Merry Christmas

I just want this Christmas to be over. There was not merry times so far. With the hours at work slowly shifting back to normal, things should start getting better. Sadly, we are losing an employee at work in a few days becuase he is traveling for his main work, as a jouster at Renaissance Faires. Apparently, I am also getting a raise. That doesn't mean much though. My boss better not expect me to cover more hours. I cover almost too much already with no overtime, paid vacation or benefits.

Still, here is a version of he Holiday Card DC Comics sent me at work. The art is by Matt Haley. (I say "holiday card" because it truely isn't a Christmas card when my rep is Jewish.)


I have had a screwy sleep schedule. I don't think I have the appropriate amount of gifts for my family. Right, now, I don't care either. They better be happy with what they get.

I have part of my gift for my pollyanna. Thankfully, we aren't exchanging gifts till New Years Day. I will hopefully not have to gointo work then.

One can pray for those Christmas miricles.

Wet in NJ (not in a good way)

Man, I am tired. I should go to bed. I have work at 8Am in a mall the day before Christmas Eve. This is after pulling a 13 and a half hour shift there the day before.

Anyway, The wedding was wonderful and beautiful. Getting there was not. After printing out directions found on the internet, I thought I was on my way. I then realized that the church was further north in NJ than I originally thought. I thought it was going to be across the Ben Franklin bridge, it was in fact across the Betsy Ross. Not a big deal, but I would be driving close to rush hour in a downpour through Philadelphia traffic. My brother suggested an alternate route, that for a moment was exceptionally fine. Cross the close bridge of Commodore Barry, and head up Route 130, which so happens to be 295. This was good as there was lighter traffic. Problems arose because of New Jersey's predilection towards placing exit signs either on the exit or after, never before. I wound up missing the exit to stay on Route 130. There was the exit sign, then as I was going to go over and proceed through it, it passed a second later. Twenty feet between sign and exit, with nothing coming before it as a warning. So, I drove to a place that was semi-familiar, Bellmawr. I took an exit off 295 that I had used before to head to a friend's place. I pulled over where I could and called for help. I didn't have any maps on me.

After a brief discussion with two of my brothers, I headed back to 295 and proceeded to Route 73. It was a respectable drive, and not that bad. Still the rain was horrible. As I entered Route 73, I noticed more keep right signs supposedly exits. They were of course laid right on top of the actual turn. I was supposed to exit at Maple Shade, but of course drove past it when the sign I thought i was foloow lead to an exit instead of folloing the sign after the exit. I cannot warp space-time, yet. I grabbed the next u-turn jug-handled horror that the Garden State loves so much, and proceed back towards my inital exit.

Then it was praise that the church had a school attached, or I would have missed the place completely. I wound up dripping my way in just beofre the brides-maids proceeded down the asile. I grabbed the pue in the back and watched the ceremony.

Tired

I am tired. I went to a friend's wedding today. It was in New Jersey. I got lost twice... in the rain. I will try and expound on it more when I have rested. I just really wanted to put something up here.

Energy Drinks make my mind boil

I drank an energy drink on the way to my car after leaving the bar. It was not my best idea.

I spent the night with the Olde City Sideshow at National Mechanics. It was a good time. There was a decent crowd that responded phenomenally. I saw and chatted with a few people I have not seen in a while. One works at Steven Singer Jewelers, so I know where I have to go if I have any standard adornment needs. There was beer flowing, and loud terrible music playing. Well, the music wasn't terrible in and of itself, it was mainly the DJ playing it. He has no idea what he is doing and wrecks every sound he forces on my eardrums.

Other than that, my dad is in the hospital. I'm not sure if he was released yet. I got a cryptic call from my aunt (his sister). She is sort of a loon, so I passed it off and called my oldest brother to see what the deal was all about. Apparently, at this point all I know is that my dad was admitted for shortness of breath. He is in his mid to late 60s, and a retired Philadelphia firefighter. They performed some tests, but I haven't heard any results. They had him walk up and down the hallway, and he started having trouble breathing. The symptoms could be almost anything. I feel like it's an episode of House. There are many bugs going around that could be the culprit. There was also mention of possibly asbestosis.

I haven't talked to my dad in months. In fact, the last conversation we had was an accident. He was reading down a list of his sons' phone numbers and meant to call my brother, Matt. We talked for a bit, but we really don't have much in common. Hopefully, everything will be fine. I'll try and call him tomorrow.

Take 2

OK, so I didn't get back into tings. I am being lazy and lethargic. My time has been consumed by the wonders of video games and the distractions of pre-made mediums. Nothing has really called me to creativity. I am getting a shove though.

A friend of mine wants me to work with him on a short film he is trying to put together. He thinks I have some type of strange potential. I went to school for English, that doesn't mean I can write. And, no, that writing concentration doesn't count either. It just means I have credits in those. I also have credits in Philosophy, but that doesn't make me Plato.

Anyway, he sent me what little he has a the moment, and a video of some news footage for inspiration. I don't know what is going to take. I am going to let the stuff seep into my noggin and percolate for a bit. Hopefully something will come up soon.

I should probably write up a treatment... As soon as I remember what a treatment is.

Anniversary... getting back to it.

Well, today was interesting, a bit.

My mom celebrated her 20th anniversary with her company today. She called me to say they had pizza, balloons and an engraved picture frame. She was exited. It was a good thing. She has been with the University of Penn Health System for a long time now. Hell, I was 8 when she started. I don't even know what she did before that. I think it was some sort of nursing home care thing.

It felt like old guy and crazy person day at the mall. There was a bevy of people who belong under watchful care, that wasn't there. There were a couple of the normal crazies that I can handle. Unfortunately there was a couple that like to talk to themselves and scare people away. The old guys were all nostalgic. One of them, was kind of a dick that couldn't understand that we didn't carry comics from the 50's, i.e. the Golden Age. We usually would, but it's not like every collection we have come in contains rare gems. Most of the crap people try to sell to my store tends to be stuff from the 80s and 90s which isn't worth much.

Recovering after a night out

I should have been pretty drunk tonight. I was hanging out with a few old friends. I was going to see the Olde City Sideshow, but it was a mix up in dates and they weren't performing. Instead I hung out with John, the OCSS talker, and my friend Ken. We were joined later by some other fellow employees and former employees of my work at a bar in Media, PA.

It was a good time. Many memories were brought up. There was talk of current problems. There was even an announcement of a new job. No, it wasn't for me.

After we had decided to part, I hung out with a couple guys afterward and went to another bar to have a couple more drinks. This was probably not a good idea. I had two more, and thought that was too much. When we left, they headed to a diner, and I headed home. I sat in my car for a bit and finished an energy drink.

Things didn't agree with me on the ride home. I was alert enough to not drive irregularly, but my stomach ached. It was like when I have sweet malt liquor, as in hard lemonade or twisted tea. It hurts my belly. I convinced myself to just make it till I got home. Only one traffic light was against me. I got home fine and parked, things took a turn for relief shortly thereafter. I feel much better now, and don't think I will be up for much longer.

My only down point was that there weren't many women where I was. The only real interaction I had was with a friend's girlfriend. the second bar sported more women, but the ratio of guys to girls was something like 5 to 1. It was all out of whack.

Oh well, tomorrow is another day. I have yet to determine what it may bring. Hopefully, it will be enjoyable.

Next President of the United States

Well, it looks like Obama won the election. Last time I checked, he had about 297 votes of the electoral college. I can finally stop seeing smear campaign ads. I hate those things.

