Corkscrewed

Well Phelpsy... this is the most openly idiotic I've seen you talk. Like... even more than usual. Bravo on making yourself look even MORE moronic.

Yeah, but I'm sure the bullying didn't help. I doubt it was so cold that he was a killer at age seven. But we can definitely agree that he was definitely gone for a long time.

Ah, but you forget! He had to have a computer! Which had minesweeper! And in that game, you die when all mines blow up!!! MINESWEEPER DROVE HIM TO KILL PEOPLEE!!!!!!11!1!1!1!!!! EDIT: I'm reading this MSNBC article about this kid's profile, and (not to come off as bragging) suddenly, my profile is hitting pretty damn close to what his past seems to be. Spooky. Don't worry, I'm not gonna off anyone tho. I don't play Counterstrike.

So hey... maybe my theory's totally down the drain. Maybe he was just plain bat-shit crazy!!

Have you read the two plays released online? Pretty interesting. http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/04/17/cho-seung-huis-plays/ Ignore the diction and the stupid blog comments about the diction being like a ninth grader's (which promptly starts a flame war... lmao). Now, having read them, I wouldn't say that they're very graphic or anything. I can sense a lot of hate in there, but then again, who's to say that the author wasn't just really into the writing? Of course, we know that it turns out the guy really WAS full of hate. But having read these plays, I think the media is being just a tad sensationalist about all of this. Just my opinion though (I can have a pretty twisted sense of viewing things myself sometimes, and I can tolerate a lot). Maybe other people will find them much more disturbing than I (admittedly, I'm putting myself in a role before the shootings happen and reading them that way; i.e. say some forum member posted one of those stories today... would you think he was gonna go on a shooting spree tomorrow?). Anyway, just introducing new things to discuss.

That song is impossible for me. Too many freezes to process correctly.

News reports initially reported that about the Columbine kids but they turned out to be pretty popular. All I know is if this turns out to be as melodramatic as your writing was it will probably piss me off. Really? I honestly didn't know that. Pretty crazy. Anyway, my post was not meant to condone anything he did or make excuses for this sicko. It was just a speculative attempt to understand what might have gone on in this guy's mind. And I'm with you. I'm sorry if you read that as an attempt to give pity to him; I wasn't trying to create that tone. And I wholeheartedly agree that no one should pity this guy. Ultimately, he allowed himself to be driven to a state of mass killing. A crime unspeakable. Something worthy of eternal damnation, if you're religious and believe in that, or at the very least, something that is absolutely despicable. All that stuff melodrama about feeling tortured and bitter? That was written from HIS point of view. Which I feel was obviously fucked up. My point was that he might have convinced himself of all this. I have no doubt his parents were nice and loved him and wanted the best for him. But I'm theorizing that he didn't see it that way. That he saw it as they played a part in this, or at least didn't give him the type of affection he wanted. If you recognize my writing as a point of view piece, then what you just said fits right within it. He probably convinced himself that no one wanted him. In turn, he made no attempt to try to connect with anyone else. The two actions (or inactions) are totally connected. His mindstate of wallowing bitterness and "woe is me"-ness in turn influenced the way he led his life and perpetuated his spiral. Isn't there some saying about how even when you're crazy, everything makes sense in your head? Well, my speculation and the proposals I submitted were things that might have made sense in HIS head. His and no one else's. It's just a study in the evolution of a killer. Lets face it; people aren't born evil. Even murders need a series of events to mold them into the people/monsters they become. So that was what I was writing about. Out of this killer's mind state, I firmly believe that he was just plain idiotic to let whatever demons he had boil to such a deadly proportion. He should have talked to someone, or maybe someone should have talked to him. Or he should have realized: hey... killing thirty two people isn't the answer. Or maybe he should have realized: hey... I'm a moron. Why don't I just kill myself and save thirty two people I don't even know. Anyway, just wanted to clarify my stance and my earlier post so that people do not continue to misinterpret me. Under NO situation am I suggesting pity or sympathy for this guy. If you're Christian, you believe he's burning in hell. If you're not Christian, then you believe something else. The bottom line: this guy was one messed up mothaf*cker.

Yeah, I agree. It's always easier to see the warning signs in hindsight, of course, but in my experience in watching/studying these things, it's always a series of things that leads to that snapping point. If any one of those steps had been different--say a student finds out about the plans and reports it, or the shooter had someone to talk to, or someone reached out to the shooter--the result would have been drastically different.

