a gala apple

BERLIN (Reuters) - A 59-year-old German man who has spent the last 34 years
in jail has turned down offers to be let out, an official said Saturday.

"He rejected an offer to leave in 1992," Thomas Melzer, a spokesman for the
Brandenburg state justice ministry, told Bild newspaper. "We can't do
anything if someone sentenced to life in prison doesn't want to leave."

The man, identified only as Gerold H, was convicted of murder and sentenced
to life imprisonment in 1972 when the area was part of communist East
Germany.

German prisoners have no obligation to agree to leave jail before their
sentences have been completed.

BLOG NOTE: SO - this is pretty interesting. Any thoughts as to why he
won't come back to the outside world? Maybe he knows how f*cked up it can
be and doesn't want to deal with all the hustle and bussle of "surviving."
Maybe, like in my previous post, he's found content in staying where he is
and molding his mind to be a machine. He's probably not ready just yet and
needs a couple of more years before he can implement his plan to take over
the world. You never know what these inmates are thinking while cooped up
in the joint and all they have are these books and their minds. I'd
probably have 3 screenplays written out if I were in jail for the past 5
years. (i say only 3 cause those would only be the well-written ones as
opposed to the 20 or 30 half-written or poorly written ones that i started
along the way.) Maybe he's scared to know what's going on with the world
and his mind is too weak to conform to today's culture. It always seems to
be a shell shock even when you travel to another country. Maybe he feels
really guilty and knows that no form of punishment can truly cleanse his
sin. He's not one to committ suicide, so he waits till the lord takes him
away. Sometimes those jail birds can get freaky religious on ya.

What would you do if you've been in jail for at least 30 years and are
allowed to leave? And if you did leave, how would you get back into the
swing of things? Interesting......no?

questionnaires

what happens to a man when he seems to be content?

isn't our life long goal to actually reach a state of happiness? well -
what if our constant desire is to never be satisfied? doesn't that make us
stop what we're doing in life? in other words - if man actually did reach
a sense of satisfaction, then what the hell does he do for the rest of his
life? does he keep on doing whatever routine he's kept on doing for the
past 10 years to blind him of happiness? now don't get me wrong - if
someone tells me that he/she is completely happy and nothing is wrong with
his/her personal world, who am I to rain on anyone's parade? might as well
make the best of it and say "happy birthday" or "merry christmas" everyday!
however, our society is only recently waking up to becoming more
pro-active. there was a stink not long ago when culture was more dingy and
not caring....but it's wierd because it was cool to be like that. NOW -
its become more action packed and non-stop multi-tasking. it's cool to
have your computer and television on at the same time while texting someone
and taking notes on your blackberry as you're wearing your headset, waiting
for someone to call. what i'm afraid of is that billy joe down in
never-hear-of-it, nebraska is living his life on a farm and has found
happiness while ben chang is consistantly trying to accommodate to people's
needs whilst still searching for his own stress-free world. NOW - you tell
me though - if a man is so content in either one of those societies (fast
paced or grazin' raisin), then shouldn't he just lay on bed for the rest of
his life like an olf and die with a smile on his face?

doesn't seem likely because i believe god made us to always have a want or
a need as part of our characteristic. if that ever dies out in someone,
then that metaphor of dying out becomes literal. it's sad. we'll never
really find happiness people! things will make us happy....but to be
completely, utterly and non-needing ...well, you better wake up out of
never, neverland cause michael jackson will show you the thriller when you
least expect it.

there's your cent short of 3.

lotus notes

"that's so funny."

you ever hear someone say that without laughing? i'd like to raise my hand
and not only admit to hearing it, but also admit to demonstrating the same
gesture. sometimes you know it's funny, but it's not THAT funny that
laughter is needed, so you simply say those 3 words to parlay the thought.
it's actually a two-sided thought. 1.) depending on delivery context, it
can be somewhat condescending and sarcastic to show that something is
actually not funny at all or 2.) the joke, not being SO funny to puncture
the nerve of laughter, is still understood by the recipient to be in
humorous content and therefore gets props in this fashion for its
acknowledgement. i just wanted to bring it up to speed and let people know
that i hear what you're saying and when you tell me something is funny but
aren't laughing, it makes me ponder the thought if it's really funny or
not. i'd rather get the number 2 reason over the number 1 thought of just
saying "that's funny" because it really isn't funny and it's in everyone's
mentality to be the sarcastic son-ova-b*tch that we are. and post note
that - i am sarcastic too and yes, i too am guilty of quoting the sentence
i've begun this blog with. the end on this.

