Another Blog by Another Geek

Just Closed

2006-05-18T14:02:00.000-05:00

Come on over to

kanedax.livejournal.com

Sound The Trumpets!

2006-05-18T08:17:00.000-05:00

RING THE BELLS!

BRING ON THE DANCING GIRLS!

SEND IN THE GIRAFFE!

Another Blog by Another Geek celebrates its one year of existence. That's right folks, one year as a drop of tap water in this vast ocean we call the internet.

Yes, tap water. Not exactly bad, not exactly good. It just is what it is.

So, how does one celebrate such a momentous occasion?

By getting the Hell out of Dodge.

That's right folks. This may be the last post on this here blog. Okay, second-to-last.

I'm moving.

I decided to take at least a test run at running a daily blog over at my sister blog, LiveJournal. Currently I've only been using it to post my little bits of fanfiction, but I figure I'll take a shot.

The reasons are six of one, half-dozen of the other, but it basically amounts to this: The few little things that I want to do on this blog, technicality-wise, are things that LJ can do and Blogger can't (at least within my limited techno capacity). So I thought I'd take a swing next door to see if the grass is greener, or if it's the same color, just patchy in different spots.

I'll be losing access to the HTML code of my blog, which means no more StatCounter and no more Hunter License. It may also mean a shortening of my links over on the sidebar, I'll get that figured out today when I start cleaning up over there.

In exchange, I'll be getting three things I've wanted from my blog for a while:

- Access to my avatars. Now that I know what the hell I'm doing with them, I wanna try them out, see if it's worth the hassle.

- No more big long "spoiler" gaps. Over at LJ I can take anything that people may not want to read and collapse them into a single phrase, to be clicked or not to be clicked. It may also come in handy for people who don't want to read my long, involved Transformers reviews. In both cases, I tend to keep writing other blog stuff after I'm done with those postings, so this way people won't have to scan past stuff they don't want to read to get to the stuff they do want.

- And, most important (although a rare occurrence with the amount of people reading this thing), the comments section on LJ has more of a message board feel than Blogger. If someone posts a comment, and I or someone else wishes to respond to it, that response is created as a separate thread. The initial commenter/commentor/whatever will get an email saying that someone has responded, and they can come back and read it and/or respond in kind.

It gives the comments section a much more conversational feel that the Blogger comments board is currently missing.

So... that's about it. There will be one more post here, put up at about the same time that I make my first post on LJ, just to let anyone who passes by know what's going on without them having to read all this dribble. May have more if Blogger decides that idle bloggers should be deleted, I don't know exactly how that works.

There will be a link over on the LJ page back here for anyone who wants to read the archives or get a look at the Links page.

And, hell, if I decide that it's not worth the hassle, then I may very well come back here. Right now it's just an experiment, and I don't necessarily feel like double-posting.

So, with that, I bid you a fond adieu, and I'll see you over on kanedax.livejournal.com later today or tomorrow. If you go over there before I make my final post here, you might very well see some funky stuff going on (I'm still trying to decide on a layout), but it should be all settled by the end of the day.

Nerd TV

2006-05-17T16:31:00.000-05:00

So it's the time of year when the networks come out and try to get advertisers by the neck. I'm talking, of course, about the new fall schedule.

And, as your intrepid, um, blogger, likes to do when they're released, I skimmed through the new shows, looking for names that I recognize from old shows and movies that I'm a fan of. And also actors that I give a shit about.

So far, nothing too great, but there's a few potentials:

Benny & Joon... ummm... Jayne... are in a new drama together: Groundhogs Day, but with a murder framing involved.

Pyro's in a show about three high school kids framed for a terrorist bombing.

Josh Lyman, Chandler Bing, and the real Jack Torrance are in a drama about the behind-the-scenes workings of a TV variety show.

and Dr. Ian Malcolm is a cop who sees dead people.

No new Buffy sightings so far, beyond Miss Hannigan's show returning next season, but Fox and CW still need to announce.

Tomorrow: potentially big news in the blog.

Good Ol' Fashioned Baseball

2006-05-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

You gotta hand it to Russ Springer.

The man's got balls the size of Barry Bonds' head.

Big Ol' Bonds walks up to the plate in Houston, and I'm assuming that the coach told Springer, a relief pitcher for the Astros, to walk him.

As pitchers are wont to do to Steroid Boy.

Allegedly.

Mr. Springer says "Hell, Bonds gets a free pass?

"He gets it my way."

First pitch sails behind Bonds' back.

Mr. Springer gets a warning from the ump.

Think that's the end?

Not bloody likely.

Pitch 2: Low and inside. Bonds has to skip out of the way.

Pitch 3: High and inside. Bonds turns to take the impact, and the ball hits the handle of his bat.

Foul ball. Two balls, one strike.

Pitch 4: Inside pitch.

Pitch 5: Bonds gets plunked and takes his base.

The ump stands up, tosses Springer, along with Houston's manager, Phil Garner.

As he walks to the showers, the Houston crowd gives Springer a standing ovation.

...

Baseball used to be a sport for tough men. Back when the DH was unheard of, and pitchers pitched complete games with incredible regularity, beanballs would be tossed out of venegance, hatred, or pure spite on a regular basis, and bench-clearing brawls meant something.

The rules have made it a hitter's game, and now the pitcher doesn't even get the opportunity to accidentally plunk a guy before he hits the locker room, let along intentionally.

You gotta hand it to Russ Springer. He played it the old-fashioned way, even if he gets a fine for it.

Hmmm.... Wii...

2006-05-16T08:24:00.000-05:00

So I just read an article about the new Smash Brothers game coming out for the Wii (I think). Sounds like it should be a really fun game, what with all the new characters they're adding into the mix.

They're bringing in Pit. Friggin Kid Icarus, the black sheep of the Nintendo family! As some of you may or may not remember, when I handed in my pairing list a few months back, KI was one of my 25. Should be fun to see him finally brought out of the 8-bit universe.

Well, unless you're counting Captain N. That Kid sucked-icus.

Beyond that, they're adding Wario, Metaknight from Kirby, and are also bumping up the feminine factor by giving us a battlesuitless Samus Aran. I have a feeling adding a blonde in a tight body suit will probably help sales a little bit.

Everyone's all pumped because Solid Snake is going to be in the game, too. Me, not so much. I was never a big fan of the Metal Gear series, so it doesn't do anything for me one way or the other. It does open the door for plenty of other third-party crossover in the future. Smash Brothers Brawl 2 featuring Mega Man? Cloud? The Prince? We can only cross our fingers.

The most interesting part for me, personally? Well, beyond Pit?

The Nintendogs make an appearance.

Weird.

Nothing too much new to talk about beyond that. Super Mario comes out today for the DS, but I'm content to wait to get it used. Too many other things occupying my time and money right now.

Finally, The Rock Has Come Back!

2006-05-15T14:52:00.000-05:00

Ummm... okay, so maybe he's not technically The Rock. I don't know if he has a nickname. And I know the 93X guys called Lohse The Rock, cuz he looks like him.

And, well, he's not technically coming back as much as arriving for the first time, but...

"Finally, has come!"

...

Screw you.

Liriano's finally in the rotation.

Too Much Nerd

2006-05-15T08:37:00.000-05:00

So, if someone posts a comment on a blog, and the word verification code sparks your brain into nerd thoughts...

that's a bad thing, right?

I just posted a comment on someone's blog entry, and the verification was such:

tfnukess

TF Nukess.

A female transformer named Nukess? Possibly a bomber or a rocket launcher?

That would be sweet.

She'd be like a shellbot like Chromia, but without the huge wings.

Unless someone wants to go the "bulky female" route.

Hey, they did it with Overdrive.

Note how I don't say "It worked for Overdrive," a male character that the American translators decided to make female, because "we need more girls!"

Actually, Nukess could be a damn good name for a female Seeker.

See, yeah, that's my brain functioning on a Monday after a weekend with far from enough sleep.

I had another weekend where I had so much nothing planned, and in the end it turned out to be quite a bit more than expected.

Between Mom's Day shopping, Mom's Day itself, a wedding and reception of which I was the last one to leave (except for the DJ and cleaning crew), and my total inability to put down the controller while playing Kingdom Hearts II...

Well, you can understand why I didn't get to that desperately-needed Fem Slash story.

So this week I have a get-together with a friend tonight, an audition tomorrow, and two nights of rehearsal.

This weekend, though... seriously... I have a slight chance of getting to it.

Motivation?

2006-05-12T16:52:00.000-05:00

The second part of the Pairing List has yet to be posted.

No one's posted a story since April 25th.

Someone needs to get out there and kick some ass.

Take some names.

I might have to be that man.

Do I write Lionel Luthor and Mr. Tumnus?

Or do I go for Ethan Rayne & Emmett Brown?

Or do I, dear sweet merciful God, take a shot at fem slash?

Comic Ramblings

2006-05-12T10:15:00.000-05:00

I wanted to talk bout something I don't get to very often in this blog.

As many of you know, I like comics. Back in my heyday (middle school, high school, college) I would put down $10-20 on comics on a weekly basis. I know that, compared to others, that's not an huge amount, but it was a thing. I loved the various X-Men series, and I also tended to latch on to any major "event" comics that came and went. Joe Maduiera was close to royalty for me.

Nowadays, between rent/mortgages, toy budgets, and just overall confusion resulting from storyline changes, artistic directions, etc, I've limited my comic reading to maybe 2 or 3 comics a month, mostly one-shots and miniseries, along with as many trade paperbacks as I can get my hands on at the local library. I still like to keep up, though, see what I'm missing.

Which is probably the reason why I picked up the two books I picked up yesterday, and I'm sorely tempted to keep up with them. They're both introductions to "events", both of which seem just too intruiging to pass up.

First off is DC's 52, the followup to the Infinite Crisis mini/maxiseries. For the past year or so, DC's been hyping Infinite Crisis, and while most would agree that the series paid off in the end, it's also fairly common knowledge that it was one of the most frustrating company crossovers in the history of company crossovers. It started with four four-issue miniseries, then a Infinite Crisis mini-series with tie-ins to every book in the DC universe. Fortunately, anyone reading the IC series itself (which I did) had a fairly decent idea of what was occurring without having to pick up any other comics, but it did leave the full-scale collectors beating their heads and their wallets.

If anyone wants to know the summary of Infinite Crisis, here's the wikipedia link. Massive, since it has links to entries that chronicle the four miniseries, as well as a chart of who lived, who died, who changed as a result of the Crisis.

The main repercussion of IC is a time leap in all DC comics (Vertigo not included). Every comic now takes place starting 1 year after IC. That may not seem like a lot, but if you consider that maybe a year's worth of comics in our clock equals, oh, 2 weeks of DC time, it's a big deal. New directions, new heroes, new villains, and, in many cases, new continuities (Infinite Crisis created a new Earth. Read the wiki, it might help).

52 #1 is the first of 52 weekly comics to be released in the next year that should, in real time, explain what happened to get the DC universe to the point it is in now. Every issue covers one week of the DC universe, and promises to discuss not only the big five (Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern) but as many others as they can get in.

Issue number 1, for instance, focuses on Elongated Man, Booster Gold, Steel, Black Adam, Renee Montoya, and The Question. The only view of any of the big guys comes in one frame, as Booster accidentally knocks into Clark Kent, giving him a bloody nose (Superman was depowered in IC. Read the wiki!).

I'm really interested in keeping up with this series. at $2.50 a pop, it's not a HUGE monetary commitment, but if I eventually decide it's not worth the money, I'm still going to try to keep up on the wiki and on the 52 website, which is written in the style of a news service site. It's a nice setup.

The other comic I bought is a lot less confusing, but hopefully can live up to the potential that it's promising.

