End of the Year Reflections

All right, suck it up. I promise not to get overly sappy or anything.

While thinking about the past year, I can't help but think how much my flash drive represents so many things that have gone on in my life. There's the lesser things. The small blurbs of text that represent random thoughts I started but never quite finished. There's the rants that I never quite found the right time to polish or post (some of which you'll likely see in the next few weeks). There's the copies of the Blood Bowl newsletter that I right for our league, a publication that gets more and more abstract as the weeks go by but has still come out. With luck it will be one of the only publications to have survived an entire season.

My family is there. There are a few random photos of parties (most notably my birthday party), and they pop up in the handful of images I have stored on my drive.

My ex girlfriend is there. Well, she was at a lot of those places, too. And while we aren't necessarily in touch these days (more my choice than hers, I guess), I still hope that she's doing all right in life.

A copy of an episode of Black Lagoon is there. Episode 10, I believe, which is actually a few episodes further than I got when watching the series. It's sadly one of the anime series that I started and just didn't get around to finishing. I should try and be a little more dilligent with keeping up with those. Maybe if I didn't keep finding cool series to check out...

There's a few random snippets of Doctor Who, and an episode of Chuck. If that doesn't tell you a little bit about my TV viewing habits (and myself), I don't know what will).

And there's the bigger things. A handful of short writing projects that I am a bit proud of. My National Novel Writing Month project, which I was glad to reach the goal on but still needs massive work to be anywhere near viewable.

And there's any number of things that I have posted here. I started with the simple goal of trying to find one thing a day to post about. And while I've fell short of and exceeded that goal on several different occasions, at the very least I have not given up yet. I've rambled about the inane things in life. I've opened up (a little) about myself. I've talked about comics, TV, music, and other things. I talked about baking. I even wrote a song about it, for crying out loud. And even though I know there aren't all that many people out there listening, I still feel like I'm finding more of my voice everyday.

So to all of my family, friends, associates, and every other category of person out there... here's to a new year for all of us. May you remember the good times you experienced. May you learn from the wrongs that were commited by and against you. And no matter what the future may hold for you, may you always find a little comfort and/or joy from the wacky output that my little page provides.

Stay strong. God bless. And Merry Christmas... from the Temptations.

(Sorry. I had one more of those I had to get out of my system).

See you next year.

Video Greetings

Not the video I'd like to make, but not bad with the meager tools at my disposal. Hoopy New Year!



Or if you'd like, check out the people version. Yes, I did get bored enough to do this twice.



Update: You know this would be the time that I forget to include a link to website that made it happen, wouldn't it? They're apparently in beta, which probably means that right when they get it all together is when you'll have to pony up money for it. Anywho, enjoy.

Thoughts From the Laundromat

So far, so good. Huh. Things are going pretty smoothly here. I might even get out of here early.

Stupid Reptite! How dare you...! (note: I was also playing Chrono Trigger on my DS at the laundromat).

Everything looks like it's dry now. Fill up the laundry bags. Hmm. Why do I seem to have too many laundry bags? Come to think of it, where are my white clothes. Son of a... Sigh. Well, it looks like I did need to spend an extra half hour here, after all...

Housekeeping the HouseKeeping

I've decided to forgo the 'Best Of...' lists this year. For one, there's only a small handful of things I've actually see/read/etc. the past year. I'm not sure, but I think I can literally count the number of films I saw in a theater on one hand. If anything, I'll compile a year end message for later on today/tonight, and maybe get around to some personal bests at the first of the year.

Or... I could just wait until I have a year's worth of stuff under my belt and put it off indefinitely. That certainly sounds more like me, doesn't it? Ah, consistency.

What up, D-Trizzle?

I didn't want to do this one, but I can't help myself. It fits so well with Detroit, a city that has managed to have a perfect season the bad way (0-16 forever, baby!), and it is actually a song about Detroit. Allegedly. This video comes with a language advisory and a warning that despite how bad it is, the hook will linger with you. It's so cold. So very, very cold.



As much as I hate to suggest a click through on this one, it's worth checking out the main YouTube page. If nothing else, some of the video responses to this one range from classic to downright hilarious.

For the record, this song and video is what convinces me that the song I wrote would be gold. I could probably even keep the track on beat and everything.

Adventures in Baking Part 2: The Confession

Hey, girl. How are you doing? How do you like those cupcakes? The frosting's good, right? Yeah. Yeah. Listen. I've got something I've got to say. And I don't think it's going to make you happy. But... just hear me out. Cue the music. Something soft with a bass.

(music starts) Ahh, yeah.

I was at the store, you know...
Just picking up a few things,
And if I could afford a decent artist,
This would be the point where he sings (the point where he sings...)

I had the flour, I had the sugar,
All those things that you like.
I had a good trunk full of baking supplies,
Thank goodness I didn't take my bike (there just wouldn't be room...).

I know, I don't own a bike. But it rhymed so bear with me (he's trying to make it rhyme...)

Don't. Don't do that until I'm back in the free verse. I appreciate it, but don't worry about it. Yeah. Yeah. So, girl...

I was on my way to the checkout,
Thinking about how you'd smile.
And I don't know why I did it, baby,
But I looked back down that aisle (just one peek down the aisle...)

