Thursday, September 14, 2006

Sex and the City: Shooting Blanks

I just read this hilarious story on the BBC News site about the women in a Columbian city refusing to have sex with their men unless the men give up their gangster ways.

They even have a hot new rap song that they've written to back up their sex strike. Here's a sample lyric:

As women we are worth a lot. We don't want to fall for violent men because with them we lose too much.
Catchy! It's got a good beat, and you can dance to it. I'm just waiting for Paris Hilton to do a cover of it for her sophomore release.

Not to be outdone by a bunch of frigid women in Columbia (I'm kidding) I've decided to do my own rap lyric for them:
Bang your gun, you won't bang me. Stuck in the forest screwing chimpanzees.
Okay, that's shite. No wonder my recording career never got off the ground.

80's Porno Guy

There's a guy I see everywhere on campus lately that I've taken to calling "80's Porno Guy." I highly doubt he's filming amateur erotic films at home or anything, but he does look mysteriously like he just stepped off the set of some late 80's porn set: Short permed (I think... it may be natural) hair, porno 'stache, painted on Levis, completely white Reebok tennis shoes. It's just really odd.

I just saw him sitting on a bench smoking a cigarette. All I could think of was him getting it on in white tube socks with the coloured stripes at the top while watching Magnum P.I. It's kind of creepy.

I really need to learn the fine art of being ignorant of my surroundings.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Fashionable Jonesing

I have a confession; I'm a junkie. There, I said it. It's all out in the open now for everyone to see, and you'll all just have to deal with it.

It started slowly. A little free sample here, another there... and suddenly I was hooked. My mom had warned me not to spend time with "those people," as they were surely up to no good, but I was too arrogant to listen.

Yes, those bastards at NBC and Bravo got me hooked on this season of Project Runway. I love the show. The drama, the fighting, and the occasional flash of fashion make me salivate. More, more, more! I need more!

I watched a big block of it on Bravo this last Sunday, and just found one of the best weekly recaps about it. It's written by Dave White, who's the much better version of Joe.My.God, IMNSHO. His recent story about taking his stroke-afflicted mother bra shopping made me want to cry and laugh at the same time. It also made me secretly wish that my mother would have a stroke, so that we could maybe be close, and she'd be restricted to saying "no" and "muahmuahmuhmuhmuah" too. God, that would be heaven. Not having to listen to her scream "John, what were you thinking?!?" in her harpie voice is worth the price of extra salty bacon alone. Hmmm... now I have to research stoke induction methods.

Monday, September 11, 2006

AIDS On My Mind

I've been thinking about HIV/AIDS a lot lately. I've got an upper-level Biology course every Tuesday night about it, and we're presented with startling facts every week. I recently applied for a job with an HIV prevention program at ISU. A week ago, I tested negative for my HIV test. I think about it a lot lately.

Can you believe that conservative estimates are saying nearly 40 MILLION people will be infected with HIV in the next decade? Approximately 2.8 million died last year of AIDS, and another 4 million were infected with HIV.

You look at the numbers, and you realize it's only a matter of time until someone you know is touched by the disease, gets HIV, or dies of AIDS. I've been lucky so far, and only have a few distant degrees-of-separation to HIV/AIDS. I know it can't last long though.

PBS's Frontline did a great 4-hour series about the HIV/AIDS epidemic. If you're like me, you missed it on tv, but you can now watch it online. Thanks PBS!

9/11 Anniversary: 5 Years of Insanity

I know that this is the time to sit back and reflect about how 9/11 changed my life, and how I was affected, and what I was doing at the time... but that's not me. Nor, really, do I give a crap about 9/11.

Gasp! How can this be? Well, lets look at some statistics.

Death total from Sept. 11 attacks: Roughly 2,800 (though debated as high as 3,000)

Death rate in 2001 (U.S.) from heart disease: 669,697 (averages to 1835/day)

Death rate in 2001 (U.S.) from cancer: 553,251 (averages to 1516/day)

Death rate in 2001 (U.S.) from AIDS: 15,000 (est.)
So, statistically, more people died of heart disease and cancer on September 11 than did people from terrorist attacks. Wow, interesting. They seem to fail to mention that in all of the "pro-freedom" propaganda. Hey, remember that crazy thing a few years ago called the Boxing Day Tsunami? How many died? Do you even remember there was a tsunami? Yeah, me neither. That's because we can't handily label people and write compelling docudramas about what happened. Nobody can harbor angst against a giant wall of water for 5 years and have it still be deemed socially acceptable.

So, this year, I demand a change. This year, I won't sit and bemoan what happened, and pretend that it was much worse than it really was. I won't sit and watch awful dramaumentaries on TV and partake in the emotional masturbation that seems to be happening so much this year. Nor will I not cringe when I listen to the word "evil" be thrown around so arbitrarily concerning that day, while I can look at the actions of our country since that date and mentally use the same term.

Yes, 9/11 was bad, but no, it doesn't merit the levels of insanity that seem to have swept the world since then. I hate to admit that the terrorists won, but damn, it's like they really didn't even have to try to make people go clinically insane. They just tricked us into blaming one set of religious zealots while wholeheartedly embracing another, and trading civil liberties for the illusion of safety.

Now that's a sad fact I will bemoan.

Not Happy

I "upgraded" to the new version of Blogger today, and I'm not happy at all. There are a few nifty additions, but overall, I'm unimpressed.

I just spent nearly 3 hours trying to figure out how to get my comments from Haloscan into the new Blogger, with no luck. I still have all of the old comments saved in Haloscan, but it won't interface with Blogger's messed up new templates.

I'll keep trying to get the old comments working in here. If i can't get it to work, I'll have to go back to Blogger's commenting system, which is crap. I'll let you know the final verdict soon.

Update: I ended up finding my old template and reverting back to it, so it looks as if comments are back now. What a pain in the ass! I'm really getting frustrated with Blogger lately. It's kind of like how Hotmail was great until Microsoft took over... if you catch my googley drift.

Thursday, August 31, 2006

Snakes On A Plane

...is absolutely brilliant! I thought I'd hate it, but it's simply astounding, because it's the best worst movie of all time. Imagine taking every bad film cliche, rolling it into a big ball, and throwing Samuel L. Jackson in the mix. Out pops one of the funnest films I've seen in a long time. My friends and I were howling with laughter during most of the film. Lines like "get this snake off my dick!!!" couldn't work with just any other film.

I highly recommend it. Highly.

I'm also awaiting the porno version, "Skanks On My Wang."

Stress Management

I'm stressed right now. A couple of big deadlines, both work related, are due this Friday, and they're really pressing on my mind. The podcasting thing is a nightmare, because it's too much too fast, and we're not set up to accomodate students with the listening process. I'm a little jaded too, because I feel like this grant was done just to get some of the faculty shiny new video iPods for free, rather than for true educational purposes. And yes, I'm jaded that I'm doing all the work for this damn project, but don't get a video iPod for doing it, which sucks because they're handing them out like STDs around here; any old whore gets one for free.

I also have a bunch of stuff to do for school, and it just never seems like there's enough time in the day. Cleaning, laundry, time with friends, and all of the basic needs are going neglected right now, and I'm frustrated with it. I need to figure out some way to add an extra day to the week, or hire a maid, or steal Riddlin from little kids, or beat a small child with a bottle of Riddlin. Whichever has a greater cathartic effect as this point in time. I just need a break.

Tuesday, August 29, 2006

Superman on IMAX

200% bigger. 100% just as lame.

Nice Hooters

Rui and I experienced our first Hooters this weekend in Boise. The food was that "middle-of-the-road-overprocessed-food-chain-too-expensive" food that you get just about everywhere anymore, so I can't really complain. A 20-something ounce Guinness on draught just about made me wet myself with pleasure though. Ah, how I've missed the Guinness on draught.

In Hooters, I saw: one child smack her face on the floor, one waitress chase said child around the booths, one twelve-year-old boy about cream his trousers watching said waitress, one shocked waitress (for other reasons), one small child double-fisting curly fries, one amazing set of fake breasts, and a handful of horny men.

Maybe it's just Boise where the theme could be "Hooters: It's All About Families."

Friday, August 25, 2006

Hawaiian Shirts

Today was ISU's official "ugly ass Hawaiian shirt day." It had to be. It seemed like everywhere I was on campus, I was surrounded by at least two of the ugly ass shirts.

They were cropping up in Anthropology, dominated in Astronomy, and littered the SUB. One was even paired with Crocs, which was enough to make me consider an old-fashioned stake burning, a la Joan of Arc. The worst, however, was the basalisk's-glare like horror of my boss's Hawaiian shirt. I'm convinced it was somehow nuclear powered. It had to be, to burn my eyes that bad.

Not to sound all Carrie Bradshaw, but has our culture devolved to the point where ugly is the new beauty?

Thursday, August 24, 2006

Which Is Most Shocking?

Apparently, Pluto is no longer classified as a planet, because it "couldn't dominate its orbit around the Sun in the same way as the other planets." Yeah, I have no idea what that means either. It sounds slightly similar to erectile dysfunction to me, which makes me want to point at Pluto and giggle. Now I'm left imagining the Disney dog wearing a gimp mask and sporting a limp penis, which makes me want to giggle even harder, and vomit a little.

In other shocking news, Plan-B (commonly known as the Morning-After Pill) will be available over the counter. Unless you're under the age of 18, in which case you'll need a prescription and parent's notification. Yeah, because that's going to happen. So, while I'm shocked as hell that we're actually allowing Plan-B in pharmacies, I'm equally shocked that Anne Coulter hasn't been all over the media ranting, raving, and screaming about this development. Oh yeah, nevermind... I forgot that Anne Coulter "allegedly" has a penis, and thus doesn't need to worry about Plan-B. (Note: by "allegedly" I mean "absolutely," but don't want to be sued, so we'll stick with "allegedly.")