Civil War #1 is the first issue of Marvel's company-wide cross-over. It starts out with the New Warriors, who are currently a group of superheroes on a TV reality show, coming across a supervillain hideout. Seeing a ratings bonanza, the Warriors jump into action without calling for any necessary big guns. The fight spills into the outskirts of a school, where supervillain Nitro ignites himself, resulting in the death of most of the Warriors and hundreds of innocent bystanders, mostly children.

In the resulting aftermath, the government takes action. Calling for an end to costumed vigilantism, they call for a superhero registration act. This act would require all superheroes to be registered as federal employees, complete with proper training, proper salaries, proper health benefits. All superheroes who refuse to file would be subject to the same laws and punishments as all other US citizens for their actions. No more beating people up, no more destruction of property, no more flying around without proper air clearence, no more firing weapons without a permit. Screw up, and you're going to jail, just like the rest of us.

If you're powerful enough to be considered a human weapon of mass destruction, well, some worse things might happen.

Along with this new law, public sentiment for super-powers begins to turn. In the most extreme case of the issue, Johnny Storm (Human Torch of the Fantastic Four) is knocked unconscious and beaten up by a mob outside of a night club.

In the face of these new events, super-heroes are split into two camps. The side in favor of superhero regulation include such names as Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Hank Pym, while those opposed include Captain America, Namor, and Dr. Strange. As the series progresses, most of the heroes in the Marvel universe will take sides, and hero vs. hero slugfests are sure to follow.

How this will affect the Marvel Universe is still up in the air. When Marvel promises huge changes through these crossovers, they usually don't deliver, so I'm holding my breath. But the series has me hooked already, so I'll be keeping up with it.

They Change The Questions

2006-05-11T16:16:00.000-05:00

Just when I think I have this state figured out...

Today is May 11th.

Tomorrow is May 12th.

Tomorrow they're forcasting snow.

Snow.

Snow.

Not Snow.

Snow!

So...

2006-05-11T08:12:00.000-05:00

Here I am.

I didn't write yesterday because... ummm...

Do you really wanna know?

Brief summary: My abdomen has been hurting the last few days. I took yesterday off work to go to the doctor. He gave me something to fix it.

I won't get into details about what it involved, since you don't wanna hear, but I'll just say that I'm all cleaned out.

Let's continue...

Since I was at home for most of the afternoon, I'm sure I probably COULD have posted an update, but since most of the time was spent in front of the TV playing Kingdom Hearts II, there probably isn't a lot to say.

All I can say is that so far I'm doing a good job making my way through the game this second time through. In order to get the super-duper-secret ending you have to complete the game on Proud Mode (Hard difficulty) or complete Jiminy's Journal on the medium difficulty. I chose the latter option, which means I need to:

- Talk to everyone
- Get x points on every mini-game
- Find every map & every treasure chest

I might have to beat Sephiroth, too, which is quite possibly going to be a huge pain in the ass.

So far I've been doing well. I've been focusing on two things this time: the treasure chests (100% so far) and the Drives. Drives, for those who haven't played the game, are kinda "dual" attacks, where Sora combines with Goofy, Donald, or both to add certain attacks for a set amount of time. Drives, as well as Summons, can be levelled up like a regular character, with each levelling adding new techniques to both the Drive/Summons as well as Sora in regular mode.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize 1) how to level Drives properly and 2) how important the levelling was until far too late in the game. So I made sure levelling them was a priority this time around, and I've been doing well so far. I maxed out Valor Form before I received Wisdom Form, and maxed out my Summons before I picked up the second Summons (in both cases, you can only level up to a certain level until you recieve more Drives/Summons). I'll be maxing more after I recieve the other two Forms, Master and Final.

In other, less video-game-centric news, my small theatre group is attempting to get into the Fringe Festival this year. Fringe Festival is a 10-day theatre festival here in the Twin Cities, with a couple hundred shows being put about a dozen venues around the city.

My group is currently on the waiting list. In the top ten on the waiting list.

And we haven't moved at all in the past 3 weeks.

Come on, people, quit! We wanna be in the mix!

Quickie

2006-05-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

A nice quote from an old ISB post (which I linked to a few days ago) in reference to Harry Potter:

"Wherever he goes, Harry Potter is constantly followed by death and mistrust. In short, his life sucks. But considering that his best friend, his best friend's dad, his boss, and Dr. Doom have never tried to kill him, it's still better than Peter Parker's."

How true.

Whattan Anniversary

2006-05-09T14:11:00.000-05:00

Ever been reading a book when you suddenly realize that the date during which the book occurs is the same date as you're reading it? Maybe not the same year, most likely, unless you're reading sci-fi, but the calendar date?

How about reading a book when you suddenly realize that the date and time during which the book is occurs is almost the exact time that you're reading it?

For those of you who read Dark Tower, you'll get it. For those who haven't... well, here ya go:

On May 9th, 1977, at 8:25 am Eastern Standard Time, John "Jake" Chambers is pushed into the street by Jack Mort, hit by a car and is killed.

On May 9th, 1977, at 8:25 am Eastern Standard Time, John "Jake" Chambers is not hit by a car and does not die. The paradox slowly drives him insane until he is rescued by Roland and his ka-tet.

On May 9th, 2006, at 7:25 am Central Standard Time (8:25 Eastern), I was on the bus reading the chapter in which John "Jake" Chambers was supposed to get hit by a car, but doesn't.

What are the odds of that happening?

Failure

2006-05-09T12:19:00.000-05:00

Okay, so that didn't work. I don't even think I had five hits on this thing.

Well, rehearsals have begun in earnest for Oz. I think. If your definition of "earnest" means "blocking starts tonight, and it's only two or three rehearsals a week, but, hell, at least it's the only show you're doing right now," then, yes, it's begun in earnest.

I bought a new Transformer on Sunday after wedding 1. Not much to write home about, except to say that Shortround has a cool alt-mode, freakishly long and poorly-built arms on an otherwise cool robot mode, and is apparently named after the kid from Temple of Doom.

Beyond that, there's really nothing new to report except that my body's been giving me problems in the last week or two. Trust me, you all don't want detail, but I'll just say that there's a good chance I'll be attending a doctor's office tomorrow.

Good times. Good times.

An Experiment, If You Will...

2006-05-08T15:53:00.000-05:00

Still getting a kick out of this Hit Counter thing. And I'm learning a thing or two, as well.

On Friday I wrote about a lot of movies. Put up a lot of famous names. 30 hits by the end of the day.

Today, I wrote about my friend's wedding.

One hit so far.

So, in the interest of science (or boredom) I bring you the following experiment.

*ahem*

*brings my arms out, moving all aside*

*cracks my neck in preparation*

lalalalala

...

Tom Cruise.

...

Katie Holmes.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie.

Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu.

...

The Paris Hilton Sex Tape.

...

Alyson Hannigan FHM Shoot.

Charisma Carpenter Playboy.

Kate Winslett Charlize Theron Halle Berry Colin Farrell.

...

Will Ferrell.

Steve Carrell?

...

Jewel Staite naked wrestling Amber Benson in a giant bowl of tapioca pudding!!!

...

THEN MAKING OUT!!!!

...
...
...

*GASP*

...

Biff Tannen.

whuh?

I thank you.

Relief

2006-05-08T07:58:00.000-05:00

Weekend One of Two-Obligation weekend is out of the way. KMK is off the boards, and for that I can only say *happy dance!*

And I attended what I thought was a wedding, then just a reception, then it turned into a wedding again when I arrived. Pretty good deal, the wedding was a Christian/Jewish coupling (wow, that came out wrong). Since they didn't want to decide between a priest and a rabbi (no punchline) they ended up with a Justice running the ceremony. That made for a nice short ceremony, which was nice.

Considering I knew exactly two people in the entire ceremony, both of whom were at the head table, it was sort of slow for me overall. I got to talk to one girl for a while, the best looking girl in the place, who also didn't know anyone else but one of the guys holding the huppah (her boyfriend, curse my eyes). And the table I was seated at was full of the bride's college buddies, all physics/chemistry/poli-sci folks.

Good folks, but it could have been mathier.

Plus I helped one of my friends finish up his film for some website contest that I couldn't link you to, since I don't know the site. So that's out of the way.

Next weekend I have wedding number 2 and Mother's Day.

The weekend after that? Freedom!

I think. Knowing my luck...

Getting Thicker

2006-05-05T16:20:00.000-05:00

Wow. That's a title that'll garner some hits, I imagine.

I speak, actually, of my list of "movies I wanna see this summer."

At first glance, there have only been two movies that have really stuck out in my head as must-sees: X3 and Superman. Partially because I'm not the movie afficianado I used to be, partially because my memory's gone to crap.

Now that M:III, or however they're selling it, is coming out today, newspapers and magazines are starting to put out their "here's what's coming out" lists. Which certainly helps make my life more frenetic in the next few months.

So, here's what I got that I like, and will probably see in the theatre, in order of release:

The DaVinci Code: Enjoyed the book well enough, but it wasn't exactly the huge must read that everyone touted it as. That being said, the film's looking pretty decent, but might come out a bit slow if they stick to the book.

X3: 'Nuff said.

Cars: I had sworn this wouldn't be coming out until this winter, as most Pixars do, but they always do a good job, so I'm in.

A Prairie Home Companion: This movie could just as easily infuriate me as entertain me, but it has enough names in it that I'm game.

Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties: Just kidding.

Nacho Libre: I heard about this one a few months ago, and the premise is just too good to resist. Jack Black and his mustache moonlight as a Mexican wrestler in order to save an orphanage. Hilarity ensues.

Superman Returns: This movie may suck eggs, but as long as Kevin Spacey is Lex Luthor it will get a thumbs up in my book.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Almost guaranteed to not be as good as the original, I will still see it because Depp's a kick-ass character actor. Plus the character designs for the bad guys are just creative creative stuff.

Super Ex-Girlfriend: This one will probably be a cheap theatre or a rental, but it's another premise that has so much potential. Luke Wilson breaks up with his girlfriend Uma Thurman. Thurman, who hid her superhero identity from Wilson, seeks revenge.

Talladega Nights: Anchorman on the NASCAR circuit.

Clerks II: It has Dante, Randall, Jay, Silent Bob, Jason Lee, and a bespectacled Rosario Dawson. Sweet.

Snakes on a Plane: Yes yes yes. No. Yes yes yes.

Future posts will probably bring up movies that I have to shake my head at, or films that sound pretty damn tempting, but not enough to spend my movie dollars on (ie Idlewild & A Scanner Darkly).

It Worked!

2006-05-05T15:30:00.000-05:00

So far I've had 18 views of this page since last night (half of them seem to be from the same place. Thanks Jenn). Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, California, New York, London.

One of them? Someone who searched blogs looking for the words Britney Spears.

Told you it would work.

In other news, this weekends looking like a weekend full of obligations, with not a lot of free time to work with.

That being said, I'm debating whether to restart KHII now that I know what I'm doing, or starting up Final Fantasy VII again.

This is my free time.

Easily Amused

2006-05-05T13:02:00.000-05:00

Hey, look what I can do!!!

I done figured it out all by myself!!!

Where's he going now?

Oh, there he is!!!!

Look at him scoot!!!!

Man... makes one wonder how a catch like me can still be single, huh?

Curiosity Kills Me

2006-05-04T21:08:00.000-05:00

I just entered a hit counter onto my blog. I'm curious to see how many people actually read this, how many come back, where they're coming from, that sort of thing. This program, from StatCounter.com, is gonna do that for me.

We shall see how popular I REALLY am.

Wait, I know how to increase my viewership.

Watch...

