Ebay Blues or Soooo Many Records

Man, who woulda thunk that selling stuff for Ryan on ebay would be so much work! I mean, in all my years of hocking junk in the online garage sale, I've never had so many emails about shipping or had so many jerk off people accusing me of trying to rip them off with shipping costs. Note to Americans buying things on ebay: it costs MORE to ship from Canada, not less. On the plus side, Ryan made some decent coin (assuming everyone pays up) getting rid of some old toys and magazines. For a first time, he did spectacularly well. Although I'm putting in all the work... The people at the post office are going to know me by name soon...
The other day I got my 47 record lot in that I ordered off ebay. Containing Funk, Jazz, R&B, Soul, and some Sesame Street records it was a decent little buy, despite the fact that some of the lp's turned out to be in dubious quality. I was listening to an album by a band called The Crusaders yesterday which was seemingly the bridge between funk and disco. Odd little number that one. Does anyone know what that stuff is that you use to clean lp's with? I saw some dude using a spray while at a store a while ago and never got around to asking him what the hell it was. Help in this matter would be much obliged.
I saw the movie "What the Bleep Do We Know" on Sunday. The first half, interviews with scientists about the theories of quantum physics was really interesting, although the CG and story intermissions were distracting and useless. Where the thing went all to hell was in the second half where it tried to say things about God. One of the experts interviewed in the film was supposedly the 35000 year old spirit Ramtha as channeled by a man-chick named J.Z. Knight. I shit you not... that was the caption beneath her name. Apparently the whole movie was funded by her group and was supposed to be a recruiting tool type of thing. A true cynic could see right through that little exercise!
Doom 3 is very cool. Very scary, but very cool.

Well That's Just Great or Good Cop/Bad Cop

This is the SECOND time I'm writing this, as for some reason my first super long attempt was lost to the vapors...
Anyway, on the way home from getting Donkey Kong Jungle Beat today (for a great price I might add) I was confronted with a bizarre situation.
Driving down Laxdal, I suddenly heard a strange horn sound. Not being able to see the source of it, I thought that it must be a fire truck further on or something. Hearing it again, I suddenly noticed an undercover police car behind me. Thinking that they must be trying to get past me, I pulled over. They did too. Now I was confused, I didn't think I was speeding or anything... One of the officers approached me and said that I ran a stop sign and was speeding. I incredulously asked him how fast I was going to which he responded abruptly "I had to go 80 to catch up to you so you must have been going 65 at LEAST. This is a residential zone you know." He then asked for my license and registration so I undid my seatbelt to get at my wallet and started to fumble for the registration. He asked, rather rudely if this was my car, which I responded no, it was not. He then asked why I didn't feel the need to wear a seatbelt. I said that I had just taken it off. He said that it was off when he approached the car. I said that I took it off when he got there. Then, rather confrontationally, he said "are you saying I'm blind?" To which I responded no, that I had just taken the belt off now in front of him, which he countered with "are you calling me a liar?!?!?!" Getting a little freaked out by his abrasiveness I just said no and left it at that. He then took my information to the computer and did his thing.
For the next few minutes I tried my best to keep my face away from any passing cars. Eventually, the other cop came to the window and gave me the ticket. He said it was for running a stop sign, but that I was only getting a warning for the seatbelt. The cost to me, $160.
The whole incident left me not able to remember exactly what I did at the stop sign. I would never completely run one in broad daylight, but I think I would have probably done my usual routine for that particular stop. That is, slow down and stop for a split second but not long enough to lose the built up momentum of motion. I know the law says you are supposed to stop for like 2 seconds or something, but I don't think I would have. Having that in mind, I doubt that I would appeal the ticket, as technically I didn't FULLY stop... Had there been any cars near that area, I would have assuredly done so, but when it's empty, I'm less likely to do the full 2 seconds. I'm not trying to justify not getting any ticket or anything here... What I am doing is commenting on how one cop totally played the bad cop role to try to antagonize me for reasons I don't know. Why couldn't he have just approached me and said what I did, asked me for the info and left it at that instead of trying to scare me for whatever purpose he had in mind. If the thinking is that that attitude will discourage any future transgressions, I completely disagree. It's only going to foster more distrust in the police force. Especially if I had gotten tickets for speeding and not wearing a seatbelt as well. I would have been really mad, as both those charges were erroneous, but since it was only for the stop sign I'm only ticked off. Mostly because I'm out money I didn't plan on spending, but also because I'm sure this will take away a merit from my license. There goes my perfect driving record.

