So here we are, sitting >< this close to the new year. And you know what? How the heck many of those "top XXXX of 2003" opinion polls are there out there? (and let's face it, they ARE just opinions. Nobody really takes them too seriously). So I thought, should I have one of my own? A "best of 2003" type blog entry? I thought better of it, but then common sense kicked in... "You wouldn't have to do a regular post, just this 'best of' thingie!" so I said hell yeah! So, with only a little more adeiu, I present to you (hey, that rhymes)...

Some Stuff that Happened in 2003 that I Actually Noticed

A Decent Movie Award: Goes to - "Pirates of the Carribean". I liked this movie. It was enjoyable, well made, and Johnny Depp stole the show. It was a decent story, and didn't seem ruined by what I thought would be the inherent commercialism (it is based on a Disney ride/attraction, after all).

A Crappy Movie Award: Goes to - "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines". What a crapfest this turned out to be. How disappointing. Ahnuld got what, like 50 million plus backend deals for this? (I feel like I got a "backend deal" from paying to see this movie).

A Not Bad Movie that I Wish Would Have Done Better at the Box Office Award: Goes to - "Hulk". Folks, this wasn't that bad a movie! Yes, the merchandising was hell, and I could tell it was going to sink based on that (remember the last merchandising monster? Yes folks, Godzilla, the american version) alone. But the movie itself, was a good one! It was more of a psychological drama with some action in it, the way HULK IS MEANT TO BE! But unfortunately, too many people wanted just the eye candy aspect that this movie had the potential for. So screw the story, where's the CG? Apparently there wasn't enough for many folks. Don't worry though, if the sequel does come out, it'll probably feature the Abomination and/or Leader for some cg "hulk on hulk" action. Eww, that just sounds nasty. Now take mind out of gutter. There, that's better.

Biggest Comic Book Non-Event Award: Goes to - "Batman: Hush". Everybody kept saying "They're gonna bring back Jason Todd from the dead! He's going to be the best Batman villian ever!". Everybody was wrong, and Hush was a lame duck. And on top of that, he wasn't even the main villian of the arc! It was the Riddler (somehow, regaining your youth and healing will cause you to deduece that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one and the same). So cheers to Jim Lee for some great money shots, and jeers to Loeb for an ending that jumped off the cliff...

Worst Comic Event that Will Haunt Me Award: Goes to - "Xorn reveals himself to be Magneto." NO! You stinkin' bastards! *ahem* sorry. But seriously, that has got to be the worst idea to come out of the "House of Ideas" in the last... decade at least. I'll take another "Brute Force" miniseries over this any day. Mags died like 56 times. LEAVE HIM DEAD FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!! He's not even an exciting villian anymore! He's like the trash collector. He's boring, interrupts your sleep, and you know he's gonna come back around again like clockwork. He really is one character that needs only, at absolute best, come about for some monumental anniversary-type occassion. Just leave him be otherwise. He started out as a villian when comics were "simpler", then became something of a martyr. Someone who wanted his people to be free. He was violent, yes, but even tried twice to create a 'free state' for mutants, that could be relatively isolated from the rest of the world. On that last attempt (in Genosha) he was KILLED. Dead. Gone. Finito. Morrison has drawn my ire more than any other comic book creator save Rob Leifeld over this event. And I don't even care that much about Magneto, or even most of the Xmen for that matter! But I've always enjoyed them, and this event has taken that enjoyment away completely. Even Guang Yap couldn't do that...

Favorite Pair of Pants Award: Goes to - My "Judo Shorts" pants. I got them before the summer. They are three quarter length cut, cargo pocket pants. Very comfy, and very neat. With 14 pockets, how can you go wrong?

Favorite New Game I Started Playing Award: Goes to - "Heroclix". I started a lot of games this year. Mechwarrior, MageKnight, Heroclix, YuGiOh, Magic: The Gathering, Lord of the Rings Miniatures Game, Lord of the Rings Card Game, and a few more. Since I manage a comics and gaming shop, it helps to be knowledgeable about a great many games. But my personal playable fave goes to Heroclix. Kind of obvious, no? It combines comic book characters, into a strategy game that's more about knowing your team than knowing how to play the field. MechWarrior and Mageknight have that "movement in inches" thing, so it's easy to stay half an inch outside your opponents range. That sort of thing tends to tick me off, but moreso, my brain doesn't compensate well for those kind of tactics. Heroclix is a little simpler, I can wrap my brain around it better. I also used to be the "man to beat", when we had more people playing during the summer. I used to enjoy teaching the younger players some of the important basics of the game. I don't get to play much now, as I am a Judge and run events, and most of our players are other Judges who don't get to play as much either. Except that they do have cars and some time in their schedule to play once in awhile (I'm not so lucky. I get my LE prizes by way of Wizkids Envoy prize support).