Paris Hilton Britney Spears Jenna Jameson Jessica Simpson Jennifer Lopez Mandy Moore porn breasts nuts tits balls

Sweet.

Yub Yub

2006-05-04T14:44:00.000-05:00

In what can either be viewed as a great move, or a shrewd marketing tool, Lucasfilm is releasing the original Star Wars Trilogy, digitally remastered but otherwise unaltered, on DVD this fall.

When I first heard it, I had the expected reaction. "Woo hoo! The original Ewok ending! Anakin's ghost is a middle-aged man! Han shoots first!"

But the more I think about it, the more frustrated I am. It was stated in the past that Lucasfilm would never release the original trilogy, which is why so many people shelled $50 for the Special-Special Edition. We figured it was the best we were gonna get.

Now this.

Asking for another $50 bucks, and leaving us with our dust-gathering Super-Duper Special Editions in order to get what we wanted in the first place.

Which leaves me with these choices:

1) Being a goat, and buying both trilogies when the new one is released this fall.

2) Being a shrewd goat, posting the fantastically-super-spectacular Special Editions on eBay now, before everyone else starts posting. I could get what I can from selling it, and pick up the new version when it is released.

3) Don't sell the Goddamn-Miraculous Special Edition on eBay, and pray to God that I can find the original on discount someday.

*sigh* The things we nerds have to go through.

Well, at least I still haven't given them the prequel money yet.

Overdose

2006-05-04T11:27:00.000-05:00

You know you played too much Guitar Hero when "Bark At The Moon" comes on the radio, and the only thing you can think of is that painfully large amounts of notes flying down the screen at you.

Damn, that song's a toughie. Those solos are absolutely finger-numbing, and the syncopation in the verses suck.

April Fools Reality

2006-05-04T10:13:00.000-05:00

Back when I was in college I interned at a newspaper in my college town. One of those independent, free papers, the editor liked to describe the paper as "City Pages without the phone sex ads."

Aside from the occasional straight article, opinion column, and my usual assignment of handling the community calendar, I did a lot of movie reviews for the paper. Back in early 2001, I handled the good (Crouching Tiger), the bad (Tomb Raider) and the incomprehensible (AI).

For the issue on the week of April 1st, my editor and publisher decided that they wanted some bullshit in the paper. Since, you know, April Fool's Day and all. Some of the columnists handed in their fake articles, as did the newsies. We injected a few fakes into the calendar, if I remember right.

And, being the creative soul that I am, I went to town on the movie section. I wrote a full-page article about the upcoming summer blockbuster "Pancho Pierre: Action Hero," and tossed a few little quick hits about upcoming films.

I have clippings laying around somewhere, not here in the office, but one of them was definitely "Cast Away 2: The Return of Wilson," or something like that, featuring Tim Allen as the voice of Wilson. This one also included a picture of Wilson's new family, a bunch of tennis balls with smiley faces on them.

I would dig it up, link it up, but unfortunately they didn't start archiving their articles online until, it appears, December of 2002.

Anyway, another one that I had written actually recieved some positive feedback. Not feedback as in "Wow, that was hilarious," but feedback as in "You know, that's actually a good idea. You cast that thing well."

Now the movie that I had faked in April 2001 is coming close to reality.

They're planning to make a live-action Jetsons movie.

Now, don't get me wrong, as soon as they released the live-action Flintstones movie in 1994, we all knew that the Jetsons would eventually happen. It was just, you know, too easy.

And they've been trying. The article states that they've been trying to get this thing going for 10 years now, and now they're taking another swing with a reputable comedy writer (if you consider a "Revenge of the Nerds" remake as reputable comedy, that is).

If it happens, it has the potential to be hilarious. It also has the potential to be as head-shakingly bad as other cartoon to live action ventures, like Flintstones, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Scooby Doo. I would also put Josie & The Pussycats on that list if I didn't have friends that would kill me for calling it a bad movie.

Anyway, when I wrote this article back in 2001 I included a cast list. I tried to play it as seriously as possible, and it turned out alright. So I figured I'd re-write it here, or at least re-write as much as I can remember, and also give any updates if I feel they're necessary.

So here I give you The Jetsons Dream Cast:

George Jetson: William H. Macy. Just your typical average typical everyman, trapped in a world gone mad. His only wish is for Jane to stop this crazy thing.

Jane Jetson: Gillian Anderson. Because I couldn't think of a better redhead for the part. I think she'd still work today, but you could always throw in someone like Susan Sarandon if you need em.

Judy Jetson: The first major change. I had originally had Jennifer Love Hewitt in the role. But, you know, 5 years ago and all. Today I'd have to aim for someone like a Michelle Trachtenberg or an Amanda Bynes. Maybe an Alexis Bledel, but she's pushing it for age, too.

Elroy Jetson: Five years ago, Haley Joel Osment. Not anymore, obviously. If you cast today, I'd maybe have to go with Angus T. Jones from Two and a Half Men. More likely it'd be a newcomer, though.

Mr. Spacely: Jeez, is there even a debate? Danny DiVito begins and ends this conversation.

Fine, fine, fine. Want alternatives? Someone taller? Dennis Franz. Jason Alexander. Tom Wilkinson. I'm done arguing this.

Mr. Cogswell: This one's a little tougher. I think I had Robert DeNiro in this role, and I still like him as a front-runner. Failing that, possibly a Philip Seymour Hoffman or Nathan Lane. Or, ooh, Dennis Farina, I like that.

Astro: You can go nuts with the voice of Astro. Since the cartoon version is pretty much Scooby Doo with a different lisp, you can either go with it or throw it out the window completely. It would be a hoot to have an Al Pacino, a John Malkovich, a Kelsey Grammer in this role.

Rosie: Hell, she's already got the name. Rosie O'Donnell IS Rosie the Robot, no question.

So, what do you think? Would this movie suck, or what?

A Good Point

2006-05-04T08:10:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a blog titled Chris's Invincible Super-Blog, and in a post from March 2005 he makes the case for something that may sound, well, outlandish. But he makes a good case, especially with his last point.

The Karate Kid is one of the most influential movies of our generation.

Because everyone, whether they've seen the movie or not, has attempted the Crane Kick, or at least the Crane Kick stance, at some point in their lives.

I like this guy. I think I'm gonna blog-roll him. W00t.

And the blog I found him at.

Cuz, well, I need more blogs on my Blogroll.

Rrrgh...

2006-05-03T08:49:00.000-05:00

So they caught this sex offender guy, who's been in the news here in the Cities for almost a month now. Caught him yesterday, so why is it so tough to find the article on any of the local news websites? Why is a new stamp or American Idol top-line news, but not this?

Actually, forget I asked, I don't wanna know the answer...

And, once again, I come into a post knowing what I'm going to talk about, then find out that my friend CJ is writing in a similar vein... curses.

But here's something that she's almost guaranteed not to be writing about.

I got my Soundwave last night.

Oooooh, baby.

I haven't done any reviews on these pages for a while, so here goes.

Soundwave is one of those original characters that has been shortchanged over the years. While Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream have had figures in almost every Transformers line since the original, ol' SW's been sitting on the sidelines. Heck, even Wheeljack, Prowl, and Shockwave have gotten more play over the years.

Despite this, Soundwave has remained a constant favorite amongst fans. If you put up a fan poll anywhere, asking "who's your favorite Transformer," Soundwave would be in the top three of any poll, easily.

Why is that? It could be way he was characterized in the cartoon. Voiced by Frank Welker, Soundwave was devised as a emotionless, calculating, cold-blooded Decepticon. Always speaking in the third person, with his inflection-free voice warped into the prototypical 1980's computer voice, he would toss out phrases like "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior." He never became annoying like a lot of other characters on the show, because he never over-acted.

Another reason for his success probably deals with a creative alt-mode gimmick, one which is probably the same reason why he hasn't been recreated time and time again. A character that personified the Transfan term "mass shift," Soundwave's alt-mode was a tape recorder. While in both modes, this allowed him to carry what were termed "Cassetticons": Cassettes that would turn into human-sized robots. His cassettes, along with those of his eventual Autobot nemesis, a boombox named Blaster, went beyond the biped (eg Rumble and Rewind), giving us birds (Laserbeak & Ratbat), predators (Ravage & Steeljaw), dinosaurs (Overkill & Slugfest), and vehicles (Grand Slam & Raindance, who combined to form Slamdance).

These cassette figures led to some very cool battles between Soundwave and Blaster. A one-on-one confrontation could quickly turn into a battle royale if the two stepped back, pressed the button on their shoulders, and allowed their cassette comrades to join the fray. Kids loved that. Hell, I have a poster in my living room of Soundwave and his Cassetticons, and it's one of my favorites I've ever owned.

But, as I said, Soundwave's alt-mode is probably the reason why we haven't seen much of him in the later sets. Optimus could keep transforming into a truck. Starscream could keep finding newer and flashier fighter jets to become. Even Megatron, whose gun alt-mode became politically incorrect over time, had a vast array of imposing vehicles and beasts to become.

Soundwave, on the other hand, would soon fall to technology. Cassette tapes led to CD's. CD's led to mp3 players. Making a Soundwave figure transform into a Discman wouldn't be nearly as cool without his little army alongside him. So he quickly faded from the shelves.

Thank goodness someone finally decided to take action. While no longer a media player, the new stealth bomber style Soundwave (like a sonic boom, get it?) gets to show off some new digs while still retaining a lot of what made him great in the first place. Cool colors, cool head, and the return (albeit a minor return) of Cassetticons. I'll be putting up the pictures of the new version along with comparison shots of the original, so you can all see what I'm talking about.

SW's alt mode is, like I said, a stealth bomber style spaceship. It hangs on to plausibility, but since the character isn't supposed to be hiding himself on Earth, it's fine if it's not a direct translation. The color scheme of blue and silver is nearly identical to the original version. If nothing else, it's an even brighter blue, similar to the look achieved in the cartoon.

In the Cybertron version, the cassettes are replaced by hexagonal barrels that are supposed to be bombs. Of the three that come with the figure, the two that are most important for this mode are the weapons bombs. Both turn into guns, and both connect to Soundwave's wings. The third is contained in his chest compartment, which is a Planet Key-activated bomb bay in this mode. I'll be getting to that third bomb shortly.

The weapons were a little difficult to attach to the wing, and when they're there they don't necessarily bring anything too thrilling to the party. But for the sake of storage, it was one of two choices: Attach them to the wings or make the chest three times the size that the decided on. I think they made the right choice. Hell, G1 Soundwave could only carry one tape at a time in his toy form, anyway. It's better, less kibbly, this way.

Robot mode is where this puppy shines. This figure IS Soundwave, pure and simple. The designers of this toy retained so much of the original look: The head and face, the chest-plate, right down to the red striping on the limbs. At the same time, he's definitely designed in the 21st Century. A little choppy in his joints, he still has a lot more articulation than the original figure. The wings and the shield are both necessary for the alt-mode, but they just enhance the look of this new Soundwave. Despite the fact that he's not a very dark figure, color-wise, he is by far the most imposing figure to come out of the Transformers line in a long time. Maybe ever.

The weapon "bombs" continue with the homage, taking the place of the battery weapons from the original figure. One is mounted on the right shoulder, the other is held in his hand. They both have the Energon-like look, with clear purple plastic, but it's forgivable.

The third bomb is my favorite feature of this figure. Contained in Soundwave's chest plate, which opens in Planet Key mode, it can be pulled at any time.

Laserbeak's back. The Cassetticon that came with the original SW is packaged with this new figure, being touted as a Mini-Con. This Mini, however, can only junction with SW (and maybe Megatron/Galvatron, haven't tried yet) since he doesn't have any of the Powerlink points that the other Mini-Cons have. Only a peg on the bottom of his body.

