ThisBoyIsToast V4 >> April 2007 Archives

OK, so Sony killed a goat to promote Gods of War II (not really, they bought a dead goat from a butcher... article writer fabricates a good story) so does that mean we get to run over hookers to promote GTA4 or infect someone with a mutie-zombie virus (i am sure the US has some hanging around in Hanger 18) to promote a game tie-in to 28 Weeks Later? I sure hope so !! I want my carnage IRL not just in games!!

You know, it was nice to have something (albeit short and mini series-ed) to watch besides Heroes and a shiteload of CSI reruns. But Drive has been cancelled. Why cancel a freaking miniseries? It's not like two more nights is going to affect the market that much any more than showing yet another House episode.

You know that point of the morning, when you wake up and are aware and thinking but not truly awake. Your mind wanders, you might blink at the light coming through the window and before you know it, you are not thinking about the coming day but waking up again 20 minutes later. Is it possible to be out the door and at work and still be in that state? I feel as if I really haven't woken up yet. April 27 07

I like hearing about a new type of crazy people. This time it's the Otakukin, those who believe they embody a fictional character, often a popular anime character. We are not saying they want to be like the character but believe they actually ARE the character. P.S. This is where you really wanna go to.

This is one of those times where I say to myself, "If I had ever actually applied myself and learn to draw properly, I would have learned to draw like this." When I was 12 my mother put me in art class. I was placed with a number of 16 year olds who I automatically saw were better than me. I was very depressed about the competition and asked to not go back. But I still remember the extreme joy of drawing a green plant with ink and pen. I was a stupid kid.

From this latest list of tshirts designed by David and Goliath, it's pretty obvious what's going on. But the fact they are making less attractive versions of three shirts I own just irks me.

Hrrrm, so Joss is no longer doing Wonder Woman and Goyer is no longer doing The Flash. You know, I never cared much for a WW movie because you knew they (dried out hollywood moguls would coun't find an audience demographic in a movie house) wouldn't want a comic book movie from WW but a movie based on the lame TV series. And don't get me started on The Flash series. Sorry Kent.

OK, if the new wonder drug (aka newest way to really fuck your life up) is called shabu, then does that mean shabu shabu is twice as addictive? is there now going to be a CIA war on japanese soup?

Here is another reason to be selectively self-censoring in your blog. You never know when you pass an american border check, that they may Google your name. I can imagine a border guard coming back to the car, "I am sorry sir but a random internet search of your identity has shown you far too nerdy to enter the US. Go home, and for gawd's sake, move out of your parents' basement."

I must announce this. For the first time that I have ever experience, TV Pop Culture has correctly identified the fact that Canadians only rarely (and usually rurally) saying "ah-boot" and in fact, most often say "ah-boat". Last night on the "i was a teenage popstar" episode of How I Met Your Mother they finally addressed the situation. This sitcom has the latest Trendy Canadian Character and when she confessed she didn't like to go to malls, they began to grill her about her canadian past. Forget the fact it used all the cliches but when they got to the about one, they finally got it right. I feel vindicated. April 24 07

If you haven't noticed yet, tons of people use the internet to tell others about the Schtuph they make. People with leet skillz make things from paper and from cloth and from glass and from yarn and either sell it via their own site or via lil helpers like Etsy. It's often not about the selling of the product but the "doing something with it" after they have made it. They can only give away to friends so much before the hand comes up. That is why I like the Coudal Partners Swap Meat so much. Not only can you make something neat and give it away, but it's really neat, you will get something else neat in return.

First thoughts of the morning were, "Oh gawds this is going to delay me." Second thoughts were, "Shaddup you bastard, your inconvenience against the weight of a Toronto transit worker dying is not much." I guess I have commuter brain now.

Back when I was in Edmonton I assisted a scary little guy work on some night courses. Scary? Well, you see he was one of those para-military afficionados who was working on his promotional materials for a corporate high-risk security firm. He envisioned he and his team protecting execs of large companies as they did business in far away countries where kidnapping and assault was a strong possibility. Why do I have this weird feeling he works for Blackwater USA now?

How much Spam in blogs do you think is connected to scripts written by people that are still running on servers long after the person seeking to benefit from that spam has gone bye-bye? I sort of have this horrific image of servers running spammer scripts without knowing it long after the person who installed it has moved on.