Well, I hope he performs his duty well. Time will tell if he will make a good president.

I just want to stop hearing from people that he is a terrorist. If he was, why wouldn't it have been brought up when he was going to be senator. I guess we are allowed to have supposed terrorists as senators, but not as president.

Good luck, Barack Obama. You will need it.

What to do tonight?

Well, it's Halloween weekend. Fun, fun. I have no idea what I am going to do tonight.

Halloween, as an event, was all right this year. Nothing great, but better then it could have been. I had 3 parties that I was going to attend, I wound up only at one. The other 2 wound up canceled. I only wore my costume once this year.

The one party I did attend was fine. It was being held when the Phillies were in the World Series. It was kind of cold and wet. I knew some of the people there. There was a fine effort by most to arrive in costume, but some didn't get the memo. I made 4 CDs worth of Halloween-esqe music. I was asked to do this. I then found out that they couldn't play them because the player they had, didn't read burned CDs. So, we listened to the radio broadcast of the baseball game. It wasn't an entirely festive mood, but it was all right and relaxed.

So, now, I guess, my Halloween is finished. It was an ubrupt ending.

When is the costume a question?

Well, I went as The Riddler to a friend's Halloween party last weekend. I have a couple pics of me as it, but nothing outrageous. The Riddler is a Batman villain from the comics. Jim Carry portrayed him in the almost better left forgotten Batman Forever. I went with a more classic, slightly improvisational interpretation. I don't think I can pull off the spandex.

Most of the stuff I hand-made, or rather added onto. The hat was from a Halloween store, and I spray-painted it green. The ribbon and question mark were aquired from a arts and crafts store. Design, cutting and hot glue later attached them. My tie was from a cheap department store. I added fake gems from the arts and crafts store to put the question mark on it. The mask was purchused from a costume store, but I attempted modifying it, and failed. That's why it looks a little strange. The cane was actually shaped, welded, and painted by my brother. It is completely metal, rather light, and can put a hurtin' on someone if need be.

I attempted to go with a whole green suit, but couldn't find one that seemed right. I still may pick one up if I see it. One of these days, I'll have a room full of costume stuff based on comic characters. I already have stuff for the Jack Knight Starman and Wesley Dodds Sandman.

Halloween has yet to arrive. I actually have off Thursday, so I may attempt a final run at costuming. I would like to get gloves and probabkly a new mask. I have contemplated dressing up for work, but may not. If I go anywhere else for the holiday, I'll probably dress up as well. We shall see.

Prepping the Costume.

I watched the first Puppet Master last night. It was still as good as I thought it was. I personally enjoy how the puppets are both the heroes and villains of the story.

I will probably start watching the 2nd movie soon, Puppet Master 2: His Unholy Creations. I need some background stuff and can't get work done in front of the computer. I am going to try and get some of my Halloween costume finished. I hit up a arts and crafts store and picked up most of the things I needed. Hopefully, everything will fall into place.

When I get it all done, I will probably post pictures. I want it to be a slight surprise. It's nothing extravagant, but should be interesting and definitely fits me. It is even a theme I occasionally do for Halloween.

Now, it's time for me to break out a hot glue gun, and prepare to cut some felt.

Puppet Master

I'm in a pretty good mood for the moment. I just found a collection of the Puppet Master movies from Full Moon Pictures. I used to have a weird fascination with Full Moon. I have seen many of their earlier stuff during my high school years. I even have some of the toys they put out. The main problem I kept running into was that I couldn't find the Puppet Master series anywhere. It has been out of print for years. Most of the Full Moon line is actually out of print. Since I have only been to one horror convention, and it slipped my mind when I was actually there, I don't have them on dvd. that is about to change though.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I have found nine movies. The Puppet Master movies are the most well known of the Full Moon movies. Every year, AMC (American Movie Classics) runs a Monsterfest (Fearfest, now)where they show horror movies leading till Halloween. Every year, they find some instance to throw the first Puppet Master in there. It is a classic in every sense of the word. It is a wonder of stop-motion animation and actaully developed some techniques of film-making. I eagerly await watching them all.

Now, I just hope my dvd-burner is up to the task.

Hero

Here's an article from the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Posted on Tue, Oct. 14, 2008

Southwest Phila. fire kills woman, injures child

A woman died and a child was injured in an an afternoon house fire in Southwest Philadelphia yesterday.

Authorities did not know last night what caused the fire, which was reported at 5:32 p.m. in the 2400 block of South 57th Street, fire dispatcher Jim Smith said. Firefighters encountered heavy flames when they arrived, but the fire was under control within 15 minutes.

The woman later died of her injuries; a girl was taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with severe injuries. Fire Department officials would not release the names or ages of either last night.

Now, it is a sad article. A woman died. There is sort of a bright spot for me. My brother, Ted, was the firefighter that saved the child and also a grandmother.

I just found this out tonight. I think it's pretty cool. Granted, he was just doing his job. He has even saved other people before. I have to give him a call tomorrow to see what the deal is. He may be awarded a commendation.

On turning 60

I'm trying to figure out what to write. I have a few ideas, but, I am not sure what should actually flow through me. Hell, I don't even think I could produce something coherent.

According to the counter thing at my dashboard for Blogger, this will be my 60th post. Now, I haven't done 59 other posts in the last few months of actively putting stuff here. I have apparent done all this through the last couple years. It's funny that if you go through my archives for this blog, there is an entire year missing. I didn't touch this for a year. Just shows how I feel about my writing.

I originally started this blog to just get some stuff out there. There was once an idea that I would post some of my fiction here. Since I haven't written any fiction since college, that never happened. I blame my muse, or lack there of. I just haven't really been inspired to write anything. My few stories for class usually dealt with things I have either known or experienced. There was one that I juts took from a concept and didn't base it on anything. I attempted to mask my need for personal depth and self-inclusion in my writing, but it didn't work. The story wasn't that good. Writing it, I saw too many plot holes that I didn't want to fill in. I was the epitome of the procrastinator in college. Most of what I wrote was done at the last minute. A personally belief, or delusional excuse, that I worked better under pressure. In all, I tended to write till I passed out. There was even one instance where I wrote a paper while sick, taking periodic naps at my desk and on the floor of my living room, waking to write a couple paragraphs. I don't even remember what it was for.

I would like to start writing stuff that can accurately express the things I have been going through. I was originally going to say "crap" instead of "things". The problem is that I do recognize that there are some good things going for me. My optimist pops out every once and a while to remind me that everything isn't shit, and can get better. The pessimist comes with depression, and depression leads to nothing being written.

For me, this blog is therapeutic. it helps me say something. Most of the time, I feel I never have anything to say. Or if I do, it is usually overshadowed by whatever everyone else has to say. My ideas and opinions don't seem that important with my weak social skills. If you were to talk to me, I would tend to stammer over words. I usually don't know how to express thing vocally. Hell, I don't know how to express it verbally in print either. I just fake it have have time to reflect on what I'm trying to express rather than just on-the-spot.

I sometimes post on my Myspace blog. I really haven't done much of that lately, though. In all honestly, I just like the look and design of what I put here better. It is more aesthetically pleasing as I type and shows up more professional when I post. The Myspace blog tends to feel like a long text message. Also, there are only so many surveys one can take. I would prefer if people read this here, only because I feel I put more effort into it. Myspace has its' advantages. More people have the opportunity to see what I write there. It is mush simpler to "subscribe" to my blog and get notified when I put something new up there. It also allows for more people to check up on me. I am not about making my profile private. If I have something to hide, I tend to do it internally. There are plenty of times i have neglected to write something here or on Myspace because I feel people may not appreciate what I have to say about a situation or the person themselves. I just don't say it. If I did speak my mind and keep an active journal, most of my post would be private. That could lead to paranoia.

