This is a two−part series about the things that I love (except for all those cliché, overdone things like family, friends, and good health). I came up with this list because I wanted to look a little human after making a list of 30 things I hate.

• Say Anything
  It is an amazing band and anyone I talk to knows about my furious fascination with them and how I like to interject their lyrics into conversations, my website, and anything else I can get my hands on.
• Blankets
  They keep you warm AND snug. What more can one ask for?
• Buffalo Sabres
  How could I not love the best team in the NHL?
• Chicken Wings
  Chicken wings combine the sweet taste of candy with the warmth of a heated meal and the protein of … chicken. Plus, they were invented in Buffalo!
• Linux
  Well, it’s free, customizable, and works better than any operating system that’s commercially available. Of all the linuxes, Gentoo Linux is my favorite brand of Linux.

Part three of six: Entertainment and TV

• Spin
  Not the magazine—spinning news items to make them reflect contradictory ideas. It’s lying. I hate it in all of it’s stupid forms and it usually just involves placing the blame on someone else. Because of spin, news, politics, and so many other things are not at all accountable. I include this with entertainment and television because it seems to be most prevalent in those industries.
• Sports analysts
  They’re dumb. Just listen to them—actually, that might be a bad idea lest their dumbness rub off on you. Just take my word for it.
• TV news
  TV news was discovered while digging in Mayan ruins. When it was found, it had already been replaced by the internet, which allows news−seekers to filter out all the crap and garbage they don’t care about, like human−interest stories, corporate−sponsored studies, and entertainment news. Today, the only people that watch TV news are senior citizens and convicts.
• Most TV shows
  I tried to think of one show so horrible that it could burn the eyebrows clear off your head, but it’s too difficult to pick only one.
• Entertainment news
  Celebrities are not important and they should not be influential (i.e. Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, etc.). These shows have not yet figured this out.

Here’s part two of six, complete with a driving theme.

• When I drive at 66 mph and still need to pass people
  I drive very close to the speed limits on highways (usually) in an effort to use less gas. Still, at least once per trip and usually several times per trip, I encounter someone going about 60 mph on 65−mph−speed−limit highways. One time, someone like this passed me going about 70 mph. Five minutes later, the car was going about 60 mph and the driver and passenger were clearly hitting each other.
• People that drive through parking spots
  These people drive like they are wearing blinders. I never see them turn their heads. They just keep going straight through parking spots, hoping no one has the courage or lack of attention to cruise right into them. When I see people do this, I imagine them having this sense of entitlement, like the lines on the road somehow do not apply to them and everyone else should stop for them so they may continue being stupid and blissfully unaware.
• People that pass me and then slow down
  It’s called cruise control. Or, if you’re like me, you have a nice resume button that lets you speed up and then resume your previous speed. Luckily, this hasn’t happened in awhile. People must be getting smarter or driving less (if there’s a difference).
• People that don’t let me merge
  The lane is ending and I need to get over there. Oh, but don’t slow down or speed up so I can merge. As long as you get to where you’re going with the least amount of trouble, I’m happy for you, even if I must stop at the end of the lane or just drive into a guide rail.
• Driving (in general)
  This morning, while at a red light in the right-most lane waiting to turn right with my right-turn signal on, some jerk in a box truck felt the need to beep at me for about 15 seconds (total). As far as I know, whether I turn or not in a situation like that is completely up to me. Also, there was a No−Turn−On−Red sign at the intersection. Garfield, the wily cartoon cat, had a saying about dragging people into the street and shooting them that seemed very appropriate (he used to be very violent…and funny). A couple minutes later where I turn right onto Broad St., a dump truck was pulled over on the side of the road. I went in the left lane so I could pass him and get back in the right lane to make my turn. Unfortunately, once I was in the left lane, I found out he was behind a line of cars waiting to make right-hand turns, something I might have thought of if the dump−truck driver had his turn signal on. I ended up turning in front of the truck from the left lane.

I compiled a list of 30 things I absolutely hate. This is the first part of six into which I divided said list. As you might have guessed, each installment has five items and some parts are themed (this one is not). Also, there is no hierarchy…I hate all these things equally. Enjoy.

• Toilet seats that are too small to accommodate my junk
  As far as width and depth go, I’m not that big. Thus, why do I find so many toilet seats that cannot fit my parts? Am I some sort of mutant? Or am I supposed to pee on the seat while sitting on it? Or are these toilet seats just very poorly designed?
• Loud things
  I hate any noises that are too loud—especially music. If you’re the only one in your car and your windows are up, then fine, blast the latest Nickelback CD as loud as you want to. But if there are other people within 20 yards who cannot stand your garbage music, go wrangle up some headphones and leave the rest of us alone. It also bothers me when I am in a car with someone and the driver sets the radio volume far too loud. It’s not very conducive to conversation.
• Over−sized sunglasses
  Are you a senior citizen? Is the sun too bright for your bare eyes indoors? Then why are you wearing those ugly, enormous sunglasses?
• Liberal arts classes
  At least at my school, these are the most useless classes. They are rarely interesting and contribute very little to my chosen career path. If I want to learn about history, the environment, or politics, I can pick up a book on my own time. I would much rather use my liberal arts credits to learn to about something I’m interested in, such as some computer engineering or computer science topics.
• Cheesecake
  Cheese + cake = a sour mess? It tastes like I’m eating a boot.

Max Bemis and Coby Linder of Say Anything; taken at Warped Tour, 2008-07-24

I was listening to In Defense of the Genre and …Is a Real Boy and I figured out why the latter sounds so much better than the former. It’s just Max’s voice.

I listened to Shiksa (Girlfriend) and then Alive With the Glory of Love. In my opinion, the songs are very similar, save for the lyrics and Max’s voice. I then tried Shiksa (Girlfriend) and Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too. Again, similar songs except for lyrics and Max’s voice.

Now, the difference in Max’s voice: he sings with a softer, possibly higher voice on In Defense of the Genre than on …Is a Real Boy, on which he sings with a deeper, more rock−like voice. I think this is the voice Say Anything fans fell in love with and expected to hear on In Defense of the Genre.

That said, I think the only other real difference between the two albums is the greater amount of songs without drums on In Defense of the Genre. The lyrics are just as catchy and a number of songs, such as In Defense of the Genre, People Like You Are Why People Like Me Exist, and Skinny, Mean Man, have the same rock sound that …Is a Real Boy had.

Recently, a couple new songs have appeared on the web (specifically here). Ahh, Men sounds a lot like In Defense of the Genre, whereas Tickle Me Red sounds like that album’s songs but with the deeper vocals from …Is a Real Boy. Thus, it should be interesting to hear what the rest of the next album sounds like.