BOO!

It's Halloween.

I'm personally celebrating by going through my massive list of horror movies I own. Lacking costume ideas (and any interest in crowds at all), I'm not terribly inclined to go anywhere.

Good, unclean, fun!

Willpower

Willpower is not something I've had in abundance in my life. I've never really been much for self-discipline.

That's especially a problem around Halloween when so many tempting treats are before me. Pizza lunches. Caramel popcorn. Chocolates.

These combos do not sit will in my stomach anymore, alas.

I've learned in recent years that willpower and self-discipline are traits that would go a long way towards making me a happier person overall.

Sucks that these traits are soooooo hard to maintain.

Hang on. I hear a dessert calling me from the kitchen. AARRGH! There I go again!

*sigh*

potential spooky

I never got a costume together and today is my office Halloween thing.

Meh.

It's also payday. Yay!

mmmm

Took the day off today. Did some cat sitting with the world's most hyperactive big-footed tabby cat.

He's freakin' adorable. Just so you know. Many hours of that furry behemoth running around chasing whatever toys I dangled at him.

I nearly lost a finger.

Oh hell, I nearly lost an arm!

Very fun.

Now allergies are catching up with me. Glad I picked up my comics so I can chill.

huh

The Bay Bridge is closed.

That's going to make today interesting.

Not "interesting" like I found fifty bucks and started dating a supermodel. More like "interesting" in the way that a sudden sinkhole in the road makes your day a lot less fun.

I don't drink... wine

There's a few things I think I share with a lot of the human race:

1) I don't like my blood on the outside of my body.

2) I don't like that feeling of my skin being open in areas it's not supposed to be.

I'm squeamish that way.

And - hey! - scalp cuts of any kind bleed a lot!

Whee!

Oh, it's nothing serious. Just stings.

Oh, and bleeds a lot.

Bleah.

Nerdgasm

The Cup of Tears film trailer. Dir. Gary Shore from Gary Shore on Vimeo.

Saw it on io9 and... wow.

allergens

My allergies have been rather savage for the last week or so. They've been particularly bad since Friday.

And today, the Bay Area gets a wind advisory.

What's that mean for me? Well, besides a wise decision not to ride my bicycle to work on this cool morning, it means crap in the air that will maul my sinuses and eyes.

Yeah. Love this.

And ironically, Autumn is pretty much my favorite season.

Unrelated: Ain't It Cool News has clips for Tales of an Ancient Empire. The acting is so bad in these clips that they make old "Hercules" and "Xena" episodes look good.

The actresses are lovely, but the dialog is just... painful.

Must be Tuesday

Got in an hour early in hopes that I would be able to finish something before a rather vague deadline.

I have outstanding questions on the subject, but I'm mostly ready to go.

So I then went into my list of webcomics and the like.

And then I got to Erik's blog and saw this:



Yeah. Pure awesome.

On Parenting

I don't pretend that I would be a good parent in the unlikely and disasterous event that I had offspring.

That said, there are a few behaviors I expect I would have under control. It really only takes one encounter with some trash parent on the street for me to recognize that.

In this instance, I was walking at lunch near my office. It's a pretty busy area. Lots of people around.

So there's this kid by the bikes in one area. His mom is standing by him lecturing him on something I didn't know (or care) about. What caught my attention was the amazing amount of profanity this woman was squeezing into her scolding.

It was epic. It was almost poetry.

It was also directed at a child who has yet to see his teen years.

Okay, so maybe the kid is cutting school. It's possible. He could have been doing any number of things, but really I had to ask what this woman thinks she's teaching her kid in terms of behavior patterns.

Right then I didn't think she was teaching the kid much about self-discipline or correct behavior.

She was teaching him how to swear like a sailor.

Now I use more than my fair share of profanity in life. I admit that. I wasn't raised to swear. Indeed, I was unable to swear in front of my parents until I was well into my 20's. Even then, I only did so sparingly and in times of extreme stress. Still do.

I avoid swearing at work. I try not to swear around people I don't know, especially ladies (thanks for the chivalry training Mom and Dad). And I absolutely try my utmost not to swear around kids. They don't need to hear that from me. They'll learn it all in life and it's really not appropriate behavior in polite society.

That said, I'd sooner gnaw my arm off than criticize this woman to her face. It's not my job to tell someone else how to parent. The kid looked healthy, so she's clearly doing something right.

All the same, I consider my mind boggled a bit.

A little unclear

Apparently a man punched another man, thinking said victim was a zombie.

Really?

Punched him?

As someone who has watched a few zombie movies, I think punching zombies is not a good tactic or a smart idea.