Joey the Accordion Guy talks about the latest foot-in-mouther by an american pundit. This time the pundit suggested that the students who died recently were cowards because they didn't fight back. I have to admit I thought the same thing.. correction, I thought something similar. How did he kill so many? Did not even one student turn and face him and try to stop him? The only answer I have is maybe they did. Maybe a brave student or ten stood up to him and he killed them anway. Maybe watching a brave student getting gunned down made every one else panic outright. Hell, gunfire tends to make people panic outright on the best of terms and blood and gunfire probably activates the lizard brain in 99% of people. I would like to say I would be a hero and jump in front of the gun or grab at his arm or hit him with a chair -- the D&D Hero in me says I would have to. But I have never faced violence outside of university bullying. I have never faced a weapon. But I would like to hope that given the choice of automatic death and a chance at life, I would fight for the latter. April 20 07

OMFG, it's like a part of my childhood dying. Paizo Publishing, the current publisher of the D&D magazines, Dragon and Dungeon, announced that they will publish no more. I hope the outcry causes Wizards of the Coast to find another publisher because, I really do like my monthly reading of D&D related materials even if I don't play any more. I have been reading the zines since I started playing.

Jer is right; this house is ridiculous. Fucking nuts I would say. It's tucked into what would normally be the alley way between two houses. It's one story. It can't hold a sofa. It's only one story??? I understand it being a part of history but geez, this is one of those times when I am all for knocking it down and making use of the space. $139,000?!?

Team Leader: "OK guys, it's time to post another entry on the blog about how much fun it is to work here." But it isn't; you work us to death till 8pm and 9pm on fridays !! "That isn't the point. We must give the perception that we are A Fun Company To Work For !!" How about showing them your standard reprimand method and make them think it's fun? "BRILLIANT !! No pink ball in the face for you today."

Yes, the news today is the killings at the school. Newspapers and websites are plastered with a kid in faux-badass gear labelled, "The Face of Evil" or something in the similar vein. So, a basic nerd into guns picked on by the popular lot is the face of evil? At the core what is the problem? Access to guns? Nasty people who pick on those less socially acceptable than themselves? Being a nerdy loner without much connection to the society around them? Considering that in the USA of today, the first two are not going to change, I think it's time to eliminate the nerds. Parents who catch their kids playing D&D, spending too much time alone in the bedroom attached by the thumb to WoW, masturbating to anime chicks, reading Spawn comics under the sheets with a flashlight, sneaking out to Cons dressed as Naruto, etc. etc etc., should take their kid in hand and re-educate them. Teach the value of fitting in. Teach them how to dress properly and how to shower for god's sake. Tell them about the proper TV shows to watch like CSI and Desperate Housewives and for gawd's sake, block Battlestar Galactica; have you seen how many guns are in that show? Burn their D&D books, cancel their WoW acounts, delete the anime off their HDs. Tell them how guns are a right not to be abused. Get them into sports like basketball and professional wrestling and hunting. And for gawd's sake get them into a properly recognized christian based religion. Yes, ban the geeks. April 19 07

Whaa-hoo. It's not Halo 3, it's Haloid, a homemade (not to belittle it) video of Master Chief vs Another Game Icon. It also has anime lesbian overtones (grindy grindy grindy) and just for nood, some choreo.

I have always wanted to add blackpower weapons to a D&D game but have always found it cumbersome. Damage vs reloading times is always a bitch. And once it is fired, you drop it and wade in with your sword. But what if your gun was a sword. Not FF but close.

You know, I have seen a lot of impressive case mods. You know, where someone takes something that is not neccessarily a good thing to put computer equipment inside of and makes it work. Well I must say this is my first dead thing case mod.

I have been on purge-binge mode for a while. No, I am not bulemic in my eating; trust me its all binge on that court. No, I am talking about life. While I want to purge things from my life, I find myself often replacing the things / circumstances purged with something else. And even more often, gather more than I got rid of. But the haunting banshee cry in my head still yells, "TOO MUCH !!"

I want to lessen that noise by having less "things" and fewer unfinished "projects". I have projects that exist not because they are fun or making me a better person but because i feel like i should have them. I am inspired and feel its a good thing. People with projects are neat people. But i never do my projects, or if I do, I never complete them or I get bored with them.