This peg allows Laserbeak to perch, either on SW's arm or his wing, as well as Mega/Galvatron's arm. The wings and legs are both flexible enough to accommodate, but it's also the best Mini-Con figure I've ever seen, so I have no problem showing him off by himself.

Yeah, this one was friggin' long. I don't care. Soundwave was my favorite Transformer as a kid, and he still remains near or at the top for me. This figure is the best Transformer in the price bracket to come along in all the time I've been collecting, and will probably be on my top five in all brackets for years to come.

My only hope, either from Hasbro, Takara, or some intrepid kit-basher, would be the rest of the Cassetticons reproduced to go along with this figure. Rumble is already somewhat in the Cybertron line (Scrapmetal in the US), and Ravage has shown up in various forms over the years (biped-to-panther, panther-biped-to-Corvette, etc). But it would be one of the coolest ideas to see a Mini-Con three pack consisting of Ravage, Frenzy, and Buzzsaw or Ratbat, all created in Soundwave bomb-fashion.

This will probably never happen, but it's wishful thinking. All said and done, I LOVE THIS FIGURE!

Yupyupyupyupyupyupyup

2006-05-02T11:12:00.000-05:00

BRRRRRING!!!!

I'm back. I took the day off work yesterday. Now I have a refrigerator to not turn everything into blocks of ice.

Had my first read for Oz last night. This thing should be a blast to end all blasts, and if the director is able to implement a quarter of the ideas he has for this thing, it's gonna be one hell of a show.

Wacky Wacky Icons

2006-04-28T15:26:00.000-05:00

So boredom has struck. Because I figured out (since I'm, you know, dumb) how to switch around my avatars for every posting or comment on LiveJournal (still can't do it here, durp), I figured it was about time to whip some up. Helps that I've figured out how to comfortably put text on these things, too. Crappily, but they're there.

So here, for your edification, is what I have. Since it's a free account I can only carry 6, and I'm still trying to think of a good picture for the *big dopey grins* kinda posts, but here's what I got:

From Sheldon:

From Akira:

MegaMan via VG Cats:

Advent Children:

From nowhere in particular, for those days when there's nothing important to say:

Arbor

2006-04-28T11:33:00.000-05:00

- Happy Day.

Have a tree.

And a giraffe.

- Sometimes I'm ashamed to be a Transformers fan.

They're making a live-action movie, something that everyone who's ever been a fan should be overjoyed for.

Instead?

Fandom is now saying that it's going to be the biggest bomb of 2007.

Why, is this?

Because they're making a police car Decepticon. And because they're naming a tank Devastator, a character who was a Gestalt (Combiner robot) in the series.

No, I'm serious. Transfans actually believe that the movie will the worst film of the year, will be critically lambasted and that no one will come see it, simply because of these two events.

Ugh.

People.

THEY'RE MAKING A TRANSFORMERS MOVIE.

Take a moment. Let that absorb into your head.

Let me repeat:

TRANSFORMERS. MOVIE.

Live action. Cars, trucks, fighter jets, tanks.

Transforming into giant robots and fighting each other.

We've been wanting this for 20 years, and you're going to say you don't want to see it because of that?

For shame.

- Finally...

Wii!!!

What... Wha... Huh?

2006-04-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

Adult Swim gives the Family Guy treatment to another old show, resurrecting it from cancellation grave with brand-new episodes.

The show?

Saved By The Bell.

No. I'm serious.

There are so many reasons I want to go beat my head against a wall right now.

I'm fairly sure this is going to be the first non-animated series on Cartoon Network.

Non-animated. On Cartoon Network.

That means NOT a cartoon on a cartoon channel.

You know, like how MTV doesn't play videos. And we all know how much I love that channel because of it.

Quite simply, just the fact that this news exists is enough to make me lose a lot of respect for Adult Swim. They might redeem themselves if they put a bit of the ol' Adult Swim edge into the show.

But I'm not betting money on it.

Advent Loserz

2006-04-26T22:51:00.000-05:00

Before I start going off on this movie, two things to say:

- First, I had written a bunch of stuff to post. Then my computer went putz. Me much pissy.

- Loserz. It's a webcomic. Reminds me of Questionable Content, but nerdier, with inferior drawing and the occasional naked girl. Fun stuff.

Now, on to one of the best movies I've seen in years. The movie that Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within should have been.

Spoilerific!

Seriously

Okay?

Okay.

If you've played any Final Fantasy games, then viewed Spirits, you had to have been walking out of there disappointed. It had the name Final Fantasy, it had a character named Cid (every FF has a Cid), and that was about the extent of the connection between the movie and the series.

Well, Advent Children is going to blow your pants off.

Spirits Within had sci-fi action. Advent Children has sci-fi action, swordfights, martial arts, sorcery, gunplay, monsters, motorcycle fights along the streets of Midgar. Everything that Final Fantasy is known for.

What impressed me most, beyond the fact that this film even exists, is how well they integrated a lot of gameplay aspects into movie. Materia is used to harness magical power. Bahamut is Summoned from the skies above. Cloud, Tifa, and Red XIII all take advantage of Limit Breaks, with Cloud smacking Sephiroth around with Blade Beams and Omnislash, Red using a Sled Fang, and Tifa pulling out some damn sweet combos like Meteodrive and Somersault.

Even beyond those aspects, the action scenes in this movie are breathtaking. The movie itself is motion capture CGI, like Polar Express only not nearly so creepy. Because of this, the movements and camera angles are smooth, fast, and just pretty.

Everyone returns, finally seen in all their lifelike glory. Cloud, Tifa, Barrett, Red, Cid, Yuffie, Vincent, and Cait Sith all return (minus Cait's mog, although we do see a nice moogle cameo in the form of a girl's stuffed toy). Aeris/th and Zack are both seen in dream sequences. Marlene becomes a major player, as do Rude & Reno, members of Shinra's goon squad. The two latter characters even become relative protagonists within the film, fighting the Children and assisting Cloud and his crew. Since it's a Japanese film, most of the characters come off as Asian decent, which can be a little jarring to anyone who can only picture their manga counterparts. But it feels more comfortable than FFX's Japanese Tidus and Yuna.

The voice talent doesn't bug me as much as I thought it would, mostly because the majority of the actors have done it before. Mena Suvari does reprise her role as Aeris/th, which still disappoints me, but overall it's good work. Rachael Leigh Cook (sp?) plays Tifa quite well, actually.

Some minor quibbles for the voices revolve around the choices for some of the side characters: Cid's got a Texas cowboy accent, which is fine. Red has a very, um, British/Tony Head kinda voice, which is fine. But they gave Cait a "hey, I'm Shrek!" Scottish voice. Which is okay, considering he barely talks. I just am gonna be irritated when Dirge of Cerberus comes around.

My main complaint? Not enough movie. It was an hour and a half, but I left wanting to see more. Here's hoping they continue this type of treatment, whether it be another FFVII, or if they expand to 8, 9, 10. Hell, give me 6. Hell, give me Chrono Trigger! Keep em comin!

Kingdom Hearts 2.1

2006-04-26T08:14:00.000-05:00

Kingdom Hearts: Inverted Hearts is a fan-brew "sequel" to the original Kingdom Hearts. I haven't played the demo yet, but the pictures and ideas are pretty cool.

Especially the whole "Hey, let's put Chrono Trigger in the game!" thing.

As you can tell from my rant last night, I went out expecting to get a new fridge and a new DVD.

I returned with neither, both of them sold out by the time I got there.

Frustration ensues.

Another Note To Best Buy

2006-04-25T23:08:00.000-05:00

I seem to be full of them.

Dear Best Buy (And you might wanna listen, too, Circuit City),

When you advertise a DVD in your weekly circular, a DVD that you're advertising for 15 dollars, when everyone else has it for 20, do you think that it might be possible to stock more than 3 copies in the entire bloody store?!?!?!

HUH???

See, this is how you piss off customers: by not thinking about them! Let's connect:

You advertise a product.

You advertise that it is a very low cost.

You advertise it at this very low cost so that people will come to your store.

You advertise that it is a very low cost so that people will come to your store and find the product.

You advertise that it is a very low cost so that people will come to your store and find the product and pay for it.

You advertise that it is a very low cost so that people will come to your store and find the product and pay for it and pay for other things as well.

This is called "marketing." If, on the other hand, you only stock three of these products, that means that only three people will come to your store, find the product, pay for it, and pay for other things as well.

All the others? They will come to your store, not find the product, not pay for it, and not pay for other things.

And they will have a worse opinion of you in the process.

Get the connections?

Gas is currently $2.85 a gallon. I'm spending this money to come buy your product.

Don't make me get my whacking stick.

Morons.

Advent Refrigeration

2006-04-25T15:21:00.000-05:00

Two things I'm buying tonight.

Motherfuckin' Dark Tower

2006-04-24T22:43:00.000-05:00

Anyone wanna read my new pairing story?

Divine Goddamn Intervention, the pairing of Roland Deschain and Vincent Vega.

It's crap, but enjoy.

4 A Day

2006-04-24T16:38:00.000-05:00

Trying to figure out a decent new signature for my Transformers threads.

Unfortunately 1) I don't know if I can fit this one down to the wanted size comfortably, and 2) not sure if I can use this one from a "copywriting" standpoint.

But, hell, it's just funny. It's from a contest from Sam & Fuzzy:

Um Wha?

2006-04-24T14:33:00.000-05:00

- Pearl Jam and Tom Petty are touring together.

This makes no sense to me.

- The Transformers movie is now rumored to have Scorponok amongst its ranks.

This makes a surprising amount of sense to me, the more that I think about it.

The Autobots would try their darndest to keep themselves hidden amongst Earthlings (Robots In Disguise, and all). The Decepticons, on the other hand, wouldn't give a rat's pitooie about low profile, since they would consider themselves the dominant species. Their transformations, much like on Cybertron, would be meant more for function than form. Jet flies fast, Tank has big honkin gun, Truck can haul Tank and Jet.

So why would it be beyond the realm of imagination to have a Decepticon turn into a giant, robotic scorpion to terrify the populace?

Fans complained when it was said that you wouldn't see the Dinobots, yet you're going to see Scorponok. Ummm, yeah, because the Autobots wouldn't want Dinobots as, you know, dinosaurs don't exist anymore.

Decepticons would probably embrace Dinobots, Terrorcons, Predacons, anything to give them the upper hand in domination of the planet.

Oh God Dammit!

2006-04-24T10:51:00.000-05:00

Well, two dammits.

First off, blogger's being a buttz, so I have no clue when this is being posted.

Second, the voice actors from KHII are reprising their voices for Advent Children. For the most part sure, no problem, but that means Mena Suvari is Aerith again. Goddammit!

Thankfully she's, you know, dead (spoiler spoiler spoiler!), so she probably won't have a lot of screen time.

Cuz she sucks, and all.

Narnia Newsia

2006-04-24T08:32:00.001-05:00

They've announced their plans for the next Narnia movies.

It's going to be a trilogy.

Out of four books.

TLTWaTW.

Prince Caspian.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader AND The Silver Chair.

Huh.

Should be interesting to see how they pull this one off.

It's not like those two books can connect their plotlines without, you know, shortchanging them.

Rick Moranis = Still Alive

2006-04-21T16:26:00.000-05:00

You know, I kept wondering what happened to him. Now I know.

According to quotes from articles in his wikipedia entry, Rick's a single parent, and took some time off from films to take care of his kids. Then, as time went by, he realized he didn't miss it.

But he WAS just up for a Grammy, he did a comedy country album lately. But he hasn't been seen onscreen since 1997.

Crazy, eh?

Second In A Row

2006-04-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

Transformers post, that is.