That said, I'm glad the zombie-puncher didn't have a shotgun or chainsaw handy. That would have been unfortunate in this situation.

bizness

Dropping a few bits of grey matter on my keyboard this morning.

- Today's (or is it yesterday's?) xkcd honors the end of GeoCities in a particularly brilliant way.

- I'm still amazed at how awesome the Shattuck Cinemas are in Berzerkeley. Giant comfy chairs and - towards the front of the theater - massive beanbags.

That's an idea whose time has come.

- I should probably start thinking about a Halloween costume soon.

Observations

1) Zombieland is an incredibly-funny movie.

2) The Shattuck Cinemas in Berkeley have some of the most comfortable seats I've ever had the pleasure of sitting in.

bier

Oktoberfest beer is a sweet, sweet thing.

Friday

That's all, really.

I'm sure something more interesting will come along later.

Maybe not.

Really cool

Saw this on Neatorama.

I love stuff like this.

Webcomic Win

Today's personal favorites:

xkcd (technically this was yesterday's)

Least I Could Do (warning: may require brain bleach. You can't un-see this.)

Looking For Group (ah... Fantasy theology)

WTF?

...the United States has never lost its moral bearings... - Dick Cheney, former Vice President of the United States.

With all due respect to the former Vice President (and I don't have any respect for the man at all), he wouldn't know what moral bearings were with a company of priests, a scout troop, and a compass crafted by angels.

wow

I've discovered "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves". Specifically, I've discovered their cutscenes on YouTube.

Great stuff!

Plays like a good movie.

Hello, Hollywood? Try to pay attention this time.

The desolation of a Tuesday

There's just not a lot of great stuff that happens on Tuesdays.

Monday is behind you, yes. Alas, Wednesday through Friday lies ahead.

And really weird, ugly things often bubble to the surface on Tuesdays.

Could be worse, I guess.

Got a new trashy movie to help distract me from all the crazy.

A Plague of Sugar

Trader Joe's has somehow used its mind control powers to get me to pick up a series of sugary sweets from them.

The blackberry gummi spiders are too damn good.

Gah.

Post Rain

There's nothing quite like the air after a rainstorm.

It has a sort of charged and fresh feel to it. I expect that's because the air is still moist and thus can carry more scents.

It doesn't explain the fresh feeling in a city, given how unpleasant most city scents are.

Ah well. I'm not going to question a good thing in this case.

The world looks fresh, clean, and renewed this morning (corny and cliche as that sounds).

I wonder how long it will take for that feeling to go away?

Holy Noah's Ark, Batman!

The "light showers" predicted were a bit more than anticipated. Some of the streets I normally take home are a but aquatic today.

I think I shall avoid class tonight. My balcony has garnered a bit of water. Time to sweep away debris.

Whee!

Day of Mon

Ah Mondays. How I hate them.

My stomach is a bit unsettled over something I ate over the weekend. It's not helped by the occasional boughts of candy gobbling I'm doing. There's just something about Twix bars...

Aaah!

Must... find... self... control...

Whew

What a last couple of days.

Lots of sake last night. Rough morning this morning. Then a "Call of Cthulhu" game set in Los Angeles of 1947.

Brilliant. Utterly brilliant.

And totally f***ed up.

Loved it.

Kirk would be outraged

I found out about this through Neatorama.

I'm not surprised. I'm only mildly horrified. I mean, really. Klingon rap? Klingons don't rap. Klingons are METAL!

Romulans would totally rap. So would Gorns.

Klingons? Hm. Just doesn't feel right.

I love how weird the world is. World, don't ever change.

Dreaming of Fringe

Yes, I'm trying to be clever. Gotta have goals, after all.

The latest episode of "Fringe" was about someone using dreams to... well, why spoil it?

It was more brilliant mad science. Good clean fun.

And mad science.

And end to it

What a freakin' crazy week!

It's premature for me to celebrate its end, given that I have the rest of Friday to get slammed with more weirdness, but I'm hoping the bulk of the weird is done.

Time to find some wood to knock on and some salt to toss over the shoulder.

Reflections upon 2009 thus far

It's been a goddamn weird year.

Just sayin'

Unrelated: the USPS finally delivered my package. Why was their tracking system screwed? Good question.

USPSux

Ah, U.S. Postal Service... Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow, nor whatever weather excuse will stop you from delivering your rounds.

That list doesn't appear to include technology failures or illiterate (or perhaps just stupid) carriers, though.

I'd really like to track my package. I would. I wish your system worked.

Of course, it may well have been delivered... to the wrong building or the wrong mailbox. 'Cause it's not like that's never happened before.