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Ugly Photos

Someone emailed me some of the most hideous pictures to ever be taken with a digital camera. Okay, maybe not the MOST hideous, as that would involve naked photos of my parents, but this is pretty damn close. I almost wretched all over the desk at work.

Lesson of the day? Sometimes email can be used for dastardly purposes.

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Pod People

I've been given a new assignment at work this week. I'm supposed to develop a website section for my office about creating Podcasts.

Educational podcasts... zzzzzzzz... oh, sorry... didn't mean to *yawn* get all groggy on you there.

Podcast + Education = Boring Crap

This is a prime example of where something cool is being ruined by an even stronger uncool force. It's like Christian Professional Wrestling or midget porn...there's just something innately wrong with it.

Hot Swappable

I made some changes to my school schedule this afternoon. First, I dropped Pathobiology like it was hot after the first session. It seems that it builds upon recently learned factoids from Anatomy and Physiology. That's great and all, unless it's been a few years (like 3 or more) since you took A&P. The professor suggested I "brush up by reading the A&P book this weekend." Sure. 500 pages worth of heavy text. I'll make sure to give myself a steel wool enema while I'm at it, just to help things go quicker.

Since Pathocrapology was no longer an option, I had to find a class to replace the needed credits so I can graduate in December. Looks like I'm now registered for Astronomy class. I'm going to learn about the stars and mythology and pretty much be bored out of my mind. I may choose to spice things up by taking my tarot cards and bitching loudly and often about how I was under the impression I'd signed up for Astrology class instead, and how the psychic in Harry Potter got a bum rap from J.K. Rowling.

I also had to drop my Persuasive Video course. It's some sort of advertising/video course. I really wanted to take it, but honestly didn't want to be saddled down with 18 credits this term. I was thinking more like 13, but I'm still at nearly 16. This sucks. Now I have to decide between taking Visual Anthropology, or doing extra work through independent study and doing Film Production on my own. Either way, I've already laid the ground work through projects in the UK that I wanted to redo in a better manner. And by "better" I mean "give a shit about" because I basically did the minimum over there. Hey, don't look at me that way. I'm a victim of the system here, buddy.

Monday, August 14, 2006

Balls!

Okay, so the new "Google Blogger" vomit that I just had to click through a bunch of times is pure and utter bollocks! Saying I can switch by just clicking two places, and then saying, "oh, we forgot to mention, it's only available on a silly random selection basis... please play again" totally gets my blood boiling.

Bollock, I say! Bollocks!!

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Mishmash

Ack! An entire week without blogging, after my rediscovered joy in writing posts. It's been one hell of a week. Going to airports, meeting guys from Dallas, babysitting two dogs, watching a home, feeling overwhelmingly responsible all of the sudden... it wears a guy out!

I'm also busy working on the brochure that I mentioned last week. It's such a time consuming process, and it hasn't been going the quickest lately. It's one of those things that's best to be able to just sit uninterrupted for a few days, but I don't have that luxury right now. We're still trying to figure out what to do, since one of our printers won't send us the file we need, and the other one came in a few thousand dollars higher on the bid than expected. Arrgh....

I'm hoping to get some stuff done around the house tonight too, and see if that helps me to feel more relaxed. It's hard to not get stressed when you're battling with suitcases and piles of clothes every morning. Rui was kind enough to organize the kitchen the other day, and that was a huge burden lifted off my back. Now, if only the rest of the new flat would fall in line.

One of the weirdest things about this week is that I'm missing England like crazy. I think a large part of it had to do with the freedom I had there, and lack of silly responsibilities, and I really crave it again. I just hope I get to return soon.

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Off On a Jaunt

I was going to post the weekly Comic Review today, but due to some reciprocal manual labor last night, I didn't have time to read more than one of the comics. I'll probably get to it in a few days, when I have more time, and can actually remember what all I bought. There were a few first isssues in the batch this week.

Rui arrives in the Divided States of Amurika tomorrow evening, so I'm driving down to SLC to pick him up. I know that it's all going to be a huge culture shock for him. It was bad enough for me coming back from Europe, and I knew what to expect. I'm sure he'll marvel for days at the percentage of buffarillos around here. A buffarillo is one of the morbidly, morbidly obese with cheese you see around here (hat tip: Syndie, by way of Kevin.)

I'm leaving for SLC tonight, so I can hang out with my nieces tomorrow. They're demanding that I take them to BC Chicken and clothes shopping tomorrow. My sister's still laid up from her knee surgery, and my B-I-L sure as hell wouldn't take them. It's up to me that they don't look like total tools at school this next year. Good thing they're actually rather fashionable and popular... everything I wasn't growing up.

I'll post again in a few days, and report on Rui's culture shock.

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Artistic Insecurity

I'm sure I mentioned that one of the worst parts about culture shock and reverse culture shock is the devestating insecurity that goes with it. It seems like any shred of self-esteem and faith in yourself flies right out the window.

I thought that I was done with reverse culture shock. Yes, I still get angry about stupid things here in the US, but I think it has more to do with having a more open mind than it does with culture shock at this point.

Today, the insecurity monster reared its ugly head and took a big old chomp out of my ass. I'm helping a friend work on a brochure for a new performing arts centre. We're in charge of design, layout, and all that jazz. It's been really scary though, because the people in charge just gave us carte blanche on the project. The problem with carte blanche is that it always comes back to bite you on the ass, much like insecurity did a few hours ago. Without fail, those clients who say they don't care about the final result are the ones who nitpick and whine until you're ready to stab out their eyes out with a shrimp fork. Perhaps that's the reason I don't go to dinners with clients.

I've had a sort of artist anxiety today trying to think of cool things we could do with the brochure. I want it to look really good, but I also know that I'm not the most skilled with the graphics programs. Usually I'm willing to live within my limitations, but it's really getting to me this time.

I just hope that we get something we can all be proud of in the short amount of time we have to do it.

Paranoid

I forgot to mention that the link to the survey may make you paranoid for a short period of time. I'm not sure I'll ever look at email the same way again.

Honestly, I hope that T. gets to share his results from the surveys, because I want to know more about what he was asking about.

Be afraid... be very afraid!

PS - If you don't know what I'm talking about, but would like to, take the survey in the post below this one.

Monday, July 31, 2006

Help Send a Little Love

One of my friends from the University of Plymouth needs people to do his online survey for one of his courses. I thought I'd be nice and post the link to the survey on my blog, just in case any of you are nice enough to be willing to take the time and help a brother out. He says the survey takes about 25-30 minutes to complete.

He needs responses from different nationalities, so feel free to do the survey from wherever you may live.

Survey is here.

Friday, July 28, 2006

Tarheels

I just ran over to the administration building to pick up my paycheck, and found myself sweating five steps out the door of the library. Sometimes, it's actually a detriment to work in an overly air conditioned office all day, especially when it's hotter outside than snorting napalm off Paris Hilton's ass.

In disheartening news, my trip back was ruined by A) a paycheck much smaller than I remember from last summer, and B) tar laid a week ago getting so warm and gooey that it's currently relocated to the bottom of my flip flops. Ugh... complete with little pebbles everywhere. My shoes look like the bottom of an aquarium now.

Mouthpiece of God

I'm having a hard time trying to figure out who's the worse PR agent for God; the deranged Shirly Phelps of Westboro Baptist, or Fox New's reporter. Seriously, Phelps is a total whack-job piece of shite, but since when does quoting scripture on the air fit into journalistic integrity? You've also gotta love the reporter's clever way of alluding to the word "bullshit" without actually saying it. Was that for FCC purposes, or to save face with the G.O.D.?

Watch this if you want to be super-model svelte, but prefer to avoid the unsightly finger stains of gagging yourself.

26-7-06 Comics

This was supposed to be another cheap week in comics. I'd gone in to get the new 52, and the new Morrison arc of Batman. Unfortunately, Batman sold out 1 hour after being placed on the shelf. Now, I've got to wait for a 2nd print, which really chafes like wet leather trousers. I ended up finding a few comics I wanted though, and got more of the 52 back issues.

Eternals #2
I was supposed to get this last week, but due to a shipping error, my store didn't get any of their copies. I was actually kind of glad it came this week, because it gave me somthing really good to read. While I'm not really digging the artwork (though it is growing on me), I LOVE LOVE LOVE the story on this.
Things get super crazy in this issue, when a party gets very out of hand, and an Eternal is being tortured by an unknown group. I'd love to share more about this comic, but don't want to spoil it for Rui, who won't get it for a little while.


52: Week 12
We learn more about Black Adam in this story, which is good. For some reason, I really had no idea who the hell he was, or why he was suddenly on the scene. Here, I learned how he'd been bestowed with powers in the same way that Captain Marvel had, and even been imprisoned for a thousand years by the wizard.
Also in this issue, we see one seriously messed up Billy/Cap'n Marvel, and the birth of a goddess. Ancient Egyptian goddesses are hot. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the newly reincarnated (?) Isis, and how her change will affect Black Adam becoming a good man.


Civil War #3: Incentive Turner Variant Cover
I know I already had a copy of this comic, and gave it a glowing review last week, but I was still excited to find and purchase this variant cover version of the comic.
What made buying this variant cover even better was talking about it with Rui the next day. It seems that the variant cover I picked up for $3 is selling for more than $20 online right now.

You'll Pay For It Later

Lots of booze, lots of incredible friends, lots of laughs, lots of hugs and kissed, lots of pictures taken, and lots of karaoke...

last night was the best time I've had in a really long time. There's something about capping off the evening singing Ike and Tina Turner's version of "Proud Mary" with friends while a drag queen does the Tina Turner dance in the background. It was magical.

Getting to bed after 3am, and showing up to work about 2 hours later than you intended? Not so much.