Wanna know your Cybertron name? Go to this site, type in your name, and they'll give you a name and a faction. It's a fairly simple generator, using the first and last letters of your name, but it's still pretty fun. Here's what I have:

My full real name: Ironclaw (Autobot)
My real nickname: Cyberstorm (Decepticon)
My online name: Aquastar (Autobot)

Halfway Cast

2006-04-21T12:20:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, according to the movie news services, we have ourselves a human cast for Transformers. I'm just gonna put down the names attached, since, quite honestly, Shia's the only one who's playing someone from the original series. As of now, these names are either cast, in final negotiations, or have offers on the table, according to IGN:

Shia LaBeouf
Jon Voight
Michael Clarke Duncan
Josh Duhamel
Bernie Mac
Rachael Taylor
Megan Fox
Tyrese Gibson
John Tuturro
John Robinson (too many IMDb's to count)
Travis Van Winkle

Still no word yet on any voices for the Transformers themselves, but there's a few people out there who believe some of these character names are just "aliases" and that the actors associated would be brought in as voices for the Transformers (Bernie Mac as Jazz, Tuturro as Starscream, etc).

I trust this list, if for no other reason than there really aren't any names on it that stand out as "fan speculation." Duncan and Voight have both worked with Michael Bay before, on Armageddon and Pearl Harbor respectively, and none of the other names are really, um, names. Mac, Tuturro, Gibson, all actors who work, but would never be called "all-stars." And, hell, with names like Rachael Taylor, John Robinson, Travis Van Winkle, how could this list even be considered fan speculation?

I'm excited to see how this turns out, and even more excited to hear who's coming in for voice work (Tom Hanks as Bumblebee? Still a chance.)

Two COMPLETELY Different Topics

2006-04-20T08:53:00.000-05:00

- There's a convicted rapist that escaped from a treatment facility in St Peter (where one of my grandfathers lives) and has last been seen in Cass Lake (where my other grandfather grew up).

Why is it that the only time I hear of these towns anymore is when something really bad happens?

And why wasn't I able to find this article on the Star Tribune front page? Isn't the fact that this guy's extremely dangerous and has a federal warrant out on his ass somewhat, um, important?

Guess not. The War Against Mosquitoes is MUCH more relevant.

- Training Wheels, a comic I don't have linked over there yet, has a Battle Royale reference! Sweet!

Ummm... Ouch...

2006-04-20T08:21:00.000-05:00

Smurfette on SVU.

It's what ithurtsmybrain is all about.

Ouch.

By the way, anyone ever heard of a dishwasher being hooked to a light switch?

Me, neither. Strange condo.

Title Pending

2006-04-19T15:31:00.000-05:00

Got out of rehearsal an hour earlier last night.

Still hating it.

My refrigerator is freezing all of my food, and my dishwasher isn't plugged in.

Still no new pairing list.

Have a giraffe.

Another Rhetorical Question

2006-04-18T14:25:00.000-05:00

What percentage of pictures on sites like Match and MySpace are of the member in a bar? 50 percent? 60?

EDIT: And the percentage of pictures of people with a drink in their hand? closer to 80%?

Love And Hate

2006-04-18T08:24:00.000-05:00

Love Love Love:

Guitar Hero II. Hells Yeah. Multi-player is divided into lead, rhythm, and bass, 55 new songs coming your way. Also, in what could probably be considered myth amongst players, watch the video of the kid playing Cowboys From Hell on expert mode. Amazing.

Hate Hate Hate:

After coming home at 11:30 from what was most likely the least-organized tech rehearsal in the history of my theatre life (and this includes the orchestra rehearsal where the director quit, mind you), if they decided to say "alright, no more show, everyone go give your money back for your tickets," I would be happy.

Unfortunately, the set construction is so far behind, things are so disorganized, I don't see it improving much, if at all.

Wishing I hadn't let my friends guilt me into this thing, I'm regretting the decision.

Addictions

2006-04-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

- Ooh, look at me, I'm so special, I'm making Arthur avatars like they're going out of style.

- Today is the 17th of April, the day after Easter. And we all know what that means...

PHASE 3 CANDY!! W00000T!

- Addiction #3: My friend and I made a miraculous discovery on Saturday. One that will surely be my downfall in the evenings to come.

We found a $40 used copy of Guitar Hero.

Sweet mother of mercy, it's like crack.

We played till about midnight on Saturday. She came over again Sunday night at about 8 or 8:30, and we played till about 11:30. Then she left and I played until midnight.

But, hey, I beat the medium level. Yes, since I know you're reading this, I beat Frankenstein after you left, followed by two rounds of Ziggy Stardust before bed at medium with a 95 and 97% percent accuracy. Figured Ace of Spades would be the last song I'd want to do right before bed, so Ziggy was calm enough for me.

For those reading this who don't know Guitar Hero, here's the basic summary: Think Dance Dance Revolution, but with a guitar instead of a foot pad. You have five "fret buttons" on the neck and a little switch on the body that you use to "strum" or "pluck" the guitar. They also give you a whammy bar for the long notes. Notes glide down the screen (like the arrows in DDR), and you strum the guitar while holding the right button. You get a score according to accuracy.

Difficult to describe, probably boring to watch if you don't care, incredibly fun to play.

Otherwise, my weekend was alright. Had Easter brunch with the fam. Asked questions to a few friends that I did and didn't want to know the answers to. Started counting the days until this dreaded show is over and I can get to work on Oz.

Better Late Than Never

2006-04-14T14:59:00.000-05:00

Dante.

Randall.

Jay.

Silent Bob.

ummm... Mimi.

With glasses.

Or something.

Clerks II.

Rhetorical Fanfic Question

2006-04-14T14:13:00.000-05:00

If Roland Deschain steps through a door into Vincent Vega's head, and steps forward to take control of Vincent, is it still a pairing, or does it become a Roland/Jules, a Roland/Mia, a Roland/Lance, a Roland/Wolf pairing? Would I have to put Roland in Jules' head to make a Roland/Vincent pairing?

Basically, if two people become one person, is it still a pairing? And does that sound really naughty?

You Know What THIS Means

2006-04-13T09:37:00.000-05:00

This means that I'm probably gonna have to re-open Dark Tower and start working on it again. I'm in the midst of Battle Royale right now, but 1) I'm not too far in, and 2) I know the characters well enough, since I just read it recently.

If I want to write Roland, I'm going to have to write Roland well. And that means a re-read.

Final Four (and a half) Pt 1

2006-04-13T08:07:00.000-05:00

Since trollprincess is doing it in shifts, I'm going to do it in shifts, too... so here's the final four that I'm looking at from the first 300 pairs, with some comments or plot or whatever.

In no particular order:

Roland Deschain vs. Vincent Vega. Quite a fun combination, I doubt I'll be the only one to take a shot at it. Both professional killers, both with their own code. I'm thinking it might work to have one of Roland's doors enter Vincent's head at some point during Pulp Fiction. The suitcase can be used to the story's advantage, as it's never explicitly said that it contains Marcellus Wallace's soul. Roland's opinion of Jules, who seems to take a gunslinger-style mantra after that point in the film. could also be a fun story point.

Lionel Luthor and Mr. Tumnus. Deep in the bowels of Luthorcorp lies a mysterious warddrobe that is rumored to be a doorway to another dimension. As Luthor steps through, he discovers an astonishing human-goat halfbreed who he can use to play the sides of good and evil to his own profit: the limitless moneymaking resources of the land of Narnia.

Not quite the character exploration of the Roland/Vince, this one, along with pretty much all of the others of this batch of four, would be there primarily for story purposes. Tumnus and Luthor aren't exactly an intruiging pair, but it'll be more about "what happens if x is put in y situation."

Emmett Brown & Ethan Rayne. In Sunnydale's underground, Rayne learns of the existence of a time machine in nearby Hill Valley. Ethan sets off to confront the inventor of the machine, hoping to use it for his own schemes.

Fox Mulder and Lumiere. Mulder investigates a folk legend of a vicious beast hiding in a European castle. Upon entrance into the castle, Mulder quickly learns that the monster isn't the only X-File.

And one more that I'm not putting in my top four, mostly because I don't have the guts. But I really really REALLY want to read it, even though I've heard that it already exists somewhere in the ether:

Tara Maclay and Kaylee Frye. Buffy's version of Inara and Firefly's version of Willow find some way to meet up and go at it like rabbits.

Hey, the moderator is encouraging romantic writing. And we ALL want this.

But, again, I don't have the guts.

Grrrr Ruff

2006-04-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

Dat's me.

I just got cast as the Lion in Wizard this summer.

Should be a kick. I'm going to try my best to NOT do the movie version, as the director's trying to keep away from a direct translation.

It'll poke out there, though. The Lion's a very manic sort of personality, trying to be brave and failing miserably.

One phrase keeps popping into my head.

"Oh, God, there's blood in my mucus!"

Training Off To A New Entry

2006-04-12T08:31:00.000-05:00

So far most of my list has not made an appearance, but if anyone wants to take a shot at these, here's what I have so far, mostly paired with characters I don't know:

25. The Little Prince (The Little Prince)/Tom Collins (Rent) ummm... no...
33. Kid Icarus/Scott Tracy (Thunderbirds)
78. Kaneda (Akira)/Jack (An American Werewolf in London) (Not from my list, but come ON, everyone knows my connection. But I don't know AWL, so someone could please...)
95. Clem (BtVS)/Penelope Clearwater (HP) (You know I can't do it when, despite much suffering on this end, I don't remember who Clearwater is!)
97. Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)/Xander (BtVS) (Tempting, but too vanilla, both characteristically and, um, erotically.)
155 Alistair McMcKeon (Honor Harrington)/Lionel Luthor (Smallville) ummm... who?
228 Lionel Luthor/Mr. Tumnus (Narnia) (Mentioned previously, under consideration. Also, I appear to not be the only one to put in Luthor and Chloe)
294. Yorick (Hamlet)/Rose Red (Fables) He's dead. Dead, I tell you!

So out of all of my pairing suggestions so far, two (maybe three, cuz the Hamlet one's actually intruiging me) are bearing fruit. Which is fine, I'm sure many others will find much pleasure in my pairings.

Note to self for next time: suggest the characters from 8-Bit Theatre, as it seems webcomics are decent fodder. Fighter and Black Mage would rule in this list.

Still waiting on:

Shogo Kawada
Kazuo Kiriyama
Mitsuko Souma
Vi
Caleb
Brainiac
Applegate
Brick Tamland
Brian Fantana
Terra
Slade
Roxas
Namine
Leon
Bigby
Pig Pen
Rerun
Maleficent

New Pairing List!

2006-04-12T08:07:00.000-05:00

Well, first half of one, anyway. So far none of my big wants (Ginny Weasley, Kazuo Kiriyama, Mitsuko Souma, Shogo Kawada, Terra from Teen Titans) have made an appearance yet, I don't think, but here's a few that I have found. I'll narrow things down once I see part two and do the picture pairing and comments that I did last time:

32 Roland Deschain (Dark Tower)/Vincent Vega (Pulp Fiction)
63 Kaylee (Firefly)/Tara (BtVS)
48 Fred (Angel)/Simon (Firefly)
126 Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)/Eddie Dean (Dark Tower)
143 Zack (Power Rangers)/River (Firefly)
231 Emmitt Brown (Back To The Future)/Ethan Rayne (BtVS)
257 Spike (BtVS, Angel)/Earl Hickey (My Name Is Earl)

June 15th is the deadline, so I have no problem waiting till after KMK's over to start this puppy.

EDIT: Oh, and 228 Lionel Luthor (Smallville)/Mr Tumnus (Narnia) is just begging to be written

EDITER: 167 Fox Mulder (X-Files)/Lumiere (Beauty & The Beast)... oh, come on, you don't think Fox would be intruiged?