As senseless as this is, I think I'm beginning to understand at least what was going on in this guy's head. NOTE: The following is speculation, done purely out of my own amateur interest in psychiatry/psychology. I am not asserting any or all of this is true. On the other hand, I wouldn't be surprised if aspects of the following mind study turn out to be true. In any case, I hope it's an interesting read. News reports have described this guy as a loner whose creative writings were so disturbing that administrators were actually concerned. He's also a resident alien from Korea, having moved to the US 15 years ago. My guess is this kid has always been socially challenged, and over time, it's twisted him into a dark, methodically murderous individual filled with jealousy and rage. But at the same time, he kept quiet, kept to himself, and never really could vent. Or knew how to vent. Or had anyone he could vent to. Imagine this possible scenario: you're eight years old and you arrive in the United States, fresh from South Korea. Perhaps your English isn't that good, or you don't speak English at all. In American school culture, that almost automatically qualifies you for targeting. Kids can be cruel, so they probably make fun of you. Tease you for your accent, or your inability to speak English. Bully you because you can't fight back or don't. Perhaps you're not so well off, so they harass you about that. You don't know how to handle this. You're a quiet kid by nature. You don't know how to react. Or maybe you're just ostracized. There doesn't even have to be any physical abuse. Just isolation. No one cares to be your friend. You never develop any deep friendships. You're just a kid in a new land without any friends. It's not hard to start developing bitterness--towards the world, towards your schoolmates, towards your parents for doing this to you. You pass through elementary school, junior high, and high school. You continue to be mostly a loner. Perhaps you hang out with other school outcasts, and though you may have acquaintances, you never really have what most people would term as friends. Maybe you question yourself. Maybe you question the world. Or God. You're not a violent person... at least not yet... but you're bitter about being alone. Being different. You want to fit in, but you can't. Nobody wants you. It's not hard to see how, over time, what started out as frustration, bitterness, and jealousy can intensify and evolve into something that eventually provokes physical action. Left to simmer and fester long enough, any feeling can turn extreme and fanatical. And this guy had years to brew. By college, you may have given up hope of ever having real friends or being loved and accepted. Even little things remind you of your outsider status. You apply to college; you have to input your green card number. You remember you're not even an American citizen. You are intrinsically different. Where else is there to go but inward? So you lose yourself in your mind, your fantasies, your musings. You envy everyone around you--everyone who seems so happy, so cared for. They have friends. You don't. They have people who they can depend on. People would care for them. Who would be concerned. You feel that you do not. You retreat to your mind. You craft imaginaries worlds that suit your desires. You write about situations you'd like to see. By now, your bitterness may have evolved into full-fledged hate. If you cannot have happiness, why should others? Your writings adopt this tone. They speak of violence and retribution. They target those who have been harsh to you in the past. They exact vengeance on those who have wronged you. Eventually, the category of those who have wronged you includes not only those who have actually picked on you before, but anyone who has what you don't. Jealousy and bitterness has spiraled out of control, beyond rationality, and you believe that THEY must pay. THEM. Everyone who is not you. Everyone who does not share your pain. Which, in your mind, is everyone. Period. Who knows what might have sparked the first idea to finally take action. Perhaps you simply decided you had taken enough. Perhaps it was a movie. Or a TV show. Or a video game. Or a conversation overheard. Or a book. Or a play. Or something else you read. In any case, you decide that people must feel the pain that you have felt. The agony and despair, that feeling of empty loss that you have endured over the past decade and a half in this country. You must show them that. Remember, you reason, everyone else is so happy and free. No one knows how you feel. Not even your parents, those wretched parents who brought you here in the first place. So you plan an attack. Purchase the weapons. Decide upon a location. And when the morning rises, you carry out your attack. You go to another dorm and shoot two people. Maybe one of them was that girl you were interested in but never knew you existed... and had offended you by that very inaction. Maybe not. Maybe you shoot random people, because inflicting pain on others--that "same" pain you've felt... it feels good. Maybe you waver midway... or maybe you run out of ammo. In any case, you return to your dorm after the first incident and ponder for a time. Is there regret? Maybe. But sooner or later, your feelings of hate overpower any regret you may have had. You've passed the point of no return, and you know it. Nothing can ever be the same again. What you've done cannot be taken back, regardless of whether or not you would have wanted to. Now you make the decision to end your life, but not before you take as many lives of others as you can. That will be your message to the world... that will be your legacy: to deliver the bitter torture you experienced to the world. You reload. You exit your dorm. You go to an engineering building. You barricade the doors so any fleeing students will be trapped--trapped like you have felt trapped within your isolation for so many years. (This may not be a conscious thought, but it certainly manifests somewhere in your mind.) You go from classroom to classroom with the same objective: kill as many students as you can. You don't know them. They dont' know you. But it doesn't matter, because for as long as you can really remember, no one has really known you. You say nothing as you shoot, reload, and shoot again. Some of the students resist and barricade doors. You try to shoot through, but no luck. A setback, but no time to dwell. Move on to the next scene. By the time you are done, you have shot dozens and killed 32. And maybe at that moment, the gravity of your actions finally hits you viscerally and makes you stop. Or maybe you just got tired. But with nothing else to do... with nothing else to live for after this... it's time to take your own life. A shot to the head, and finally, after all these years, the pain is over.