I'm the one that is paranoid though. I don't write because I could be good at it and people would want more. I don't write because I could be bad at it and people would hate it. They could tell me they hate it and I should stop writing. They could hate it and tell me that they liked it, the friend way. It's a tug at the band-aid. Sometimes it's better to rip the damn thing off.

I'm not sure what comes next. I think I just need to get away. Or a laptop. Maybe I need to get away with a laptop. If anyone notices timestamps, I tend to post these things in the early AM. There is a reason. It tends to be the only time I feel I can write. I can't concentrate on writing when people are around... well, at least when family is around. I am plenty fine in my own little universe. I would like something to come along that I don't have to worry about. At least for a little bit. I seem to worry about too much. Until that time comes, I'll probably keep putting the occasional gibberish here in the hopes that something concrete can expose itself to my reader.

He is my brother

The 10th of October is the 10th anniversary of the death of my brother. I didn't expect it to hit me as hard as it did. Alcohol coupled with loneliness and tiredness, dropped my guard. My friend asked what was so special about my brother. I am the youngest of 7 children. How much influence did he have. All I could respond with was that. "He is my brother."

I vote because someone has to.

I hate politics.

I seriously do. I don't really understand it. I get weirded out by anyone who follows any person for whatever reason. I can understand in a military setting following a superior officer. They just have more experience in what your doing. In politics, it just seems like a popularity contest.

I didn't like student council votes when I was in school. I don't like actual elections now, Granted, I like voting because I have the freedom and ability to do so. It is a slight satisfaction that when whoever gets elected screws-up, it will be because the nation put him/her there. It won't be because they were born into it.

I never tell anyone who I am voting for in any election. It come up today in a conversation. A couple of guys were in talking about journalism. One is the editor of his college newspaper and the other used to work with him, but has since moved onto other things. They brought up that it is journalistic integrity to not show bias toward one candidate or another. While that is appropriate for journalists and people who supposed relay the Truth, it's not exactly my reason for withholding my nomination.

The main reason I don't tell anyone is because it is none of their damn business. The second reason is because no matter what, an argument will brew. Granted, I am pretty non-confrontational, but politics just brings out the anger and meanness of everyone.

When I stand there at the polls, I look over the different choices. I have been doing this in every election an primary I could since I registered to vote. I read the names and positions of the people who want my vote, who will make the choices of this country, because my voice is too small by itself. I look and I think, "Who is going to screw me the least?"

A wash comes over me and a thought graces my mind, "Why do I always have to choose a lesser evil?... Why can't I just vote for Cthulhu?"

I remember I can. There is a write in slot. He's a dark horse though.

Nailin’ Paylin: X-Rated Spoof

Ok, I just think this is funny. Apparently, Hustler genius Larry Flynt's video company came up with a funny idea. With the election just about a month away, they will produce an Adult Video spoof of the Republican Vice-Presidential canidate, called Nailin' Paylin.

From Frisky.com:

Word leaked earlier that Larry Flynt’s Hustler Video is making an X-rated movie inspired by Republican Vice President nominee Sarah Palin. Now, TheFrisky.com has the exclusive details! Find out all the juicy details after the jump.

The title of the pornographic homage to the governor of Alaska is “Nailin’ Paylin.” Contrary to earlier reports, the movie is in pre-production. One Jerry T. is set to direct, and porn star Lisa Ann will be taking on the role of Palin—er, “Paylin.” According to HUSTLER, “Nailin’ Paylin” is a “naughty adventure to the wild side of that sexy Alaska governor,” featuring “girl-on-girl lovin’,” “nailing the Russians, who come knocking on her back-door,” and a younger Palin getting seduced by her creationist college professor who “will explain a ‘big bang’ theory even she can’t deny!” Also included: a three-way hardcore sex scene starring porn stars as Palin/Paylin, Hillary Clinton, and Condoleezza Rice. Of course, no political porn satire would be complete without a salute to Fox News—a Bill O’Reilly stand-in will announce the movie’s multiple sex scandals as they unfold. “Nailin’ Paylin” will be released just in time for the November elections, natch.

I personally just think it's funny for all those people who see Palin as a sex object. I guess it's a market that needed to be filled.

Weekend outlook

Well, the weekend starts tomorrow. I have no idea what I am going to do. For once, there is nothing planned or set-up that I am to be a part of. For now, I think I will relegate myself to playing Lego Batman and probably watching a few horror movies. Sadly, most of this is solo stuff. Something will have to come to pass for me to break from this. I do intend to see people at some point, even if it is just a jaunt to the mall to check out the Halloween store for costume ideas.

Speaking of costumes, if I can find the stuff, I will actually wear something I may want to wear to work. I said I wasn't going to, but in this case it fits. If I were a costume, what would I be?

Invisible Iron Man

I had a mini adventure today.

Iron Man came out on DVD today. I let my discount at my mall's Suncoast lapse, so I haven't really been in there lately. I didn't bother to reserve it. I didn't think it would be a problem. It turns out it was a little one.

When I go to Best Buy, I tend to think they'll have a good amount of something like Iron Man. It was a summer blockbuster and fantastic film. It is also the first summer release to hit DVD. Sure enough, they did have a lot of copies... just not the one I wanted.

There are a couple versions of the DVD release. One is the standard release that is just the movie and whatever extras they see fit to stick on the sole disc. The second is the suped-up version with a 2nd disc that contains documentaries and other extras, like gag reels. The third is Blue Ray. The final is the extra-sized 2nd version with a bust of some sort. I tend to shoot toward the 2nd, 2 disc version when it comes to comic movie releases. I am a comic nerd, so I appriciate dork-talk and interviews with people that handle comic properties. In most cases, the interviews are with creators (in Iron Man's case Stan Lee), writers and artists for the character and possibly editors and other producers.

The problem came when I couldn't find the 2 disc version. Best Buy had a dump, or standee in the front of the store with a big cardboard Iron Man. It was full of dozens of copies of the single disc movie and even a few Blue Ray versions. The new release section sported a few slots for the 1 disc verison and empty 2 disc versions. I saw a woman looking for the same thing as me. She went and found an employee to help her. I walked to where it should be in the regular movie section. There were a ton of the single version. I am talking about two full shelves worth of the single disc. Proper scouring and knowing what a cardboad sleeve looks like on the side produced some results.

Thankfully, there were 2 copies of the 2 disc version left on the shelf. I quickly snatched mine and hoped the woman from earlier was there before me. She showed up a few seconds later while I was looking at other things in the isle. She had a Best Buy employee in tow. His computer told him they had a few in stock. I told her there was one left and walked over and grabbed it for her. She thanked me for my help.

That was my good deed for the day. Now, I have to go do something evil to counter balance.

Halloween 2008 Song List

So, I am commissioned for more Halloween music. A party I am attending later in the month wants music. I was suggested as a go to person for it. Granted, I like doing this kind of stuff. I am just curious as to which music I should pick and in what capacity it should be presented. It is for a party, so I may keep it upbeat. I'll have to do some digging to get some adequate stuff.

With that said, I have had my Halloween 2008 mix done for a few weeks. I haven't designed any type of art for it though. Well, I don't know how to the the whole upload thing so everyone can download it, so I won't attempt it. i will however set up a track listing.

