Updates and such.

First off, let me say I love my friends.....the GoG has a great sense of what's what in the world. I will again plug their blogs a bit here. The Discourser of course is required reading. He has a great view of the world and is a really good writer. I expect to see him published some day. The Professor has an analytical eye on the world and you may very well learn something from reading his blog; he's very thorough in his explanations. SuperGoober just wrote a rant about the media's sensationlizing the Swine Flu issue.....much like myself he sees it as irrational and irresponsible. The Warden's blog is just great reading. If you believe that when there is no more room in Hell the dead will walk the earth, then his blog is for you. Wayfarer's travelogue is still a great read even though he's been home for months now. Another great writer. NTT's Brain is still sketching (he never stops) and his blog is filled with his artwork. The Perfectline will make you wish you were a Gearhead and make you want to buy a track car. The Craftsman's Wife will touch you with the continuing tale of Max the Wonder Baby.

Now for your regularly scheduled post:

New movie recommendation. Rent "Burn After Reading". It's a Cohen Brothers movie and it shows. It's a crazy little journey into the lives of some crazy little people who are willing to do anything for themselves. Narcissists with good intentions but not enough brains to be really dangerous. Funny movie.

Heroes.....it was better than last season that's for sure, but, well I don't know. I will keep watching because I want to see Network SciFi succeed, especially now since the SciFi channel doesn't really show SciFi anymore. The problem I'm having with Heroes lately is it seems the characters never learn from their past mistakes and keep on spiraling downwards in the same vicious cycle season after season. For awhile there it looked like we were going to get an actual Hero Team vs a Villan Team......it won't happen though...not sure why. It would be cool...I'm not talking spandex and masks here but it would be good.

What is with that anyway? We Comic book geeks watch TV too.....we SciFi geeks and Fantasy geeks......make something for us. Yes I know "Big Bang Theory" is technically a Geeks Sitcom, but honestly I haven't watched a sitcom since "Cheers" and "Night Court" went off the air. Yes, I'm that old so shutup. Hell I used to watch "Welcome Back Kotter", "MASH" and "Taxi" religiously. So you see, if they can't make them on par with those, it's not worth watching. Some would argue that "Seinfeld" was in that realm...I disagree. I never found it funny. It was a show about a bunch of self-centered, shallow people. Just not funny. Hell to this day I still laugh out loud to episodes of "I Love Lucy". That was one funny lady. Not being into "Battlestar Galactica" (sorry GoG...just never got into it....) it has been years since I watched SciFi Channel. I remember watching it alot back in the day. They would always show some old SciFi show daily during the 7pm hour. "Sliders", "Quantum Leap" stuff like that. Now it's guys hunting for ghosts and wrestling????? I mean yes, there's your Fiction but where's the Science part??? Side note: Not really sure if Ghosts are Fiction or not I've seen some things and experienced some things I really can't explain so I really can't say if it is indeed Fiction or not. Wrestling on the other hand; Fiction. Bunch of Stuntmen slapping and throwing each other around. I loved "Farscape" and "Stargate" until that show started to become unwatchable. Never watched "Stargate: Atlantis" because it was basically a SciFi channel spinoff and I've had bad experiences with their spinoffs. See the horrible example of "Wizard of EarthSea".....They really pissed me off with their interpretation of Harry Dresden in "The Dresden Files" series. That was not the Harry Dresden from Jim Butcher's novels; not even remotely close. The only thing they did well was to make Bob the Skull have a human form that he can project to talk to Harry. A talking Skull with their budget would have been really cheesy. As it was Harry didn't even have a real Wand or Staff, it was a drumstick and a hockey stick. Just annoying and I'm glad it got cancelled. Seriously, the way the books are written you could have just filmed it almost page by page.

I am liking this new series I've caught on Spike called "Most Dangerous Warrior" or something to that effect. They basically take two types of warriors from History and run tests on each one's weaponry and tactics, crunch the numbers, and run them through a computer simulation to see who would best who. The two I've seen so far are "Samurai vs. Viking" (Samurai won) and "Ninja vs. Spartan" (the Spartan destroyed the Ninja).

That's it for now...remember check out the blogs in the links sections and I will be back with another Rant about something soon.

Someone Gets it besides me!!!!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/04/29/onthejob042909.DTL

Great article about a book called "Free-Range Kids" or something to that affect. The author of the article is a new Father and wonders if all of these Child Safety products we have out now are just fearmongering......he thinks so, and so do I. Good read.