See, I was just thinking. I was just thinking, baby. I thought, what if I don't have the time I need... to make that good batter? You know you like that good batter, girl. Yeah. Yeah. But I was thinking, there might not be time. And as I looked down that aisle... oh, girl. I saw the Betty Crocker.

Don't cry baby. No, no, don't cry. Just listen to me. Listen to me, baby. I didn't plan to use it. I never planned to use it. But I could hear the voice in the back of my head, and it was saying:

Just one box, just one box,
Put it on the back shelf.
Keep it for emergencies,
Just keep it to yourself! (Ohhhhhhhh...)

But I didn't keep it to myself, baby. I shared it, baby. I woke up this morning, and I knew that I didn't have enough time. So I took a shortcut. I reached up for that box. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help myself. A little water, a little oil, a few eggs. Two and a half minutes in a mixer, and... and... I made the cupcakes. Those cupcakes right there. That you're eating right now, baby. I made those shortcut cupcakes.

It's okay, baby. No, no, no, it's okay, baby. Don't get the hate in your eyes, girl. Because you know that it's still good, girl. It's not the batter you love, but it's still good, girl.

I know these ain't the cupcakes,
That you were dreaming of.
The mix may have been pre-made,
But... it was mixed with love! (Oooooooooooooh....)

That, uh... that didn't quite come out the way I meant for it to, baby. But just listen just listen just listen... The frosting... the frosting is all me, baby. Made it all myself, baby. Made it smooth and creamy. And then I stirred in some cocoa. I said I stirred in some cocoa, girl! You know you love the chocolate. And then I laid those cupcakes out. I laid them out and I had the frosting. I had to... I had to keep washing my hands. Because it was so good I kept licking my fingers. And I wanted to keep things clean, girl. (Clean, not like Paula Deen...)

What'd I tell you about improvising? I'm going to give you that one because it's true. Ol' finger lickin' Paula. Ughh.

Now, girl. I want you to know that I confess. And I'm sorry. But I got so much more for you, baby. I got so much planned if you forgive me, girl. I got some more cookies for you, girl. I got cupcakes and rolls for you girl. I just got these star shaped baking cups from my sister. You know you want little star cakes, girl. And the frosting. I got more frosting, baby. And the frosting... it's still good.

Give you joy, baby,
Give you tingles.
I got frosting and...
Lots of srpinkles - Ahhhhhhhhhhhh....!

Chaka-Khan, Chaka-Khan, Chaka-Chaka-Chaka-Khan. Woo...!

...

Okay, so it's not "In the Closet". But then again, I'm not R. Kelly.

End of the Year HouseKeeping

So, the year's on the close, and since everyone else is doing their own highlight reels I might as well fake mine, too.

Of course, I have three days and not as much material to work with, so mine will be terribly shortsighted and zany. Which I'm sure will be terribly surprising for anyone who stops here.

At any rate, look for my "2008: Best Of..." series. Coming soon, as it has no choice but to do so. Also, I'm sure I'll do one big wrap-up post somewhere around the end of the year (or possibly the first of next year; no need to tie my hands too much, here...).

Retro Friday: Holdiay Edition

I'm going to take a bit of a sidetrack from what I would normally post for retro clips here, but 'tis the season (really, I got to stop saying that so much...). First, in honor of the jolly holiday season (and in part because of my love of comics), here's an oldy but goody. I never read the Lobo Paramilitary Special, but if it was 1/8th as great as this fan film adaptation, it was beyond awesome.



And in honor of a departed actress, here's a little Eartha Kitt Catwoman for you. If nothing else, enjoy Catwoman's brilliant escape maneuver. And jeez, Batman. What exactly is worse than death?

R.I.P. Eartha Kitt

From AP:

NEW YORK - Eartha Kitt, a sultry singer, dancer and actress who rose from South Carolina cotton fields to become an international symbol of elegance and sensuality, has died, a family spokesman said. She was 81.

Why are so many people I like trying to check out at the end of the year? Godspeed, Eartha. Everyone else may have put on a costume, but you were always Catwoman to me.

Adventures in Baking Part 1

So the morning starts out and I finish the first stages of my baking tear. That's right, I occasionally bake. Want to make something of it? While my cooking skills are generally solid, I pride myself in being a pretty good baker when I apply myself. So around the holidays, in addition to other gifts (and sometimes in lieu of them), I'll put together some baked goods for friends and family (and of course for myself).

I spent the better part of the morning working with the sugar cookie dough that I had made and chilled the previous night. In truth I could have rolled it then, but it was getting late, and I didn't feel like staying up just to bake cookies (go figure). My first endeavor into cookie-making this week left me with a drier dough than I wanted and resulted in more of a shortbread than the true cookie I aspired for, so I had to go back to formula (and yes, I did spend part of the morning scowling, "Back to formula?!" ala Mr. Dafoe...) and hit up a new recipe.

Luckily for me, the fine people at Crisco have a good handful of sugar cookie recipes to choose from (why I'm not sure), and I went with one that was more egg and more sugar (also more flour and more overall yield, but you don't really care about that, and it doesn't sound nearly as awesome as more sugar does...). This left me with a considerable amount of chilled dough, and a rather large round of baking to do. I could have just took my time and done it little by little, but since I was up early I decided I might as well knock it all out this morning. One less thing to do tomorrow morning.