Halloween 2008

1. Hellboy II Titles - Danny Elfman
2. It's Halloween - Shadow Reichenstein
3. Lament for a Toy Factory - Dr. Steel
4. Silence - Taku Iwasaki (from Witch Hunter Robin)
5. Haunting Me - Stabbing Westward
6. No One Lives Forever (live) - Oingo Boingo
7. Knuckle - C. Portwin/T. Stasica/F. Love (from Hunter: The Reckoning)
8. White Noise Monster - Arcturus
9. Cassandra's Waltz - Murry Gold (from Doctor Who)
10. Devil In My Car - The B-52's
11. Next Time - Yoko Kanno (from Song To Fly)
12. Little Deamon - Screaming Jay Hawkins
13. Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer - Fantômas
14. Murdertrain a Comin' - Dethklok
15. Black Lagoon - Dave Edmunds
16. The Undertaker (Renholder Mix) - Pusifer
17. Mutant Message - Juno Reactor
18. Halloween In Heaven - Type O Negative
19. Dead Girls - Voltaire
20. The Gonk (Remix) - Kid Koala The Noveltones
21. Vampolka - The Devin Townsend Band
22. Vampira - The Devin Townsend Band

So, there you have it. I haven't updated in a bit. If anyone wants a copy or something, let me know. I know many people won't have most of this stuff in their music library. I think I went a bit eclectic, but it grew on me.

For the relief of nasal congestion

Originally found on Boing Boing, I thought I would share this with whoever reads my crap here.

Apparently, there is a study out there that proposes the ejaculation in males could help relieve nasal congestion.

Screw the sudafed: When your nose ain't great, masturbate!

The emission phase of ejaculation is under the control of the sympathetic nervous system, which of course has lots of adrenergic receptors. The author reasons that ejaculation will stimulation adrenergic receptors in the refractory period immediately afterward, and stimulation of your adrenergic receptors will give you relief from your cold.

The author proposes that, with proper scheduling of masturbation and/or sexual intercourse a guy could keep his nose clear for the rest of his life!

I have actually read reports and stuff about something similar to this. For the most part, I thought it was the increased blood flow and endorphins released that eased the sick feeling. Apparently, there may be more scientific reason.

Exsanguination

I give and give.

All I really did tonight was give blood. That's about the extent of it. While at my appointment, the whole grade school gym looked bare compared to the last time I donated. There were 4 tables set up for people to donate. They took me as soon as I finished signing papers and reading pamphlets, acknowledging that I have never been to Africa or England, nor had a blood transfusion there.

When I was on the table, the nurse wasn't the nicest, but she was all right. She was at least a little sympathetic. Granted, I don't usually think needles hurt that much, but support is always a comforting thing. Apparently, the changed the needles they usually used. The one tonight felt like a pencil being shoved in my arm. After the took my essence, they felt it was good to take some more. The second nurse/doctor, evil person wasn't so kind. He was an idiot from some foreign land. My guess would be India. English wasn't his first language. He unattached me from the bag of blood, but forgot to take the appropriate samples. Instead, they decided to used my other arm as a pin cushion. Now, my arms look like a heroin addicts. The Idiotic Indian couldn't find my vein either. It took another nurse to show him. He had no bedside manner at all.

The only semi-benefit of the whole ordeal was sitting across from a cute college girl afterward, as I drank my apple juice and ate hard pretzels. The girl was concerned about her blood type. Apparently, she had something like B on her birth certificate but the blood people said she was O positive. She wasn't sure how that could happen. Sometimes people make mistakes was the answer. Hell, when I found out my blood type, I thought I was originally B as well. I got something in the mail to join the "B" team for blood donation. It wasn't till I got my blood donation card that I realized I was O negative.

So, here I sit. I spent the rest of the night playing demos for the Xbox 360. Nothing really grabbed me. I headed to the bar to get out of the house, and it was extremely quiet. Scary quiet. There was about 10 people total in the bar including the 2 that worked there. Now, I am fighting sleep with a bandage on each arm. I have no idea what the new day will bring. I will probably sit home alone watching various TV shows on Dvd and if I am ambitious, maybe a movie or two.

Bloodletting

I am giving blood tomorrow. I do this every once and a while. Mainly, I try and give whenever the church around the corner from my house is having a drive. It's in easy walking distance and doesn't force me to drive. I can avoid vehicular accidents that way. I just have to remember the whole fluid thing.

The first time I gave blood was in high school my senior year. It was during 2nd into 3rd periods. I only remember that part because I had calculus the 3rd period and it was on the third floor. I had to walk from the gym in the basement to the third floor with a pint of blood drained from my body. It was a weird experience. Still, once I gave blood, they were after me ever since.

Turns out I am a prime candidate for bloodletting. I have no tattoos, don't regularly practice unsafe sex, and have never visited a foreign nation, especially one in Africa. It also helps that my blood type is the universal donor. Whoo hoo. I should start selling the stuff. I just don't know where to go for that though.

The last time I remember donating was about last year. Afterward, I drove to my friends' sideshow performance in West Philadelphia. At the time, I didn't take highways because I was a coward. It was a long drive, but I made it fine, even home fine. I think I only had a beer or two. I decided on Guinness because I rarely see it places I frequent and it's think enough to just sip. Also, the stout doesn't have that high of an alcohol content. I want to say it was the first time I witnessed the straight-jacket escape, but I'm not sure.

In any case, that's my whole plan for the weekend. I just give blood. Everything else is up in the air. I may attend the Renaissance Faire on Sunday as well, but you never know. Also, the Olde City Sideshow is performing at the Philadelphia Tattoo Convention this weekend. Should be a good time. I heard their name mentioned in a radio ad. No tattoos from me though.

With my best suit and my tie.

I have no idea if I am going to get a costume for Halloween. For starters, I have no idea if I will even get the chance to wear a costume. I will not, repeat, will not wear something to work. Even though it is on a Friday, and I work Friday mornings with someone who would dress up if I asked him to, I will not. The past couple times I made any effort to dress-up for any occasion, others failed to do it with me. Mainly, the boss man said he would, and just had the though sieve right out.

Anyway, my second problem is about what to actually dress as. It has always been a problem for me whenever I am required to wear a costume for anything. I usually have no set idea what I want to be. The few times I was hard pressed for a costume, I scoured the Halloween shops and allowed my brain to formulate some type of idea for me. The synapses fired, and something tangible came through.

The other night, I took some early effort to solve this problem. I Googled a quick search for some costume shops. There are plenty of sites that sell these damn thing, so they tend to show pictures of their product as well. I went through about 20-something pages of costumes with about 20 costumes per page. There was a sad realization, but also something semi-worthwhile. For every 25 or so female costumes, there was only 1 male costume. While I did like seeing the variety of skimpy outfits on the female models, I was kind of disappointed in the selection for the guys. Needless to say, I didn't capture any idea to work with for any potential masquerades.

I think it's neat that there are so many different variations on certain female costumes. Things can have the same basic description and only have slight differences in actual presentation. For example, I saw "Luck of the Irish" costumes. They were both takes on a leprechaun and sported short skirts, green tops and white stockings. On one, the green skirt was puffed out, and the other was flat. The details make them different, sure. If I was to see to similarly sized girls at a party, each wearing one of these costumes, I probably wouldn't be able to tell them apart without glaring. I probably would be glaring, but still.

Oh well, here's hoping I may get the chance to wear something that does resort to me raiding my brother's work clothes. My fingers are crossed that I'll get to see some scantily-clad ladies as well. I didn't see nearly enough of them during the summer.