EDITEST: Seeing the pairing of David Xanatos (Gargoyles)/Stitch (Lilo and Stitch) got me thinking... why haven't the Gargoyles shown up in the Kingdom Hearts series? Isn't this the perfect outlet for them?

EDITEST THE SEQUEL: I forgot to put the link to the list. Now it's there.

Double Standard Question

2006-04-11T16:40:00.000-05:00

Why is it that women can talk about constantly about how hot they think a guy is, and how much they want to have sex with them, but if a guy does it's considered perverted?

Nothing that I did, just something I've noticed and have been wondering...

It Happened AGAIN

2006-04-11T14:31:00.000-05:00

Last week I mentioned that I ended up in second place in a WCCO pool.

Yesterday I found out I got second place in my office pool.

Winner gets $150.

Second place gets the printed list of the top ten, telling you that you're in second place.

I'm so proud.

Wrongness In The World

2006-04-10T16:52:00.000-05:00

I have a friend with a dog named Leeloo.

Tim Buckley over at Ctrl Alt Del just bought a dog, and named her Kaylee.

Rule of thumb in my life: If you get a pet, never name it after a genre character that you find attractive.

It might make things complicated.

And weird.

Very weird.

Hmmm...

2006-04-10T12:09:00.000-05:00

Remember last week, when I mentioned that I was coming to the end of a two month string of nerd expenses?

Well

I

Was

Wrong

Curses.

Anyway, here's those two avatars from my last post, featuring my first ever text insert! woo!

Tick Tock Tick Tock

2006-04-10T09:07:00.000-05:00

I left my radio at home today. It should be ten am, but it's only nine. Joy.

In the meantime, here's some hilarious Mega Man stuff. The Breakfast Club one is good. So's the Harvey Birdman one. Forrest Gump ain't that bad, either.

Oh, in case anyone hasn't seen (which I doubt anyone has) I made up two more avatars for LiveJournal, both from one of my favorite comics ever, Sheldon. I still lack the skills, and/or the software, to make any of my icons more than image crops so far, but here ya go:

Ummm... well... okay, maybe later. Blogger's being a butt.

Staring Blankly

2006-04-07T12:33:00.000-05:00

Today's one of those days where I wish I didn't feel obligated to post on a daily basis.

Well, here we go.

It felt like noon before it was even 10 am. One of those damn days.

I beat the Pirates of the Caribbean level on KHII, and I still don't know for sure which actors actually lent their voices to their characters. Geoffrey Rush has KHII on his IMDB listing, which could be right or wrong, but none of the other three (Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley) are listed anywhere anymore. Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann both sound very non-starrish, but Jack Sparrow is either Depp or a damn good impersonator.

Actually, so far I've been pretty disappointed with the voice talent in this game, compared to the previous. For the most part, the previous game was able to get back most of the surviving talent to reprise their roles, and they had some fairly decent B-List talent (David Boreanaz as Squall, Haley Joel Osment as Sora, Billy Zane as Ansem, Mandy Moore as Aerith, Lance Bass as Sephiroth, etc) on board for previously unvoiced characters.

Now I understand that you can't get Eddie Murphy to replay Mushu, or Robin Williams to play Genie. You can't get Matthew Broderick or Nathan Lane to come back for Lion King, they're too expensive and too busy on Broadway.

But is it really that hard to get Miguel Ferrer to come back and reprise his role as Shan Yu in Mulan? Hell, the guy worked on Jackie Chan Adventures, for God's sake. Or Sean Astin to do a few lines for Hercules, a character he voiced in the first game? And with the exception of Osment, who plays Sora, the lead character in game, none of the previously-listed B-listers have returned, replaced by new, less talented actors in all cases. The voice work just isn't as good, even in the case of a Mandy Moore/Mena Suvari switch as Aerith. Suvari is a terrible voice actress, I quickly came to learn.

I'm not trying to complain too much, they brought in a few decent names for new roles. Rachael Leigh Cook is playing Tifa, Christopher Lee is on board. Cheech Marin, Robert Guillaume, Ming Na, Harvey Fierstein, the late Pat Morita, all reprising their various Disney roles.

I'm just surprised that none of the actors I mentioned previously were able to be brought back. That was one of the things I really enjoyed about the previous Kingdom Hearts, hearing all these actors that I knew from other work come in and do a very good job voicing characters I had grown to love, either from Disney movies or from previous Final Fantasy games. To see these characters return with horrible voices coming out of their mouths... it's just a disappointment.

There... I DO have something to write about, even if it is just baseless bitching! w00t!

PS: A lot of the links I put on here for the actors at IMDb have them listed in the game. Unfortunately, the listings are wrong. Wikipedia has a more updated listing of the voice talent, and none of the aforementioned actors are on that cast list.

HAPPY LITTLE TREES!!!!

2006-04-06T08:40:00.000-05:00

In "Best Game Ever!(!!)" News, there's plans to develop a Bob Ross video game for the DS.

No. Seriously. Bob Freaking Ross. Joy Of Painting. With a friggin' stylus.

SWEET!

Physics-defying hair not included.

Oh, Yeah...

2006-04-05T08:48:00.000-05:00

Kingdom Hearts II.

Timeless River.

Greatest Game Level EVER!

Note To Self

2006-04-05T08:34:00.000-05:00

Don't you hate it when you have a title for your post, then find out it's nearly identical to a friend's title?

Ah, well...

Note to self:

Do not use a shotgun shell as a flyswatter.

Also, control urge to buy DS Lite in May. Curses.

Climbing From The Bunker

2006-04-04T14:14:00.000-05:00

Okay... I think the storm has passed... or at least lessened...

Since February 21st, my credit card and my $100 Target Gift card have endured the releases of:

- Rent ($20)
- Goblet of Fire ($20)
- Condo improvements ($150)
- Two sets of Transformers Universe Constructicons ($40 total)
- Tetris DS ($30)
- Metroid Prime Hunters ($35)
- Kingdom Hearts II ($50)
- Chronicles of Narnia ($25)

I just picked up Narnia... I think... I think I'm done... There's still a few more Transformers coming out in the next few months, but I have a gift card or two to lessen that impact. And I can hold my breath to get Robot Chicken on eBay down the line.

Many are bouncing up and down about King Kong, too, but screw that. I don't wanna spend my hard-earned money on watching a hot blonde ice dancing with a giant monkey.

EDIT: Oh, and that new Playstation controller since my old one decided to start sticking right when I needed the X button. ($20)

Random Goodness

2006-04-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

- Second place, baby! I won, um, absolutely nothing!

- After going through the pairing list suggestions, I came to the realization that everyone tended to play it scared. Thankfully I have a friend who's going to jump into the pile and take a bullet for everyone by putting some basic names on her list that no one else put on theirs. You know, the REALLY OBVIOUS ones that everyone ignored because they thought someone else would get to it?

Thanks, Jenn, you'll give us all Harry Potter, Buffy Summers, and Ginny and Ron Weasley. Amazing no one got to it sooner.

- KHII's making me giddier and giddier. It's really difficult to talk about it without giving away spoilers, but in the past night or two I discovered:

1) Olympus is an honest-to-god level this time, not just a "competition" place. You start in Hades. Which rules.

2) Chicken Little is my first summons, but I haven't tried him yet.

3) The level-exclusive characters (Beast, Mulan, etc) have dual attacks with Sora that kick all sorts of ass.

4) If you get killed, you can come back to life right where you left off... but you have to earn it first by controlling an alternate character that I will leave unnamed (although it's fairly obvious if I do mention it) until he can build up enough energy to revive Sora.

- Radio ads are bugging me. First came the extremely annoying Dunwoody ads (what the hell are they trying to advertise?), and the damn 867-5309 commercials (stop it!), but now, in the past few days, I've heard:

1) An ad on sports talk radio in Spanish. Not bad in itself, but I keep asking myself, "if you can't speak English, then why are you listening to sports talk radio?"

2) The revival of a horrific Subway jingle that died in the early 90's and should have stayed dead. And "revival" probably isn't the right word, either: it's the EXACT SAME SONG, the same recording, everything. Not a song I want in my head all day.

Okay, lunch beckons.

Edited

2006-04-03T14:20:00.000-05:00

I've just added links to, well, every character listed in the previous post. Cuz, even though most of them are recognizable, most aren't. In one or two cases I had to punt (Vi and Applegate, mostly) but I think they work out alright.

EDIT WITH TITLE!

2006-04-03T09:50:00.000-05:00

Finally! trollprincess has finally posted requests for the new pairing lists for ithurtsmybrain. I don't know if she's going to be able to handle it this time, considering she asked for people to post 25 names, and there's currently been 117 responses of 25. Ouch.

Anyway, here's mine, trying VERY hard to not put in anyone who would probably be mentioned by a dozen other people:

1) Shogo Kawada (Battle Royale)
2) Kazuo Kiriyama (Battle Royale)
3) Mitsuko Souma (Battle Royale)
4) Clem (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
5) Vi (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
6) Caleb (Buffy The Vampire Slayer)
7) Brainiac (Smallville)
8) Tom Collins (Rent)
9) Mr Applegate (Damn Yankees)
10) Chloe Sullivan (Smallville)
11) Lionel Luthor (Smallville)
12) Brick Tamland (Anchorman)
13) Brian Fantana (Anchorman)
14) Terra (Teen Titans)
15) Slade (Teen Titans)
16) Roxas (Kingdom Hearts II)
17) Namine (Kingdom Hearts II)
18) Leon (Kingdom Hearts)
19) Bigby Wolf (Fables)
20) Jack (Fables)
21) Rose Red (Fables)
22) Pigpen (Peanuts)
23) Rerun (Peanuts)
24) Kid Icarus (Kid Icarus)
25) Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty)

Now I'm just hoping at least one of those characters gets paired up with someone I actually recognize. I wanna write something with BR really really badly, but without a proper venue it just feels, I dunno, screwed up to do a pairing fanfic. You know, doing a Kazuo/Harry Potter or a Mitsuko/Willow (which would be far too much fun to write) just feels all the nerdier and loserish if you're doing it by yourself.

In other news, *headdesk*. I hate this time of year. The time change is an absolute killer for a week or two. I got to bed too late because I wasn't ready for bed, and woke up FAR too early, even though the clock was saying I was right on time, if not running behind.

The fact that I got home about an hour behind schedule because of traffic and weather didn't help. Now I have a week of trying to work with dirty laundry and about 10 minutes between work and rehearsal every night. Why'd I get myself into this show again?

3rd Post in 30 Minutes

2006-03-31T08:32:00.000-06:00

I'm not doing bad here.

So, I jumped onto Rotten Tomatoes to check out the rating for Slither, the new Nathan Fillion horror movie.

I expected 20% if they were lucky.

They're currently getting a 92% approval rating. That includes great reviews from Variety, EW, Chicago Tribune, USA Today, with an 86% rating from the "Cream of the Crop" papers.

Perspective:

Capote: 91%
Brokeback Mountain: 86%
Crash: 76%
Walk The Line: 83%
Batman Begins: 83%
Narnia: 76%

That's right, kiddies. Schlock horror movie Slither is a better movie than the four Oscar winners and the two biggest blockbuster movies of the year.

Train of Thought Rules

2006-03-31T08:15:00.000-06:00

Rewrite, the Full Metal Alchemist theme, is written by Asian Kung-fu Generation.

I MUST keep that in mind.

Also, fun KHII stuff in Penny Arcade.

One Hour In

2006-03-31T07:56:00.000-06:00

And I already know this about Kingdom Hearts II:

- Seifer's back! As are his cronies Fujin and Raijin.

