Anger fades

Bought some used wrestling DVDs last week and started skimming them to verify that they'd playback okay, weren't all scratched to smeg, ya know, worth the bargain I got them for. Since they were all WWE DVDs from the past five years or so, I couldn't avoid seeing glimpses of Chris Benoit.

I found it interesting that I didn't get mad. Sad yes, but not mad. I even smiled once, remembering what it felt like to be a fan before the ... unpleasantness.

My first instinct was to wince in pain though. Still, I found it an interesting change in my reaction. Dunno what it means exactly for the long term.

Just a thought

I don't believe it's a secret that the major networks (that which was just called TV when I was young) are dying. Cable/Satellite channels and the Internet have eroded their power. The recent writer strike did them no favours either. How different are the big four from most pay tv? Apart from the FCC, nothing really.

My feeling is that the next step will be the rats abandoning the sinking ship. Within the next year, perhaps two, a network show that is still popular will come up for renewal. Rather than just accepting the renewal from it's current home, the show will shop around for a better deal and get it.

I'm kinda hoping it's 'The Simpsons' because I think that would be interesting. It's animated so it has a bit more flexibility to continue (even at this age) than a live-action programme, it has a large following (revived by the success of the movie) and its creator has already had very public problems with Fox. If Cartoon Network wanted to split Adult Swim off into its own channel, don't you think they'd want something like brand-new episodes of the Simpsons to lead the charge?

Just a thought.

It worked!

Remembered! Had feedback to leave on eBay.

I feel better now.

Blast it all

Ever get the feeling you should be doing something but can't remember what? I have that now. I've the feeling I should be doing something or saying something here but can't remember what.

Oh well. Maybe I'll remember once I hit post.

A late though about a late performer

Won't a zombie Charlton Heston fight for your right to bear arms against him?

Kept alive on sugary sweets

I'm in class this week instead of work, getting educated towards a certification to prove that I have a clue about what I do at work. While there have been a number of interesting points and I've been learning (or re-learning in a lot of cases) things, there's been a lot to cover and a lot of review. I left yesterday with my head feeling stuffed.

Luckily the place I'm at for class believes in feeding us (apart from lunch) so there's been free coffee, Rice Krispes treats, donuts, etc. It's hard to behave when I've got a basket of candy within arms reach. I know I probably should since I've been sitting all day for this class and I want to get closer to my 'fighting' weight again, especially if George gets that 'bouncy house' for Amy's graduation party and we wrestle one more time.

One more piece should be okay. Right?

And another of my favorite performers retires in March 2008

If I was stranded on a desert island with only one DVD worth of wrestling, I would hope it was packed with Ric Flair matches and promos so watch it all night and then watch it a little longer. Woooo! Space Mountain! Woooo! Four Horsemen!

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

As I am not a kiss stealin', wheelin' dealin', limousine ridin', jet flyin' son of a gun (Woooo!) but Ric Flair always will be:

Thank you sir.

Not much

Getting better but still recovering from being sick. Things started to loosen up nicely yesterday but I'm still a bit congested and wheezy. Still, getting better.

Wish I had something more interesting to stay but, at the moment, I don't.

A Tale from 'Video Games Live'

With a quiet ‘ah!’ I located the graphic novel section of the Borders media store we were in. The pre-concert activities for ‘Video Games Live’ were not as extensive as we believed they would be. Since Borders was across the street and open, we wandered around the store for a bit as a distraction.

Mark and I were in the science fiction section. Knowing his past connections with comics, I had been keeping an eye open for that section in order to make a few recommendations. It wasn’t so much that I expected him to buy anything that day but I just wanted to give him some things to keep in mind when he saw the right price for them.

As we approached the wall, I realized that the two shelves we were nearest was made up of collections of Japanese works. Gesturing towards the expanse before us, I noted “Welcome to the world of manga.”

“Is there something you were looking for?” creaked a voice to my left. Believing this to be a store employee, I mentally prepared my standard polite ‘Just looking’ response. It was not an employee.

The individual was an incredibly slender young man of Asian descent. Were it not for the long black trenchcoat he wore, I’m not sure we would have seen him from the side view. As I observed him, he was carefully returning a book to the shelf, using hand gestures so elaborate that they would have made Bela Lugosi proud. Had he been older and more wizened, I would have expected him to offer me a Gremlin. My creeped-out meter quickly pegged out at full. I returned to the books before me.

A few minutes later, after being a bad influence on Mark’s wallet (not at that specific time, none of us bought anything that night), we crossed his path again. As he flipped through some book, he started burbling aloud about the attempt at censorship in the panel before him. He was alone but speaking at full volume. Did he know we were behind him and was hoping to start a conversation? I’ve no clue. Mark and I exchanged a glance. He expressed an interest in looking at the soundtrack CDs and off we went.