This gave me time to goof off in general, but since I was working I spent most of it watching TV and clearing my DVR of West Wing reruns (why I let that show drag me in, I'll never know). At some point I run out of stuff to check out on my DVR and I end up watching/listening to Comedy Central. Gary Gulman's stand up special is on, which I find disturbingly amusing (the disturbing part being that I find it amusing... an actual funny comic that was on Last Comic Standing? What are the odds?). Anyways, he starts to go into the cookie portion of his routine, which is funny because it covers something I was thinking about just an hour earlier: how the sugar cookie isn't a real cookie.

Now, I have to admit that for the longest time, I was in this camp. Until I really fooled around with them, the sugar cookie to me was just what I assumed was the result of not finding anything worthwhile in your cabinet. "No chocolate chips, no nuts, no oatmeal, not even any peanut butter? **** it. I'll just make sugar cookies..."

But once you get into cookie baking for a while, you get to realize that most basic cookie designs can all be made from the same base. And that base, more often than not, is just a modified form of... you guessed it: the sugar cookie. So the sugar cookie isn't really the red headed stepchild of cookies so much as it is the grandfather of all cookies. Or maybe the godfather of cookies, collecting the goodies of the other cookies to make its own. I'm losing the point, here...

So I go through about 4-5 dozen cookies, including the last of the, ahem, weaker batch (in my opinion) from Monday. For some reason, I dyed this bunch red ('tis the season, I guess), which for the record makes it that much harder to figure out when they're done. A good baker will tell you that cookies are more about timing than checking for browning, but it doesn't hurt if you can see it happening. At this point, I decide to screw around with making some frosting. I figure it can't hurt, and most people will let you get away with baking cardboard so long as you slap some frosting on top of it.

The cookie recipe I was using just happens to have a frosting recipe (which I don't get since the cookies are so freaking great on their own), not that you really need a recipe. Powdered sugar plus a little milk plus random ingredient will net you frosting on a good day. I throw some together, and I openly admit that I think its just okay (really, is anyone that much of a frosting guru...?), but I figure it will dress up the cookies just fine. I pull off a few spoonfuls (there's practically a tub for the recipe) and play around with some green food coloring because I figure it will go well with the red cookies ('tis the season or whatever). I toy with a drop of blue or two since the frosting ended up a little yellow, then a little green to end up with a light lime of a frosting. I wasn't thrilled with it, but it did go okay with the red cookies (especially after adding some candy sprinkles). I throw the rest of the green machine on some regular cookies just to use it up, and because I paid money for these sprinkles, so I'm gonna use 'em.

So in all, I'm left with 4 varieties of the same cookie:
1 dozen (more or less) red with green frosting
1 dozen plain with green frosting
2 dozen (more or less) plain w/red and green sugar sprinkles, and
3 dozen just plain sugar cookies

Not a bad haul for a few hours work. That's more than enough to give out to my family tomorrow, to have for gifts to others as need be, and to make unfortunate snacks out of. Now to answer the greater questions, like did I remember to add vanilla to the dough mix? And what will I do with all of this leftover frosting? Clearly, more baking is in order...

Thank You, Sam.

Sam Johnson has been recovering from a surgical procedure, but I just wanted to let him know how I feel about all the stuff he does. And fortunately, I think Jeff might just have me covered on this one. You probably remember this classic, but it seems oddly appropriate for the time. Never let anyone tell you that you're a phony.



It's still real to me, dammit!

Why I Love Attack of the Show Part 2

Kevin Pereira has too much free time on his hands. Kanye West really can't sing that well. It is, in fact, a bit of a cheap shot, and the milk has gone bad. You officially have the answers to every question you were going to ask while watching this...



He's wrong, but he's oh so right.

Playoffs? Playoffs?!

I hardly believe it myself. Not only are the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL playoffs this year (a feat that does shock me to a certain degree), but if they happen to win next week and Carolina loses (both of which are in the realm of possibility), they could end up winning their division and getting a first round bye. The apocalypse may well be nigh...

Retro Friday: By Special Request

The past few weeks worth of retro toonage have found me stumbling across this show multiple times. And since someone specifically requested it, I have no choice but to finally pull the trigger on its epic greatness. They are so proud to be... a super future family. A-Wiki-wiki-woohoo...:

The main character, 'Bionic-1', was a machine-enhanced human being using bionic technology, much like The Six Million Dollar Man. On a vacation in the Himalayas, Bionic-1 and his family were testing out some new ski equipment. They were attacked by aliens and during the battle, in which Jack revealed his abilities to his children for the first time, there was an avalanche and the Bennetts were all buried alive under radioactive snow. All, but Jack (whose bionics made him immune to the radioactivity), were thrown into paralytic comas. Unsure how to save them, Bionic-1 brings the family to Professor Sharp's lab. Sharp deduces that giving everyone the bionic treatment would cure them of the radioactivity too. Each family member was given a specific bionic power, and they formed a team named Bionic Six.

That's right. It's none other than Bionic Six.


You have to love a theme song that emphasizes the family element. Not to mention the team itself was a walking promotion for the joys of adoption. And... robotic... ape... creation? Yeah, that kind of got away from me. But still, we have time for the bread and butter of any good fantasy cartoon: the transform/power-up sequence. And seriously, just how much metal was Bionic-1 pimping inside of himself?