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Sorry Mr. Quasi-Boss Man...

but that lyric from Belle and Sebastian you just misheard was

until she comes back again


not

until shit comes back again


...but thanks for playing.

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

Interesting Projects

I've actually had a few interesting projects come in at work lately. Usually, I get stuck converting boring lectures to streaming format, and wasting my skills, but things have been kind of fun the past few days.

First, I got a VHS copy of the original Patterson film. This is the most recognized piece of Bigfoot film ever recorded. I'm not going to comment on the validity of said film, but it was pretty cool to convert it to DVD, knowing that the Pattersons had it in their grubby hands.

Next, I got handed a video for a home self-catheterization device. Apparently, one of the departments here needs a digital copy of it. Gross, I know, but at least it's interesting. Also, the little label that says "We do not condone using saliva during the cateterization process" nearly made me wet myself.

Finally, I spent the last few hours going through old footage of the boxing club that existed on campus in the 1950s. Most of it was kind of boring, but the guys I was recording the footage for were intriguing. I also learned that there was a mentally handicapped man on campus during that time, who roamed the campus wearing a plastic sheriff's badge, and would "arrest" students. We also learned the boxing fraternity took him to parties and got him drunk, when they weren't pulling down each other's trousers. Looks like frat boys really haven't changed much.

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Bright Life

I'll be out of town for a few days, so I'm trying to leave readers something to read while I'm gone. Thus, the tidalwave of posts this morning.

I've noticed that while I'm surfing the net, looking at people's blogs, photowhoring pages, video sites, etc., everybody else's lives seem to be infinitely more interesting than mine.

They're brighter than me, dress better than me, have better furniture than me, look better than me, go nicer places than me, have better musical tastes than me, love their families more than me, take better photos than me, are more creative than me, have more practical skills than me, give themselves better haircuts than I do, eat tastier foods than me, smell more oceans than me, see more concerts than me, buy more comics than me, hang out with friends more than me, have a more well-rounded Rolodex than me, are more organized than me, are more imaginative than me, taste better than me, are better in bed than me, write better than me, make better soap than me, VJ better than me, own more pets than me, knit more scarves than me, have better cars than me, see better movies than me, love viral videos more than me, know better sites on the internet than me, been to more foreign countries than me, have better vision than me, have straighter teeth than me, earn more money than me, dance better than me, know more famous people personally than me, are more politically active than me, are loved by Jesus more than me, drink finer alcohol than me, are more driven than me, have a bigger passion for life than me, have more interesting health maladies than me, know more bears than me, wear fancier underwear than me, kiss better than me, dated more supermodels than me, have nicer hair than me, talk on better mobile phones than me, fake British accents better than me, paint better than me, know more human anatomy than me, have more sex than me, get more financial aide than me, kill less plants than me, are more talkative than me, make better music than me, have newer laptops than me, tolerate heat better than me, have tasted more microbrews than me, are fancied more than me, laugh more than me, have less grey hairs than me, have better credit than me, sing better than me, sleep better than me, jump higher than me, are more tolerant than me, and burn hotter and brighter than me.

It's not that I'm down on myself, and I promise I'm not depressed. It's just an interesting trend I've noticed lately. I'm suppose those I quasi-envy all think the same thing about others when they see their sites.

So, dear readers, tell me what intesting things you've been up to. We'll all sit back and marvel at each other, and try to realize that nobody's lives are actually mediocre, except to ourselves.

Pharrell

He used to be so good. What happened?

I'm listening to his new album, and just heard him call himself "Louis Vuitton on a skateboard" or something rancid like that. It's the verbal equivalent of Herb, that creepy guy that lives down the street.

Gawd, he just made a long reference to MySpace in the same song!!

He's officially dead to me. Not much of a loss, because this album SUCKS!!

I want N.E.R.D. back, from their first album days.

Revver.com

I just found out about revver.com which is a new YouTube like site.

So, what's the draw of yet another viral video site? Why should you care? Two reasons:

1) They don't make you give up your copyright when you submit a video. YouTube basically screws you over, and anything you put on there is now official property of YouTube. Read the small print kiddies.

2) MONEY!!!! You make money off of your Revver videos. They attach a small commercial at the end of your video (so nobody has to actually watch it) and you make a small portion of money every time somebody watches the video. You can attach the video to your blog, MySpace page, or any other site you want... and still make money off of it! It's not like you'll be Donald Trump any time soon, but maybe your Johnny Depp spoof video will pay for a viewing of Pirates of the Caribbean.

19-7-06 Comics

I thought this was going to be a light week for comics, but somehow managed to come out of the comic store nearly 18 dollars lighter than when I'd entered.

I started collecting DC's 52 a few weeks ago, but had missed the first 8 issues. I got talking about it with my cousin-in-law, and she told me a deadbeat customer had the entire 52 series in his box, but due to his delinquency, they were all mine if I wanted. Of course, I jumped on it, just to help the store out. I'm buying a few back issues a week, until I've caught up.

That said, here's this week's comics (Due to shipping errors, no Eternals or X-Men Civil War this week):

52: Week 11 This series covers all 52 weeks of the year between Infinite Crisis and One-Year Later. At first, I wasn't sure where the series was headed, so I didn't pay much attention. Now, I'm really starting to enjoy where it's headed. This week featured the first offical appearance of a very Lipstick-Lesbian Batwoman. I'm interested to see what happens with the faceless man, and how he fits in with the bigger picture.
Just as a side note, I hate how mainstream society is okay with the gays, as long as they're lipstick lesbians. Those are the trendy, athletic, supermodelesque lesbians that don't scream "dyke." Kudos to DC for adding some diversity, but must they be lipstick lesbians? Batwoman would have been hot with a mullet.

Justice League of America #0 Number 0?!? This comic sets up the new series of JLA, which starts off next month. Due to the events of Infinite Crisis, and One Year Later, this story picks up parts of the past, present, and future of the JLA. Honestly, it was kind of confusing, because it jumps all over the timeline, a la Quentin Tarantino, but without the narative skill. There's also a different artist for almost every other page, which is visually interesting, but also a bit frustrating. The one thing I liked about this comic was how it outlined the weird tension (sexual?) between Batman, Supes, and Wonder Woman. It also showed that they're going to rebuild the JLA, and have to pick new members in the next issue. I'm stoked to see who they pick.

Civil War #3 I definitely saved the best for last. If you're not really into comics, or trying to get into comics, pick up the Civil War series. *hint hint, Derek* It's exactly what a good comic should be. One hell of a fantastic story line, incredible art work, and people in spandex fighting each other. What more can a boy ask for?
This issue follows the fight between Tony Stark (AKA Iron Man, AKA Uber Douche) and my hero, Captain America. This time the fight gets personal, with Stark and Cap going toe-to-toe in an actual fight. And just when you think things can't get worse, a surprise appearance at the end really messes things up. I can't wait for #4.

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Something Worse Than MySpace...

...when WalMart (whom I vehemently despise) tries to have their own uber-cool MySpace ripoff called "The Hub."

Wow, this is sad. You'll have to read the article to fully appreciate how lame WalMart really is. If WalMart was a young woman, would it be a faghag, or is that giving them too much credit?

Perhaps WalMart should start giving their marketing team some of the profits they reap by raping (their employees... without lube of course) and pillaging (smaller communities) their way across Amurika.

Hat Tip: Chris Glass

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Awful Music

When doing corporate video work, you often times have to find music to go under the video. It's one part of the process that drives me crazy. You'll listen to awful music for about an hour, to finally find a song that's only marginally craptastic.

Today's search yielded one of the worst songs I've ever heard. Click here to be tortured.

Guy pointed out that although labeled as a "kids song" it was surely created with porn in mind.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Superbland Returns

This is one of those blog entries that I'm sure I'll get lambasted for, but I'm going to go ahead and do it.

I watched Superman Returns yesterday, and to be perfectly honest, I wasn't impressed. I certainly wouldn't go as far as the obsessed fan in Entertainment Weekly that called it "perfection on film." I'd be more apt to refer to it as "another crap Singer film."

It wasn't that the film was bad, it's just that it wasn't good. The sappy, over the top emotional scenes made me want to vomit. The expository dialogue was trite and forced, and basically not how anyone would ever talk, unless Brian Singer was in their brains. (Did I mention that I don't like Singer?) I honestly got bored at a few points, and I'm the guy that gushes about the 2-hour Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring Again where nothing happens for 2 hours! While some of the special effects were amazing, there were some total crap ones, and I'm beyond underwhelmed with special effects just for special effects sake.

Other rants: Superman's costume was ugly: the cape looked like a red Hefty garbage sack, his boots looked like chunky/tacky Sketchers from 10 years ago, and the logo looked like something from a REI catalogue made of new waterproof material. Lex Luthor's character got neutered somewhere along the lines, though that's Singer's fault, not Spacey's. Luthor, who should personify class, dignity, intelligence, and wealth, lacked all of those traits. He was now a bumbling buffoon that seduced old women for their money, and led a nondescript pack of non-threatening rogues. Parker Posey and Kal Penn's talents went unused. Penn didn't even get any dialogue, for hell's sake! The climax of the film was lame. I was still waiting for the big final climax when the credits started to roll. Anytime I leave a film thinking, "that's it?" I know that I'm not going to be happy.

Ugh! I could go on and on, but that's not healthy.

Instead, I'll just end by saying that I blame each and every failure of the movie on Singer. He created a brilliant story for The Usual Suspects, but that was the only decent thing he's done in his career. The only director/writer I think is worse than him is George Lucas.

Announcing Sadie


Here's the puppy that's been taking up a lot of my time lately. She loves to play with her new brother Caesar, chew on her stuffed gorilla doll, and bite every finger/toe within a 50 foot radius. Sometimes she gets a bit wild, so I fondly refer to her as "Satan." She's not really evil, but she does have a Hitler mustache.