With every thing or circumstance that I eliminate I feel a bit of my identity going. I can no longer call myself a D&D Player because, really, I haven't truly played the game in 5+ years. Yet I gather more hardcover books from second hand stores. But since I was 12 years old I saw that as an integral part of who I was. Every time I met someone who played in high school, I could never understand why they didn't anymore. It's so much fun. But not playing is not much fun either. How much of me can I get rid of before I don't know who I am anymore? I am definately not the movie going guy I once was. It used to define me amongst my friends and in my own head. I used to be the guy who had a note book that he updated with diary entries, tickets from shows, memories, etc. But that is in my bag and not updated for months at a time. I don't stick things in it, I throw them out.

I have been thinking of eliminating Blogger from my identity. Not a hiatus, not a redesign, not a change of venue but a complete shut down. I don't work in the webbie world anymore and it doesn't really call to me anymore. I am not the computer guy amongst my friends anymore so I just don't see the need. I also don't feel the desire to share what is going on in my head these days -- it all ends up sounding like this melancholy drek. So, delete the domain, close the accounts, stop the blogging and see what else comes up? But it feels like quitting. I hate quitting. I think I am just more afraid of adding not-a-blogger to my list of nots.

Don't know. Just don't know. April 13 07

While Kottke calls this dungeon map a D&D map, from it's structure it looks more like a pick-a-path adventure or a text-based-game adventure. "You are standing on the west side of the house. To the west you see a forest, to the east you see a door, north and south are paths around the house." Update: I thought it was one of those.

All I can say about using friendliness to foil a robbery is this. "What the fuck ARE YOU SMILING AT ?!?! I SAID GET DOWN ON YOUR FACE MOTHERFUCKER !! QUIT SMILING !!" *blam* Also, are they saying it takes a gun to get good service?

The scuttlebuttle going around work today is Geek Sued For Peeking At Woman In Shower Via Video. The main reaction, "Who the fuck takes a shower when a service person is in their house?!?!" Well it does sound like other people were in the house so with that in context, I can see it happening. "Hi sis, I am gonna get ready for work, if they geek needs anything tell him I will be right out." Poor guy probably thought he was a pizza delivery guy in a porno.

Unfortunately, I believe this is the kind of bad writing I would do if I ever decided to put the keyboard down and... uh... pick the keyboard (a different keyboard, OK?) up. Even more unfortunate would be the fact that I would not make nearly as much money as Mr. Brown. P.S. I am the fifth person who has not read the book. I counted.

My cell phone rang a little while ago. I didn't react for a second or two as the only person who ever calls it is Marmy and she (our home number) has her own ringtone -- Lonely Rolling Star from Katamari Damacy. It was the generic, unknown-number ringtone as she was on a payphone. If you haven't guessed, she is usually the only one who calls me. It exists solely for that purpose with the occasional random call from a friend tossed in. Then I remembered I was playing with ringtones a couple of weeks later, MP3 tones as I got this model to do that, and now I have changed the generics for... if I do not know the number calling, they will ring like a Murloc. Anyone who plays WoW will know that annoying gargle. If the caller is in my phonebook then I will hear the battle theme from that famous Kirk vs Spock episode. I am such a nerd. April 12 07

So, they are probably going to re-cut Grindhouse, the Tarantino/Rodriguez double-feature (with missing reels), into two movies because, and to quote one of the Weinsteins, "The audience didn't get the idea that it was two movies for the price of one. I don't understand the math, but I do want to accommodate the audience." People are just plain stupid. Do they watch the trailers? Do they listen to the commercials? Do they fucking read the internet hype?

Speaking of Wil, here's my idea for a new TV show. Please steal it. It's like Entourage but rather than being about good ol boys from NJ making it in Hollywood, be about Wil Wheaton (he would play himself) and his gang of geeks as they mingle about the world of geekdom. It would be done in a irreverant "voice of a narrator" style of Arrested Development. Do it fictionally so you can do tons of flashbacks to his run on Space Journey: The New Series or his segments of popular tech-tv type shows. Do ironic episodes about celebrity poker and Cons. I think it could be fun. And do it with a meta-style throwback to Doogie Howser by having him updating his Blog at the end of each episode. So, what duh ya think? April 11 07

Heh !! Hamsters and rats often live in wood shavings or paper shreddings. Have a ton of old phone bills and bank statements you want bye bye? How about having the rodent of the moment help out and help himself?

Ohhhh-kay, a multitude of girl team animes start in Japan and are popular enough to spin-off extremely bad versions of themselves in the US (not that the originals are anything to sing home about) which then inspires an american born Powerpuff Girls cartoon. That then goes back to Japan as Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z. Now does that mean the US will have it's own edited dubbed version? We can run them back to back !!

