Watching: Superman: the Animated Series vol. 3, Mission Impossible 3, Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God, Æon Flux, Blade, Blade 2, Blade Trinity, Virus: Resurrection Day, Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon, Bullet Train, and Supernatural season 1. Listening (to): Del tha Funkee Homosapien Reading: Sengoku Playing: Star Wars: Republic Commando, Star Wars: Empire at War, Star Wars: Jedi Outcast, and Star Wars: Battlefront. (Picked up Star Wars: Best of the PC for 20 bucks.)
Okay, to ring out 2006, I'm adding a link to the genre cinema review site 10,000 Bullets to the link list. It's a nice little review site for the discerning, undiscerning cinema fan... just ignore the near total lack of spelling and grammar checking. (Their slogan is "Exploring the world of Cinema from the Arthouse to the Grindhouse.")
Well, it's now 3am on Christmas Day, and I feel absolutely no need to sleep. It's too late to start a movie, I'm too tired to play any video games, and far too tired to read.
That said, I'm far too awake to sleep.
Joy.
In ages past, I'd be up late because I was excited about waking up, but now, I just dread the actual day. It's become a chore, and it's probably something we should've just dropped years ago. My siblings and I are all adults, and none of us have children. It's just a ritual that we've grown accustomed to doing, but we don't have the courage to just stop it.
None of us can really afford it, and I'm certain that most of us don't actually like each other very well. We're generally a poor excuse for a family, and the get-together tonight at my sister's place just proved it. My family sat upstairs, seemingly not talking to each other, and my future brother-in-law and I played PS2 games in the basement. (As an aside, I really should get Call of Duty: Finest Hour for the PS2 on of these days. It's a lot better than I imagined.) I really didn't want to go, but I felt like it'd be rude and that I'd be ostracized even more if I didn't.
It's funny that I'm writing this, as I usually don't get into my family dynamics (or, more correctly, lack thereof) but I was reading about a friend's family's get together via another friend's blog, and it just sort of grew from there. Basically, his family gets along with each other, and a family gathering is a pleasant experience. My family just tends to act like a bunch of angry drunks, just without the drinking and random fisticuffs. Our favorite family pastime seems to be verbal sniping, and we've all gotten quite good at it. Too good, in fact.
Anyway, it's 3:15am as I type these last words, and I should probably get some sleep. Need my strength to survive the day. (And the hellish Boxing Day I'm assuming I'm going to have.)
I found this amusing. Basically, the story goes: I log onto Trillian, and I find an ICQ buddy request from a complete stranger. I check out their info, it's some (admittedly kind of hot, if it's really her) Russian woman, and she has this link as her homesite. It's obviously been translated from a language other than English, more than likely Russian, but it gets more and more amusing.
Man, I love Russian girlfriend dating site spam, especially ones that give far too much info.
I discovered these the other day, and well, I'm sort of enjoying them. Basically, they're free streaming movie sites that show nothing but public domain genre flicks. In other words, they show MST3K worthy stuff 24/7. (Except for the original Night of the Living Dead.)
Reminder, you're not going to find anything particularly good on these, but they do make a nice diversion. That said, there's absolutely no guide to what's being played, so it's a lot more like MST3K than you'd think. You can't control when they start or end, you just watch.
Enjoy, if you dare.
(I just discovered this site: ChannelChooser.com. It looks like it has links to the above, plus much more. Warning: It does have links to hardcore porn feeds. I was a little surprised by exactly how hardcore they were.)
Yeah, it's the new SNL digital short. Not as funny as the Natalie Portman one, but it's crude enough to warrant some giggles. And, yeah, NOT WORK SAFE.
Probably the second last media rundown of the year, and a little reflection
Okay, enough with the preamble.
Watching: A Scanner Darkly and copious amounts of the free G4TechTV preview. Listening (to): The Akira soundtrack, Gary Jules, Deltron 3030, and Handsome Boy Modeling School. Reading: Akira, oddly enough. Playing: Final Fantasy XII, Psychonauts, Shadow Hearts: From the New World, Aeon Flux, Dark Angel, and I completed Gun in about 8 hours one day.
This time around, yeah, I have been playing a lot of games. Need the sanity boost to survive the holiday shopping season (of which, and the for the record, mine is done) as it, combined with the cold that just won't go away, is making this a more stressful time than it usually is for me.