Did I mention she's cute as a button?

I want a puppy of my own now.

Sunday Morning Giggles

I knew that there was some seriously bad television on cable, but S found what has to be the absolute worst yesterday morning; some Jesusified kiddie-tv show about Grandma's House.

When watching her grandson walk in a stream in his tennis shoes, S commented that he'd have a nasty "boy smell." We then realized "boy smell" sounds almost exactly like "voice mail." Next time I hear someone say they need to check their voice mail, I know I'm going to giggle like a little girl at Grandma's House.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

12-7-06 Comics

Thanks to Rui, I am now officially a Nerd. I hope he feels good about himself. It's not bad enough that I really did have taped together glasses in 3rd grade, but now he's got me into comics again. However, since I realize I will be a nerd, I might as well use up some blog space and devote a weekly rundown to the comics.

I had thought one of the comic shop guys looked rather familiar, but couldn't quite place him. I finally heard his name yesterday, and realized he's my second cousin. Seems nerdiness is in the genes.

The Escapists: #1 Okay, the only reason I even sparked interest in this comic was because of the $1 price tag. I kind of figured I could cut it up later and use it in an art project, but I ended up being pleasantly surprised. This comic is based on a make-believe comic character created by fictional comic creators, based on a fiction novel by Michael Chambon. Confused yet? Yeah, me too. It's kind of like that movie Adaptation except there's no masturbating Nic Cage.

Hell, I can't explain it. Just buy it and read it your damn self. It's worth all 100 pennies.

100 Bullets #74 I've jumped into this comic extremely late (especially since there are only supposed to be 100 issues) but I'm really enjoying it already. Last month, I jumped into part 3 of a 4 part story arc, and was incredibly confused. Suddenly, at the end of this issue, so many things made sense. I'm falling in love with the gritty story telling, and the just as gritty art work.

I'm also collecting these for the cover art. I love the covers on this series, and would love to have prints in my apartment. And yes, I realize how lame that sounds.

Ghost Rider #1 Once again, the flame-headed biker of death is back, due to fans bitching and moaning. Well, that's what they try to tell us, but we all know it's really because there's a movie coming out next summer, starring Nic Cage. Ack! He's all over this entry!

This issue was pretty good, and featured incredible artwork. My only complaint is that Satan looks just like the Tim Curry evil guy in Legend. I'd have officially burned my copy if there had been a Tom Cruise look alike though.

Leaving the Ice Age

The AC is out at work today. This should be fun, since it's supposed to reach at least 90 degrees today. (32.2 C)

In recent weeks, I've been known to wear a sweater at work, because the AC is set to 60, and can't be changed here. I could cut glass with my nipples on a good day. Today, it's only 8am, and my pelt is becoming moist with sweat. It's going to be a long day.

Update: the AC kicked back in full force a while ago, and I'm now ready to go steal a large diamond from a museum, if you catch my meaning.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Fun Videos

I just saw a link for this fun video starring George W. Bush doing a cover of U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday. I'm amazed at the amount of editing work somebody went through, including the fact that they had to at least watch one of his boring speeches.



Note: in other sad news, I have now officially YouTubed my blog. *sigh*

The second video is Sexy Results (MSTRKRFT Version) by Death From Above 1979. This one's NSFW.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Movie Reviews

My 16-year-old niece called to let me know Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Blah Blah Overly Long Title was the best movie she'd seen in "forever."

Knowing that the last two films she loved were the bile-on-celluloid X-Men 3: Half-Assed Script and The Chronicles of Blah-nia, I had my doubts. Then, I saw actual reviews yesterday, including the best one from Michael Hartney:

$132,000,000

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest can take a big hot suck of my asshole.
Yeah, I'm waiting for the dollar theatre, or DVD.

I really need to get to SLC and start dragging her out to indie films again. This is appalling.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Foxxxy the Brave

Being a sound sleeper can have drawbacks, such as missing early morning hyjinks in the back yard.

Yesterday, at around 5 am, a baby skunk snuck into my parents' back yard looking for dog/cat food. My parents have been hounded by skunks all spring, but both the city animal control department and Idaho Fish and Game have refused to help with the situation. They were nice enough to offer traps to my father, as long as he brought them back smelling skunk free. How nice of them.

When the skunk snuck into the yard, it woke up my parents' foofoo pomeranian, Foxxxy. Okay, okay, the name is actually just Foxy (or just Fox, if you ask my dad) but it's so much more fun to make it pornographic in nature. Foxxxy actually looks remarkably like a super-sappy fox, and thus, the name stuck. Anyway, Foxxxy woke up, and started barking. This woke my parents, who decided to spray the skunk down the sidewalk with a hose. Hey, I don't understand their logic on that one either. As my father was hosing the baby skunk down the walk, Foxxxy got surprisingly butch, grabbed the skunk by the neck, and went Outkast on it (you know, shook it like a Polaroid picture.) Apparently, skunks weren't made for getting krunk, and it died.

I spent the afternoon trying to convince my parents that we should deliver the dead skunk to the mayor, but to no avail. Apparently, they don't find the beauty to passive-aggressive guerilla tactics that I do. We'll see if they change their tune when the next skunk sneaks into the yard.

Les Bois

It started Friday night, when I traveled to Boise with S & W. I'd forgotten how amazingly boring and ugly the trip to Boise is from Pocatello. If watching farms, rocks, and sagebrush is your idea of exciting, then I guess you'll enjoy the trip, but if you're like me, you'll be bored to tears. My "amazing" mix disc for the trip actually ended up being pretty crappy too. That's what I get for randomly grabbing songs for a playlist in iTunes.

Friday night was actually a lot of fun. We met up with some of S & W's friends in the Boise area, and went out for a bit. One interesting trend I've seen the past two weekends though, is that we keep meeting people with money, who have to emphasize how much money they have, and how much all of their possessions cost. I was also reminded that having money does not equal having class. The nouveau riche in Idaho and Utah just don't seem to realize that.

On Saturday morning, we were supposed to go see Superman Returns on the IMAX screen, but our plans got curtailed. One of the dogs at the house we stayed in decided it needed to attend with us, but got confused and ran away. Perhaps it was jonesing for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 instead. Either way, by the time we caught the dog and returned him to suburban entrapment, it was too late for super Supes. Damn.

The rest of the day was spent at the Farmers' Market in the city centre, eating incredible pizza, sipping a Starbucks, and picking up Sadie, aka "Cutest Puppy in the World." Sadie's a two-month-old beagle puppy with large, sad eyes, who enjoys snuggling and long walks in the grass. Then again, at her size, 20 feet (6.1 meters) is a long walk. If permitted, I'll try to get a pic of Sadie up on the blog.

Friday, July 07, 2006

Happy Kylie Minogue Workday Friday

Okay, it's not a real holiday, but I have half of my office convinced it is. I've been blasting Ultimate Kylie all morning. Yes, I really do work with people dumb enough to believe it. I just told them it was a UK holiday, and I was choosing to celebrate here.

In other news, I had an almond soy latte this morning. It was astoundingly awful. I'm not sure if it was because they only had the sugar-free/carb-free almond flavouring, or the fact that soy milk tastes like ass over here in the US. Either way, it was nasty. However, being the caffeine junkie I am, I slurped up every last drop.

I'm off to Boise for part of this weekend to see Superman on the IMAX, and to get S & W's new puppy. She's a little beagle, and one of the cutest things I've seen. I'm sure my impression will greatly change after 3 hours in a car with her, but for now, I'll still maintain that she's cute.

Thursday, June 29, 2006

Digital Superstition

My sister just emailed me one of those superstition emails that I thought had gone out of vogue about 10 years ago. This one promised that if I didn't read the incredibly awful poem at the end, then email it to 10 friends in the next three hours, something awful would happen to someone I love. Since I only barely love my mother (hey, she makes it really hard) I'll skip the forwards and hope the awful karma smacks her.

This kind of digital superstition only appeals to me when it features a video that looks like it came from a David Lynch acid trip and Naomi Watts. But only in the first form. The sequal was crap.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Reversal of Fortune

I posted a blog entry over at So Cosmopolitan of Me about my experiences with reverse culture shock so far.

It hasn't been easy being back. Living with my folks hasn't made things any better. I desperately need to find a new flat soon, but prices have skyrocketed to metropolitan prices here for some reason. I seriously saw a studio in the paper for $600/month. This isn't Seattle, this is podunk Pocatello. I'm also trying to figure out what to do, since a previous offer for a roommate was more-or-less revoked recently. I hate when people talk about stuff like that, and then act like it was never discussed a short time later.

I'm only back a short time, and I'm already tired of being here.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Thievery

I had some stuff stolen from my Jeep this weekend. It was parked in a fairly safe neighborhood, and I thought I had the doors all locked, but apparently I missed one.

I'm guessing it was younger kids, judging from what was taken. They made off with my small courrier bag from England (which chafes me like wet leather trousers) that had some new comics in it. I don't care so much about the comics, but the bag was a fond memory of Plymouth. They also took off with two CDs that were handy. For some reason though, I'm having a hard time seeing thiefs in Pocatello appreciating DFA Remixes Volume 1 or Bloc Party to their full extent. The CD player and other major things were all left alone.

I'm trying to not let this get to me. I learned a lesson, and there weren't any major losses. I just hope some punk kid's getting their media horizons expanded right now, and enjoying my loss.

Wankers.

Scotland: A Synopsis

Let me just start by saying that Scotland was amazing. The people, geography, and atmosphere combine to make one of the most incredible places I’ve ever been. I could honestly see myself living in some part of Scotland in the future, and being very happy indeed.

Since there was so much to the trip, I’ll just stick to listing highlights in a brief manner.