Don't worry about my neighbor's bills, btw. I delivered them to her. Thanks for your concern.

Hey, there's some materials you guys might appreciate: "Hooked on Phonics". I hear they help people learn how to goddamn read.

Bitter? Moi? Why would you think that?

Filler

[Something interesting to say]

[Okay, maybe not. More like something I think is interesting. Probably means it's not.

Meh.]

Well now... that's a surprise

It's Wednesday. How about that?

Halfway there!

I kind of love it when it's later in the week than I think it is.

Doesn't stop me from wishing it were Friday.

Wonderous medicine

Once again I feel the need to sing the praises of Nyquil.

It may have simply been psychosomatic due to the rain, but yesterday I felt as though I was coming down with a cough. I felt a pressure in my chest and my voice was quickly fading.

After I got home, I puttered about, had dinner, cleaned up a bit, showered, then slammed a shot of Nyquil.

I was asleep by 7pm.

This morning I feel right as r... oh wait. Hm.

Doesn't matter. I feel good.

Love that stuff.

Fund Raising Candy

... is a thing of pure evil.

Succumbing to its siren lure is a bad thing.

A very bad thing.

The Guild

I finished watching season one of "The Guild" last night. Finally.

Damn but that's a funny offering.

Wet when Slippery

Hey! It's raining!

They predicted rain. I woke not being terribly impressed. I couldn't hear the rain, ergo it was not raining hard. Then I watched the weather report. Silly me. The heavy rain is apparently still en route. Whee!

I got a little taste yesterday after class. It sprinkled a bit.

I barely noticed. I was too exhausted and my mind was still a-whirl from my eventful workday.

I'm curious how today will go.

creak...

...go my bones.

Perhaps attending a Sunday class was not the wisest idea I've ever had. I hurt in all sorts of interesting places.

That said, I regret nothing.

Except, of course, getting up this morning. Ugh.

Blurt

Friday's "Dollhouse" was an improvement, but this season is still a bit lacking.

---

Yesterday's game was a more-or-less success. I was overly-ambitious in what I tried to do and it didn't communicate well into the actual game. Same old story, really.

---

Just finished a fairly-successful family visit.

---

Read the last issue of "Planetary". Mmm...

countdown

In roughly an hour, my gaming buddies descend upon my cave-like dwelling for a day of RPG goodness.

Good times.

Wish I were ready.

Ugh.

This is why

Shape-shifting secret agents from an alternate reality with mercury for blood who are stealing cryogenic-ally frozen heads.

Yep.

I can't believe that I know people who ask me why I like "Fringe".

Fear my Wolf Warrior Skillz! Grrr!

I saw these on Uncrate.

Back in my days as a peripheral character with the SCA, I probably would have considered these cool.

Hell, there are days even now when I probably still would.

That was before the Three Wolf Moon shirt.

That meme has successfully poisoned the look one of my friends refers to as "pagan snapperhead". At $25 a pop for these little necklace things, I'm not sure that's a bad thing.

Anyways, tt's hard to take warrior poetry seriously these days.

Booksessss

Wow. 1301 posts. I clearly need a life.

Anyway... books.

I need new reading material. Borders sent me a lovely 40% off coupon, so I jaunted on over and perused their dwindling stock of anything of interest.

After a couple of passes, I noted the latest Joe Abercrombie book, Best Served Cold.

I liked the three books of the First Law that he previously wrote in that world. They aren't happy books, but they got increasingly better, for a series of stories about utterly unsympathetic characters.

I decided to give this one a try.

It's hardback and I was looking for something easier to carry, so I also picked up a copy of David Brin's The Postman.

Yes, there was a Kevin Costner movie based on this. Ignore it. The book is solid. I'd lost my previous copy, so a few bucks later and I had a replacement.

... of another depressing book.

Yeesh.

I had to hit the laundromat yesterday 'cause some punkass in my building took over the laundry room in the afternoon. I took Best Served Cold with me and burned through a few chapters. I do like this book a lot so far. Abercrombie's narrative style has gotten smoother and he's got somewhat more sympathetic characters this time.

We'll see how this goes.

Moon Men declare WAR

This just in: The Moon Men have declared war on the Earth following acts of aggression from NASA.

NASA has confirmed a launch resulting in an impact on the Moon's south pole. There is no word on any Moon Man casualties.

There are unconfirmed reports that the NASA action is in response to Moon Man aggression via their terrestrial agent, Roland Emmerich.

In other news, Elvis has come out of secret retirement to organize the defense of the Earth.

My current favorite video/song

I can't get this damn song out of my head. This video makes me laugh. So I share.