Normally, I hate this time of year. It brings out the worst in people, and that really starts to eat away at you when working retail. You know that they're not angry at you, but sometimes they don't realize that. I've had a shouting match with a co-worker, who really did need a smack upside the head,but I'm still not too proud of the whole event. It's just that this year's probably been my hardest one, in memory, to deal with. There's the above reasons combined with shuffles at work, plus my dad's health, my family's financial situation, and Mary's current batch of medical issues. (And my inability to get in touch with her is doubly stressful. I'm either too sick to try, or when I do, I can't reach anybody.)
I'm doing reasonably well, but I do feel more alone than I have in years past. I usually have Mary to talk to, but I don't this time around, and I'm still not comfortable talking this stuff over with the folks at work. I'll get by, that much I know, but it's a little more obvious that there's something wrong this time around.
... the only way to screw the system is to get in bed with it first.
I present, the absolutely not work safe, "Couple roleplays the political way." Do not check out it if the idea political commentary in the guise of almost explicit intercourse offends you. (It's not, really, but it is definitely close to being R-rated.)
Wildlife experts have said that coyotes frequently leave surgical-style cuts in carcasses, but Snippy's space-alien legend grew, fed by Lewis' stories.
I can't figure out if that's sarcastic or not. Okay, the alien bit obviously is, but the 'fact' that "coyotes frequently leave surgical-style cuts in carcasses" just baffles me.
Coyotes tear things apart, they do not make surgical-style cuts. They're canines, they have canines, they tear. It's what they do, and it's why they call those teeth canines... because they're for tearing.
It's stuff like that that adds fuel to the conspiracy theories, and from the tone of the articles, they were trying to debunk things in a sarcastic tone. Guess what? That zinger about "coyotes frequently leav[ing] surgical-style cuts in carcasses" just sort of sucks all the credibility out.
Here's another reason why Ain't It Cool News should just be shunned at all cost. A word of warning, you'll be squicked over this for different reasons. Also, it contains some foul language, and some squick worthy commentary about a fictional character. This guy only supports the 'geeks are basement dwelling trolls' stereotype, and should be ostracized for such.
Here's something I've recently noticed: White people really don't cosplay well at all, especially when they try to cosplay Asian characters. For example, this character is Mai Shinaru from the Fatal Fury series of games.
Asian cosplayer:
White cosplayer:
(Note: this is not the original photo posted, as the originating site is now down.)
The other thing is that Asian people seem to be better at cosplay altogether. As witnessed through the Chinese Lara Croft contest. Of course, that could be because the participants are actually attractive, not to mention fit, and not pasty white geeks.
Now, this isn't an Asian fetish thing. It's just an observation based on scanning through this thread on RPGnet. In most of the cases, the Asian cosplayers just seemed better at it than the white folks, with more enthusiasm and less awkwardness shown. Mind you, this might be just an anime/gaming cosplay thing, as I've seen some killer superhero cosplayers. (I've seen some incredibly embarrassing ones too, though.)
It's probably just because white geeks are, well, white geeks with all the extra baggage that entails.
For the record, this fat, white geek just doesn't have the urge to play dress-up anymore. Not even for Hallowe'en. I may be a man-child, but I choose other outlets for it, thankyouverymuch.
Since my hate of fandom knows no limits, I present Fandom Wank, which is one of the single most ironic sites on the web. Y'see, they're anti-fandom wankery, but all they are is another form of fandom wankery. Fan wankery is when fandom gets off on itself, and we're talking the uglier side of fan entitlement. (Which is when fans think they're entitled to something extra just because they're fans.)
Basically, the irony lies in that these are fans who think they're superior to other fans, which is also a form of fan wankery. Granted, I'm guilty of a lot of the same stuff, but unless I really need to do it, I don't go as far as these folks when it comes to pointing and laughing. Mind you, the folks behind FW do seem to be actively aware of the irony involved as well.
Just a small note, the video should be half the length, as most of it is just the guy playing Half-Life 2 with some bad fan-techno in the background.
For the driver, go here. A caveat though, it might not work for you. For starters, you need a Bluetooth adaptor, and, well, a Wiimote. Also, listen for the links he gives out. WiiLi.org is down at the moment, but the blog at wiihacks.blogspot.com us still up though.