Epic Fail

Yup, that's me. Epic fail. That sums up my day pretty well.

Now, it's time for me to shed a little personal reflection. See this more as examination and explanation. There will be no realization. I am a fool, pure and simple.

I was at work today, and putting out an order. A few of the regular customers and the boss were around. while the boss was on the phone a customer needed help with something. Stopping what I was doing, I went to help her. Yes, her. It was a girl. I feel a little weird actually referring to her as a girl. Makes me seem old and her seem young. Anyway, we talked for a while. Turns out we didn't have what she was looking for. Apparently, no one really did in the mall. She desired action figures for Final Fantasy. Check one box for a little nerdiness, which is always cute to a person in my profession. I simply would have taken it as a potential gift for a boyfriend or brother, if she hadn't produced the dvd of Advent Children. She said she even watched it on Youtube, but needed to own it.

Knowing that I probably couldn't help her, I gave some suggestions as to where she might find what she was looking for. she was grateful, but then asked about the miniature games we sell at the store. I gave her a basic run down of what the hobby entails. She wanted to know who would get into such things. I told her there are many reasons. Sometimes people want to model and paint, and sometimes people want to play. Deciding on an army depends on what one wants to take from the hobby. There was quick banter of how she would see people play, and suggest what people should do after they were already play. She made a joke that sometimes her suggestions would have been a better choice, because she was a girl. I called her the next Genghis Khan. She thought it was funny.

My boss got off the phone soon thereafter. He decided to just interrupt the conversation I was in, talking about some stupid game industry crap I really don't care about. She left at this time. I only got her last name. My one friend commented when she left, "Tell me you at least got her number." When I said no, he quipped "Epic fail." It was appropriate, and I was thoroughly embarrassed. My bossed asked when I didn't signal him off. I told him it wouldn't have mattered. How can I tell my boss to go away that I was talking to someone. If you know my boss, you would know that the man doesn't like to shut up and loves the sound of his own voice. The phone dies every day from his calls to and from everyone.

So, I screwed up. I failed in attempting to initiate anything other than casual conversation. The strange part followed. I began to think there was something in the mall filter, like pheromones or something.

A friend of mine came down from another store in the mall. He had a girl with him. What I found out later, it was during his break. I actually thought it was some kind of review or something because the two sat outside my store on a bench for a while. Turns out, she was just keeping him company. He told me she was giving him signals of possibly something more. I told him he stole my mojo, but then retracted that I didn't have any mojo to begin with.

So, that was strange. A little later in the night. Another friend from a different store, came in saying he got some girl's number at work. Being the pessimist, I asked what she looked like. He does work in a game store and could have Final Fantasy figures. Still, his brief description didn't match anything to the girl I was talking to earlier.

In closing, yes I am a fool. I still think there is something in the air though. I just hope it lingers a little longer for my spine to grow.

Update: Obsession, mixes, and Fringe

Update, update, update.

Let me see what I have been up to lately. In my own mind, nothing much really. I, of course, tend to think most of the stuff I do is insignificant. Watch me as I plow through random stuff in an effort to realize that, Yes, I actually do stuff.

I am obsessed. I freely admit it now. I am obsessed with Veronica Mars. I recently finished up with the first season they had on TheWB.com. The only other episodes they put up so far were a couple from the 3rd season. I wasn't quite about to jump that far ahead. The final episode of the 1st season ends with sort of a cliff hanger. Within the last two episodes of the season, they solve the main plot points they established in the first episodes. I even like that the second to last dealt with all the characters met throughout the first season. It's sort of like a who's who.

To further my obsession, I bought the DVDs today. A spontaneous trip to Target for toys, left me leaving with no plastic action figures, but 3 DVD box sets. Thankfully, I lucked out, and the typically $40 items were reduced temporarily under $20. They were $18.99 each, but who needs to be specific. At least now I won't have to deal with the same 4 commercials while watching.

I have also been attempting to produce a mix CD for Halloween. I have made 4 of these, that I can think of. I am attempting to not repeat any songs either. So far, I have around 40 potential candidates but am still going to look for more songs. I didn't finish looking through my whole digital library, and there are plenty of Cd's that aren't on my computer. I'll probably just settle on a decent mix without attempting to have a concise theme. A broad genre that should flow together. I should have it done before the end of the month, this weekend at the earliest.

Fringe was also on tonight. I decided to give it a try. It reminds me of the X-Files, but not quite the X-files. It is the easiest comparison to relate the shows. Both dealt with strange phenomenon. Both centered around government agents. One had a male lead in Duchovney. The other had a female lead in Torv. Fringe is not the X-files though. It is more strongly based on theoretical science. If they can keep up the mad scientist routine, I will greatly appreciate the show.

Horrorfest has begun

I think I unofficially started my annual horror movie tradition. Evey year since I was in college and heard about MonsterFest on AMC, I have been trying to actively watch horror movies throughout the "holiday" season. That holiday being Halloween.

Over the weekend, I was bored and needed to step away from the computer for a little bit. After digging through many of the DVDs I currently own, I realized that I didn't want to watch any of them. Either they would be too classic and I would fall asleep because I was starting the viewing around 1AM, or they just didn't fit the mood I was looking for. I like movies like the Gary Oldman Dracula and the DeNiro Frankenstein, but they were something I already watched. I decided to look to cable for my salvation. There is a onDemand channel called Fear.net (which is actually fearnet.com). As the name implies, it is pretty much horror based movies. After wading my way through the All Movies option, I came across something that looked intriguing. It was Del Toro's Devil's Backbone.

I have heard of the director because I liked the Hellboy movies. Also, it doesn't hurt that this is the guy that did Pan's Labyrinth and is slated to do The Hobbit. Devil's Backbone was something mentioned in articles, I never actually searched out watching it. I figured since it was free, I would give it a shot. I didn't know it was going to be in Spanish.

It doesn't surprise me that it was in a foreign language. I own Pan's Labyrinth, and that is in Spanish. Del Toro is Spanish. The movie takes place during the Spanish Civil War. Fair enough, at least I can read subtitles.

I don't want to post a synopsis. To say the least, I liked it. It wasn't really a horror movie, but a ghost story. There were some suspenseful elements, but it dealt more with human evil than a supernatural one. The effects were excellent. It seemed like the budget wasn't that huge, but they made everything they did work. The ghost, itself, was a fantastic visual. I would definitely recommend Devil's Backbone to anyone interested in a good story.

On top of that, I decided to organize some comics last night. It was a few hundred comics. Over 4 long-boxes full if you can grasp the volume that way. I am not done. Still, during the process, I needed something in the background. Since I can't watch Veronica Mars while doing it, I had to settle for television. Wednesdays are usually my double shift, but my coworker, Kyle, filled in for me because I covered for him on Monday night. I have no idea what it on Wednesday nights. I decided on Ghost Hunters because they were replaying the episode of Fort Mifflin in Philadelphia. I have actually been there. My brother, Matt, used to work there when they were renovating it to become an attraction. I had not actually seen the investigation before. It was good and pretty much proved the place was haunted. I even watched the following episode about a museum/funeral parlor/church up in Buffalo, NY. It was also a decent one, but nearly as intriguing as Fort Mifflin.