Porcine Mexican Zombies

Bet that got your attention.... So apparently the paranoia of Post 9/11 America still exists (I should know better with all the "Obama's gonna take yer guns" talk I hear all the time) in the fact that people are freaking out over the dreaded SWINE FLU!!!!!!!!!! ZOMGBBQ!!! Yep that's right, the EVIL Mexican Zombies are pouring across our borders to infect us with Pig Flu..... because they have such high standards of health care and their Government is sooooo functional that 150 people died in Mexico City alone. This ain't Mexico City folks. The CDC issued the alert but said to "not worry" and to wash your hands and use Purell if you think you've been around someone who has flu-like symptons. In other words DON'T PANIC!!! This isn't Resident Evil, the hordes of infected Porcine Mexican Zombies aren't coming for you to bite you and turn you into one of them. Yet, friends of mine on a message board are saying everyone should use the coming Pandemic to restock their emergency supplies. In other words, put up the plastic duct tape it in place. Get out your Dr's Masks and lysol and stock up on non-perishable food and water and for God's sake (and this is really just because those damn Liberal Democrats and their Messiah Obama are gonna take yer guns....) stock up on you Assault rifles and ammo. Besides, if there were real Zombies coming, The Warden would tell us....he's the ever vigilant one on that front.

What is Cool?

This is one part observation and one part rant.  Those that know me, know I like to people watch.  It's an interesting way to get a glimpse of the way people present themselves to the world in general.  On TV you see all kinds of examples.  Local merchants who do their own commercials are the best ones for finding unique and humorous things to observe.  Take the Nashville Dodge/Nissan commercials.  They have this blonde, model named Jolene who does their commercials.  She's always dressed nicely in a business suit, but she does the funniest things, and they aren't meant to be funny.  Somewhere she went to Spokesmodel school and it shows.  She does three hand gestures throughout the entire commercial and they all look too rehearsed and not even remotely natural.  And they seem to be done in a certain order.  Hands together, fingers intertwined then she goes to hands in front of her spread apart, then it's one hand down one arm bent slightly with her index finger pointing and emphasizing whatever it is she is saying at that point.  Or there's this Larry Stovesand guy...he owns a Lincoln/Mercury dealership.  He's an older man, that seems to always wear a sweater vest and comes out walking around a car on his lot talking about it real fast.....but what's funny is Larry seems to have no clue about any of the technology that goes into his Ford/Lincoln/Mercury vehicles.  His commercials have statements like the following in them: "It has the Sync, whatever that is...it's got everything" or "It's got auto windows, locks and the trunks go up and down by themselves, it's got the Bluetooth..ummm it's loaded..."  Look Dude, if you are selling vehicles, new vehicles, then know what the Hell is in them and what it does okay?

 

Now back on Topic.  What is cool?  I remember back in school we defined cool based on the group you hung with.  I was never cool because I hung with band geeks....although in that circle I was kind of cool because I was a drummer....and we were the bad boys of the band; at least the trouble makers if not the bad boys.  If you were one of the Highriders or Stoner types, you were cool if you wore any of the following: A black leather vest, combat boots w/steel toes, a Derby Jacket (I had one of these) or an untucked, unbuttoned flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up worn over a rock t-shirt of some kind...or any kind of cool t-shirt.  You also listened to Rock music.  I aspired to be a Highrider, but didn't like vests, Mom wouldn't buy me a pair of combat boots (they were like 65 bucks...I got the 25 dollar hiking boots instead) and I didn't have a cool muscle car all jacked up in the back, nor did I smoke dope or cigarettes.  I knew folks in this group but was a peripheral member.  If you were a Lowrider, you had to be Latino of some kind (not necessarily Mexican but from a Spanish speaking Country), had to wear a flannel shirt but only buttoned at the top button, and the sleeves had to be buttoned too.  Under that you wore a Wife-Beater t-shirt (you know the tank top kind).  You also had to have your hair slicked back and held in place with either a hair net (still not sure why they did this) or a bandana.  Oh, and the bandana had to be partially over your eyes so you had to tilt your head back to see.  Oh, and you had to talk with an over-exaggerated Latino accent and say things like "yo holmes" or "eh esse"....I never aspired to be part of that crowd, but I knew members of that crowd....and they were all American born and didn't have accents until they proclaimed themselves Cholos or Lowriders then all of a sudden, instant Latino accent.  Then there was the Jocks.  To be part of that crowd you had to like sports, be involved in sports, and be a complete ass to everyone who wasn't in sports with you.  These were the dillweeds that threw you in the garbage can as a Freshman, pantsed you, and basically picked on you if you weren't one of them.   I know, some of these clowns never grew up.  Most of these guys now have crappy jobs because they pissed that sports scholarship away at College by drinking way too much and failing school, crappy marriages because they only married for looks and when they got middle age and fat and bald the cheerleader left them, and they are alcoholics because something is needed to dull the pain of the real world not being like highschool.  Their bitter tears of agony are like sweet wine to me.....remember what Bill Gates said "you should be nice to the Nerds and Geeks because one day you may need a job and they will be running the Corporations of the Future".  The last group was the Preppys.  If it was a polo shirt and had an alligator on it, they wore it.  Sometimes they wore two polos and had one collar popped....God that looks soooooo stupid.  They'd wear Top Siders and have a sweater slung over the back of their shoulders and tied around their neck.  They were insufferable jerks then, and most of them are insufferable jerks now.  These are the "entitled" folks who think it's all about them.