Edinburgh: Amazing city offering the best of modern delights (like Starbucks) next to ancient ones (like the castles.) It was also the first time in 9 months that someone heard my American accent and was glad I was a Yank. Hooray!
Isles of Staffa and Iona: The Scottish end of the Giant’s Causeway and the former religious centre of the Celtic peoples. It almost felt like you were removed from time. We were just disappointed we didn’t see the promised puffins on Staffa.
Corrour Youth Hostel: The one we feared was the best one. It’s in the middle of nowhere, next to a lake, and the most environmentally friendly hostel in the UK. I highly recommend it. It’s only a short train trip to Fort William and Ben Nevis from here.
Train from Fort William towards Skye: We rode over the Harry Potter Bridge on the train. I just had to fight old people for prime picture taking window space.
Isle of Skye: We opted to miss the Talisker distillery, but instead spent time in Portree. While there, we bought hand-milled soaps, ate amazing seafood, and encountered midges. I still had welts two weeks later. The Museum of the Isles in Armadale is well worth the money, and highly informative.
Inverness: Another fantastic city. I still think it’s incredible that that the City Council is housed in the castle, and I finally learned how to say Joao’s name correctly in Portuguese.
Drumnadrochit/Loch Ness: Yes, we rocked it in Drumnadrochit. Where else can you have your picture taken with an awful looking Nessie monster made of concrete and shop for a new kilt? We were supposed to go to dinner with Nessie, but she opted to get pissed on McEwans before we got there. I was highly disappointed with her antics.
Stirling: The castle, Holyrude cathedral, and William Wallace tribute made this one of my favorite places in Scotland. Even the drunks were very friendly.
Glasgow: The City Centre is amazing, and felt more urban than Edinburgh. Anywhere outside of the City Centre had me nearly pissing myself in fear. Oh yeah, you really can find deep fried pizza here.

All in all, it was one of the most amazing trips I’ve ever had. If I ever get around to it, I’ll throw some pictures from the trip online.

Thursday, June 15, 2006

A Quick Note

And I really mean quick...

I'm back in the US, but don't have internet right now. I'm sitting in a coffee shop for a few minutes before I have to go and typing this entry out.

I'll be back to my old job on Monday morning, and back to the wonderful world of internet connections. In the meantime, I'll try to type up a few posts about Scotland, wrapping up things in Plymouth, my trip home, and life back here in the US, so that I can get them posted next week.

Cheers!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

The Hogwarts Express

I'm working on cleaning up my iTunes library right now. I need to get some new stuff on my iPod for my trip on the Hogwarts Express this Monday morning.

Hogwarts Express? Huh?

Rui and I leave at noon on Monday for Scotland. We'll be there for two weeks, so don't expect any blogging while I'm gone (especially since most internet cafes are expensive, and I'm officially skint now.)

We're going to Edinburgh for a few days, then over to the west coast, up to Isle of Skye, over to Inverness and Loch Ness (Drumnadrochit!), then down to Stirling, and finally back to Edinburgh. Because we're students, we're able to do it for fairly cheap, staying at hostels and riding on trains and ferries. However, it also means that we'll have an 8 hour train trip on Monday, and another 10 hour train trip back two weeks later. Blech! Luckily, we're riding on the much nicer Virgin trains, which have electrical outlets and are decidedly less ghetto than First Great Western.

After I return on the fifth of June, it's hurried packing and tieing up of loose ends, since my sister got me a free ticket home on the 9th. It's about 5 days sooner than I wanted, but you don't look a gift horse in the mouth, and all that.

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

Joy in the Little Things

I found a can of A&W Root Beer this morning, and I swooned.

I didn't know a can of crap soda could make me so damn happy. See, the thing is, I haven't had a root beer since I got here to the UK. It just doesn't exist over here, as far as I can tell. The soda selection is seriously lacking, and to be honest, it doesn't taste all that great over here. I think it's because they put aspartame (aka Nutrasweet, aka shite) in almost every drink here, and aspertame is nasty.

Anyway, I was wandering around the Barbican when Rui suggested we check out a little Asian market we'd never been to before. I think they've put in about 5 new stores since I was down there a few weeks ago. Stores here change as often as most people change underwear. Inside the store all sorts of exotic goodies and bad smelling things could be found, and there in the very small refridgerator section... *cue angel music* Root Beer!

I thought Rui would be really impressed with a divine product of American consumerism when he tried it. Instead he just said it tasted like a Portuguese nasal medicine. Bummer. I think too much Six Feet Under is turning him into a nihilist. He wasn't even very impressed with Nutter Butters, and I'd wrestle a lion to the death for a Nutter Butter. And hell yes, I would win.

Monday, May 15, 2006

Super Busy

Sorry I haven't posted a whole lot this last week. I've been really busy working on my big end of the year video project that I have to present on Thursday night. I've spent the last few days doing some filming, but mainly working on getting the mountain of paperwork for this course finished.
One thing I did for my school work was to use scanned comics to help me "document" workshops from back in October. It's a long story. Anyway, in the process of finding comic scans, I came across this great scan of Superman's past powers that he doesn't use much anymore. Apparently, at one time, he had the ability to shoot rainbows from his hands. It's even freakier that he has to do "spirit fingers" a la Bring It On to shoot out the rainbows. I'd love to say I made the above picture up, but it's real, minus the words I added in Photoshop.

If you think that's really crazy, you should see this BBC News report about the US Military developing "Gay Bombs." Wow... that's just nutty!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Bristol History

While in Bristol, I got a free "graphic novel" at the comic shop. I was all excited, until I saw that it was some uber-shite infotainment gimmick about the inventor of the steam engine, Isambard Brunel. Saying I was unimpressed doesn't even begin to cover it. The only time infotainment has been good was when that little dog Wishbone did representations of classic novels on PBS. I loved that dog. His version of Ivanhoe was sublime.

Fast forward to tonight, where I needed some toilet time entertainment. The Crapic Novel was handy, so I took it in with me.

Here's what I learned:

Brunel smoked a cigar all the time. The authors didn't feel that they should censor this, but instead devote two pages to the evils of tobacco, and how it will kill you (much like booze, McDonalds, and loose women.) Okay... I added the last part.

Slavery was evil, but it's not so bad, because those damn Yanks did it for an extra 30 years after the UK did. Smug moralism is even better in 20/20 hindsight.

Apparently, some worm that looked remarkably like a flacid penis was eating the wood used in ships, and this lead to the invention of the steam engine somehow. One would have to actually read, and not skim, to find out the logistics. And yes, I did just say "flacid penis" and "eating wood" in the same sentence. Kudos to me.

The Brits called the French "frogs" because they used to eat frogs all the time. Just like the French called the Brits "rosbifs" (roast beefs). Kind of like Idahoans call Utahans "carrot snappers" or "Utards" or "Jowly McJowlyJowls" I guess.

This was the worst free item I've ever been given. I demand my money back!

Feeling Kinda Blue

I'm not sure why, but I woke up in a marginally depressed mood today. Actually, I know exactly why I feel that way, but confessing that my lazy ass has come back to bite me on the ass (and you thought that wasn't possible) isn't nearly as fun.

Looking for a reprieve from my conscience, I go to a comedian's site for a little pick me up. I'd seen it linked from another site I trust, so I thought a little peek couldn't hurt. Then what to my wondering eyes should appear... but pictures of animals in casts, making me want to drown my sorrows in beer.



Cute, yes. Cure for mental lethargy, no. Even when I try to convince myself that the puppy just read my entry about beach parties, and wanted to be a Solid Gold Dancer (complete with leg warmers, natch) I still want to attempt to breast feed it back to proper health. And not cry. Because dammit, those eyes make me sad. Sad like the first time I tasted peanut butter here in England, and realized something so beautiful could go so wrong.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Sacrificing For Art

Yesterday, while my flatmates stressed over major exams they have in the following weeks, I slaved away on some homework. Here’s the rundown on what can be considered homework for a media arts student.


    1) Updated my new workbook/sketch book, after the old one was ruined in the Great Coffee Escape of ‘06.

    2) Bought 4 identical dog masks.

    3) Purchased handcuffs from a fetish shop.

    4) Researched video de-interlacing techniques.

    5) Practiced VJing to the Chemical Brother’s Push the Button album, using new clips from Analog Recycling via archive.org.

I know, I know. I sometimes marvel that I’m able to get through all the hard work myself.

Friday, May 05, 2006

My Beach Party

If Annette Funicello taught me anything, it's the importance of a good old fashioned beach party. While I technically don't have a beach nearby, I do have a hankering for a clam bake.

What inspired this insanity? The song Solid Gold by Eagles of Death Metal. It's not exactly Swedish death metal, but more like Queens of the Stone Age, Elvis, and T. Rex somehow managed some freakish love child. A freaky-hip love child, that is.

The only thing that would make listening to this song at a beach party any better is if the Solid Gold Dancers randomly showed up to bust a move. Yeah, that would be the epitome of cool. Leg warmers and all.

Thursday, May 04, 2006

Dear Diary

This morning, I woke up and went with Rui to the Mannamead Weatherspoons on Mutley for breakfast. I used to hate the traditional English breakfast, but I love the sausage, beans, tomato and other items now. You also can't beat 1pound99 for a full traditional fry up either.

Not this morning though. No sausage, just an extra rasher of bacon that was saltier than cat food (or so I've heard... um....) and my beans were overcooked. My hash browns also tasted mysteriously of fish, which is never good. Never.

The Mannamead Weatherspoons gets a little worse every time we go there. I think it's officially dead to me. The food is always better at the Gog and Magog Weatherspoons in the Barbican anyway.