The first two shootings happened on the other side of campus. That building was completely locked down. There isn't even proof that the shooters were the same person in both occurences. This was not at all the school's fault. They did everything in their power to keep their students safe. There was no way they could have predicted the second shootings. My condolences to all those who lost friends and family this morning. Officials thought the gunman had left. That it was an isolated incident. How many people come back two hours later to continue a rampage? But you can bet that in the future, schools will probably be in total lockdown at the first sign of any shooting until the suspect is captured.

Wes is right. They're actually removing the lift hill every OTHER day. Actually, more than likely, they just want daily construction work. My guess is they'll have the workers pull a 6-11 or 6-12 shift and have an hour or two of 'inaction.' That way, as Wes mentioned, the workers don't have anything from the coaster fly at them, and the riders don't have anything from the construction fly at them.

I hope this thread doesn't get derailed into a religious argument just because of the above post. Just saying it now, because I've seen it happen way too many times.

Do we want to turn schools into prisons? Or airports? Think about how much it would cost to equip every junior high/ high school with all that stuff. Think about how much time it would take as well. It's just not feasible. Tragic as these events are, we cannot let things like this scare us into totalitarian living. That's not the way this country has developed, and I sure as hell don't think we should overreact now. And with universities, it's practically impossible, since they are open campuses. I'm not saying we shouldn't care about school safety, but in my opinion, metal detectors and security cameras everywhere is just beyond reasonable. That's all. Anyway, this is just senseless. I don't see why anyone would do this. But the world is just fucked up these days.

How are they still doing seven minute dispatches on Tatsu after a year? It's a B&M coaster!!! It should be child's play to load!!! And why don't they use both stations???? (if they're using both stations and STILL averaging seven minute load times, then that's even more pathetic)

I half expected to see a photo of KT on Goliath Jr. That's pretty awesome though. Fifteen years from now, she's gonna have this fuzzy memory of being in a nightmarish theme park full of cell phone using employees and not a lot of flat rides. Although at least Psyclone was gone so there was less bad karma.

...that... was pretty funny. It's hilarious when kids are soooooo sure they're right... and they're totally wrong. Anyway, I've been browsing through the site again, and it looks like they've fixed a lot of things people have pointed out. I know that Ninja at SFMM is now Ninja at SFMM, rather than what looked like SFoG's Ninja (or whatever). So that's cool. Didn't notice the video feature the first time around. I think that's a really neat addition. I do love the minimalistic, sleek design. Very nice and refreshing.

SFA Official: So you want to arrange an official group event, complete with ERT and special perks, even though you're giving us only two week's notice? Robb: Yup. SFA Official: What do you have that could possibly sway me? Robb: *holds up KidTums* SFA Official: .................... Oh dammit, I can't resist that face! It's a deal!

AWESOME TR, Derek! Some good tips picked up for any future Florida trips too. I still have yet to ever go, but some day!!! Thanks for the report. Sounds like you two had a great time, which is always cool.

It's about time this thing went erect (go ahead and laugh, boys). It'll definitely be a fun ride, but I'm interested in how they theme it. Looks groovy so far, though.

Yeah. They figured it'd be easier on Robb if they just got rid of the complication of chewing.

Spiffy! I do wish they'd be more accurate with some of the photos, though. How hard can it be to use SFMM's Ninja photo for SFMM's Ninja, instead of, say, SFoG's Ninja (I can't tell which Ninja it is, but you get my drift). Otherwise, it's a very nice layout.

Any visit to neonatal is scary, but I'm glad KT's doing fine now! She is as adorable as ever.

You know what would have made this worth it, though? $249 includes your very own ten minutes to wail away at Psyclone with a sledgehammer and do your part to help tear it down. Now THAT would be a benefit!

Well.... yeah. What does Six Flags have to offer compared to the other two? It's one thing to have special perks to a high quality park, but Six Flags has all of about two of them. Now, that said, I must admit that this move can't really hurt Six Flags, since it shouldn't really cost them anything. I just find it pointless. I'm quite curious to see how many of these things they sell this year, though. Just to see if I'm right or wrong about whether or not people would want do this.

Sounds stupid, actually. How many Six Flags parks have the quality to even make a VIP program worthwhile? What great food is there at SFMM anyway? And what shows? I can see this working for maybe... what... two SF parks? I believe I consistently hear that like SFGAdv and SFGA are well-managed parks, but I can't remember whether it's those two, or whether there are two, or whether every park in the entire chain sucks, period, when it comes to service. I said it on Westcoaster... fix your park first before offering incentives for things that don't quite exist yet.