USS Fanservice

In case anyone hasn't been keeping track, Enterprise (I refuse to call it Star Trek: Enterprise) is on its way out. Despite a valiant attempt to keep it alive by some hardcore fans.

For the record, I welcome Enterprise's demise. I didn't at first. I enjoyed it. However many people didn't. The complained over and over that it wasn't like the other Star Trek series. It didn't fit into Roddenberry's vision.

Duh. It wasn't supposed to. It was a prequel, looking at what Starfleet was like after Earth's war-mongering republican government fell and before the happy hippy communist paradise democratic government took hold. (I can't resist taking shots at the repugs and demmys. Sorry!)

I think it did a great job of that. But the fucking 'trekkies', being the uber-nerds they are, complained and whined and cried until the show sucked for both the people complaining and the people content. And now it's cancelled.

Anyway, back on topic, one common jumping the shark tactic of shows that are on their way out is to sexafy (if that is even a word) the cast. The best way to do this is via fanservice. Fanservice is essentially showing skin for the sake of servicing the fans. No point to the skin, nudity, whatever.

As you can see from these captures from last Friday's alter-verse episode, they are going full speed ahead! Tell me, seriously. What military would have their female officers wear THAT? What ever military it is, sign me up.

Ya know, with only about 6 episodes left, we need to have at least one hot oil fight between Hoshi and T'Pol. C'mon...

And for the record, T'Pol with long hair is teh sex.

0345 Scolding

Sunday morning I was having breakfast with a photog from Channel 13 here in Vegas. We were at IHOP and I was enjoying one of the best omletts I have EVER had.

Our portable scanners, which get you a lot of attention in an IHOP, both barked about a stabbing in an apartment complex on the southeast side of Vegas.

We quickly finish and scurrie down to the scene. I get very upset when I see the damned place is gated. No way in. However a fire truck pulls up soon and uses his nifty little master key to open the gate. We pull in behind him (yes, I am aware that we were tresspassing, but dammit it's news!). Now, Channel 13 is driving a Ford Explorer Sport. So he pulls right into a guest parking spot under an awning.

Myself? Well I'm forced to drive a live van. Unable to park a 11 foot vehicle under a 7 foot awning, I park along the curb. I walk off to shoot and get enough VO. I soon begin to trek back to get my van out of the complex before I get arrested.

All of a sudden over the loud speaker I hear the fire department.

"CHANNEL EIGHT - YOU NEED TO MOVE YOUR VAN!"

It's almost four in the morning.

"HELLO! CHANNEL EIGHT, YOU NEED TO COME AND MOVE YOUR VAN RIGHT NOW."

I try and yell, 'I'm coming' to them, but that doesn't stop them!

"THE CURB IS RED FOR A REASON. IT'S RED SO YOU DON'T PARK THERE. SEE HOW THAT WORKS?"

I get within range and set off the panic alarm on the truck to let them know I am coming. It still doesn't work.

"WE CAN'T WAIT ALL NIGHT. CHANNEL EIGHT COME MOVE YOUR VAN."

I get to the fireman and say, 'I heard you!'

There's no real point to this story, but it gave me a good laugh. It also gave my competition a good laugh at my expense and I am pretty sure that there were several cops laughing at me as well. I still think the fire truck could have gotten around me, but no need to argue. I just use this kind of story to justify my station buying me a smaller car.

Probably won't happen, but it never hurts to try. I am sure the Clark County Fire Department would be all for it.

$58.75

That's how much black and color ink cartridges cost for my Lexmark X1150.

Said printer/scanner combo cost only $80.

A new HP printer would have cost $35 at Wal*Mart.

We should be drilling in ANWAR for ink, not oil.

I'm considering getting a laser printer for my black and white printings. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I'd like to not pay alot, so if you know of a good professional $1000 printer, keep it to yourself.

Reflections and Resolutions.

As you may or may not know, April 22 is my birthday. Unlike most people who celebrate their birthdays, I tend to use them as a day of reflection and resolution.

Like a new year’s resolution.

I have always found it interesting that people would choose an arbitrary date like January 1 to change their lives. I think that the actual beginning of a new year – an actual 365 day cycle – makes a lot more sense. This is why, for all intents and purposes, my new years day is today, April 22, beginning at 10:20 AM CDT to be exact.

While I have celebrated my birthday, find my old buddies Chris and Dan and ask them how I celebrated them in Minnesota, and my god I am fat in that picture (2000 I think maybe 1999), I realize the real purpose is for my reflection. My personal Q & A. What I do is I sit down and I think to myself –

What positive improvements have I made to my life this year?