And because Firday is still fun day, let's also add: reason number eight that I don't own a webcam...

To Boldly Go...

"If you love Star Trek so much, why don't you marry it?"

Only one woman can ever say that she stepped up to that challenge, and now she's no longer with us. As AP reported yesterday, Majel Barrett Roddenberry AKA "a handful of lovable Star Trek characters" passed away at age 76. She had leukemia, which I feel bad for not knowing (unless it's one of those things that wasn't widely known, in which case I guess I feel fine about it).

Most people will remember Lwaxana Troi from TNG, and true fans will remember Nurse Chapel from the original series, but I always remember her as the voice of the computer. And not the newer computer where her voice was clearly recognizable, but the older model where she was clearly working her best robot voice. Think fondly of her every time you watch the old show and hear that infamous blinking, clicky box chirp out, "Working..."

Persona 4 is the ****.

Yes, that's right. After having only played the game for a handful of days, I have determined that Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4 for the PS2 is, in fact, the ****.

It hasn't quite unseated Persona 3 just yet (and frankly, I think my love of Persona 3 may never find a true equal), but the game has enough going for it to be an easy contender for RPG of the year, if not game of the year. It's just. That. Good.

If nothing else, the soundtrack gets stuck in your head. Now if only it wasn't so foggy for the past few days. Talk about bad timing...

Music Lives! Music Lives!

(And by 'music', I mean HeroClix... maybe... sort of.)

For the uninformed and uncaring, a brief recap. Many will remember the events of November 10th, where beloved comic book minitatures game HeroClix ceased all operations, leaving me very not happy with the state of my gaming world. Much has gone on in the past few weeks. Several former WizKids employees banded together to create a new company, Pinata Games, with the express purpose of acquiring the up for grabs rights to HeroClix. They even made a website dedicated to saving HeroClix entitled, oddly enough, Save Heroclix (and I'm sure it was har dto come up with the web address, too).

Flash forward to today, where the afforementioned website made this post referencing this announcement. Again for the link-hopping impaired and/or lazy:

Two companies that were making a play to acquire HeroClix from Topps in the wake of its WizKids shutdown (see “Topps Shuts Down WizKids”) have joined forces. Catalyst Games, which announced that it had made a bid for all of the WizKids properties (see “Catalyst Bids on WizKids Properties”) and Pinata Games, formed for the purpose of acquiring HeroClix (see “Interview with Pinata’s Jake Theis”), have formed a strategic alliance, contingent on Catalyst’s successful acquisition of the WizKids properties.

So basically, Catalyst (which by the sounds of it was in a much better position to make a bid for the property rights) has teamed up with Pinata (which by the sounds of it is in a much better position to handle the game property) and created a win/win situation. Assuming, of course, that they actually make a successful bid. But the good news here is that there are definitely people at work trying to keep the game up and running. So that should count for something.

And now, because I can, I will show you a promotional piece that someone somewhere dug up when what would be the next HeroClix set, Hammer of Thor, was first being promoted. And while I can't verify that 100 percent of the poster is technically accurate, I can verify that it most certainly should have been, as it no doubt would have sold many a case of 'Clix.

The Best He Is at What He Does...

And what he does is snarl, apparently.

Yes, I refer to the Wolverine trailer. Yes, it is all over the interwebs. No, I am not bored enough to post it here right now. Whatever. You've probably already seen it seventeen times and called your friends about it and/or posted about it yourself. Want to know my opinion? No? Well, too bad. You came to my page, and my opinion is what you get.

It looks okay. It by no means appears groundbreaking, and I think I saw about 22 seconds more of Gambit than I never need to see in life (assuming that was the sum total of time he appeared in the trailer; otherwise assume that I meant whatever amount of time he was there for). I still have an itching suspicion that this film will have more cameos and focus on more mutants than any of the X-Men films managed to. And that's not really a good thing.

But I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It's not like I've ever thought a trailer should dictate how good/bad a film will be. And it's not like I'm not going to be there watching it like every other comic fan will be. The words for the day are still "guarded optimism".

Who Needs a Nimbus Cloud, Anyway?

Okay, so apparently there's an international trailer for the upcoming Dragonball film. The link for which can be found here (IGN apparently doesn't wish me to embed anything here or something).

Anywho, the story will no doubt be different from the anime and the manga, but I have to say (and I know I may be riding solo on this one) it doesn't look so bad. A little kooky in places? Yes. But it's certainly not as crappy looking as the original trailer, which wasn't actually a trailer but more of a pitch reel with little to no effects. At least this version has some effects in place and looks like it could at least be a solid popcorn flick.

Disney Webs Up Spider-Man (Well, Spectacular Anyway...)

Marvel Toonzone reports that Spectacular Spider-Man has a new home for its upcoming season, and that home is Toon Disney. Although it won't be Toon Disney for long. As the story goes on to say:

The Toon Disney network, which is being rebranded Disney XD in February 2009 in an effort to capture the male market, will be the new home for The Spectacular Spider-Man in 2009. Reports leaked out earlier this week revealing where the critically-acclaimed series would be landing for a second season.