I consider myself to be a bit odd or weird, but in a friendly way. I’ve been to many conventions and often been around those less socially capable than myself. Sometimes these events collect the truly unusual. This guy was one of the ‘best’.

I’ve nothing against him or any of the other awesomely strange ones. This guy just creeped me out.

When telling the story, Mark does way too good a job imitating him. I’m not quite sure what that means…

Sick again

Throat's all sore. The upside is that I sound more like Dick the Bruiser when I talk that I do normally. It would be more fun if it didn't hurt.

What was that shadow?

After leaving the theatre and bidding George good night, I walked off and was alone in the parking lot. I trusted nothing. A parking lot, even a brightly lit one, cannot be trusted after a zombie movie. Every corner is a possibility for attack. I even checked the back seat of my car once I got in it. You can't be too careful.

We both enjoyed 'George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead'. Just so you know.

Regarding Daylight Savings Time

Most people get presents on their birthday. I get to lose an hour of sleep.

A Quick Letter to Brett Favre

Speaking as someone who considers himself a fan of the Green Bay Packers and has been watching the team since his youth, it has been a joy to watch you play for the team. Thank you.

I hope you get to enjoy doing 'nothing' for a very long time.

Just stopping by

Nothing complicated to say today. I realize I've been slacking of late, been busier than normal, sick, blah, blah, blah excuses all of them. This is my practice/play/express area and will only improve my skills if I use it as such.

Anyway.

I've never really considered myself popular because I wasn't that guy in school. I wasn't the guy that was going to be voted 'best' or 'top' anything at the end of my senior year of high school because I wasn't known by everyone in that way. That lack of status always pleased me because I never sought it. I am who I am. Sure I 'jellyfish' a bit by not being very forceful about my opinions at times (I am willing to let other people be right if it's not worth the argument) but that's still me being me. For what that's worth.

Occasionally I run into other people I know when I'm out with one set of friends ('crossing the streams' as it were) but not often. That's generally the role my other friends with me play. 'Oh this is such-and-such from work' or 'that's the guy I was telling you about that I know through my brother' or whatever.

Last night George and I went to the car show and it was my turn to be that guy. Senor popular. Ran into a couple sets of friends from work and a group via brother, all within the space of 10-15 minutes or so. It was kinda fun.

It unnerves me a little as well. After that I crossed the paths of the Compound Geeks and the Point Crew. People I work with have been really nice to me the past week or so. Am I sick and no one's told me yet? I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I should really just enjoy it while it lasts but I guess I'm a little paranoid as well.

Just me being me.

Just a Thought

One of the best ways to maintain rulership over a people is to keep them divided and distracted. In this way, they cannot unite and remove rulership that they find oppressive or unworthy. (The best way to maintain rulership would be to keep everyone happy but that's not really an option.) We see that today. After 9/11 Americans were briefly allowed to unite against a common foe. Once it was realized that there wasn't a clear, obvious foe to face, a 'bad guy' like in the movies, we were quickly resplintered. Certainly, there was a target we were given, a specific face to put on the enemy but that face couldn't be tracked down and there was no proof that said individual had anything to do with the specific event that he was being blamed for and now he's not being officially sought for that event. Not that anybody really knows that.

Builds up fast

The other week I noticed that the debut album of one of my favourite bands was not in my iTunes. This led me to go through my CDs and see what else may have gotten missed over the years. I figured it wouldn't take long since I'd been good at getting all my music on the hard drive.

I was wrong.

My folder size has jumped about, oh, 10GB in the past couple weeks. And I'm not even close to being done.

The best part about it is that I've been getting to hear some music that I haven't heard in years. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed hearing some of these bands. Good stuff.

Regarding the Super Bowl

*points at the Patriots*

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

18-1! According to what you said earlier in the season, it wouldn't be worth it without winning the Super Bowl. And you didn't! Ha! You suck!

(See past rant regarding the suckiness of Boston, repeat)

That... that was fun...

If the thin quality of my wallet is anything to go by, I'm doing my part to stimulate the economy. I guess it's a pity that I'm stimulating other countries as well and not keeping it all at home.

I need to stop stimulating economies and start stimulating women. It's not likely but it's worth a shot. I guess.

The problem with...

The problem with doing things is that it doesn't leave you any time with which to get anything done.

Nothing Like...

There is nothing quite like conversing with a young lady so pretty that she makes you feel older, balder, fatter and scruffier each second that she smiles at you for fixing her printer.