The afternoon commenced with a cappuccino at the Canadian Muffin Store. That's really the name, and I'm still weirded out that they are befuddled by my American accent. Aren't we like kissing cousins, or something? I then sat outside, ate a delicious muffin, drank my coffee, smoked my pipe, shooed off pigeons, and watched freaks... er... people walk past. I was also showered in small flowers from the blossoming tree behind me when the wind would blow, reminding me of the time I was a geisha in feudal Japan.

I then came home, where time mysteriously disappeared for a few hours. Ate a tuna/sweetcorn/chili sandwich, and chatted with Rui about comics for a long time. I think we crossed the line from quasi-nerd to uber-nerd somewhere in Cardiff or Bristol.

Now, to seal the fact that I'm a total nerd and have no life, I'm going to watch "Batman Begins" and go to bed.

Monday, May 01, 2006

Mini Reviews

Here are three little mini-reviews, since I'm much too lazy to write out long entries, especially good ones.

1) Silent Hill: Like I was assuming, people are stupid. This movie is great! It was one of the best horror films I've seen in a long time. I was tense and on edge the entire time. It is long, but it doesn't feel long. And there's a lot of dialogue that could have been cut, but it was necessary for the story at the same time. Basically, I just think a lot of reviewers didn't quite understand it, and weren't willing to think during a horror film, so they just wrote it off. Christophe Gans did an amazing job once again, though I could have maybe done without every shot needing to be panned, zoomed, or dollied in some manner. Stationary shots aren't a bad thing.

Judgement: Rui and I are talking about going to see it again on Wednesday. That should say it all.

2) The Streets - Some Crap Album: While I haven't officially listened to the new album, I've heard it for nearly 72 hours straight through my right wall. I've also been subjected to the new single in nearly every store in Plymouth. It's awful. Mike Skinner can't rap, and makes some of the worst music I've ever heard.

Judgement: Nearly as appealing as death by dyssentary.


3) Gnarls Barkley - St. Elsewhere: I'm disappointed as hell. While "Crazy" is one of the coolest songs I've heard this year, the rest of the album is a huge disappointment. There are only three other songs on the album I can listen to, and I still haven't listened all the way through an entire song except for Crazy.

Judgement: Save your pennies. Download it if you absolutely must.

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Flora and Fauna

Either a bird was building a nest in the shower, or one of my flatmates decided to trim their bush.

Morning officially ruined.

Musical Magic 8 Ball

I found this while perusing MEK's archives this morning. There's a set of questions, which will be magically answered by the shuffle setting on iTunes. Since Syndie refuses to acknowledge the glory of iTunes, she is not allowed to play. Okay, maybe she can with Wincrap... er... amp, but there's no guarantee to the validity of her answers.

Here's what to do. Ask iTunes the question, and see what mystical answer iTunes plays from your complete Library when put on shuffle play. No playlists here! Like the original author stated, no use of the same artist twice, or I'd have them all end up Ryan Adams. Then, interpret at will.

1. How does the world see you?
St. Patrick's Day - John Mayer
Must have been as close to St. Rick that iTunes could manage at the time. Does this mean I have to cozy up to Ratzi? Yuck.

2.Will I have a happy life?
Sure Shot - Beastie Boys
This answer is made even better by a dog saying "I love you" at the beginning of the song. Double happiness points!

3. What do my friends really think of me?
Especially For You - Kylie Minogue
I knew their worlds revolved around mine, but now I have divine proof!

4. Do people secretly lust after me?
Makes Me Wanna Die - Tricky
I'm not sure if this is a yes, or a no. Either I'm repulsive as hell, or Tom Cruise secretly wants me, and is going to kill me. He'll probably do it dressed as a clown too, because he's all messed up like that.

5. How can I make myself happy?
Be-In - The Dandy Warhols
The song's about drugs and being alone in my room. Guess I'll give it a shot.

6. What should I do with my life?
Biological - Air
Nice. Really nice. Rub it in that I changed my major from Biology a long time ago, iTunes Powers That Be!

7. Will I ever have children?
Factory Girls - Flogging Molly
Not only a resounding yes, but with much destiny described too. Looks like my family's going back to their roots.

8. What is some good advice for me?
Live Again - Better Than Ezra
Damnit. I gotta go check my karma.

9. How will I be remembered?
Save Your Day - Jose Gonzalez
I hope this ties in with the St. Rick thing, and I'm getting a national holiday.

10. What is my signature dancing song?
Ooh La La - Goldfrapp
I swear it's still on shuffle! The iTunes is all powerful!

11. What do I think my current theme song is?
Chemical Party - Gavin DeGraw
Well, looks as if I have some drug issues I didn't know about. Or, I secretly harbor desires of becoming a druggie. I'd prefer to be a Kate Moss coke-nose than a Whitney Houstan crack-whore though.

12. What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Anything But Down - Sheryl Crow
I can live with that.

13. What song will play at my funeral?
If I Am (Acoustic Version) - Nine Days
Not exactly what I would have chosen, which leaves me wondering who's in charge of the arrangements. At least it's not some dopey hymn though.

14 What type of lover do I like?
Your Sweet Voice - The Reindeer Section
Well, there go my chances with James Blunt. Drat. If only there was a "Your Nasal Voice" song out there somewhere.

15. What is my day going to be like?
The Kiss - The Cure
Hopefully that's in reference to the action, not the band. I don't want to dress like Gene Simmons.

Well, I'm fairly satisfied with the answers, if for no other reason than no completely embarassing songs showed up on shuffle.

Saturday, April 29, 2006

Two Great Sites

I love snarky blogs, unless they're being snarky about me. When that's the case, they suck. However, since nobody actually writes snarky blogs about me, happening across one would be pretty cool, in a sucky-cool sort of way. Sort of like when I found out today that they're making a sequal to the Hulk movie, except that there was absolutely no cool associated with that one.

Until such time as someone makes a sucky-cool snarky blog about me, I leave you with one about films, and one about celebrities. Enjoy!

I Watch Stuff

The Superficial

I (h) Skype.

4/29/06 11:02 PM
Rick
This is hot.
4/29/06 11:03 PM
...
http://www.iwatchstuff.com/images/2006/02/silenthillbig.jpg

4/29/06 11:04 PM
Syndie
what the hell?!
4/29/06 11:04 PM
...
is that??
4/29/06 11:04 PM
Rick
it's from Silent Hill, but it wasn't in the film

4/29/06 11:04 PM
Syndie
ack!
4/29/06 11:04 PM
Rick
I think there's going to be an incredible Director's Cut

4/29/06 11:04 PM
Syndie
what exactly am i looking at?!
4/29/06 11:04 PM
Rick
It's a demon called Pyramid Head
4/29/06 11:04 PM
...
carrying a skinless body

4/29/06 11:04 PM
Syndie
oh.. i remember you telling me about him
4/29/06 11:04 PM
...
okay.. that's freaky
4/29/06 11:05 PM
...
i was thinking more cartoony
4/29/06 11:05 PM
Rick
I've been looking for that photo for a while, and finally found it

4/29/06 11:05 PM
Syndie
but that's definately not a cartoon
4/29/06 11:05 PM
Rick
nope

4/29/06 11:05 PM
Syndie
blech
4/29/06 11:06 PM
...
that's nasty
4/29/06 11:06 PM
Rick
Yeah. It's fantastic!

4/29/06 11:06 PM
Syndie
is that a skin apron?!
4/29/06 11:06 PM
Rick
yup

4/29/06 11:06 PM
Syndie
or skirt...whatever
4/29/06 11:06 PM
...
ick
4/29/06 11:06 PM
...
ick
4/29/06 11:06 PM
...
ick
4/29/06 11:06 PM
Rick
we should get you one. They're totally in right now.

4/29/06 11:06 PM
Syndie
note to self:
4/29/06 11:06 PM
...
no slient hill
4/29/06 11:06 PM
...
ever
4/29/06 11:06 PM
Rick
with uggs

4/29/06 11:06 PM
Syndie
hahaha
4/29/06 11:07 PM
Rick
Aw... never?

4/29/06 11:07 PM
Syndie
gotta raise the hem a bit though
4/29/06 11:07 PM
Rick
Yeah. Mini-skins are totally hot.

4/29/06 11:08 PM
Syndie
ew!
4/29/06 11:08 PM
...
lol
4/29/06 11:08 PM
Rick
I saw some fat-assed 40 year old woman wearing this mini skirt and fuzzy boots today.
4/29/06 11:09 PM
...
it was awful. Worse than that pic I just showed you

4/29/06 11:09 PM
Syndie
AHHHHH!!!
4/29/06 11:09 PM
...
dont freak me out like that!
4/29/06 11:09 PM
Rick
She was by the dairy case in Somerfield, which was ironic because she had a crate of cottage cheese in her thighs

Friday, April 28, 2006

Adventures in Papersitting

Sometimes favours end up being much more than you ever thought they would be. Case in point, delivering a paper for Syndie this morning at the Faculty of Arts office.

I've encountered a lot of Britarded things here at UOP, but the fact that you can't turn your work in to your professor is one of them that chafes like wet leather trousers. Instead of giving any work to your professor in class, you have to turn them in at the faculty office by noon of the day they're due. One minute after noon, and you get a zero for any items being turned in.You also have to fill out paperwork to turn in with any assignments you may have. It's a huge hassle, and it drives me crazy. So yes, it's totally beurocratic, silly, and completely Britarded.

Anyway, I offered to turn in a paper for Syndie at the office this morning. I made sure that I was at the library at 11 this morning, so that I could have plenty of time to print, stand in line, and turn the paper in with a little breathing space.

Unfortunately, Syndie and I didn't notice that OpenOffice saves their files in an odd format, rather than as a Word or Rich Text document. I realized this after I'd been trying to open the document for 15 minutes at the uni to no avail. I soon realized I'd need OpenOffice on the computer to open it. But, since the computers there are AWFUL, and set up on the most ridiculous system I've ever seen, I couldn't do this. I asked the computer people, and they refused to help me. Not their problem. Wankers.