With those out of the way, an little else on TV, I checked Fear.net again and decided on Unearthed. Apparently, Unearthed was one of the After Dark Horrorfest movies from 2007. It wasn't really that good, but had some decent people in it, like Charlie Murphy and M. C. Gainy. The whole movie was about awaking a dormant creature that proceeds to kill most of the town to harvest DNA. If anyone knows what a Tyranid from the Games Workshop line of Warhammer 40K, it looked like a Gaunt. Even though the movie was pretty crappy, it still fits into the theme of the season.

So, I have begun my festive experience. It is now time for me to dig out the movies I haven't seen yet, but still own. There are plenty still in the wrappers, like Hellraiser 1 and 2, Re-Animator, and some B-Sci-Fi movies with giant creatures. As per a friend's suggestion, I found a copy of Outpost, and will be watching that soon. Hopefully, this Halloween preparation will go well.

Feel free to suggest anything for me to watch, or even if you want to get together at some point for a movie night. Everyone likes a good scare.

Update the shows.

I am a little annoyed. Well, at work I am greatly annoyed, but I really don't feel like dredging up that crap right before I am about to try and sleep. I will hopefully address that little homicidal urge when I have some extra time to kill and the painful need to create new expletives.

I have been watching TheWB.com a good deal. I ran into a snag though. Apparently, my viewing habits coincide with the timing of updates, so none of the videos are working. As such, I am writing instead of watching another episode of Veronica Mars. I like the show, give me a break. It's not like it's Gilmore Girls or anything. Still, I created a playlist and what-not just to keep track of the crap I want to watch. Apparently, they are switching up new shows every week, and delete some older shows... How a week online constitutes old is beyond me.

The site just went up last week. Not even a full week ago. I think it was on a Wednesday or Thursday. There were some things I wanted to try out from the beginning, Roswell being one of them. Alien, teen melodrama at it's finest. Mainly I just want to see character interaction. If I am ever going to actually write this kind of stuff, it helps to gather research. That is what I am sticking with as an excuse. Still, Apparently, Tuesday (today) is the day certain shows are cycled out. Namely, the first two episodes of Roswell. So , even with them qued up, I won't get to see the UFO's land. I've seen some of Roswell on SciFi, but never made a habit of trying to watch it. I stopped that when they took Green Hornet of one of the cable channels. I used to watch it before work, now I have them on dvd, so I am content.

One lucky strike in my favor kept Veronica Mars on in full force. While I have plowed through about 5 or 6 episodes, they aren't taking any of them down for the moment. At least a week until the next update. Part of me likes to believe that It's me keeping it afloat with the viewing showing that someone is actually using the site. I would like to feel like I am making an impact somewhere.

late night before long day

I am tired.

I should get to sleep. I can tell I am tired because I cannot type very well. Even worse than normal. In any case, I have work for a long time tomorrow. So, while everyone else gets to munch on BBQ and relax on the third day of a weekend, I have to work more. Thanks.

I will probably write more about TheWB.com. I have been watching that too much this weekend. I think I am falling for Veronica Mars. That's not a bad thing, but a sad thing in that her show was limited on television.

TheWB.com

I just finished watching the first episode of Firefly. The two hour pilot. At this point, I could say that I forgot how good the show was, but that would be lying. I know how good the show was, and is. Even though I have the complete series on DVD, I took the time and watched on the computer. There is a new site to compete with Hulu.com, and it is TheWB.com.

I saw a mention about the new web-based television experience from a podcast by G4. G4 tends to drop snigglets of information that I may find interesting. Anyway, with a modest commercial interruption, I watched the whole 80-something minute show. The only commercial was before the whole thing started, and I think it was for another show that can be watched on the site... The OC, I believe.

I am ignorant to most web-based video services. I personally don't want to sit in front of my computer for extended lengths of time. My couch is more comfortable, so the occasional thing I download on my hard-dive tends to get shifted to DVD so I can watch it with my feet up. My first foray into the web-tv was Hulu. A friend of mine used the service a buch because he didn't have a tv at the time, but had internet access through an un-blocked wifi port. It was the first time I ever saw the Emmy Award winning My Name Is Earl. After that and a few episdoes of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, it was an old wrestling movie called Body Slam with Rowdy Roddy Piper. I liked the concept, but didn't pay it much mind.

When I heard of TheWB.com's attempt at a similar program like Hulu, I decided to check it out. My usual Thursday night routine has amounted to watching Burn Notice when I get home from work around 10PM. Tivo is occasionally kind enough to record it if I get in late (last week it flubbed). Tennis was on this week instead. Normally, I would just play the Xbox 360, but I wasn't feeling it. Then I was going to watch Elvira: Mistress of the Dark while I read articles and what-not on the computer. I passed on that because I didn't want the Madonna of the Macabre to be my inital movie in my Horror-day season. I turn into a horror movie nut this time of year... but that is another story. Instead, I checked out TheWB.com to see what was there.

There are plenty of shows on there at the moment, Joss Whedon projects, like Firefly, Buffy and Angel are all represented. Friends and MADtv are even there. There is just plenty of things to choose from that fit things I may be interested it. Hell, I may even check out Veronica Mars because I never caught it on UPN when it was on.

So, in closing, I think I have a new site to visit when I am bored and there isn't anything on television. Granted, I can't burn it on DVD, but it certainly is cheaper than just buying DVDs. Now, I just have to wait for Smallville to get pass the first season so I can watch something that isn't freak-of-the-week.

HBO's Preacher laid to rest

I am annoyed and a little pissed.

From Newsarama:

Preacher series ‘dead at HBO’
Author Kevin Melrose

Fans won’t be seeing an adaptation of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s Preacher on HBO.

Mark Steven Johnson, who wrote the pilot and was set to serve as an executive producer, tells Comics Continuum that the new head of the cable network thought the series “was just too dark and too violent and too controversial.”

“It was a very faithful adaptation of the first few books, nearly word for word,” says Johnson, who directed Daredevil and Ghost Rider. “They offered me the chance to redevelop it but I refused. I’ve learned my lesson on that front and I won’t do it again. So I’m afraid it’s dead at HBO.”

Plans for the one-hour TV series, announced in November 2006, were welcome news for fans who had been disappointed when a previous attempt to adapt Preacher as a feature film was abandoned.

Johnson says there are efforts to give a movie another try: “I’ve heard someone is in the process of getting the rights to turn it into a feature film. I hope that happens. But I hope it happens as a series of movies as one movie couldn’t do it justice.”

This is upsetting. Preacher is a fantastic comic series. I have just about all the issues from when they first started coming out. Is it violent, hell yes. I just don't see how HBO can put on shows like The Sopranos, Rome, and Deadwood, and be turned off by something like Preacher.

Preacher is the story of a man who lost his faith in God, and sets out to find Him when he discovers that God has left heaven. There are many things other than that, like the preacher being possessed by a spirit that grants him the ability to have anyone do as he says... "Go fuck yourself" has a literal meaning. There is also the preacher's assassin girlfriend and the third part of the group is a vampire. I know in those words, it sounds kind of corny, but it all works.

One of the only shining points is that Garth Ennis' The Boys has been optioned as well. Of course, just about everything in comics is being optioned.

WWE Scramble

I am not sure what to write about at the moment, and I have no desire to attempt serious talk. I'll resort to wrestling. I can usually get some words of complaint or admiration for that. I like wrestling, and have watched it pretty consistently for about 10 years.

So, the WWE has set it upon themselves to create a new type of match, the Championship Scramble. Originally revealed on RAW, the Monday night program, it is now a concept embraced by all three brands of the WWE. The concept is this: With a 20-minute time limit, 4 challengers and the current champion face one another. It is every man for themselves. 2 men start the match, with another entering every 5 minutes. During that 20-minutes, whenever there is a pin fall or submission, the championship changes hands to in interim champion. Who ever is the interim champion at the end of the time-limit is the new respected champion for that brand.