Disney XD? That's the best that someone at Marketing could come up with? That sounds like some pitch made out of the 90's. "We'll call it 'XD'. It should market well with the male crowd..." Not as well as X-Disney would, but then that might make your target audience quickly disappointed 18-35 year old males. But that's another story, and one that can easily be found on the internet with a little effort. Er, not that I'd know.

Anywho, the point was that that's where Spectacular Spider-Man will be, most likely this coming March. I know some people will be anxious because the old Disney channel has a history of editing some of their more action oriented titles, but hopefully their theme shift will include going a little easier on that. Not to mention that Spectacular shouldn't need that much editing, anyway. Guarded optimism, people. No need to panic just yet.

Retro-Friday? Fun Friday? Freaky Friday?

You can't stop them, because they won't stop!

Why won't they stop?

I speak, of course, about the wacky little cratoon known as The Littles. The greatness that is Wikipedia breaks it down like this:

Similar to Mary Norton's earlier novel The Borrowers, The Littles features a family of tiny but intelligent humanoid creatures with mouse-like features (the Littles) who live in a house owned by the Bigg family. The mouse-like features include a long, furry tail, long teeth and mouse-like ears. Their height is 4-6 inches. In the original books, nobody (not even the Biggs) knows anything about the Littles. By contrast, in the TV series, only Henry Bigg knew of the Littles.

Henry never knew they existed in the books? I learned something. Did you know that The Littles had three separate seasons, and openings for each season? Yeah, you know what happens next.

Season 1



Season 2, which inexplicably says that Henry found the Littles in his suitcase. Like all musical discrepancies, this was probably done simply to make a rhyme.



And in Season 3, much like MC Hammer, they went around the world... from London to the Bay. Well, they went places. They even went into space. Dinky stole a microchip and the shuttle almost couldn't re-enter the atmosphere. Why do I remember this stuff?



But unlike Hammer, The Littles actually did become sellouts. If the last intro didn't make it clear, the show was more or less circling the drain at that point. Still, it was on for three seasons, which is two seasons more than most cartoon shows got and three more than I've ever had.

And of course, I still occasionally remember this theme song and wait desperately for someone to adapt the entire thing into a horror film of some sort. Can't you just see some labcoat wearing scientist, blood coated face and all screaming into a grainy video screen, "You can't stop the Littles! The Littles... don't... stop!"?

No? Just me, huh? Yeah, I got issues.

"You Just Got Contra'd."

The sad part? This was just an up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right away from making me want to actually see it appear in theaters.

Random Thoughts on Comic-dom: Part 1

The comics board I hang out on is talking about the usual isnanity it always does. Among the topics is a running set of threads on what actor should play any given superhero. And while it's a completely subjective thing, and there are always a few interesting choices there, a character that just popped up has made me revisit a familiar opinion of mine that I always seem to be in the minority with.

Jim Carrey as Plastic Man? Really?

I can't be the only one that thinks he's such an obvious choice that it actually doesn't fit. Yes, he has the faces and the the goofball on speed dial for it. And I'd even argue that he's more than capable of giving the character the serious moment or two that he'd really deserve should he appear in a live action form. But... I dunno.

It could just be a classic case of me rebelling against a blindly popular opinion. I hated Carnage way before it was cool to do so, after all. So maybe I just see an overwhelming tide of, "Oh! Jim would be perfect for the role!" and my knee jerk reaction is to tell myself, "Oh, come on!"

But then, I've never been a big fan of the big stars getting the comic hero roles, anyway. They seem like perfect vehicles for lesser known actors who may bear stronger resemblances to and are more capable of solid performances as the character in question. Honestly, why waste the funds on a Jim Carrey when you can get Luke Percival his big break? Who's Luke Percival? He's that nameless guy whototally would have rocked as Plastic Man if everyone and their grandmother hadn't wet the bed over how much of a lock Jim Carrey would be. I'm just saying...

Hype Machine: Canine Heroes Edition

Now that I've dusted off the old Hype Machine, I might as well put it to good use and actually, you know, hype something of some import. Or at least of relevance to someone else.

I know a young man by the name of Rashad Doucet. He's a cool enough guy. He's sensible, funny, and a Clix compatriot (although clearly, I am the superior Clix warrior... but I digress). The important thing here is that he's an artist, a very good one in fact. And after years of practicing his craft, he has a product.

The book is entitled "My Dog is a Superhero" and is published by Artic Wolf Publishing. And while many of you will assume that's self explanatory and move on, I will indulge you and quote the product description:

Ashleigh Bryce was just you average 10 year-old fashion diva wannabe until she discovered a cute little blue dog, who turned out to be the kid hero WOLFBOY. Together the two must set aside their differences and catch evil aliens disguised as pets. In this volume: All Ashleigh wants to do is go to school, and then to a concert featuring her favorite pop-star, but along the way she and Wolfboy bump into the villainous KID SQUID, the super-fast SABER SQUIRREL, and the just plain mean FROGBOY. It just may end up being, the LONGEST DAY EVER!