Shambling forth on a Thursday

Pain. It's still with me. I did some kind of mild tweak to my ankle and my shoulder is still giving me trouble. Part of me is tempted to see a doctor about my shoulder but the last few times I've sought medical advice on these sorts of pains (related to martial arts) I've never gotten any useful feedback.

Me: "My knee hurts."
Doctor: "No swelling. Hm. X-Rays don't show anything. Not sure what it could be. Why don't you monitor it and let me know if it gets worse."

Meh. It's not crippling. It did get me moving extra slow this morning. As a result I opted to drive rather than bike. Lazy me...

Wrapped up some of my gaming stuff for Saturday's nerdfest. I think I'm going to stop doing these email intervals. They're too much work for too little payback.

"Fringe" tonight. I feel glee. GLEE!

ow

I think I blew out my shoulder tonight in class.

It may well be a good idea for me to chill a bit. I'll decide tomorrow if that means bike to work or drive.

Ugh.

Books

I've recently had two books on my list:

* Thirteen Orphans by Jane Lindskold

and

* Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey

I've touched on these in prior posts, but they both deserve a little more attention.

Thirteen Orphans is billed on Amazon is being in the same vein as Jim Butcher's Dresden Files (they actually say if you're a fan of the Dresden Files, you'll like Orphans). I'm hard-pressed to see why.

In a nutshell: Brenda Morris, a college student, finds out she's got a very weird heritage of magic stemming from a place called the Land of Smoke and Sacrifice. She's part of a magical tradition that is aligned with Chinese Astrology. In her case, she's the heir to the role of the Rat. And someone's popping around stealing the memories and powers of the various other roles.

It's conceptually a neat story. The magic used by the titular Thirteen Orphans is connected to the game of mah jong. It's subtle and understated in many ways, but clever.

Where I have problems is the narrative. The story is plodding and slow. The heroine's issues seem more at home in a bad soap opera than set against the novel's backstory. For the most part, nothing really happens until the last few chapters of the book and even then it ends on a cliffhanger. It's not even a particularly interesting cliffhanger. Can't say I'm tempted to pick up the next book.

And I have no idea why Amazon connects this with Butcher's work. They're nothing alike.

Then there's Sandman Slim. A couple of friends suggested this to me as a read, also telling me it has a Dresden Files feel to it. Another friend had a copy and found the story to be somewhat unappealing, so she gave me her copy.

I sat down that evening and started reading.

In terms of narrative, it does have a strong noir feel, like the Dresden Files. The main character is a misanthropic bastard, but that doesn't really bother me. He had a somewhat interesting background and some fascinating abilities. I didn't mind the childish levels of profanity. It was all good times.

And then I was halfway through and the story didn't seem to go anywhere.

The main guy, Stark, is supposed to be this incredible badass, but he spends almost all of his time getting the crap kicked out of him and healing. He's walking around with a bunch of bullets in his chest. Why? Just 'cause he doesn't feel like having them removed. But they hurt.

Um...

He's supposed to be this powerful magician, but he doesn't use his magic 'cause he's afraid his enemies will find him. Nevermind that they find him anyway.

Um...

And then, as he's bumbling around like a brain-dead chimp, he suddenly gets the nickname of "Sandman Slim". No explanation. No context. Boom. There it is.

The narrative quickly devolves into a sort of rambling thing I'd expect from a hormone-crazed 13 year old whose entire life is violent video games and bad porn.

About 2/3rds through the book, I put it down somewhere in boredom. I haven't bothered to pick it up again. I'm not sure I'm going to bother.

Results

And as Tuesday winds down to a close:

- groceries. Check. Everybody and their goddamn cousins is shopping today.

- pasta sauce cooked. Check.

- "Thirteen Orphans" finished. Check. Not the best book I've ever read.

- Get to episodes of "The Guild. Fail.

Tired.

Tuesday Highlights

Thus far:

- I've discovered a heretofore unknown project that I've had to unearth information on. And I have looming deadlines next week. Whee!

- The A/C is blasting cold air to the point where I have to wear a hat to protect my skull.

- A friend is teaching me how to say naughty things in another language.

It's not even noon yet.

Profound Words

Layers are a good thing when it's chilly. Layers are a f***ing FANTASTIC thing when you're stupid enough to ride your bicycle in to the office on a chilly morning.

I thought I'd share that observation.

No need to thank me.

There's not much else to say on a Tuesday morning.

Because I'm weak

I wanted it. I got it.

MINE!

Just 'cause I could. And it's shiny.

Samui desu

It's a wee bit chilly this fine, cloudless, moonlit morning.