OK, so he went from doing stupid little tshirt slogans to selling the "art" in galleries in an ironic fashion that only stupid people can understand. But he began stealing his designs from other people, people who the arts world would never run into, ironically or not. I think it makes it art moreso. Ironically.

And just because my "grindy grindy grindy" category doesn't get enough luvin' I link to someone else that appreciates the red headed goodness of Alicia Witt. But I must say, once again I am not that fond of the nouveau Hollywood skinniness. Bleah. I last liked her in that Queen Latifah movie.

Hey, are you still nervous about the fact that just about every wet cat food maker was using wheat gluten from the same contaminated source? Megnut suggests Wellness For Cats. They are grain free.

Imagine this fictional scene. An american teenager has crossed the border into Quebec in order to have a weekend of fun, where they can drink at the age of 18 instead of 21. They are driving through Westmount not knowing they cannot turn right on a red. They do so and are pulled over for the minor traffic violation. Finding they are american, which is pretty obvious from the license plate, the Quebec cop decides to follow procedure and put them through the system. They are arrested, fingerprinted and jailed in a cell where nobody will talk to the teen in a language they understand. They don't have enough money to post bail and their parents aren't home. One failed phonecall, and the cop decides to be a prick and that is "fair access to a phone" and they are stuck. You never know, they might have outstanding warrants in Quebec. Paperwork takes a while, so a poor kid goes through a nightmare. Now, imagine the CNN coverage.

Remind me to never be bit by a brown recluse spider. Warning, and i mean WARNING, don't click the link if you don't like really gross open wound pics. I only link to this because I am one of those people extremely phobic of biting insects and I think my heart would stop if I ever was bitten by something that could do that. All blogging is about personal response.

Marmy's sister-in-law has tickets to see the reunion tour of The Police. Reunion tours of bands from 20 (or more) years ago make me cringe, especially when the hits they are playing are not their current incarnation. Sting exists as a mellow adult-contemporary performer now but that is definately not what made him famous. I tried to think of what bands of my youth, those who I adored dearly, would I go see even if it was a washed-up reunion tour that would most likely be audiences populated by only 40+ year "haven't been to a concert or live music show in a decade or more" types. Marmy mentioned Springsteen but I count him out as his current folky-rock music stands apart from his classic rebel rock. People are just as likely to see him for that music as for Thunder Road. The only band that comes quickly to mind for me is The Cure, with a bloated Robert Smith looking all wonky in his kid's spiky black hair and makeup. What about you? April 09 07

I have been told that the Durian, and to quote Boing Boing, which "looks like a T Rex's scrotum and smells like the ass of a huge, long-dead prehistoric cave-bear" is the stink that defines Chinatown in the summer. But will a stinkless durian taste as good as it smells ?

Great. I guess I caught Marmy's mood from yesterday. In fact I think the entire city has caught it (or at least was a mirror of me) as the ride down was a commuting nightmare with people being rude, snapping at each other and shoving old ladies down. Luckily, I didn't see that faux-gangbanger kid from earlier in the week. As he barged his way onto a Bloor Stn subway car, before a single person had departed, I clotheslined him with my elbow. He didn't take it well, swearing at me in french. Other passengers chuckled. Today, with the mood out there I could have been shot.

And luckily, I can sit behind this desk, avoid eye contact and be quiet. But damn, I had a social event to go to tonight. Better to go home and skin wolves (almost leatherworking 250 !!) than risk offending any more people. Clotheslining a blogger is bad form. April 05 07

Bah! This would only work with those NY style bagels (i.e. roll with a hole) and not the wonky yumminess of a real Montreal-style bagel. From what I hear, there are now at least 2 places in TO that sell Mtl-style. One is around the corner from my place :)

Many of us struggle day to day with being happy. Some say it's over rated, some say it's a myth. Some say be happy with what you are/have and others seek medication. Some get scoffed at for self-help books and some find a new religion. And some try it all. Personally? I haven't been happy (and only by my own definition) for years. I have been calm, relaxed, mirthful, silly, enjoying myself, etc. But I have not been happy for a long time. I have only myself to blame.

Coming soon, something we can do with all those friends who are raising toddlers. Yes, we can start our very own Bong-Bong Boxer Extreme Combat League. Don't just go over to see your friend's baby pictures !! Pit them against each other and have the childless friends bet on the outcome !! To quote, "The Bong-Bong Boxer makes fighting fun and educational for pre-school children."