Now, I haven't had the pleasure of reading said book yet, but it sounds cool enough. And hey, the guy's a pretty good artist so far as I can tell. I'm no expert, but check out a few preview pics of his book for yourself:

You can check out some more preview pics (and a bit more of Rashad's work) here in his gallery or at his webpage. My Dog is a Superhero is on sale at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. For the more locally inclined, it apparently is also on sale at the Waldenbooks at Savannah Mall. So toss a little local support for an up and coming artist, pick up a book that looks like it might be cool to you, or just burn some cash on it because you're inexplicably inclined to do whatever I tell you. I've got a few copies on the way, and I'll no doubt be talking about the book a few more times before it's all over with (that is, after all, what good Hype Machines do).

Did I Just...?: Music Video Edition

Before Andy Samberg became a fixture on SNL, he was a part of a web comedy troupe called The Lonely Island. And while I will forever remember him as part of the ridiculously hilarious Channel 101 show The 'Bu, he inevitably goes back to his roots and puts something like this together with his old crew. Be forewarned: there is some colorful language in this particular video entry.



The real problem? The hook is, in fact, highly addicitive. If it weren't for the subject matter, it might just make the club. Then again, stranger things have happened. Skeet, skeet, skeet... skeet, skeet, skeet...

Update: Okay, so they disabled the embedding. No biggie. It lets me feel better about just dropping the link to the video and washing my hands of it. Click through at your own peril. You have been warned. Again.

(Don't) Believe the Hype.

I'll be the first to admit that I don't particularly care if the old blog ever really picks up heavy traffic. It's more a side project and an outlet for my occassional need to express myself. If anything, I consider it writing practice and a good place to keep ideas in case I ever really do want to put them somewhere of import.

Still, I'd be lying if I said I didn't want some attention. And I don't mean direct attention. People proclaiming it the best place to be and the like is just rhetoric and wouldn't be true, anyway. Not so long as there's so many pR0n sites out there. Wait. Must not remind people about the pR0n...

It's not like I don't get people here. I have two followers, I have at least one other person that said that they might add me to their watch list, and I swear someone said that they check my blog sometimes and that someone else they know does, too. That means that up to 5 whole people may actually look at my blog in any given week. And almost half of that group might actually read something that I post here. Scary, huh?

Anywho... I've decided to give the old hype machine a good cranking (not a euphemism, get the pR0n out of your heads...). And as all good hype machines must, I should use pointless statistics and useless and easily disputable information in this effort. It is for that reason that I hereby declare this blog, House Rules!, the 857th greatest blog dedicated to comics, gaming, television, and/or other stuff in all of the interwebs.

Now I know what you're thinking. There have to be at least a few thousand other blogs about comics. Thousands upon thousands of gaming blogs. 18 billion TV blogs. 14 quadrillion blogs dedicated to games and gaming. But I ask you this: how many cover "other stuff"? And of those that cover other stuff, how many cover things in Thomas Houston's life? That's right... three (I assume that everyone has at least one stalker out there...). And of all of those many, many places, how many cover it not as an and, but as an or? Or an and/or?

(I know, confusing. But stick with me, because this is where I bring it home...)

So House Rules! is not only the 857th greatest blog dedicated to comics, gaming, television, and/or other stuff, it is also THE Source for all things Thomas Houston. No one else can tell you that... unless my mom started blogging when I wasn't looking. I can't put anything past her...

Search your heart. You know that it's true. I just made a vague reference to Star Wars. That's a movie. I didn't even talk about how I sometimes cover movies. Suck it, Roger Ebert! Did I just tell Roger Ebert to suck it? Holy crap, I must be controversial, too.

Look out world! Controversial blog writer Thomas "HouseT" Houston, presents House Rules!, the 857th greatest blog in the world dedicated to comics, gaming, television, and/or other stuff and THE Source for all things Thomas Houston. And the ride don't stop now. Look out number 856, because I's a'comin' for you!

...

No, I don't feel particularly bored. Why do you ask?

With Apologies in Advance to IGN...

Just so that we're clear on what took place last night, and also so I can vent about the events of last night...

I swear it was supposed to be one of those easy, no hassle posts that get knocked out in a matter of minutes. I didn't even put much thought into the text of it aside from making a last second mention of Simon Sez Santa (which is still cool). Drop in the YouTube clip of one game and drop in an IGN embed of Scribblenauts. How hard could it be?

Except for some reason, I don't get an imbed of the Scribblenauts trailer. No, no, no. I get some clip of what appears to be strategy breakdowns for various games. Which is cool, except that I really wanted to imbed the Scribblenauts trailer. And I have to stress, I was really jazzed about showing this game. Three whole people will really care about it when they see it here. But somehow, I can't pull it off. I check and double-check and triple-check the code, but nothing. I do a web search to see if it's anywhere else, and find that while it is, virtually every site has it... you guessed it... succesfully embedded from IGN. So now not only can I not do it properly, but I'm somehow the only idiot in the entire internet who can't. I feel brilliant.

So yes, in a moment of weakness, I went to extreme measures to get the job done. I'd say that I don't apologize, but that would make the thread title terribly untrue. So sorry to IGN.com. You are a cool site and I enjoy visiting you. I meant no disresepct, and I surely don't want to deprive you of any traffic or whatever would be the result of me successfully embedding the video clip from you. I just wanted to show a handful of my friends a cool thing that (at the time) only you had. Please don't be mad at me.

On the Gaming Front: Extra Quirky Edition

It's time to go over a few concepts in gaming that I've found strange, bizarre, and oddly compelling over the past few weeks.