It's supposed to warm up gradually after today. I take that to mean that my bike ride in tomorrow will be cold. That ought to be interesting.

I love the autumn for many reasons. Here in the Bay Area, we don't get the heavy-impact of seasonal markers like large numbers of trees changing color. It happens, but it's not the same as back east. That said, there's a subtle change in the scents in the air and the light that always makes me feel more relaxed and "at home".

It also plays merry havoc with my allergies, but that's a constant companion all year around.

And when the temperatures shift, I wind up having the most vivid dreams. It's kind of neat... save that I have to rouse myself early on workdays.

Beats the alternative, I suppose. Unemployment wouldn't be fun.

It was a fun, random, relaxing weekend. I puttered in the city (as previously mentioned) and met some entertaining and odd folks. I spent some time with an elderly relative yesterday and worked on a jigsaw puzzle. Good clean fun there.

I was fed ridiculous amounts of food. I'm still digesting that. There goes my diet.

And I prepped a Call of Cthulhu character for an upcoming game. Nerd snort!

I want my baby back baby back ribs...

I'm a bit surprised by the sudden bought of unusually-cool weather after a recent stretch of rather warm weather.

Dunno why. I guess I'm just not used to October behaving like a "normal" Autumn. I mean in the Bay Area, we usually get our "summer" weather from August through late October.

Today I actually needed a light jacket (or a flannel shirt, as the case may be).

I've now devoured a ridiculous amount of food, thanks to my 'rents.

I feel food coma coming on.

Beer and the City

I ran an errand in scenic San Francisco today.

It effectively took all day.

Why?

The "Love Fest" out in Civic Center. I was wondering why I saw a series of technicolor tarted-up teenage gals on my 9 car train (which was standing room only). Apparently the "Love Fest" and a bluegrass festival dominated the city's time.

Thus, I opted to stop by O'Neils (a fantastic Irish pub near the AT&T stadium) for a few before hopping the train home.

In and around my three pints, I met some really fascinating people and got the skinny on the hippie kids. I traveled back with a crapload of them on BART as many of them tried to hit the Cal game in Berkeley.

The three pints have hit me a bit harder than expected, but that's welcome.

Not like I'm driving... or even know where my car keys are.

Blessed Weekend... so close...

The weekend is nearly here. I am giddy with joy over that prospect.

Mainly I'm looking forward to sleeping in. I'd like to get caught up on some viewing. I still need to finish my latest weird Japanese zombie movie (don't ask) and re-watch "Fringe" season one.

I need to write up the details of my next game. I figure I should do that since I've got about a week left before my next nerdfest.

I may do the hipster thing and drag my laptop along to some cafe and do some writing. I'm stalled on my current crap stories, but I got a new idea this week and want to outline it a bit to see if it's worth pursuing.

And I'll want to rest. I'm sore as hell from the last couple of days of martial arts and bicycling. I'll do class tonight, then collapse in a puddle of goo.

Assuming there's enough left of me to make a puddle.

Mooning

I love a full moon on a clear night/early morning.

It justifies all the weirdness.

Iran

Salon has a fascinating article on the "top ten things you didn't know about Iran".

Given all the sabre-rattling in the news of late, I thought it bore linking to.

This is the RIGHT way to do it!

(Warning: Blood)

Video Game - E3 2009 - Attack of the Show

Erik shared this with me. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time.

October Fess

Yesterday was one of those days. One of my co-workers left and the good-bye celebration got rescheduled to a craptacular time I couldn't make, partially due to my class and partially due to an errand I had to run.

That, and other things, put me in a truly foul mood. I felt guilty about bailing on the sendoff and irritated about the errand. I'm on a bumpy road with a couple of my friends and it's also grating on me.

And so I was determined as hell to work it out of my system in class. Three hours of class, actually.

It would be nice if I retained all the stuff I was taught, but I don't have expectations for that. Still, it was totally worth it despite the fact I was pretty sure I was going to die of exhaustion during the second class warm-up.

I got it in my head that I'd ride my bike today. It's supposed to warm up so I threw on shorts instead of long pants for my ride in. My legs don't really get cold easily, so I figured it wouldn't be too bad.

Yeah... I was wrong.

It was chilly this morning. No fog. No clouds. It was as cool as prior mornings have been and I got to add wind chill from my bike ride.

My legs were cool but it's all good. I got Sasquatch blood, so all that fur keeps me warm. My ears were cold though. My mom gave me these really cool earmuff protector thingies for bike rides. I thought about putting them on, but discarded that idea.

Yeah. I won't repeat that mistake again this year. Brrr.

And now it's October. Huh.