As Marmy, can attest to, this is something I have thought about a lot. Thought about, as in droned on about in a rambling nature without much point. But Human Computer Interaction in Science Fiction Movies has always fascinated me.

For me, there was always that seperation between what could be done with the technology of that day vs what kind of futuristic technology they wanted to portray. A movie maker of the 60s might have wanted to make an interface where he could reach into the air, interact with transparent buttons and dials and screens and such but the special effects couldn't do it. So he was stuck with a board made from a TV studio and some MiniComputer parts. And there was also the barrier about what could be conceived. We only now are considering interfaces that are just not possible, and can portray them with some effect using CGI. From the full wall screens/interactive pads of Star Trek which alter themselves to each user allowing tailored interfaces to the ideas of cyberspace and holograms, we can reproduce it in CGI but are still running into barriers for actual creation. I would like to see more interfaces going beyond what we conceive of now, or going beyond what they believe the audience can interpret. We need to see more than screen, voice, pad and tactile manipulation. April 04 07

Hey babe, you were asking me who I thought would make a good Wonder Woman, based on my little knowledge of her in the comics and more on my like of her in the animated series. I was thinking of Angie Harmon as she has the strong stare, the sharp angled good looks and dark hair. And she could be greek, which I hope they make the movie secret identity.

Last night I was ninja, white ninja. No, not white as in "not an asian ninja but a suburban white boy ninja" (well, I am that too) but a ninja all in white. I think it was white garbage bag plastic white. Anywayz, all I remember is that I had a mission, a mission to assassinate a local TO photoblogger. I won't mention who as it is sort of weird how my dream connected to them, not really knowing them only having chatted a few times -- so, no it is not Rannie. Anywayz, kill photoblogger. BUT I was also aware that I had to do so in order to stop so event of doom in the near future. Details are fuzzy but I remember a scene of exposition, like a dialogue laden page of a DC comic book, where I found out that my Daughter From Another Time Line would attempt to stop me from assassinating this talented local photographer. But the timeline was written, destiny was at hand and out the window I went swinging on a cord. What? Ninjas don't swing like Spiderman? Pllthbt. I expertly ~~swang~~ swung (that sounds just as bad) from building to building until I reached the photoblogger's corner apartment. I opened a window and creeped into their pad. Something told me I would find them working on a dining room table, working as in trying to fix it up or something -- dreams have bizarre details. Well, they weren't. I creeped about looking for them before noticing I was pretty much plodding about, not very ninja-like. But in the dark, I knew they were nearby. So, I peek under a table, remember the table they were supposed to be working on, and found them wrapped in a blanket. I pulled out the wrapped-like-a-mummy photoblogger and explained to them that their death was delayed by a fortent from the future. Where was my Daughter From Another Timeline? I dunno. But I assured the photoblogger that my daughter was responsible for their life. But THAT battle would be another day. So I pulled on another garbage bag ninja cowl, black plastic this time, and walked to the window to swing away. At the window next door was a stoned teenager, and before I swung away ninja-spiderman-like into the coming dawn, I yelled, "Don't do DRUGS !!"

And ninja like, someone has stolen my brain. I am so fuzzy headed this morning. I mean downright, stone between the ears, not all together there, all colours muted and emotions deadened. Its a three mug coffee starter kinda day. April 04 07

This story about a Scottish hacker being extradited to the US for hacking into their military computers fightens the pants off me. It can only be so long before they consider any computer related crime committed outside their borders as a right to be sent to the US to pay for the crime.

A current obsession, actually interest as I am currently too apathetic to be whatsoever obsessed with anything, of mine is the arrangement of one's workspace. When you look at An Inside Look at the Offices of some New Yorkers, you see who's offices are used and who's are just a business accessory. My favourites, and that would describe what I would have mind look like, are they screenwriter's, the music producer's and the fashion designer's.

According to this blogger, Math proves that the Buffy universe harbors no more than 512 vampires. Unfortunately, I am more Buffy Geek than Math Geek (actually my own percentage of math geek is very low.. i was only ever good at theoretical math, never practical math) so I cannot really argue.

So, I saw someone link to this Gmail Paper, and while part of my brain was saying, "Why?" another part of my brain was saying, "It's Paper, I want !" I looked for the link but couldn't find it and then remembered what day Sunday was... Got me.