First up is an odd little bit of info that I sutmbled across. While many people talk about making their own games, one man has actually put in the years of time necessary to get very very close to achieving his goal. Robert Pelloni has a game that he's simply entitled "Bob's Game" (go figure). And if his website and this preview video are any indication, he's quite dedicated to it.



Next up (and with a much firmer release date) is a Nintendo DS game that I came across recently: Scribblenauts. The concept, as IGN put it, is hard to explain in words but easier to grasp in a video. Which is good, because I'm feeling lazy and I don't even know how many words a 100 second video would translate into.



As the full preview article explains, they're apparently going through great lengths to have virtually every item imaginable available so long as you can write it down. The game itself seems to work on a system much like an advanced version of Simon Sez Santa.

And by the by, I had totally forgotten that Ol'Santa existed. I gotta go check that guy out again. Ah, the holidays.

Why You Should Leave Cougars Alone

I found this story on CNN about a mother who couldn't just stand by and let her son get convicted. She had to do something. And something, apparently, ended up being this:

She gave herself an extreme makeover -- blonde dye job, fake tan, sexy wardrobe, phony name -- and began spying on jurors. She befriended one juror to root out any possible misdeeds at the trial, and for nearly eight months, they drank at bars, smoked marijuana and shared meals in her tiny Brooklyn hideaway.

To be clear here, this woman - this married woman - went as far as to rent a separate apartment in which to hang out with this targeted juror. Although apparently, all that went on was "some flirting". Right, right...

This only drew my attention because I could have sworn that this was a Lifetime movie at some point. And if it wasn't, then it most certainly will be by the end of the year. Finally, Valerie Bertenelli can put that newly tuned Weight Wacthers body to good use. And the sad part? I'd probably watch it.

Friday is Still Fun Day

So long as I remember to actually post the selected works.

For everyone looking for a cause to support, I give you this one. And for all of the politically charged debates there have been over the past two years, I thinkt hat we can all safely say that young or old, black or white, liberal or conservative... this is truly change we can believe in.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

(Okay, so I've chuckled at some of his stuff before. Or more likely, at someone else's stuff that he's said before. Ouch.)

And following the love/hate trend... Whether you ended up loving or hating The Matrix, you have to admit that when it's all said and done, it probably would have gone more like this than any of the movies.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

And for the oddball award of the day: real life Mario Kart. This was generally funny up to the point where it occurred to me that he was actually chucking bananas at vehicles. Hopefully the vehicles around him were in on the bit, too. Otherwise, it could have ended with a terrible tragedy on the highway.

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Who You Gonna Call (In 6-7 More Months)?

On the gaming front (and possibly the movie front, too), there is a new trailer out for the Ghostbusters video game.



I don't know if the game itself will play like anything good, but with most of the original cast coming back to do voices and a plot written by the original writers (not a real stretch since they were in the original cast), this looks like it might be worth playing if only to see the story unfold.

Besides, who wouldn't want to get to be a Ghostbuster? Not one of the original four, but the "fifth Ghostbuster" hired to test dangerous equipment. And its nice to see Winston get a promotion from that position to "guy wh drives Ecto-1". I kid, of course. But it is nice to see Winston be established (or re-established) as integral to the team.

And darn it all if the Ghostbusters theme doesn't still make you want to get up and groove. And as the song makes abundantly clear, it's the only non-porn related industry where you can proudly proclaim that bustin' makes you feel good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Retro Thursday: Saturday Morning Madness

The old school goodness continues, this week going with a Saturday Morning focus. Young bucks take notice. This is how we used to do this thing back in the day.

Once again we go back to the time before basic cable was a standard that gave you many, many options for animated goodness. For this particular show, I'm just going to break down and quote Wikipedia directly:

The 23rd Century, the future is a time of robots and aliens. The people of Earth have banded together along with several other peaceful alien races to promote peace throughout the galaxy, forming the United Planets. As part of the United Planets, the Galactic Patrol — a body of law-enforcers — works to maintain order, under the leadership of Commander Rondu.

However, a powerful criminal organization called SHADOW is out to destroy both the Galactic Patrol and the U.P.. Led by Umbra, a massive cyborg-computer, SHADOW employs sinister agents and incredible schemes to attack and someday rule over all corners of the known-galaxy.

There is one thing that helps to fight against SHADOW; ingenious inventor Rob Simmons — secretly a member of the Galactic Patrol — creates six special robots who can use their unique powers to battle against the forces of Umbra. Together, these robots can unite to form a giant robot called Mighty Orbots, to fight for truth, justice and peace for all.

Strongman Tor, shapeshifting Bort, elemental Bo, illusionist Boo, and munchmaster Crunch. And don't forget little Ohno (every team needs a pet/sidekick). Mighty Orbots!


You have to understand that while many people loved this particular program, it was a personal favorite of mine when I was a kid. What's not to love? Giant robots coming together and laying the smackdown. And speaking of coming together... Orbots, unite!



