Why I will NOT see Clash of the Titans

I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology, so I was excited to hear that they're remaking Clash of the Titans. However, I was disappointed when I learned about the plot.


Hades wants to take over the world, and it's up to Perseus to stop him and save everything. Whoo.

Except that's all bullshit.

In Greek mythology, Hades was never really evil (sure, he was mean-spirited sometimes, but all the gods were), and the idea of him trying to take over the world is just stupid, and not at all in line with ancient Greek culture. HADES IS NOT THE GREEK EQUIVILANT OF SATAN.  Also stupid is the idea that Perseus, of all people, would be the one to save the world. Compared to other Greek heros, Perseus didn't really do a whole lot. What we saw in the original Clash of the Titans was pretty much all he was known for. A more believable hero would have been someone like Herakles, who spent most of his life doing all kinds of awesome shit (way more impressive than anything Perseus did).
 
Also, Greek mythology is full of all kinds of cool stories, with plenty of sex, violence, and heroics (ingredients in every successful movie)- why does Hollywood feel the need to create a whole new one that, as mentioned above, spits in the face of ancient Greek culture?  It's not like original scripts are really all that good lately (there are, certainly, some, but most successful movies these days are crap)- why not go with something that's tried and true?  Hell, even the original Clash of the Titans at least somewhat followed along with one of the myths.
 
Yes, I know I'm being one of those annoying, pedantic haters, and I know that most people probably don't really care, but this whole thing really annoys me.

Very productive weekend

I got a tutor for my econometrics class, and I'm very excited about that- no exaggeration, it is quite possibly the hardest class I have taken in my entire life, and that includes that botany class that I took a few years ago with a crazy teacher who tested us on things we didn’t learn in class. Despite going to see my professor during his office hours twice a week, econometrics is still my Achilles’ heel, so getting outside help from someone else just seems to take a weight off of my shoulders.
In other news, I bought a slightly-used leather-bound copy of Anna Karenina yesterday for $15, and I love it. I actually already have another copy of Anna Karenina, but I really love the look of old leather covers and gilt pages. Thanks, humongous Half-Price Books in Dallas! You’re my new best friend!

One of the most annoying things about my college experience

As a college student, I've had to endure some pretty irritating and unpleasant things- exams that I didn't study for, surprise group work in a class full of people I don't know, dorm roommates (oh, the stories I could tell about that one).  Today, however, I encountered a different, much more awkward, sort of annoyance.

Jumping onto the school shuttle just as it was leaving my apartment complex, I ended up sitting next to a dude who was already sitting in a way that took up half of my seat.  He didn't really move to give me my full seat, forcing me to sort of hang off the edge of the chair into the aisle, but it wasn't really a big deal.  The bus continued along the route, and more and more people got on the bus and were forced to stand in the aisles.  I was getting bumped by several purses and backpacks, but it still didn't really bother me- that is, until it got so crowded that I got crotch-faced.
Anybody who has used a bus or subway before has probably experienced crotch-face.  It's when a dude stands very close to where you're sitting, and his crotch is all up in your kitchen.  The worst part?  His tight jeans, plus the fact that he didn't even seem to notice that his manhood was molesting my eyes, and that every jostle of the bus brought his junk closer and closer to tea-bagging range.  I was so relieved when more passengers came on, forcing him to move towards the back of the bus, that I didn't even mind getting bumped in the head several times by some guy's backpack.

The Dumb

There’s a phrase that I like to use sometimes when I have a mental slip up- “I can’t brain today, I have the dumb”. I didn’t make it up, I don’t know who did, but there’s a reason I like it so much. “Dumb” has always been used as an adjective for a person- “You’re so dumb!”- but I’ve never really seen it used as a noun. “I have the dumb” implies that dumb is something that any person, of any level of intelligence, can experience at certain times, kind of like catching a cold. It doesn’t mean that you’re a dumb person; you just “caught the dumb”. At any rate, it’s not as insulting as a “blonde moment”, and it has much better imagery than “brain fart”.