At this point, it's 11:20, and the only option was to run to my flat and pray that I could print it on my Mac. I've got OpenOffice on my Mac, but it's some weird program called NeoOffice (because nothing Mac is ever simple. Always better, just not simple.) Problem is, campus is a good 10 minute walk from campus at a brisk pace. So, I took off running the whole way, holding up my trousers that are falling off my butt since I lost all the weight here. When I got home, I hoped and prayed it would work, and happily it did. I printed the document, and ran out the door. (It's a long story why I didn't just print it at my flat in the first place. Just bear with me.)

I ran downstairs to the housing office, demanded they let me use the stapler, and ran out the door. As I neared the campus, I saw the stupid charity people. Here, they hire people to beg money for charities. One of their favorite places to do so is the major walkway to the campus. It drives me crazy. This morning, one overzealous bloke was deliberately getting in people's ways, and stopping them while he asked for money. I was on an island in the middle of the street when our eyes met. I knew he was going to block me. Without hesitation, I yelled across the street that I'd knock him out if he got in my way in my most menacing American voice. He conceeded.

Run, run, run. I get to the office with a little time to spare, but there's a really long queue of people waiting to turn stuff in. Even though there's this oversight with the policy, they'll still flunk people if they were waiting in line to turn stuff in. Like I said before, Britarded.

I quickly realized that people didn't have the proper paperwork yet, let alone filled out. Since Syndie had already done this, I stormed to the front of the queue, and turned in the paperwork with a few minutes to spare. Hooray! Against all odds, I had succeeded.

Walking past the long queue of icy glares, I felt elated. My morning adventure had been better than anything from the DaVinci Code, and I didn't have to look all jowly and bloated like Tom Hanks to participate.

How to Make Techno Music in Your Head

1) Read a news article about French President Jacques Chirac.

2) Repeat the name "Jacques Chirac" over and over in a monotone voice at approximately 120 beats per minute.

3) Lay an imaginary bass groove over the mantra.

4) Mental percussion should randomly kick in soon.

5) For that DFA feel, add mental cowbell to the mix. Change the "Jacques Chirac" mantra's monotone to James's Murphy's trademark howl.

6) Sit back and groove to the music in your head.

7) (Optional) Use a banana or two as glow sticks to drive Rui crazy.

Ah, if only Apple's GarageBand was that easy.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Silent Hill

I'm off to see Silent Hill in a little bit. I'm really stoked to see it, because I have a feeling that this film will go back to what horror movies should be, rather than the mind-numbing toned-down rubbish that seems to have saturated the film industry lately.

It's getting awful reviews. I'm excited about this. Mainly, because I trust director Christophe Gans. While his film "Brotherhood of the Wolf" got horrible reviews, its become one of my favorites. Second, I think that your average person is a nincompoop, and will automatically reject and abhorr anything they don't quite understand. Cross reference the last 3 efforts of the Washowski Brothers here. And finally, when I saw the pictures of Pyramid Head a few months ago, I knew that we were back to bone-chilling freak you out horror. Huzzah!

If nothing else, it can't be as bad as the gory-lameness that was Hostel. I was so disappointed. Gore does not equal good. Didn't the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake teach us anything? Massacre, hardly. Dessecration, for sure.

I'll give a review later, and let you know what I think. I'm just amazed a movie is actually opening at the same time here in the UK as the US, rather than opening here the same week it debuts on DVD there. *sigh*

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

I Hate Myspace

I'll probably be attacked for saying this, but I hate Myspace. I'd rather die of herpessyphilghonnoraids than even start a myspace account. I had a friend say he wouldn't speak to me unless I started a myspace page. I told him I'd never speak to him if he had one, and probably kill him. We've since decided to agree to disagree.

Here are my main reasons for hating Myspace:

1) The early-adopters in the myspace craze were not the type of people I want to cozy up to. Namely, doofy high schoolers and vapid college students. You know, the ones who consider RaNDomiZed CaPITolS 2 B HoT!! I won't even go into leet speek and other atrocities against the English language at this point. I know language evolves and all, but conforming to stupidity because American pop culture needs to be dictated by 16-year-olds? No thanks.

2) My eyes! My freakin' eyes! The average myspace page makes my eyes melt in my head, gives me an anyeurism, and makes me break out in shingles. That's even before the stupid YouTube videos start playing and hogging up bandwidth.

Note: If you must create a Myspace page, please follow these tips on making it aesthetically pleasing. And by "must" I mean "socialists are going to murder and eat your family live on television if you don't conceed." Oh, and never ask me to visit or become one of your tacky online friends. I'll stab your eyes out with a shrimp fork, which brings us to...

3) The freakish online popularity contests that happen with the friends option. I thought it was laughable in high school, but now it's pushed over into the cyber world. If you don't have at least 30 friends, you're a complete loser. And let's face it, maybe only two or three are actually friends. The rest of you are just link-whoring to each other for false popularity. I've even seen blog entries begging people to go sign up as their friends on myspace.

Maybe I'm just old, maybe I'm just cranky, maybe I need to just lighten up. Either way, at the end of the day, I still hate Myspace.

Civil War - Marvel


After reading The New Avengers: Illuminati and Amazing Spiderman recently, Rui and I are trying to figure out Tony Stark's intentions towards Peter Parker?

I think he's just making Spidey choose sides before he even knows there will be a war, and Rui thinks that Stark's planning something even more sinister, like making Spidey reveal his identity publicly. Ack!

Any ideas?

Organized Anarchy?

On my walk home this morning, I noticed that little white stickers had been placed on all of the lightposts. Curious, I was graced with sheer stupidity.

Don't fight for the rich!
Fight the rich!

- Anarchy Federation
Um, doesn't organized anarchy pretty much go against the tenants of anarchy? Why should they be in authority, when there shouldn't be any authority, according to most of their mission statements?

Perhaps if I'd ever met an anarchist that wasn't more than a whiney child looking for a way to legalize drugs or for even more selfish gains, I'd have a better view on anarchy in general. As is, I just scoff.

Monday, April 24, 2006

Lather, Reload, Repeat

I'm hating Blogger right now. I've been trying to log in to write a post for a long time now. Connection kept being reset, and needed reloaded. Ok? Confirm Post Data? Reload? Back? Reload? Stop? Repeat? Lag, lag, lag...

I don't even know if this will post. Something popped up at the bottom about "connection failure - test connection." I guess I'm supposed to try it again. *sigh*

I had a great entry about the weekend in mind. No more. If Blogger wasn't the right price I'd say a lot of nasty things about it. Instead, I'm off to read my new comics.

Friday, April 21, 2006

Come On Ride the Train...

I'm going on a weekend trip to Bristol and Cardiff (Wales) in a few hours. Rui and I will take the train to Bristol for tonight, and go to Cardiff tomorrow, then back to Bristol for Sunday. It should be a good weekend.

Bristol is where a lot of innovative music came from, like Massive Attack, Tricky, and Roni Size. Hopefully we'll get a taste of the greatness.

Cardiff is the capitol of Wales, and we're planning on going to the castle, St. John's cathedral, the Welsh Tartan Centre (kilts) and the comic store. Yeah, we're nerds.

I'll try to post a few pics after we get back.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Further Adventures in Inbred Land

We went to dinner at one of the Spanish restaurants last Monday night. It's odd, because the Spanish place is more Mexican, and the Mexican place is more like food from my toilet. Yes, that's digested food.

A bottle of cheap red wine later, we half stumbled out the door to go home. On our way, we met a very jolly English lass. She was mystified by GaZpar's latin looks. I was mystified by her hellishly mistreated hair. Doesn't Amnesty International care that she's torturing her hair like that? Is there a sudden lack of conditioner I should be warned about? Then again, the fact that her hair looked like burnt egg noodles was less of a worry than the fact that she was certifiably PSYCHO!! She wouldn't leave us alone, even to the point of running out in the road in front of a taxi to get to us. Trust me, you don't mess with taxi drivers here. Vehicular manslaughter is a badge of courage in these parts. After finding out GaZpar was Portuguese, she told us all about how her father was from Portugal. Maybe her mom slept with a glass of Port wine, and this poor girl got all confused. Who knows. The Iraq war makes more sense than this girl ever will. We only got rid of her, after she followed us like a lost puppy, by GaZpar pretending to be Spanish. Apparently, girlfriend has major issues with the Spanish. Hmmm... maybe she really is Portuguese after all. All I know is that she was about 30 seconds from getting a one-way trip on the Fist Express to Lisbon.

About five minutes later, we walk by a guy in front of the Heine Gerick motorcycle shop. I'm not sure what he was tripping on, but all you could see of this guy was pupils, and his upper jaw about to gnaw off the lower one. Imagine for a second that Gollum was the prettiest one in the family, and his fugly cousin came to visit, after doing some crack cocaine that he smoked out of a dead hooker's skull. But first, he has to stop in front of the Heine Gerick store to scare drunks. Obviously, this guy won't be winning any beauty contests any time soon.

Phew! We're almost home now. Surely we're safe. But no! Here comes a younger guy talking loudly into his mobile phone, except for the important part of not having a mobile phone!! Oh yeah, and he's not actually talking to another person, but he's sure as hell having a full conversation with himself. Yeah, that conversation was not being charged by Orange, nor would he get 2 for 1 tickets at the cinema on Wednesday, unless it was at an insane asylum.

The scariest part of this whole walk home was the fact that we were drunk, but we seemed to be the only normal people about. You've got to love Plymouth.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Today's Embarassing Moment

I made me a big plate of chips (that's "Freedumb" fries to you Yanks) and a lovely veggie burger for lunch.

Seeing as how I'm particularly ravished at this meal, I didn't even think when I shoved a hot chip in my eager gob. Holy Buddah! That's hot! Hotter even than Eminem holding a set of twin babies. Yeah... that's hot.