And for round two, here's a little gem that I used to watch religiously for no reason whatsoever: Pole Position. I think maybe I thought that it was somehow based on the video game (even though I never really liked the video game). Tess and Dan Garrett were part of a secret spy organzation and a vehicle stunt show (which was, of course, their cover). Their cars, Wheels and Roadie, weren't exactly KITT, but they did have a few gadgets including a hydrofoil and hovercraft mode. I spent the better part of a season trying to figure out why you needed a hydrofoil mode when you had a perfectly good hovercraft right there, but that's just my sick kid mind.

Anyways, here's the intro.


Note: The animal is a raccoon/monkey hybrid named Kuma (every team needs a pet/sidekick)
Note the Second: The younger girl is the little sister Daisy (this team apparently needs two pets/sidekicks).
Note the Third: This one will appeal to almost half of my reader base. Tess' car Wheels was voiced by Melvin Franklin. Yes, the man who was part of the Temptations. I learned something new today.

I could do this all day, but since I'm pretty sure that no one will read past the second show I subject them to... er, share with them, I'm going to call it a day.

It's Okay to Say... Anything

I admit this is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, but I figure now is as good a time as any to get it off of my chest. (I warn you that this gets very, very wordy.)

As a writer, I'm pretty picky. My writing is personal to me, and lots of times it gets impeded by the simple fact that I'm not sure that I can share it. Really, it makes no sense to me at all to write an essay, a story, anything... and just never get around to sharing it.

Don't get me wrong. I've got a ton of items sitting on my hard drive that fall into the category of "Things I never got around to sharing." Half-hearted starts to stories, reviews and columns that never properly got off the ground, everything but poems, really (and that's only because I know that only trouble can come from me attempting free verse). But for the most part, when I do get around to writing something, I end up sharing it. Which leads me to the observation I'm making now which is directed at no one in particular:

It's okay to say... anything.

I want to tell you that when I write something and share it with someone (or everyone) I expect a specific reaction. That rarely happens. The only time I ever feel that way is when I'm goofing off on a message board somewhere and I say something that I assume people will find funny. And even then, I'm not completely sure that's what will happen. The Internet is a fickle mistress.

But without fail when I share things with people, I often find the feedback lacking. It's hard to categorize it, because it's not like I expect a full review or a list of typos or anything specific. But I do expect something out of it.

It's possible that I expect too much, but from my perspective I've put a lot of time into these things. And you have to understand my process here in order to understand my point. When I write... seriously write, I generally just do it. No outlines or anything like that. I just sit at the keyboard and start writing. And when I flow, I flow. I want to be humble about it, but there are times when I have reread a good passage of mine from way back when and am shocked at how well I put it together.

But there are other times. They are dark and terrible times when I hit a wall or get stuck or can't turn the right phrase or any of eight other ways to put it. And what usually happens is that I stare at the end of a paragraph for a few hours, and then I put the whole thing away for a day (or a week... or a month). And then, out of the blue, I'll go back to it, read it from the beginning, and then somehow get inspired when I get to the part I was stuck at before. I find my voice. I reach the end. It was a long struggle, but somehow it all worked out.

Now comes the tricky part. I want to show this to someone. But this is not easy. This is, in fact, harder than the actual writing. Because no matter how good I tell myself I am in my head, no matter how good I truly know that I am when push comes to shove, there will always be that little voice in the back of my head that says, "You know they won't like it." And no, that should never matter, but it does and it sucks that it does.

But forging ahead is what we do in these situations, so I find someone (or two people, or a small army somewhere), I shuffle it around for a few days, and then I finally get around to asking them if they want to check out what I read. They, of course, say yes. Because who passes up a chance to read something from a friend, right? So I send a copy or post it somewhere, and then I wait. Wait, as I said before, for anything.

What do I usually get? Not much. There are several theories I'd imagine for the phenomenon. For starters, it takes significantly less time to read an item than it usually takes to write it. In my head, I've spent hours working on something to make it come out right, and someone else will spend 10-15 minutes reading it. It's probably wrong, then, to expect a reader to give me either the feedback or the validation that I'd expect on the matter. Also, there's the fact that the average person will likely not want to say the wrong thing. Clearly a friend or colleague may not be inclined to tell you that they had a problem with or didn't enjoy something you wrote.

Still, I do find myself wanting a little more feedback on things that I write than I usually get. It's nice to hear, "It was good," or, "That was nice," or, "That was funny..." (although sometimes you don't even hear that...) . But at the same time, I do want to hear more. I'd even want to hear some of the negative, if it meant that there was something to hear.

... okay, not too much negative. But anything is definitely better than nothing.

Epic Comic Win

Why do I still buy comics when this book has already been made and can never, in the history of life, ever be surpassed? It's made of win, its father was Pwn, and it's mother was a transistor radio. I speak of none other than the Doom comic book.

No, not this Doom...







This Doom.

Someone actually kept up with this enough to link the entire comic on one page. Dig the environmental message mid-story. Weeping Side of Highway Indian would be proud. And for anyone that's too lazy to follow a link or to... you know, read... here's the audiobook version.



You're welcome.

"How I Spent my Summer..."

Mowed some lawns, watched some TV, built a freakin' plane.

In an all around feel good story, 24 year-old Barrington Irving (who himself is an inspiration all on his own) decided to inspire a group of young men and women by offering them a simple challenge.



And to think, all I got to do was go to youth sports camp over the summer. And I hated it. "Get exercise, meet new people..." Whatever.