For me, the idea seems sort-of congested and too restrictive, creative-wise. The upcoming Pay-per-view, Unforgiven, will host all three matches from the 3 brands: Raw, Samckdown, and ECW. Having the same type of match multiple times in one night is a bit of a killer. After the first one, which will likely be ECW, the new taste will wear-off. Sure, the match concept allows for the use of many wrestlers on the card, but the rest of the card will likely be filler. (One match won't and that is the Jericho-Shawn Micheals match that will probably be great.)

The RAW match consists of, the current champ, CM Punk, JBL, Batista, Kane, and substituting for the injured John Cena, Rey Mysterio. This match could be good. Personally, I think it would be best to keep the title on CM Punk to further establish him as a credible champion. It could also be used to promote someone else as a belt contender, like Kane. Kane needs a good push. While I don't enjoy the new angle with him supposedly breaking Mysterio's spirit, he is a good monster character that has some good potential and has been with the company for almost as long as I have been actively watching. I still remember his first appearance in '97. Batista doesn't really need the rub. If he wins, it won't seem that significant. He can put on a good one-on-one match with many of the heavy-hitters. There is already a pseudo-feud with Kane at the moment. Personally, I would want him to challenge Punk at a later PPV and win, with some sort of JBL complication. JBL and Punk have a weird, good chemistry together, but a continued feud will make their program repetitive. Mysterio is a fill-in, and will probably put on some good spots. He'll definitely be the interim champ at some point in the match to have the crowd pop. Depending on who he pins will determine the feud he will start the next night on RAW. It will probably be a Rey over Kane thing, with Batista help. JBL shouldn't get the belt. He would make a good heel-champ with Punk chasing it, but I think it would be better to solidify Punk as champ with a win. The only way I will take a JBL champ is if if gets his ass-kick initially by Punk, only for JBL to pin a hurt Mysterio. Overall, the RAW championship scramble will be the main event. It has the more big stars in the match.

Smackdown, on the other hand, looks to be the worst one, in my opinion. Granted, I don't watch Smackdown with any regularity. The fact that it is on Friday nights at 8 doesn't exactly motivate me to sit in front of the television. I would like to think that I have better things to do on a Friday night, I usually don't, but I still don't watch Smackdown. I read the results and the like whenever I can because I like to keep updated on it. The Smackdown championship scramble includes, the champ, Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Shelton Benjamin (the US Champ), MVP, and The Brian Kendrick. Triple H will probably win because most of the other contenders don't really seem to be at that level yet. Of course, like RAW, this could be a good chance to allow someone to step-up and make a name for themselves. MVP seems most likely, with Hardy chasing. Hardy is a top performer, but he tends to get punished by the backstage for his recreational drug use, which he was suspended for before. He does perform well and make matches interesting. The Brian Kendrick is relatively new to the title scene. He would make a good challenger to the US championship, but a world title would be too big for him. He is only now getting recognized as a single competitor, after teaming with Paul London for so long as a great tag-team. Like Shawn Micheals, who Kendrick emulates, he stands a chance to be a great performer and WWE superstar. He is great in the rig and puts on phenomenal matches. I just don't see him taking it. Shelton Benjamin already has the US title. He really doesn't seem the type to hold two championships. His microphone skills have been improving, and his in-ring work is great. He just hasn't really established that he is a main contender. MVP is my choice if the title is to change hands. He has already been US champ for a length. He is a great performer, and educates himself with the wrestling business and has a great respect for it. He is an ex-convict, but that shouldn't be held against him as a performer. The only problem I see is that he would miss any over-seas trips if he was champ because of all the legal problems that can come up with him working in a foreign country. From an interview I read, he even has some troubles working in Canada. For Smackdown, the match seems weak. If Triple H doesn't win, I will be greatly surprised. The match has one beast, strong-man in Triple H while the others are a little more acrobatic. Could be fun to watch, but not as definitive as RAW.

ECW is bound to be a shocker. The whole ECW brand has me feeling that because all the superstars on it aren't that well known, that just about anyone could be champion. Honestly, the biggest stars on ECW are Matt Hardy, Mark Henry (former bronze medalist at the '96 Olympics), and Tommy Dreamer (only because if he goes, it's not really ECW anymore). On ECW tonight (it plays on Tuesdays), they announced their Championship Scramble. All the matches were qualifiers for it. In my opinion, that's a great way to fill up time on a show and progress story. Every match had a reason for happening. Everyone in the qualifiers, I thought, could be in the scramble, except Mike Knox. It was good to see Evan Bourne get a shot, but come up short to put over The Miz. I might not be a big fan of The Miz, who used to be on MTV's Real World, but him being in the scramble helps develop him as a single wrestler, and almost on par with John Morrison, who is a former ECW champ. Miz and Morrison were, and are, a great team, but Morrison established himself as a single wrestler first, and the two developed a great heel team. With the Tag titles not around their waists, it's good to see Miz getting a chance to see what he can do alone. It is also to separate Miz from Morrison by having Morrison lose to Matt Hardy. Matt is the big good-guy, face of ECW. He kind of needs to be in probably the only ECW match on the PPV. Along with Miz, Matt Hardy, and the champ Mark Henry, the other two are Finlay and Chavo Guerrero. I feel just about anyone could win this match. Chavo is the only former ECW champ. I don't see him pulling it off. Hardy shouldn't win like this, because a Championship for the big face should have meaning. A thrown together mix screams for Miz to win. Finlay is also a good proponent of the match because he is just a great wrestler and brings loads of experience. All in all, I think the ECW scramble could be really good.

While I may think the matches could be good, having them all on the same bill is a bit much. I can see something like this a a gimmick PPV, like Royal Rumble has its' named match and Survivor Series tends to have an elimination tag match. Something like the Championship Scramble could be a an idea for Survivor Series, if the Series didn't already have a gimmick attached to it.

Late night.

I should not be up right now. It is 5 in the morning, and I just got home from a friend's house. I have been drinking. Apparently, the beer I was drinking coupled with my tolerance that comes and goes allowed me to get home. Despite the many beers I have had throughout the night, I was still fine enough to drive home. Now, I don't think anyone should drink and drive. I tend not to drink much if I know I am driving anywhere. Tonight just happened to be one of those nights where the alcohol just doesn't effect me.

It was fun tonight. I saw many people I usually don't see, or haven't seen in a long time. The whole point of the night was just to hang out. The beginning of it was spent at a friend's house in south Philly, and I was content just to spend the rest of my evening there. Even with limited company, there would be plenty to keep the party entertained and motivated to keep the night flowing. A phone call later, and plans were set to head to another place. A quick drive through the old neighborhood (which I really didn't need to see) and we were there with more people.

The whole night was just talking. There was no activity, no event. We weren't celebrating anything. We weren't exchanging anything. We were just there to be with one another. It was a good thing. More people should just be with one another. I enjoyed the company I was with. I hope they enjoyed mine as well.

More events should just be centered around just being with another person or people. There shouldn't be a reason, like Bar-b-q or holiday to get people at a place. People should just get together if they like each other and want to be in their presence. Going someplace as an excuse should be saved for relatives who you don't want to deal with, but are blood, so you have to deal with anyway.

Well, that's all for the moment. I am tired and need sleep. Hopefully, I will do something engaging whenever I awake.