As I spit half-chewed ball of potato napalm onto my plate, I realize my flatmate is standing behind me. Yes, looking at me like I'd just defecated on my plate.

Lunch was then served in the safety of my private room. *sigh*

Sunday, April 09, 2006

So Cultured

On my "Amazing Adventures!" today, I went to the Virgin Megastore and found more books for really cheap. Because they were only a quid each, I was able to buy them, knowing it's not a huge loss when I give them away in a few months.

Wanting to be cultured, I opted for books about tortured lesbians, and tortured animals. Sometimes the two can be confused, but the one novel is about lipstick lesbians, versus the neolithic wonders that roam Idaho.

Books of the day: "The Hours" and George Orwell's "Animal Farm."

Does this make me cultured like a pearl, or just a pig with fancy pearl earrings? (Yeah, I was NOT going to say necklace... pervert Syndie.)

I'll Take You To the Coffee Shop

... I'll let you lick the latte pop. Man, you can do just about anything with that song by 50 Cent.

I'm off to the coffee shop to get some swill. There are only a few coffee shops here, and none of them are particularly great. Even bad ones in Pocatello are better than the stellar ones here. O'Brien's isn't too bad, but you have to pay in cash, and Costa is overpriced and mediocre, but you can use a card and they don't mind as much if you just hang out. It's kind of like choosing between Bush and Kerry (well, if you were sent back in time and didn't know all the illegal crap Bush was going to do.)

I'm going to write a few emails that need to be written, work on some VJ stuff (just to show off when people are being nosey and staring at my monitor, which always happens here), and listen to some Fisherspooner.

I might even make it to Boots and buy some more shampoo, if I want an my Sunday to go from just simply amazing to Amazing and Astounding!! Whoo!

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Blog Entry Warning: Stupid Blonde Bitches!

I thought I should post a warning on the entry below titled Stupid Blonde Bitches. It's higly political, vulgar, and mean. If you're easily offended, consider yourself warned. If you're shocked and outraged, don't say I didn't warn you. If you're mad at me, good. It's about time people started to think.

I don't make any excuses for what I posted, except that I didn't write it a month ago.

Stupid Blonde Bitches

I remember my friend Kasey telling me that on his farm growing up, sometimes the cows would get this weird stomach bloating, and the easiest solution was to pierce the cow with a pitchfork to let the air out. I'm sure the story was a lie, but you have to give him points for creativity.

So why do I make mention of this? No, there's no need to call PETA yet. Instead, I make mention of this because there's a certain SBB (Stupid Blonde Bitch) I'd love to stab with a pitchfork. No, it's not Cameron Diaz, or even uber-whore Tara Reid. Although I certainly despise those two walking VD containment fields, this blog entry is reserved for a very special bitch. If Dante had written about the various circles of SBBs, as opposed to Hell (though the two tend to run hand in hand,) this one would be at the centre, sucking on Satan's teat.

Who's the lucky lady? Miss Brandi Swindell of Boise, Idaho! (Ooh! Spelled with an "i"! How SBB!) Brandi, like most SBBs is uppity, opinionated, and thinks she's Gawd's gift to mankind. Yes, she's the self-agrandizing twat we've witnessed in all of it's various SBB forms. So, what's so special about this SBB? She think's she's Gawd's new right hand of justice. Sort of like the Count of Monte Cristo, minus Guy Pierce's emaciated skeleton face. But most importantly, as Gawd's new appointed Right Hand, she's out to sanitize life for everyone in Idaho, and then on to the world! Hoo-ray!

Brandi first went SBB attention whoring during the Salt Lake olympics. She was a lone voice of sanity fighting that condoms NOT be distributed to the athletes. As Gawd's Right Hand (GRH), Brandi knew better than everyone else that athletes would not have sex if there were no condoms available. Instead, they would spend all of their free time reading the Word of Gawd and evangelising each other. Yeah, right. Unfortunately for Brandi, this was the WINTER olympics, where people only give a crap about ice skating. Male ice skater = GAY!!! Don't worry honey, there wouldn't have been any unwanted pregnancies anyway. Maybe a miscarried butt baby or two, but that's it.

Fresh from the rush of this self-congratulatory act that amounted to performing fellatio on Gawd (hmm... still not struck by lightning yet) Brandi went on to run for City Council in Boise. Because cerainly, if things worked out for Elle Woods in Legally Blonde 2, they must work for Brandi as GRH. Honestly, I don't know if she won or not. I hate Boise, so I could care less. A pox on Boise and their new GRH of the moment! Sheesh, that city and their religious martyrs! Where are some lions and a colliseum when you need to show them what a martyr really is. Seriously, read some Fox's Book of Martyrs, you whiney twats. Oops! I digress.

Lately, Brandi has not only been GRH in general life, but is now a special lobbyist for Gawd himself. As GRH, she has fought for Women's Rights. Well, for Brandi's right to tell women what to do, and how to do it, anyway. I'm sure the last thing she's done for female minorities like hispanic women was buy some potatoes at Albertsons, or got a new cleaning lady at the condo her parents pay for. I somehow doubt she's going to adopt any unwanted children soon, although she might in the future to avoid unsightly stretch marks. Then again, I'm sure Gawd wouldnt' allow GRH to get stretch marks. He might knock her up right before she gets married, and demand the child be named Jesus or something, but certainly not stretch marks. That would be ludicrous!

She's also been fighting those dastardly homos from getting married by fighting for a constitutional amendment in Idaho. Picking on ice skaters again? What's this girl's issue? Does Gawd think ice rinks are "unnatural" too? Ice + Summer = Certain Evil.

Another of Brandi's pet projects is the Constitutional Restoration Act of Idaho. While it may sound all summertime feel good with an urban redevelopment twist, it's a scary act. It's being propogated through the state as an act of preserving Relgious Freedom, which to a point it is. As long as you're white, privileged, and CHRISTIAN... your religion will be protected. Phew! Here's what the Idaho ACLU has to say about the proposed bill. If even 1/200th of it is true, it should send shivers down your spine. Unless you aline with the current Reich Wing Christofacists, in which case, you'll probably need a moist towelette to go cleanse yourself (although you have no idea what I'm talking about.)

o The Constitution Restoration Act of 2005, introduced in March 2005 and co-sponsored by Senator Larry Craig and Representative Butch Otter, would deny ALL federal courts - INCLUDING the U.S. Supreme Court - of any jurisdiction to review cases challenging a government official acknowledgment of "God as the sovereign source of law, liberty, or government."
o Specifically, the Act would slam shut the federal court house doors to religious minorities, parents, schoolchildren and others who seek nothing more than to have their religious and free speech claims heard before the courts most uniquely suited to entertain such claims.
o The Constitution Restoration Act also serves as a punitive measure, providing for the impeachment of judges for fulfilling their constitutional duties to review laws that potentially violate the Constitution itself.
o Additionally, the Constitution Restoration Act states that no federal court, including the U.S. Supreme Court, may rely upon international law, except that from English constitutional and common law prior to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
o By preventing individuals from addressing their constitutional grievances in federal court, the Act inevitably violates principles of separation of powers, equal protection, and due process.
o It also undermines public confidence in the federal courts by expressing outright hostility toward them, threatens the legitimacy of future congressional action by removing the federal courts as a neutral arbiter, and rejects the unifying function of the federal judiciary by denying federal courts the opportunity to interpret the law. This would potentially create a situation where we could have as many as 50 different interpretations of any relevant federal constitutional question.
o This bill is dangerous and reactionary pieces of legislation in response to unpopular court decisions.

Great idea Idaho. Let's follow this SBB as GRH and make this a law. Then, when the federal government realizes that we just commited an act that's tatamount to treason, we can all giggle together and say "just kidding!" Right.

I hate politics, despise them actually, but I hate uppity SBBs even more. I'm pissed that I just lost an hour of my life complaining about this Reich Winger. Brandi, if I see you when I get back to Idaho, expect a pitchfork to the head. Consider it payment for all of your hard work.

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Electrofunk Lesbians

Why yes, I have been blogging... but not here. Teehee. I needed to take a short break with Blandella and work on some other stuff that needed to be commited to cyberspace (since paper doesn't exactly happen anymore.) I needed a less visible (er... known) venue to conduct my publishing.

I was recently saddened by iTunes not offering the DFA Remixes: Chapter 1 and was forced to go to my local HMV and purchase it today. After two store employees and I scoured the store for 20 minutes trying to find the 6 copies they had, I found that the store price was higher than the internet store price. Over here, the online stores are ususally separate entities from the brick-n-mortar stores, though both housed under the parent company, so they can set their own prices. Odd, I know. Anyway, I used my NUS student discount and got it for the same price. I know I could have waited and got it in the US... but why wait? A bird in the hand, and all that. I quickly ran home, ripped it to iTunes, put it on the iPod, and went running at the iGym. I've been remiss about attending the gym over the last month, and thought this was a good time to get back into the flow. Worked the legs too hard, and have jello thighs tonight. Grrrr....

While I was out shopping, I found the coolest present for Rui. Since he's probably going to read this, I won't say what I got for his return from Lisbon. We'll just say that it was marked down incredibly, and he'll most likely wet himself like those submissive dogs that wee everywhere when you go to pet them.

I've been in a depressed funk yesterday and today, since Syndie left (Whaaah!!!) and Rui is out of town for a week (Whaaaah!!!) I was looking in a store and found a copy of the book The Hours that the movie was based off of. It was only 99p, so it was tempting. I didn't watch the film for a long time, because I was in my stolid good-boy phase (some know what I'm talking about.) After I watched it, I really enjoyed it. I just couldn't get the book today. Reading about depressed lesbians would probably set me over the edge today. Maybe tomorrow.