Finished the Trilogy or Working on my OWN Time?!?!?

I just finished reading the Timothy Zahn post original trilogy series of Star Wars books. I'd read the first one WAY back in 1992 but had lent out the next two to Rob shortly thereafter. Having gotten them back before he left (after about 10 years!) I decided to finally go through them. All I can say is wow! What a great job he did with characterization. By the end, I was totally hoping that Grand Admiral Thrawn wouldn't croak, as he was super interesting. Mara Jade had an intriguing dynamic going on and the returning dudes held up very well. I would have to say that the books would make excellent movies, although that'll never happen at this point in time... what with the cast being senior citizens and all. Maybe a CG one?
I actually took something from work home today. We were given these new sheets to keep track of inbound and outbound buses which were not only a bitch to follow, but horribly small and confusing. Instead of organizing the thing by in and out sections, the two were all meshed together incomprehensibly. I took it upon myself to make new ones that would function better for all my co-workers. It only took about an hour, but the results are lightyears beyond the crap we had to work with before. Hopefully the powers that be don't get all offended that I went and fixed up their botched paper though...
Apart from reading, I've not been doing a whole hell of a lot lately. Oh wait.. I did finish Star Wars Republic Commando for the Xbox, which was a super awesome game. Exactly what I was looking for in a different approach to the Star Wars universe. Seeing things from a soldier's perspective was fresh and the personalities of the troops were interesting enough to keep the minimal storyline worth following. It ended a little too quickly, but was definitely worth the 8 hours or so of my life I put into it. Check it out!

Huge Disappointment or Record Sale!

Last night I went to check out the world premiere of the first ever feature length Star Wars fan film made here in the 'peg. All the money was going to charity, so it was a good cause. After a 10 minute delay in starting, the director came out and said that there were some serious problems and that we wouldn't be able to see the final film. All he could show was one half of a rough cut without all the digital effects in place. Anger rose. He should have just rescheduled the screening for another day, as it was unfair to all the people there to show what he did. In addition to that, the movie wasn't all that good (what I saw). Terrible acting and camera work aside, the script was unoriginal and bland. It had a queen who looked and acted an awful lot like Amidala from Episode 1, a punk rock cantina scene instead of a space jazz one like in episode 4, a jedi council full of horrid actors just like episode 1... I would really like to see someone take the Star Wars universe in strange new places. The same old jedi stories are boring. I suggested a cross between "Rain Man" and Star Wars by having a mentally challenged jedi whose powers go crazy all the time. Either that or "Jedi College" complete with Space Keggers and Space panty raids! Either way, do something DIFFERENT, show some creativity. I do give the guys who made the movie credit for all the hard work they put in, and hope that the final product turns out to be decent.
Today was a record show/sale thingy at the Victoria Inn. Surrounded by some of the hugest nerds and freaks I've ever seen (with the exception of a comic convention) I picked up 8 records for 30$. They include: 2 Cyndi Lauper's, a Fatback Band, a Denis Brown, an Average White Band, a Herbie Hancock, a Bob Newhart, and an O'Jays. There were a lot of albums there I would've liked to pick up, but sellers wanted a premium. I will not pay more than 5$ for a record, period. Other then that, so far so good!

Robots was Pretty Much Poo or Track Suit Power!

To fill in the blanks of the last few days:
Sunday I saw "Robots" and was very disappointed. Based on some good reviews, I was looking forward to seeing it, but found that the thing was for kids through and through. Plot holes, logical inconsistencies, and SUPER ANNOYING Robin Williams added up to something that would only really appeal to people with ADD. Having only paid $3.50 to see it, I can't claim rip off... but I would definitely wait until the cheap theatre if you really need to see the thing on the big screen.
Monday Jay and I watched one of the final Rodney Dangerfield movies "Back by Midnight" which was ok. It needed more Rodney and less faux-British lardo Kirstie Alley. I also borrowed the Ghostbusters soundtrack lp, thus reliving my early childhood where I would listen to that album while lying on a heat register or humidifier. I was a completely normal child...
Tuesday was a day of game playing at Ryan's new place by Stobes and I. In a shocking turn of events, Ryan actually WON a tournament of NHL 2K5... I feel perturbed.
Wednesday, Dave and I watched "Ed Wood" which was just as good as I remembered. Martin Landau WAS Bela Lugosi. Totally worthy of the Oscar.
Tonight Erin and I watched the horrifyingly creepy Jim Henson opus that is "The Dark Crystal" and I continued my streak of falling asleep during it. Despite liking the damn thing, I ALWAYS fall asleep at some point while viewing. Maybe it's a defense mechanism against the terrifying muppets on screen. At least "Labyrinth" has crazy David Bowie codpiece to shock you awake.
The highlight of the week thus far has got to have been to arrival of my vintage 80's velour track suit that I got off ebay. Maroon and mint, the thing is totally choice! Fits like a glove and rocks hardcore... I'm the hippest cat in the land with that smooth butter spread!

