midnight last night: Watching a bootleg copy of Leverage.
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: To come home to Mississippi.
30. Last time you saw your father: Almost ten years ago, I think.
32. What are you listening to right now: "Requiem," from the Akira soundtrack.
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: I don't remember.
34. What’s getting on your nerves right now?: Being eight thousand miles away from those I love.
36. What's your real name: Lane.
38. Zodiac sign: Virgo
39. Male or female: Male.
40. Elementary: Various.
41. Middle School: Various.
42. High school: Pearl High School.
43. Hair colour: Brown.
44. Long or short: Short.
45. Height: 6'2"
46. Do you have a crush on someone?: I'm in love with someone who's a tough case. Good thing I'm patient...
47. What do you like about yourself?: Physically? My legs. I think they're awesome.
48. Piercings: None.
49. Tattoos: None
50. Righty or lefty: Righty.

FIRSTS:
51. First surgery: Not yet
52. First piercing: Never.
53. First tattoo: Never.
54. First best friend: Craig?.
55. First sport you joined: None.
56. First pet: Puppy.
57. First vacation remembered: Hurricane Katrina
58. First concert: Pink Floyd, New Orleans, 1994
59. First crush: The blond girl on Hee Haw who would pop through the wall at the end of the show and say, "That's All!"...or the Asian girl on the Electric Company.
60. First love: I don't remember
RIGHT NOW:
61. It's 4:20 PM
62. I need to get dressed.
63. I want to go home.
64. I can't wait to get to the UK.
65. I miss my people!

YOUR FUTURE:
66. Want kids?: Yes
67. Want to get married: Yes.
68. Careers in mind?: Military.

WHICH IS BETTER WITH THE OPPOSITE SEX?
69. Lips or eyes: Yes.
70. Hugs or kisses: Kisses--always better with the opposite sex.
71. Shorter or taller: Shorter
72. Older or Younger: younger.
73. Romantic or spontaneous: Yes.
74. Nice stomach or nice arms: Nice stomach. And arms.
75. Tattoos or piercings: Neither.
76. Sensitive or loud: Yes.
77. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship
78. Trouble maker or hesitant: A hesitant trouble maker.

HAVE YOU EVER:
79. Kissed a stranger: Yes.
80. Fell on the head: Yes.
81. Lost glasses/contacts: No.
82. Had sex on first date: No.
83. Broken someone’s heart: Probably.
84. Had your own heart broken: Too many times.
85. Been arrested: No.
86. Turned someone down: Yes.
87. Cried when someone died: No.
88. Broken a bone: No.

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
89. Yourself: Yes.
90. Miracles: Yes
91. Love at first sight: No.
92. Heaven: Yes.
93. Santa Claus: Yes.
94. Angels: Yes.
95. Kissing on the first date: Depends. Sometimes it's appropriate

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
96. Is there one person you want to be with right now?: More than I want air to breathe.
97. Had more than one boyfriend/girlfriend at one time?: No.
98. Do you believe its possible to remain faithful forever? Yes.
99. What’s the one thing you cannot live without?: Music.
100. Posting this as 100 Truths?: No.

Day 128

2009-09-05T05:12:47Z

Hey, guys,

Well, I've been down with the flu since yesterday, but I think I'm done with it. I go back on shift tonight, so I'm hoping I've seen the last of it. It was pretty nasty.
Other than that, there's no news. Stuff here is pretty much the same day in and day out. I'm just letting everyone know I'm still alive. I miss you all very much, and am counting the days until I can see you again.

Day 124

2009-09-01T10:40:09Z

So, it's been awhile since I've updated. I'm still here in Iraq, but I don't get to see a whole lot. I've been curious about this place, and now my curiosity is satisfied. I would really like to get home now.
I've only got six or seven more months to go, and I really miss my people back home. I also miss other things, like indoor plumbing, midnight walks, the smell of the morning, my church, Applebee's, electricity, my guitars, and road trips.
I went to an office today to take care of some paperwork with a sergeant in my unit. The minute we opened the door and stepped inside, one of the secretaries said "Excuse me!" in the tone one uses for scolding a puppy who's beginning to wet the bed. So we looked at her, and instead of explaining herself, she repeated "Excuse me!" about twenty more times. Then her friend looked up and saw us, and instead of explaining what we were doing wrong, decided to say "Excuse me!" over and over again. I thought I had stepped into the land of Excuse Me! where the language consisted entirely of that phrase. Finally, one of them realized we were waiting for an explanation, and spoke so fast that I didn't catch a word of what she was saying, but it turned out that since they were maintaining their books that day, we would have to come back the next day.
Ever since the services were forced to cut back personnel and outsource clerical jobs to civilians, the quality of service has sharply declined. In the old days, when a soldier came to an office with a problem, it was either solved by the time he left, or someone was actively working on a solution. The civilians, however, don't really care; they're getting paid whether they take care of you or not; and they treat you like some kind of pest rather than filling you in on pertinent information.
As the title indicates, this is the 124th day I've been on orders, there's only 276 days left to go. The next big thing will be when I take leave sometime next month; I will be going to Britain. If I can, I want to take the train to Rome; I never got to see it when I was in the Navy.
Well, I'm going to try to get some sleep. Everyone take care...I miss you all mightily.