Anywho, this is going to be one of those "I felt like posting, but had nothing really to share" posts. It's vaguely incoherent, and it's going to start off with a media rundown.
Watching: Superman Returns, Clerks 2, Harvey Birdman, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, Stargate Atlantis on DVD, and Battlestar Galactica on TV. Listening (to): Not much of anything. A little radio, here and there. Reading: Ditto. Playing: Gun, True Crime: NYC, Final Fantasy XII, Herdy Gerdy, and Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks.
That may seem like a lot of game playing, but it's been spread out since the last time I did one of these things. (It's been a month and a half.) I may get a day a week where I can play, if I'm lucky. I've been sick, so I had a little extra time this week, when I wasn't passed out. Mostly, I've been slogging through work, and that finally made me sick this weekend. I knew it was going to hit me hard, but I didn't think it'd hit me this hard. (And now, I stop whining about being ill. I mean, what is this? A blog?)
Sooooo, Stéphane Dion's the new Liberal leader. Well, at least it wasn't Ignatieff. I can't quite put my finger on it, but he just rubs me the wrong way. I'm not going to touch on the questionable elements of his personality, tactics, and so on. The man himself just bothers me. Sure, Dion's pretty bland, but so's Dalton McGuinty and look how he turned out. (That would be Schroedinger's Irony there. It's simultaneously ironic and not ironic.)
Wow, the things I do to boost my post count. Anyways, that's that. More when it's more sane outside, I'm not half-asleep, and my lungs work properly.
Okay, I've fixed the Dyson's Fear 2.0 archive. It's a little kloodgey, but it's accessible. Which is pretty good for a sick day while listening to Radio One.
There are no words for this, none at all. It's pretty much as disturbing as disturbing can be, and really makes you want to curl up in a ball and cry... which, I suppose, makes this one of those "I weep for..." posts.
Me? If I wasn't feeling ill already, I'd be physically ill after reading this story.
Heh, after a little cross-referencing, I think I might be the Jason L listed in the MySpace friends credits at the end of Clerks 2. (Could be Jason Lee, but that'd be cheating.) I could be wrong, as I can't remember if I signed up under the 10000 limit, but I did sign up a while back and a fairly long while before the movie premièred.
Okay, now I do posts on weird paranormal stuff, but I'm not necessarily a believer. (Actually, I'm a big skeptic.) That said, there's something in the house and there is no rational explanation for it. I say something, as there's definite physical evidence. The basement was trashed, slightly, and there's wood-shavings under the windows, with big scratch marks in them.
The first, and most obvious, explanation would be that there's been an animal loose in the basement. The first suspects would be the cats. What rules them out is that they're both de-clawed, and some of the scratch marks are in places where they couldn't possibly reach. They'd have to be the size of a cougar to get to them.
What also rules out an animal is that, while things have been knocked down, none of the food that's out has been touched. No nibbled potatoes, nothing. A trapped animal, and it would have to be trapped, would've found something to eat or would've attacked us by now. Neither has happened.
There's also the fact that there is absolutely no way that any sort of wild animal could've gotten into the basement. There's no broken windows, no holes, nothing. The only damage to the windows shows that something wants out, but hasn't been able to get out.
I'm really creeped out. I heard a huge crashing sound this morning, and well, I thought it was a car accident outside. My uncle also heard crashing this afternoon, but we can't find a source for it. If there's an animal hiding down there, it's been doing a smashingly good job of completely hiding it's presence. There's not even any droppings of any sort.
Then there's the picture that's been almost knocked off the wall, and the massive coldness that's crept through the house. Also, when I go into the basement, I sort of sense something watching me, and moving around, from the corner of my eye.
Update: Definitely an animal, but how it got down there is a mystery. Expert says it's probably a squirrel, but the sounds I heard it making were like a medium sized cat. (It sounds like one of my cats running around, but it wasn't either of them as I could account for both.)
Update #2: It was a black squirrel, and it's gone now. We've got a new tenant now, it seems, as there's a skunk living under our sun porch.
Update #3: ... and we still haven't figured out how the squirrel got in the basement. Not a single clue.
A look at the inner workings of all things Jay, and an experiment with online identity. Also, an experience dedicated to the memory of a woman named Mary, who will always hold a special place in my heart.