What negative things happened to me? When I say that I don’t mean ‘I stubbed my toe!’ I am talking about negatives that I am in direct control of.

Which of my lifetime goals have I not accomplished yet?

What are the issues I am dealing with in my life?

And finally, what are my goals for the forthcoming year?

I have never, ever shared this stuff with anyone. I really am a two sided coin. While on one side I am an exhibitionist, willing to put myself on display, I am also very private. What goes on up here (I’m pointing to my head) is supposed to stay up there. But what the hell. Why have a blog unless you are willing to spill it all.

Here’s what I have discovered today…

Positive Improvements:

• No longer freeloading!


• Got a great new job in a bigger market for more money!


• I quit smoking!


• I lost some weight!

Negatives:

• I failed to follow through with the Erin and Gosnell show once again. (The Erin and Gosnell show is a project that I am working on with my friend Jason.)


• I showed that I am still dependant on others to help me out of situations.


• I did not become as healthy as I planned – didn’t lose as much weight as I wanted, didn’t adjust my eating habits like I wanted, ect.


• I still spend too much time doing non-productive tasks like playing games, rather than using my time for productive purposes.


• I did not go back to school like I wanted.


• I spent too much time depressed and feeling sorry for myself.

My lifetime goals that I have not accomplished yet:

• I do not own my own home.


• I have not achieved financial independence.


• I have not gotten anything I have written published or filmed.


• I’m still alone.


• I still cannot speak Japanese.


• I haven’t been outside the United States.

My issues are:

• I still haven’t come to terms with what happened between me and Chris. I still seem to refuse to accept at least some responsibility for alienating him.


• I still haven’t figured out who I really am.


• While I try to follow the teachings of Buddhism, I find myself consumed and preoccupied by what I have – or rather what I don’t have.


• I still hold emotional baggage from the death of my friend Rob.

And my goals for the New Year are:

• Achieve a healthy weight and BFI (body fat index – more important than actual weight).


• Continue to not smoke.


• Take better care of my teeth and repair the damage smoking and carelessness has caused.


• Get E&G taped and at least ready for distribution; finish 20 webisodes by September.


• Begin classes to learn Japanese.


• Drive to Canada. It’s not glamorous, but it’s a start!


• Finish at least two Moon Trek stories; ponder the spin off.


• Less EVE, more web development/freelance video work.


• Improve my photography skills and win an award.


• Really LEARN Photoshop.


• Take some art classes – learn to draw.


• Meditate daily; look into martial arts classes to improve both my health and mental well being.


• Have some fun, asshole!

One of the things I remind myself as well as while nothing is allowed to come off the list, I can add anything I want. Maybe that should have been a goal – to want to add more!

Happy New Year.

4/20 - 4:20

Fire it up, brothers. The war on drugs has killed more innocent Americans than the Iraq war has. The war on drugs costs more than the Iraq war does. The war on drugs crowds our courts and prisons (federal minimum sentencing guidelines) with non-violent drug offenders, forcing the parole of murderers, rapists and violent career criminals. The war on drugs fills our streets with gangs and gang violence. Drug laws are racist in origin. Neither alcohol nor tobacco has ANY positive qualities, yet they are legal. Marijuana has been PROVEN to ease pain and suffering. Marijuana is not addictive and has never been proven to be a gateway drug. Marijuana affects your mental abilities no more than alcohol. Marijuana is not harmful.

The war on drugs has failed. THIS, my friends, is the new Vietnam.

Links on the right. More info can be found at Cool Party, which is also linked to on the right.

Recommended Reading!

I have never been really into reading. When I was younger it seemed the only way to get me to read was to bribe me with food. Not that there is anything wrong with that. I am thinking that my lack of reading tends to be why my writing is somewhat lackluster and sub par. It's the whole thing where I have the ideas; I just don't have the ability to form them into good, coherent stories. I also have issues with my eyes (and I am sure spending 100 hours a week at a computer helps that...) so I get headaches when I read too much.

Anyway, I have been reading a lot lately, and I wanted to let you guys know what I have been enjoying.

I don't really do books. The extent of my reading is currently in the form of graphic novels. Yup, you guessed it, Japanese graphic novels - or manga as it would be referred to in Japan. While comics are considered kids stuff here, in Japan manga is as mainstream as any other literary work.