It's Saturday Night

It is Saturday night. I worked all day. It was boring and relatively uneventful. No one called to hang out, but also no one really bothered me at work aside from the occasional annoying customer. Sometimes I think people come into my store to just talk because no one else will listen to their useless garbage. I do not know how much your R. Crumb book is worth. Yes, I think it is cool. No I do not think you have a gold mine. I am the best comic expert in the store right now. No, I do not know how much it is worth... again.


I actually wound up staying late. My cohort from the morning shift came back around closing. His girlfriend had to wake up early, but he wanted to lay board games. After wrangling a couple of the late-stayers, he broke out Last Night On Earth. It is a zombie game that plays out like a B-horror movie. It actually seems pretty cool. It seem like the sort of thing I will pick up and want to play every weekend leading up till Halloween. I will shell out the cash, but there is one problem. There will probably be a severe lack of people to play with. It's hard enough to get people to spend time in a bar, movie, diner, whatever. A board game requires time and a place with enough room. Those things are hard to find in this day and age with everyone being so busy, and having the kids and other responsibilities, like pilates class.

Ahh, Saturday

Well, the weekend is now upon us. It is bearing down on the end of the summer. Many people are clamoring to get in the bar-b-ques and parties before the brisk wind of fall sweeps in. You know fun things people do.

Here's what I figure. I usually don't work weekends. In fact, I haven't worked a steady weekend since I was in high school. Somehow, working retail for the better part of 6 years, I have avoided spending weekends behind a counter. It is a rare occurrence that I work on a Saturday. The last time I worked a Saturday, my boss headed to a convention. Of course this led to it being one of the more annoying weekends at the store. People subconsciously stick around and annoy me when they know I shouldn't be there. Of course, a good friend gives me a call to hang out that night. Not only have I not seen him in a long time, but he wants me out because someone who I haven't seen in a longer time is coming out as well. I couldn't make it out because of work... when I normally wouldn't be there.

So, I have to work again this Saturday. Sure, my co-worker, Tim, thinks it will be easy. Boardgames and such were suggested to pass the time. I know that's not going to happen though. Everyone and their brother will show up. The will be loud, annoying, and trying to get in as much fun and late nights as possible before high school kicks back in. At some point, a friend will call me up. I will either not answer because my store is a bomb shelter and blocks all signals, or I will get an invite somewhere. It will more than likely be someone I haven't seen in a while. For God to play a cruel joke, it will be a girl. They will want to meet up in the city. I will probably be tired from all the boardgames and high school humor. It will take all my energy not to strangle some teenager. Somehow I will have to find the willpower to start my car. The divine would have to descend to grant me the strength to make it into the city.

This weekend will not be fun.

Braid

I have been playing Braid lately. It's a game that is you can via the Xbox Live Marketplace. It made some recent news headlines throughout the videogame industry. apparently, people didn't like it's price point.

I originally played the free trial. Xbox 360 is having a special promotion called the Summer of Arcade, or some-such. Basically, they are releasing a high-profile game every week for 5 weeks. The first was Geometry Wars 2, which is good and received some critical acclaim. Braid hit the second week. People (i.e. reviewers and gamer-snobs) loved it when they saw it at E3 and other expos. There came an uproar when to purchase the entire game, it costs $15. Most arcade titles are about $10.

I bought it. I don't regret my decision. In fact, I even made a trip to Gamestop specifically to get the micro points needed. Micro points are the currency for the Xbox Marketplace. Mathematically, every 400 points is equivalent to $5. I also picked up Soul Caliber 4 and pre-ordered Fable 2, but they are stories for another time.

Still, Braid is beautiful. I wanted to play it because I wanted to be entered into the Summer of Arcade contest. If I download and at least play the trial version of all the games listed, I have the chance for a sweet prize pack, including an Xbox Elite system and 100,000 micro points. The gameplay for Braid is a platformer with puzzle elements. Every level manipulates time in a certain way. You can't die, and instead rewind time to before you died. The level design has obvious influences. One is even patterned on the original Donkey Kong. All of the backgrounds look like a watercolor painting. I think one of the main reasons I bought it was just to see all the different art elements.

As of now, I have not finished it. It frustrated me for a while. The puzzles can definitely be tricky. If you think the ledge looks just out of reach, it probably is, but there may be a way to it somehow. Trying to figure out the importance of every object on a level can be arduous. I completed the first level with little problem, but can't seem to figure out some of the second. It has a level of difficulty that will challenge anyone who enjoys stretching there mental limits.

I would definitly say everyone should give it a try. A free trial wouldn't hurt. I played through the trial as much as I could. It is certainly something to break-up the typical kill frenzy I deal with in most games I play.

Braid - Game Detail Page

Sideshow

I will be attending the Olde City Sideshow this evening. It is celebrating two things. One, my friend Natalie is going to become entrenched in law school, so she feels this is her last night out. Second, the sideshow is celebrating their 2nd anniversary at National Mechanics. Of course, this is probably the 3rd celebration of their anniversary over the last couple months. It will finally be official when I stop going.

National Mechanics Bar and Grill
22 South 3rd Street
Olde City
Philadelphia, PA

This town needs an enema, and an agent of chaos.

Here is something that annoys me.

I was in work today. I work in a comic book store. A customer comes up and asks about the new Batman movie. "So, what did you think of the new Batman movie?" he says. "It was amazing," I said, "Excellent." Now the second question bugged me. "What did you think of Heath Ledger as the Joker?" "Well, I thought he was great. I didn't see Ledger, I saw Joker." And here is where it pissed me off. "Nicholson was better."

Here we go. First off, I work in a COMIC BOOK STORE! I read comics all the time. The last time I read a Batman comic was yesterday. I asked the guy questioning me when he last read Batman, and he said years ago. Who do you think has a better grasp on the character? I have about 20 years experience reading comics. I have not just stuck to one or two books. Hell, I'm not even a hardcore Marvel zombie or DC fan. I read almost everything. Joker is iconic, so of course i have read my fair share of stories involving him.

Secondly, I am not knocking Jack Nicholson as an actor. The man has played some amazing roles and performances. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a great film. I even liked As Good As It Gets. I thoroughly enjoyed his performance as Joker in Tim Burton's Batman back in 1989. It was the Joker for 1989. The and now are two different things. There was too much "Jack" in my Joker. Even down to the character's name, Jack Napier. Nicholson's Joker was more goofy and had a sadistic sense of humor, which are both well portrayed aspects of the character. Ledger was something else.

Third, the guy complained that, "They didn't even give him an origin. They just threw him in there." For me, that's why it worked. There is no real origin for the Joker. First off, no one knows who he really is. He doesn't have a real name. Secondly, the Red Hood stuff about him being thrown into the chemicals and it changes his skin and hair is misleading. That is not cannon. It is one story that could be his origin. He is random and chaotic. There is no reason why he is how he is, there is just him. That's why I loved Joker's tries about his scars in The Dark Knight. He kept changing them. Whatever the time called for, Joker explained his scars to match the situation.

It just bugs me when someone comes into my work and asks me my opinion on some movie thing. I am always wrong and they are always right. It doesn't matter that I am in an environment to afford a better knowledge basis for a well informed opinion.

Oh, and why does everyone forget about Cesar Romero?

I'm Back

I finally figured out how to get back into this account. Fucking thing changed ownership or something since I last logged in. It forced me to create a new account for something else. Now, I have a new email account. Yeah, now, I have about 5 email accounts that I have to check regularly. I know that's not as much as many other people, but, oh well.