Day 108

2009-08-16T11:26:01Z

So, yeah, I've not sent a real update in awhile. I'm here in Iraq, and my curiosity about this place is already satisfied. I'm ready to come home. That said, I'm making the best of things here. I'm on a night schedule now, so the days are going faster--paycheck to paycheck to paycheck...HOME! At least, that's what I hope. Things are quiet here--boring, really, and that's just how I like it. The more boring it is, the greater the chance we will all get back home with no issues.
There is really no other news, I just wanted to say hi and let everyone know I was OK. If anyone wants to send me mail, I will reply. My address here is

1LT Lane C. Russell
HHC 155 BSTB-BDOC
Camp Taji
APO AE
09378

And I will send you a letter back. That's all for today.

Writer's Block: Confidence Booster

2009-08-13T12:46:20Z

What do you wear to feel confident?

Sponsored by Body by Victoria® from Victoria's Secret.

View 505 Answers

A suit.

Writer's Block: Proven by Science

2009-08-12T19:10:20Z

Do you believe everything has a scientific explanation?

Submitted By mesnyder_92

View 513 Answers

"There must be a natural explanation."
}Let these two asses be set to grind corn.
"There must be a supernatural explanation."

I Miss You All So Much,,,

2009-07-08T11:22:13Z

Hey, everybody. If you want a letter from Iraq, here's where you can write to me.

1LT Lane C. Russell
HHC 155 BCT
Camp Taji
APO AE
09378

Now, back to work.

OMG, I can't believe....20 Jul 1958-28 Jun 2009

2009-06-28T18:47:16Z

Billy Mays died 7:45 eastern time this morning.

The King (of Pop) is Dead! Long Live The King!

2009-06-28T16:13:14Z

Michael Jackson is not dead--he's been locked away by Akio.

http://www.dailymotion.com/user/najiminkin/video/x2p3tb_the-utena-dub-episode-one-the-rose_fun

"'...you should crossdress and help people.' And she did."

Caution: Foul language and barely intelligible Irish wannabe pimps. You were warned.

Writer's Block: Environmental Confession

2009-06-26T08:21:02Z

'Fess up: What do you do that's bad for the environment?

Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco.

View 500 Answers

I selfishly breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide, which is contributing to global warming, or climate change, or whatever they're calling it nowadays.

"You're Gonna Love My Nuts!"

2009-06-24T14:34:06Z

Watch this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUbWjIKxrrs

and this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zouUISU-8Ro

To understand this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zouUISU-8Ro

Hilarity ensues.

This will be true in a month.

2009-06-20T16:30:37Z

visited 8 states (3.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World or Best time to visit Syria

Oh, the places I've been...Part 1

2009-06-19T05:08:24Z

visited 21 states (42%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or Best time to visit Cala Ratjada

Kuwait a minute, mister postman...

2009-06-19T04:49:42Z

So, here in beautiful downtown Camp Beuhring, and even though we are quite literally in the middle of nowhere, and I'm sharing a tent with about seventy other people, I gotta say, this place is pretty awesome. The PX actually has stuff here. I've bought 10 Kuwaiti dinars, plus some other assorted currency that I plan to send home.
No word on when we're going to Iraq, though. Could be a few days, could be a few weeks, suits me fine. This place is not bad for getting used to the desert. The dust concentration in the air was pretty high yesterday, which means visibility was about a half mile; on the upside, it shielded us from the sun, so it didn't get ridiculously hot like it probably will today.
What strikes me most is my profound sense of disconnection from time itself. My wristwatch is still on Mississippi time, and I'll probably keep it there. My Blackberry's been adjusted to reflect the local time zone, so I'll know exactly what time it is when I need to know. But I cannot instinctively guess at the time here. THe sun also rises ridiculously early, furthering my sense of disconnection. It seems like a dream here-not particularly unpleasant, but...it's like purgatory, I suppose, if you believe in that sort of thing.
Still, it's got Camp Shelby licked by a country mile. Yesterday, I had a Baskin-Robbins ice cream cone...IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FREAKIN' DESERT!! How cool is that?

GERMANY!

2009-06-17T12:50:53Z

Ok, four-hour layover, five minutes left here. Keyboards configured differently here, y and z switched around among other things. So far, Germany#s nice. too bad we#re not staying.