- FFIX's getting some love.

- Christopher Lee's involved.

- Most importantly, despite the fact that they SAID you wouldn't have to beat Chain of Memories to understand the plot for KHII, I'm currently very confused. So, just to be safe, I've set Pokemon down for now and am going to try very hard to beat CoMs while working on KHII.

So, yeah, as you can tell I was able to get the game last night. I didn't have rehearsal until 8, so I had time to make some dinner, set up my Metroid card, and make a trip to the Target closest to my route (did I happen to mention there's nothing between me and the rehearsal space? There isn't.). It's fun, but so far I haven't touched anyone from the previous game beyond cinema screens, which is unexpected.

But from the instructions, I learned yet another happy: Stitch is a summons spell. Hells yeah.

I can almost guarantee this day's going to drag. However, thank God that it's only a small cast rehearsal tonight. I don't feel like being guilted into going out for food afterwards.

EDIT: After looking through Google trying to find a picture of Vivi, I came upon these two pretty things. Very nice shot, I always love when someone can give you pictures of Black Mages in action. Especially casting Blizzards, it's definitely the most short-changed on the Black Magic spectrum.

Publishing My Incompetence

2006-03-30T18:24:00.000-06:00

To the right you will see a new addition to my sidebar: my Hunters License.

This is, as many of you may deduce, a statistics tracker for my character on Metroid Prime Hunters. Over the next few months, you will see some numbers (games played, time played, shots fired) raise relatively quickly, while others (games won, kills, headshots) raise much MUCH slower. You will also see a slow decrease in my rank.

Why? Because I suck at the game. But it was so cool to know that there's statistics available at nintendowifi.com for anyone with any wifi games (Tetris, Kart, MPH, Animal Crossing, etc) that I just couldn't help myself.

Squirming

2006-03-30T15:28:00.000-06:00

Still no Kingdom Hearts at the downtown Target. They're as stumped as I am. I'm cheesed.

Casting Begins

2006-03-30T10:08:00.000-06:00

The producer confirmed it: Shia LeBeouf is playing Spike Witwicky in the Transformers live action movie.

A good choice, if you ask me. And it's good to know that this thing finally has legs.

Eventually they'll be casting another 3 or 4 major/minor human roles, but there's no clue yet as to the size of any of these roles. None of them are comic or cartoon continuity that I'm aware of, so it's tough to call how many other "big" names are going to be in this thing.

Voice acting's a whole different arena, too. We're looking at 6-10 Transformers in the flick, and there's two popular trains of thought as to their voices:

- Some fans want to see the original voice actors come in, either from the original G1 cartoon or the new voices in the Armada/Energon/Cybertron series.

- And, of course, there's the celebrity voices which will probably be more likely to happen. Tom Hanks is bouncing around the rumor mill, most likely as Bumblebee or Ratchet if he doesn't appear as a human in the film. Or maybe both. The name George Clooney keeps popping up as Optimus Prime for some reason, I have no idea what his attachment is to either Bay or Spielberg.

We should hopefully be hearing more casting in the next few weeks, so I'm wired up about that.

It's almost the weekend. Thank GOD! Road trip in a few days, plus I actually have time to eat dinner tonight! Huzzah!

And, maybe/hopefully/pleasepleaseplease, I'll have Kingdom Hearts II tonight. Target's screwed me for it so far, but they say Thursday's their normal release date for games. So here's hoping a lot.

Screw This Noise

2006-03-29T16:15:00.000-06:00

Superman Is A Dick.

Now put on my sidebar.

Just too funny for words. Beyond the dickery, there's the strange covers, the monkeys, the dumb machines, and the innocent lines and pictures that make you shake your head in innuendo.

And there's plenty of other sections, too, just check the image galleries. I've been going through them for about six hours now and am still only bout halfway through.

Eep

2006-03-29T14:16:00.000-06:00

Along with much Superman dickery, this site also has a section of nonsensical covers that make your ears bleed.

This one's my favorite:

Still no KHII at my local Target.

Curse this metal body.

EDIT: I have to post this one since I had to dig to find it (the sequential links pass by this one), but Batman has a Boner problem.

Today's Random Webness

2006-03-29T09:07:00.000-06:00

Superman is a dick.

Argh

2006-03-28T14:33:00.000-06:00

So this is what my last twenty minutes have been like:

"Yeah, we were supposed to have Kingdom Hearts II in today, but they screwed up shipping, so we might be getting it tomorrow."

"Sorry, we can't fix your tire, we have to replace it. But we don't know if you have a warranty on it, and we don't feel like calling the people you bought it from."

"Oh, and the tire you had replaced last winter? It's the wrong size."

"Yeah, you'll have to pay for that one, too, we won't replace it since, you know, don't feel like calling..."

"BTW, even though you only asked for an oil change, thought we'd mention a few minor leaks you'll have to spend $600 bucks to fix. Even though you brought the car in at 7 am, it's now 2 pm and we're telling you about it, so there's no guarantee that we'll have it done by the time you need it."

"Please shop with us again."

Keepin My Fingers Out

2006-03-28T09:51:00.000-06:00

I keep feeling the urge to go back and bulk up my story. That's probably one of the bad sides of not having found a beta yet, I can't keep the damn thing alone! Nothing too major, just a few more nice little lines about Harry and Ginny, if for no other reason than to keep it relevant.

I also decided that I want to try to start the prequel right after the wedding. The only thing that I really need to decide is a timeline: Bill/Fleur wedding vs. the first Horcrux vs. their last trip to Hogwarts vs. the beginning of their journey. If it's not going to work, then I have to start it during the journey, and if I wanna delve into anything I really want to touch (RAB, the final Harry/Ginny argument, etc) it'll have to be through flashback.

Train of thought typing is fun. I think I actually like that idea. At least making the H/G argument a flashback injected somewhere, and either start the story during their first night on the road, or maybe starting it as a final trip to Grimmauld Place after the Hogwarts journey.

The wedding's not that important in my storyline, beyond the H/G implications. Neither is the trip to Godric's Hollow, which could very easily happen right after the wedding or sometime beforehand. The trip to Hogwarts was pretty much explained as much as it needed to be in Seven Soldiers, too, don't need to see a dramatization of their conversation with Minerva.

Too bad I have zero free time to write this thing up. By the time KMK's done my head's gonna pop.

EDIT: Kingdom Hearts II comes out today. I'm on that like white on white-out.

...

wait... what?

Gator Chomp

2006-03-28T09:16:00.000-06:00

And here I thought I was dead in this tournament...

While fiddlin around online a few weeks ago, I signed up for the WCCO Tournament pool. After the first round, I was floating in around the middle of the pack, so I forgot about it.

Now I'm glad I didn't.

As of now, I'm in 16th place out of a pool of, oh, 250, 275 people. Out of the 17 or 18 above me (tied for 16th with two other people), only me and one other guy has Florida winning the tournament.

So, basically, I could end up in second place in a fairly large online tournament if Florida goes to the championship.

If they win it... well... I'll still be in second place, since there's one guy ahead of me with Florida, so he's earning the same amount of points than me from this point on.

But, hey, there's only three people in the WHOLE POOL that picked Florida. So I'll be in some fairly exclusive company if they can finish it off.

Go Gator Chomp!

All Things Hannigan

2006-03-27T14:25:00.000-06:00

I mention it because, well, I like her a lot. Even though I've seen, like, one or two episodes of her show in the past few months.

There's a movie being produced, a relatively under-used type of spoof: the spoof of the nature documentary.

Farce of the Penguins is a March of the Penguins spoof (duh), with Bob Saget producing it and doing the main voice. So, of course, along with, like, twenty other B- or C-list comedians, Hannigan's on board for a voice. Check the list, odds are there are a few people in it you like. Hell, they're even reuniting the Full House cast for this sumnabitch, with Stamos and Coulier being involved as voices.

I figure it's because they're both involved in HIMYM, but I could be wrong.

Also, in response to MotP's Morgan Freeman, FotP has Samuel L Jackson on board as the narrator.

Good times.

Not Feeling So Bad

2006-03-27T09:28:00.000-06:00

"Hey look, they're sending us free lumber!"

My NCAA tournament bracket is gone. Kaput, finito, no one left AT ALL.

But I'm not alone.

ESPN's Sports Nation posted an article about their tournament bracket contest.

1.5 million contestants
3 million brackets

Number who picked all four teams that are currently in the Final Four?

Four.

One, Two, Three, Four. Count em.

My 34 points suddenly doesn't feel so bad.

HA!

2006-03-27T09:12:00.000-06:00

Muppet Serenity.

Thanks for this, CJ.

Still Three Times Through, But...

2006-03-26T14:49:00.000-06:00

There's comedy.

There's high comedy.

And then there's a conversation between Sybil Trelawney and Luna Lovegood.

Random Thoughts As I Sit Alone

2006-03-25T16:39:00.000-06:00

- There's a Chipotle within a mile of my new place. This knowledge will ultimately undo me.

Or at least make them have to punch a hole in the side of my condo to get my dead carcass out one day.

- My bathtub is warm. No, not the water, the actual tub. Does this actually exist, or is there some sort of trick going on with the water heater? There are no other heat sources in that room besides the tub, yet somehow it's one of the warmest rooms in the place.

- Is it sad that I'm less than a week off of finishing the story, yet I already have prequels rolling around in my head? Fleshing out the stuff that's described in the first two chapters, the first five or six months of their journey?

Right now it's mainly stemming from a conversation I'm seeing in my head between Hermione, Ron, and a very flustered Harry having a frank discussion about the outdoor, magical equivalent of "putting a hanger on the doorknob."

Oh, Lord, I kept away from that stuff in the story because I had to. But, dammit, if I get into a prequel, one of those early chapters is going to border on slash, I think. Nothing graphic, probably just some accidental nudity in those chapters before everything starts going horribly wrong.

Heaven help us all.

EDIT: Why doesn't anybody ever TELL me that slash only refers to gay couples? Here I thought it meant any type of coupling... *sigh* okay, fine, not slash fic, just sex, alright? Hot, monkey sex...

Speaking of the Tourney...

2006-03-24T14:27:00.000-06:00

The left side of my bracket is gone. Completely, utterly gone. Vaporized before I even hit the Elite Eight. I needed Duke and Gonzaga to keep my hopes alive, but nooooo...

I just hope a similar fate doesn't befall me tonight.

Go UConn
Go Villanova
Go Florida

More Toys

2006-03-24T14:03:00.000-06:00

Nevermind... that was about all I had.

It should be interesting to see downtown by the time I get to my bus tonight. So far I've only seen a few Florida fans, but by the end of day around 40,000 Florida, Villanova, Boston College, and Georgetown fans will be converging on the Metrodome. Traffic's gonna suck. Thank god I'm going to rehearsal from the west now, because 35's gonna be horrific at Washington.

Better, Prettier Things

2006-03-24T08:06:00.000-06:00

My stomach's still tight bout what happened yesterday, but, meh, it's in her court now.

On to cooler stuff.

I got my Toyfare magazine yesterday, and it included a ton of shots from the New York Toy Fair. I know everyone here is sick of me talking bout Transformers, but I know people reading this will be interested in some of the other stuff they had. Any pictures I link to will be from Altered States Magazine's website, since Toyfare doesn't have links on theirs, but some will be going through affiliates.

Pirates of the Carribean 2: a nice Will Turner, plus two of the new characters, Maccus and Palaifico, both with that human/sea creature theme going. No picture of Palaifico on the net, but, trust me, he's a coral man. Weird, but cool.

Harry Potter: Gentle Giant has some really nice busts from Goblet of Fire, all of them digitally sculpted, including Hermione, Nearly Headless Nick, and Death Eater Malfoy.