 

I look back on all these types of cool and laugh.  I mean, if you think about it, we all looked stupid.  Yes I wear polos to work now, they are casual enough but not too casual that you don't look professional at work.  I still sometimes wear the untucked, unbuttoned flannel shirt over a T-Shirt....it's comfortable and when you are running errands on a Saturday that's what you want; comfortable.  To me, cool doesn't matter anymore.  I'm a 44 year old married guy, I don't need to be "cool".  I have nice clothes I put on when my Wife and I go someplace special, but I honestly buy for comfort or work now.  I've never understood "fashion" nor do I care too.  I've noticed some new trends in "cool" in the last several years that I must address for they, like our attitudes of "cool", look absolutely stupid.

 

1. Leaning when driving.  Have you seen these guys?  And trust me, it's always a guy.  So I got behind this monkey going home yesterday.  He was driving slow...then fast, slow, then fast.  He kept adjusting his lean, I guess he needed to get it right, constantly.  What I mean by lean is these clowns don't sit upright in their drivers seats.  No, the have to lean towards the passenger seat while leaving their left hand on the steering wheel.  This clown kept adjusting his lean which was causing the slow fast driving pace.  If you do this and are reading this I have just one statement to make:  You don't look cool doing this, you look stupid.

 

2. Driving slumped down in the car so low that all anyone can see is your head.  These clowns wonder why the Po Po is always pulling them over.  Gee, might as well mount a big sign saying "Suspicious" on the car.

 

3. Wearing the ball cap sideways.  Why?  It can't be comfortable and it makes you look like you can't dress yourself properly.  You are not cool.

 

4. The falling down pants syndrome.  We loved jeans in school and we liked them to stay up.  So much so that we bought these strips of leather called BELTS and even got belts with a snap on them so you could change out the belt buckle (they had some badass belt buckles back in my day.....you know the space tape rock band ones.....I still have a Van Halen belt buckle somewhere).  Apparently some of these kids think that your pants falling down and your underwear showing is cool.  No, you look like you were dressed by a blind retard.  I know that was cruel...the blind retard part.....but it serves as a good description.   This is not cool, you look really stupid.

 

5. The Goth Kid.  Oh Lord help us and save us from the bitter, moody teenager.  These ones like to dress like they come out of a Tim Burton movie or like Tim Burton himself.  Black hair, black nail polish (guys and girls), black eyeliner (again boys and girls), enough metal stuck in their face and bodies to set off a security detector at the airport.  Teens are moody in general, these kids take it to the extreme.   Guess what vampire boy, life sucks.  You don't know suffering and pain...you only think you do.  Try being married to my Ex-Wife.  Oh wait, that's misery you might like.  By the way, Goth Kid, you don't look cool.

 

6. The Jock Kid.  Not much has changed here.  The only exception is that junior may be on roids to amp up his game.  You will still grow up to be a Manager at a Fast Food restaurant, still get fat and bald, still be an alchy and still have a crappy marriage.  You were never cool, nor will you ever be.

 

7. The Redneck Kid.  Out here this kid is the next right wing conservative to drive a pickup with a gun rack and wear Realtree Camo to formal events.  These kids have a confederate flag on their pickups and a sticker that says "It's heritage, not hate".......sure it is.  Definitely not cool, and will most likely live in a trailer somewhere.

 

These are the kids....now onto the adults: 

 

8. The Prada Queen.  She's botoxed, lifted, enhanced and wears enough makeup to choke a horse.  She shops at stores where crap is way overpriced just to say that she did.  She worships at the church of Name Brands and Labels and will kill for the latest and greatest ones.  She is high maintenance and shallow and it's all about her.  Definitely not cool; just annoying.

 

9. The Golf Pro Wannabe.  He is in business so he HAS to golf.  He has embraced it wholeheartedly, it's in his blood.  He looks for any excuse to play, and he's really not that good.  Oh, he will buy every gadget known to man to help him improve his swing but he will never use them.  You are not cool.  Tiger Woods=Cool.  You=Not Cool.