Boston Rules or The DS is Starting to look Intriguing

After listening to the lp a few times, I can safely say that Boston's debut self titled album rocks hardcore. There are like 5 tracks from the album that are a part of rock's cannon, including More than a feeling, Smokin', Peace of Mind, Long Time, and Rock & Roll Band. In fact, I dare say side 1 is up there with the best side ones of all time!
Apart from that, I've been doing little recently. Well, apart from working and slowly restoring my computer to its former, program rich, life. One thing that has caught my eye lately has been some of the new games coming out for the Nintendo DS. I'm intrigued by where they are taking that system and will probably pick one up when some more titles are released. Its refreshing to see a game company trying to stop the downward spiral of un-creativity that has been happening in the industry. There are only so many sequels and rehashes of the same old genres that you can take... well at least I can take... The fact that these types of games continue to be the top sellers does not bode well for the future of gaming as something more than simple money sucker. Good luck fighting the good fight Nintendo!

Say No to The Yes Men or Sneezer Sneezer

So last night I checked out a little ditty called "The Yes Men." I had heard some decent things about it and was somewhat interested... what was actually on screen however, was utter crap. I'm going to write a review newspaper style!

Falling into the overly long ramblings of an untalented student film director, The Yes Men, manages to overstay its welcome about 5 minutes in. Chronicling the adventures of a group of pranksters who impersonate WTO speakers and give "hilariously" over-the-top lectures about such topics as: recycling human waste to feed the third world, implanting workers with microchips to monitor productivity, and shiny gold bodysuits with a tv monitor on a large inflatable phallus, the film has a few bright moments. I do mean a few. Perhaps 10 minutes of the film is salvageable. The reactions of listeners to the odd speeches ranges from anger to polite acceptance, but the reasonings accepted by the imposters does not hold up to reality.
Perhaps the biggest flaw with the film, apart from the many scenes of useless filler and prep work, is that the Yes Men never justify their dislike of the WTO. They merely state that it is a bad organization which does not help the poor. This could be due to their first year poli sci student-I want to save the world-faux radicalism or simply due to the fact that they have not done any real research on the WTO apart from reading the odd newspaper article or hearing an activist speak talking points on some news station. Criticizing something is one thing, but you need to have a justification for that criticism. To merely say something is bad without backup smacks of reactionary politics.
In the end, The Yes Men and their film accomplish nothing apart from wasting the valuable time of viewers and adding one more voice to an already diluted and disorganized group. People really interested in the anti-globalization movement are better suited doing some substantive research of their own then watching this 5 minute news story masquerading as some sort of social change victory.

How much money should you pay to see this film?
0$

Hey, that wasn't too hard! I think I should do this more often! It was kind of fun!

Seriously though, all the yes men did in their movie was waste the time of some business men and get free meals and hotel rooms from unsuspecting conferences. The essentially just ripped people off by pretending to be something they weren't. What good does that do for the situation in the third world....???

I Hate Computers or The Long Road Back Home

I'm finally back up and running after having to re-install windows and format one of my partitions. This entire afternoon was taken up with this boring and annoying activity from hell. I hate computers, at least the set up part of them.. that and the fact that they can suddenly do things out of the blue that make absolutely no logical sense... oh yeah, that and because they constantly strive to waste as much of my time as possible...
In other news, Ryan and Tina finally moved into their new place. It's pretty sweet, consisting of all the essentials, such as washer, dryer, and dishwasher... I'm jealous... if I could only convince someone to move out with me, I'd so be gone. Hint Hint, that means YOU Stobes... :)
Before I sign off... I hate all country music post 1980-ish...
That is all