The first series that I am into right now is called Ai Yori Aoshi. It's a cute story. It's a love story. Which completely blindsided me, because I originally picked it up and browsed through it (at my local Borders) because of the hot girl on the cover(Look left)! (Yeah, I think chicks are hot, even if they are drawn. It's my life and I will squander it as I see fit!) But I read through it and got some chuckles. It's filled with humor, which is a must for me to purchase.

The story goes that a long time ago, Aoi Sakuraba and Kaoru Hanabishi were kids and they met. Their families decided that they would get married when they were older. See, each kid’s family was very rich and powerful. The merging of the two families would make an uber-family that could rule Japan! Well, it seems that Kaoru didn't like being beaten and stuff by his father's family after both his mother and father died, so he ran away. The families called off the arranged marriage.

Skip ahead to today. Aoi, not knowing that the marriage was off, kept on training to be the greatest wife ever. She had truly fallen in love with Kaoru and was devastated when she learned that she would have to marry someone else. She ran off looking for Kaoru, but got lost. In a chance encounter, Kaoru saw Aoi, but didn't recognize her. He helped her look for her lost love, but she couldn't find him. Then, BOOM! They realized who each other were! Love was in the air.

Awww.... Love.... But the story doesn't end there! Kaoru ran away from his rich family and disowned them. Aoi's family can't allow her to marry a common boy. However, Aoi's mom decides to allow them to spend time together - to see if it's really love or just Aoi fulfilling her duty - but no one must know their relationship. Anyway, long story slightly shorter, Aoi pretends to be Kaoru's landlady and Kaoru's friends (girls with big boobies, obviously) all come out of the woodwork. Chaos ensues!

((As I look up, I notice that I wouldn't be able to be a professional reviewer because that was awful. Just go to Borders and begin to read the damn book. I think you'll like it...))

I am also reading AI Love You, a very funny story about a computer programmer who makes the perfect girlfriend. An AI program. A freak lightning accident happens and she comes to life!!!!!!! The story follows the AI, Saati a/k/a Thirty, and the programmer Hitoshi Kobe around on their adventures in school and with Hitoshi's - other - AIs.I think I like this one because Hitoshi reminds me a lot of myself, if I could program. It's also created by Ken Akamatsu, the creator of Love Hina. This one predates Love Hina, and the computer references are a little dated (at one point me makes a note that 50 MEGAbytes of data is a lot), but it's hilarious. I can't seem to find this one in anime form, which I have to say is somewhat disappointing.

Anyway, go and read something. I have to rush off to Borders to get the next 3 books in the Ai Yori Aoshi series. They are 3 for 2!! Sometimes I think I quit smoking just so I could spend more money on this. But at least manga won't kill me, barring any infected paper cuts.

Lack of posts, wisdom. Canada blamed.

So I have been gone for a while. Has anyone noticed? I’ve been checking and I see that pretty much all my traffic comes from people who have searched for someone that happens to be on my list of people over on the right.

Very strange. But I guess traffic is traffic. If only the Google ads paid per display, and not by click-through.

It’s been an interesting few weeks. On the 5th I had my wisdom teeth removed. All of them. At once. The actual procedure wasn’t bad. At least I assume it wasn’t. I was sedated. It was kind of neat. The doctor put the IV in my arm and started the flow. I kind of sat there and watched them get ready. Putting gloves on, getting the tools set up and adjusting the lights. A couple of minutes passed and I didn’t even feel sleepy. I blinked as I was beginning to ask them when the juice would kick in. When I opened my eyes from the blink, they were done and removing their gloves. I couldn’t feel my mouth – well shit, half my face.

My buddy, Justin Cooper from work had brought me and was going to take me home. We stopped by the grocery store and Walgreen’s for my drugs and some soft foods. I took Wednesday off work and spent it, Thursday and Friday’s pretty damned miserable. I took Saturday off as well, just so that I could make sure that I was 100% alert for driving all night, as the drugs they gave me really kicked my ass.

My upper two wisdom teeth seemed to somehow end up in my sinus cavities. So I was paranoid about sneezing for the past few weeks. Yesterday I let one slip out. I was pleasantly surprised to find that blood did not begin gushing out of my head. I guess whatever they did to my sinuses has healed.

A nice side note. I was told to not smoke for a week after the procedure. I decided that this would be as good a time as any to quit for good. I have now gone almost three weeks without smoking! Hurrah!

Now that I have quit smoking my lungs will be in perfect shape when I die in the most ironic way possible – being run over by a cigarette truck.

Most blogging to come soon, whether you like it or not!

((And for the record, the Canada blamed remark is a joke that is tied into the South Park movie. I like Canada, except Celine Dion...))