Buffy: Really nice figure sets, including five different Xanders (w/ eye patch, vampire makeup, and ice cream man uniform), a final episode Cordelia, and a Summers Family 3-pack (Buffy, Dawn, and an ax-wielding Joyce).

Fantastic Four Animated Series: Dammit, I wish I had cable. This series is coming out on Cartoon Network, and it looks awesome. Especially Dr Doom. The painted-on "4" on Thing's chest is a nice touch, too.

X-Men: Suped-Up figures, separate from the series and the movies, feature Nightcrawler, Avalanche, and Rogue amongst the cooler ones.

Final Fantasy: Kick ass mini-collectable figures of Tifa, Vincent, Tidus, and Zidane (good to see FFIX get some love)

Kingdom Hearts: Statuettes of Kairi, Sora, Goofy, Jack, and quite possibly the prettiest Cloud sculpt I've ever seen.

More later...

The Just-Sent Email, Now Off My Chest

2006-03-23T15:41:00.000-06:00

Mrs KTR,

Here is the neopets information I've been recieving the past six months. Please change the email address, username, and password accordingly, so I don't have to recieve any more of these.

Username : xxx
Password : xxx

Classy move, by the way, with that signature. My one birthday wish was to find out that my ex-fiancee married the guy she left me for. That was sweet.

There's a lot of things I want to say, but decorum and the high road are keeping me from saying them. But I will say this:

I'm a different person than I was in December of 2001. I'm more pessimistic, more bitter, less quick to forgive. And most of that is thanks to you. I was too in love with you to realize how terrible you were to me, but the relief that I heard from friends and family when they found out our engagement was off, and the words I heard from them in the following months, opened my eyes.

I'm not your friend. And don't even think that I'm happy for your "marriage."

If you want to give me a birthday present, give me this: A check, from you, for:

- the engagement ring that you kept "so people would think you were still engaged at work" (don't think you need that anymore)

- the bills you left me to foot for the downpayment on the church and the reception

- the 15 or 1600 dollars extra I paid for an apartment that you never wanted in the first place, but were too cowardly to say otherwise (you were having doubts about us the May before we moved in together, remember?)

If you can give me these things, I can give you a mailing address. If you can't, please be kind enough to forget my email address and never contact me again.

WGM

I Am NOT The Fury

2006-03-23T11:09:00.000-06:00

Is it a bad thing that I'm shaking in anger as I develop a well-crafted email response in my head? That everything I've been wanting to say to her over the past 4 years is coming to the surface, yet I can comfortably summarize my feelings in three or four swear-word-free sentences? Since the email address I had for her a few years ago is now disconnected, and she just lobs me this new one, and plenty of gunpowder, to boot?

BTW, CJ, DJ, if you wanna join in the fun, I have her email address. Wanna take a swing? You two are allowed, you knew her.

Giant Furry Albino Ticks

2006-03-23T09:49:00.000-06:00

So they apparently found this thing on the bottom of the ocean floor, and had to make a new genus for it.

Amazing that there's still so many mysteries in the world. But, still... *shudder*

If it weren't March 23rd, I'd almost play it off as an April Fool's joke, but there it sits.

Good God, that thing's creepy.

In other news, I'm starting to wonder what I got myself into. Wednesday night I had probably the most intense choreography session for a show that I've had since... man, I don't know, college? Ever? The kind that leaves you coated in water, and your face on fire from overexertion. It's been a long time since I've done a number where everyone in the cast is laying on the ground exhausted and moaning when the choreographer says to do it again. And when I asked "so how much more do we still have to learn?" she responded, "two thirds."

Very fast, very hard, very sweaty. Very, um, innuendo...

In a little more personal news (and the person I'm referring to is probably reading this), I'm back on speaking terms with a friend I haven't been on good terms with for the past 4 or 5 months. Nothing quite like having an email from an ex, signed as "Mrs Guy-She-Left-You-For", to make you realize that things could be a hell of a lot worse with the rest of your social circle.

So I'll be going on a road trip next weekend because of it, because friend-in-question is the lead female in a show in her college town, and I wanna do the support thing.

Vague enough? I hate using names.

I also haven't been out of the Cities in probably a year, year and a half, so I'm all for ROAD TRIP!! w00t!!

Alright, if anyone reading this has any video game experience, I have an opinion I need. I'm planning on throwing some b-day money at some games in the next week. Is a better choice:

- Guitar Hero w/ Guitar
- DDR w/ Pad
- A combination of two of the three: Metroid Prime Hunters, Kingdom Hearts II, or Worms DS(which add up to about the same as the previous two choices)

Metroid Prime came out Tuesday, Worms comes out today, KH2 comes out next week. I want all three of them, but in the case of at least two of them I can wait for a discounted eBay or Gamestop rate. I've heard nothing but good about Guitar Hero, and I'd love to have it, but it's also a 60 dollar package. And in the case of both it and DDR I don't know if it's as much fun with my complete lack of video game social life. At least with MPH and WDS I can play complete strangers on the DS. And KH2 is one player, but I'm not going to have a lot of time to play it in the next few months because of its complete non-portability. PS2 and all.

I wanted to jump onto some of the forums for my video-game webcomics to get some expert opinions from gamers, but I'm thrown. VGCats isn't accepting new members, and I got banned from Penny Arcade, despite the fact that I've never been on there before. Odd odd odd.

OH... THANK... GOD!

2006-03-22T10:44:00.000-06:00

Is there any way they could have pulled off Order of the Phoenix without Gary Oldman? I didn't think so.

He finally signed on.

Even though it would have been highly amusing/depressing to see how they would have handled it if he didn't come back. How they'd be able to make such an integral actor change, or remove him from the story completely.

But the script's written and he loves it. So don't expect to see a huge drop in Black screentime.

To which I can only say w00t.

Ew

2006-03-22T08:49:00.000-06:00

When I played Final Fantasy VII, I couldn't help but be slightly unnerved by one of its little sidequests.

The only way to get the most powerful summons is the game is through, of course, chocobo breeding. Yup, if you want to get Knights of the Round Table, you need to get two perfect birds to do the horizontal mambo.

I'm not alone in feeling this way, apparently. This one leads into this one. And this one's an oldie but goodie.

Pokemon do the hunka-chunka, too. And that's cross-species thumpin, too, which is infinitely creepier.

BTW, if anyone's afraid to open the links, no, they're not porn, I promise. *shudder* Just some damn good comics.

I feel I should probably say some more, but I will later.

Seven Soldiers - The Extended Edition

2006-03-21T21:54:00.000-06:00

I walked away from the story on Sunday night not really pleased with the climax, like I kinda skimmed through it, just to get it done.

So I thought about it a bit today, sat down after an early rehearsal, and tacked on another extra page or so... I'm not sitting at 50 1/2 pages, and a much better climax. Getting more emotion into it, getting more people involved beyond just shocked bystanders. I like it. It's good stuff.

Awwww, Cable...

2006-03-21T12:30:00.000-06:00

I wish I still had cable. Because, after reading all about the escalating battle between Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Scientology, I wanna see all the new episodes of South Park coming out in the next few weeks.

The latest:

- Variety reports on the Scientology rerun being pulled by Paramount, after rumored pressure from Tom Cruise, whose movie, Mission Impossible: 3, is being released by Paramount. And the public statement by Trey and Matt in response, is one of the greatest press releases I've ever seen.

- Some reports are saying that it wasn't Hayes that quit the show, but Scientology quit the show for him.

- The season premiere, to air Wednesday, will poke fun at the situation and will feature the return of Chef, who may or may not be voiced by Hayes. It will also start rippin into scientology again. I want cable.

Cursed Nerd Peer Pressure

2006-03-21T08:20:00.000-06:00

Giving me the urge to find out how much birthday money I'm getting, so I can put it down on Guitar Hero. I've heard tons of people talking about it. Then I saw someone playing it at Best Buy. Now I want.

For those who have never heard of Guitar Hero, the best way to describe it is Dance Dance Revolution, but instead of a dance pad you have a guitar. Five or six buttons on the neck and a spinning barrel on the body instead of strings. Watch the screen, find out what notes to play, rock out, win. Every song is liscenced, so it has Ozzy, Megadeth, ZZ Top, David Bowie, and about 20 or 25 more.

It might be a better choice for me than DDR now that I'm living above someone. Thump thump thump.

Thank God I don't have to budget for too many more Transformers.

Just, you know, a mortgage.

But it might also mean I have to choose between that and Metroid Prime Hunters. Oh, the choices!

Also, I wonder if they have a left-handed version. Anyone know?

In more personal news, I just got a birthday e-card from my ex-fiancee.

She's now married to the guy she left me for.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

But I'm leaning towards laughter.

Maniacal laughter.

The kind that make small children run away.

More rehearsal tonight. Since the rehearsal space kicks us out at 9:30, the director has decided to start every rehearsal at 6:30. See how I sprint.

Two Missions Accomplished

2006-03-20T16:28:00.000-06:00

- I miscalculated: 16 major characters died in my story.

Anyone volunteer to beta this sumnabitch?

- I beat Pokemon: Emerald this afternoon on my lunch break. Well, beat it one way. Without anyone around to do any trades with, I'm never going to be able to, ahem, catch em all.

Pika Pika.

Elsewhere, I accomplished both of these just in time. This afternoon I picked up Tetris DS. And tonight I start rehearsal for a show that I'm 2 or 3 weeks behind. Woo hoo.

Oh, also, I have to make something known. I watched the deleted scenes from Rent last night, and it once again confirmed one of my beefs with the movie: They TOTALLY short-changed Benny. Yeah, he's the closest thing the play gets to the bad guy, I can see that. But after watching the deleted scenes I realized that they had filmed stuff to actually make him appear human and compationate, and begin to redeem himself. Paying for Angel's funeral, and saying he never really liked Evita anyway. Along with Mark, trying to get Mimi into therapy. Meeting with Roger after he comes back. Heck, he was even in the alternate ending.

But he was slashed completely out of the picture after the argument at the cemetary. Grrr.

Chapter 2

2006-03-19T23:09:00.000-06:00

Cuz I'm in a celebratory mood.

Chapter 2: The Surprise

It's Done

2006-03-19T17:50:00.000-06:00

49 pages.

22,112 words.

125,290 characters with spaces, 103,143 characters without.

15 major characters from the Harry Potter universe dead, along with an unknown number of minor ones.

1 drained boy sitting here staring at it, afraid to have someone actually beta the damn thing and tear it to pieces.

I just sent it off to all three of my email addresses in the worst-case scenario of my computer blowing up in five minutes.

I think I need some water.

Drama

2006-03-19T12:40:00.000-06:00

I just killed five wizards in the past two chapters, including two of my favorites. Looking at at least one more death per chapter until the end.

I knew this thing was gonna get dark.

A Taste

2006-03-19T00:09:00.000-06:00

So I'm, um, 32 pages in? 11 chapters. 14,723 words. 68,392 characters without spaces, 83,138 with. And I still probably have at LEAST another 5000 words to write. Maybe 10,000.

So why am I writing all this, do you ask? Because I got antsy.

Here, posted on my livejournal, is chapter 1 of Harry Potter and the Seven Soldiers. Completely unbetaed (is that a word?), it was basically just copied from my Word document and taped down for all to see. Not exactly thrilling, the action doesn't happen for another chapter or two, then goes into set-up mode for another five or six chapters afterwards, in preparation for the big battle to come. It also probably has more than a few grammatical errors, stuff that could be dealt with once a beta occurs.

But, anyway...

Enjoy.

Chapter 1: The Seventh Year

PS: I'm proud of myself. I tossed in a cookie to my fellow Buffy fans in an upcoming chapter that actually fits! w00t!