 

10. Mr.. Keeping up with the Joneses.  Oh yeah, if everyone else has one, so will he.  The early adopter, buys the first version which ends up being obsolete in a few years, but hey he had to have the first one.  No one is impressed, but you.

 

Now for what is cool, at least to me:

 

The Parents who do whatever they can to make their children happy, within reason.  I'm not talking about buying Junior everything he wants, but encouraging Junior to do his/her best in whatever they want to get in.  These folks are cool.

 

The Cops (The Warden fits in here) and Firefighters who aren't slackers and take their jobs seriously and put it all on the line.  Those folks are cool.

 

The Teachers/Principals (Discourser is one of these, the Prof is another) who actually give a shit about the kids under their supervision and actually try and keep those kids on track.  Those folks are cool.

 

Honor, Integrity, Selflessness......these are cool concepts to me.

 

Your pants falling down around your ankles and your boxers showing???? Not so much.

Take a seat Coach, you've earned it.

I was saddened to hear that John Madden had decided to retire from broadcasting this year. One of the formost authorities on the Game of Football, he added a much needed pizazz to the color commentary of each game. He and Al Michaels and Pat Summerall are some of my favorite commentators of all time. Howard Cosell may be a "legend" but truth be told the guy was kind of an ass. Joe Buck, the Nerdiest and most boring commentator ever, I could do without. I still remember your biased commentary during the Angels/Giants World Series schmuck boy. Blatantly obvious biased commentary too. As a Raider fan I barely remember Madden coaching my beloved Silver and Black. I do remember him being larger than life and not quiet when he was pissed. He would stalk the sidelines, chewing up the field. I don't think he ever sat still long enough to get an ulcer or anything like that. When he stopped coaching and became a broadcaster, that was when he truly shined. Many have teased about his "man crush" on Brett Favre or the way he would mumble streams of information while drawing on the screen and explaining the game he loves so much. Sad to see him go, but hey, he's earned it. Now if we can just get rid of Joe Buck.....

RIP Dave Arneson

http://airsoftsteve.blogspot.com/2008/03/gary-gygax-tribute.html

Click on the link to read my tribute to Dave's partner, Gary Gygax. So today we have lost the Co-Creator of D&D Dave Arneson to cancer. I bet there's one heck of a game of D&D going on in Heaven right now. I toast you Dave and Gary, thanks for making a game that us Geeks could actually socialize around. I roll my D20 to you as well.

Carry on Dungeon Master

Smell that? That's extremist Right Wing Desperation is what that is.....

The far Right Extremes of the GOP have finally lost it. They have seriously gone Bat Shit crazy. They come out and admit that Rush Limbaugh is their new spokesman now. Wow...really? Look those on the Extreme Left don't even acknowledge Michael Moore as anything other than a guy that makes controversial documentaries and you pin your Parties' re-emergence on Rush????? Apparently Fox News has decided that they really aren't going to be reporting anything close to fact or truth anymore. Nope, they are apparently going to broadcast nothing but opinion and fear mongering, disguised as news. Hell they even have Alex Jones http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Jones_(radio_host) who is a known Conspiracy Theorist and fear monger as a host now weekly and tout him as "The Great Alex Jones". This guy's radio show basically caused some loser still living with his Mom to strap on his AK and a vest then wait for the police to arrive (his Mom called them because she thought he was going to off her). When the cops showed up he picked them off one by one. Why? Because Alex Jones convinced him that Obama was going to steal his guns. There is currently no Obama Administration Gun Bills in the Senate or House. But hey, gun stores are doing great business as the uninformed are heading there in droves to buy up all the ammo they can get their hands on. Hmmm...remember that comment about Guns and Religion??? Yeah figured you had. Look, nothing wrong with owning guns okay, but seriously Obama isn't going to take your damn guns from you. He wouldn't be the first President to try and he wouldn't be the first President to fail. He's a bit too busy worrying about important things like, oh The Economy, every freaking country in the Middle East hating our asses, Afghanistan where Osama Bin Laden is still hiding and mocking us....you know like Bush said "Mission Accomplished"????? Can I honestly just say to these fools; enough!!!! K??? Seriously stop your freaking whinning. But yet these douches often come back with "well you guys said all this crap about Bush and no one got mad..." whah whah whah....Bush deserved every little bit of hatred thrown his way. We are in this mess because of policies he let happen. He took global sympathy over 9/11, pissed on it, wrapped it in shit then sent it back to those that sided with us saying "take a big bite of this...". That's why Bush was universally hated...okay with the exception of 26% of the Population.... Obama is trying to solve a big mess here dumbasses. Instead of attacking the man, why not try coming up with solutions yourselves. Oh wait, you don't want to do that because it would mean the end of your "beloved, non-regulated, free market"....yeah like the Free Market ever existed. Please.