NEXT ---

"the departed" directed by martin scorsese. my name is j. reyes and i am a
marty scorsese whore. i think the man is god and even think the bad movies
have their moments of shining as well. you just have to look at it from a
different angle. anyhoo - i urge you and deeply suggest that you watch
this movie. make THIS movie stay in the top spot for longer than one month
and remind people that we still love the cinema in theaters and that dvd's
and home entertainment systems shouldn't take away our film experience.
this is by far the best movie i've seen in a theater in a LONG, LONG time
and not to be biased because i've admitted to being a scorsese fan, but to
be objective and a professional film snob - this is seriously, by far, the
best film i've seen in probably 2 years (....only talking about theater
experiences). yes - i know it's based on a hong kong film entitled
"infernal affairs" to which i've watched and say that the storyline was
quicker and shot selections were faster, but marty stretches it out more
and adds his personal twist to his version. i've watched and studied this
man direct for so long that you can tell his style. the simple side swing,
mixed with a rock song from the 70's or 80's with quick shot selections.

i WILL say this in negative light - to show that i'm still thinking outside
of the whore box - is he making cinema too easy for the younger folk with
his simple symbolism? there are a few moments that stick out which make it
too easy to be a film student. per se the guy's a rat, you say he's a rat,
and SO let's show a rat on the screen. this guy's the bad guy, he's like
the devil, SO let's make him look like a devil by using red and
demonstrating a sense of evil. what's up with that?

BUT i still loved it. 3 hours completely unwasted and no chance of sleepy
eye. nothing dragged, nothing was drawn out, and nothing was completely
over embellished. WELL....let me take that last one back. certain things
were embellished but i think in a light where it was overdone to make a
statement to the viewer. in case you know things like that or not......if
not, don't worry about it and just go about enjoying your movie experience
with your date. ANYHOO - go watch this movie NOW!

the end.

an avon calendar

last night I was tortured by my aunts to watch Dancing with the Stars. not
a fan of reality television and only watch it when being forced to by other
people in the room (...usually free food will get me in these situations),
I was mesmorized at how the format is just like American Idol but for
dancing. And this is why American Idol is one of the better reality
television shows, along with Survivor and Dancing with the Stars - because
it's really a higher scale of a game show and not more of an edited formula
to create over embellished drama. that's why i'm not a fan of real world
or big brothers....however, it can get too far when it gets too cheesy,
like the bachleor or joe schmoe, etc., etc. AND yes, those other reality
t.v. show game show type deals can get terrible too - just look at anything
on MTV. however, american idol, dancing w/the stars, and survivor....i
guess they've hit some sort of formula to know how to entice the audience
and keep them coming back for more.

ANYHOO - just watching it last night i already know who won. a.c. slater's
got it in the bag. no fair. the kid use to be on kids incorporated, which
was a song and dance show for children. and then he was on saved by the
bell doing all the dance moves and shiet. gimmie a break. he's already a
dancer by nature. the only other person i think that could beat him is
emmit smith and that's because he was one of the greatest running backs to
ever play the game. he's got the fancy footwork. my only question is -
how can you leave ali landry dude? you're a dumbass.

scorsese's new flick is based on a hong kong film. i'm watching it before
i dip into The Departed. i think i'm going to build a scorsese collection.
amazon used section is calling my name. i love it. goodfellas collector's
edition - here i come!

my birthday is on monday....old.....