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.