Back to movies! Best Actor Award: Goes to - Gotta give this one to Johnny Depp. He was flamboyant and over the top as Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Carribean", but he was still believable and thoroughly enjoyable. It's nice to see he does have talent.

Best Actress Award: Goes to - um... dang... there were some nice ones, but none that really stand out in my mind... I like Jennifer Connely, and she did a good job in "Hulk", but to say she did a better job than Kiera Knightly in "Pirates" is questionable. Then again, maybe it's not quite my "brain" that I'm thinking with... sucks to be male sometimes...

Best Video Game Award: Goes to - argh. Another tough category. I don't really get to play games like I used to. But I guess I would give this award to "Metroid: Prime" for Nintendo Gamecube. I'm still not finished with it, even though I've been playing on and off for months. It's not my gamecube though, so I'd probably play more if it was. Whilst I'm a huge fan, and did enjoy "Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee", I feel the game was severely undercut in many ways (way too few monsters is the main complaint). I'm a big Final Fantasy fan, and got to play through FFX again (I did so when it first came out, on my then roommate's PS2), but it's not new, and even though I'm kicking butt in it in ways I never did the first time around, I still can't give this one the award due to age. I do want to try FF11 and FFX-2 especially though. Maybe next year...


That wraps it up for now. I'd love to make these awards a "multiple entries" thing, so I need suggestions from you, my loyal readers, as to what to "rate". It's fun. Go on, you know you want to see me rate stuff...

*streaks through the blog nekkid*

Holy crap in two handbaskets, I'm bored! This could be a day of marathon posting... Or maybe I'll just find a ball of yarn to play with...

Hey, I decided to take the weekend off. (Does anyone ever actually take the weekend on?)

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Ladies and Gentlemen, this handicap tag match is scheduled for one fall. In this corner, the challenger! The Muster Buster of Disuster! The Blaster from Alabaster! The Walrus from Wales! It's Mark "One Hit Wonder" T! And in this corner, a pair who needs no introduction, the bookmarks on the ends of your miserable work week! The Spins Twins with the Wins, the Dilopadated Duo, Saturday and Sunday, The Weekend!!!

Let's get ready to rumble!!!!!!

*que "Kirk vs. Spock in the arena" music*

---

Hey, it could happen. You never know. I'm just saying is all...

It's the day after Chreesmees. (Don't mind me, I like being goofy like that). For the record, I didn't skip all this time because of the stuff in my last post. The Flu bug decided to take a bite out of me, I was down for almost a week. Maybe it's just a coinky dink, but hey, poop happens.

I think most of my week went like: *snort* *cough* *groan*, in a repetitive cycle, but not always in that order. Oh yeah, I think there was an occassional "ow" in there just to break up the monotony.

I do sincerely hope everyone reading this (all 313,000 of you) had a wonderful holiday. There's not much to share of mine. I said, "Merry Christmas," to my friend who responded with, "Huh? I'm confused." That pretty much ended that. (in his defense, they had Christmas with his in-laws on sunday, so that was officially "Christmas" for him. I was going by the actual date when I wished him a Merry Christmas).

You know what sucks about having a blog? You are genuinely required to have something resembling a life to actually talk/write about. Well, I have the next best thing... an opinion!

Oh, that was just a declaration. I don't have anything important to really share right now... wait, yes I do. It's a dumb little revelation, but it could be big. I think I have an inkling as to why so many people get depressed nowadays:

In old times, each person has something of value to offer to the community. Since most goods were exchanged through barter, individual skills were highly prized. But nowadays, we exchange services and goods for cloth (yes, it's actually cloth, not paper) and mineral/metal monies. Most textiles are mass produced. Our individual value to those around us (in general) is far less than it used to be. We are no longer necessary to help support the local community. That doesn't mean we can't improve it ourselves, but we're not necessary for it (individually). At least, not as necessary as we used to be. Our self esteem has taken a mighty, subconscious blow. Unfortunately, many of us are still wired in such a way that our self worth is governed by others' need of us. This is a large part of depression, IMO. Of course, I could go much more indepth to clarify my position, but I think I've nerded you all out enough for today (or depressed you enough, as the case may be).

I promise to get back to the revelry soon enough. I'm just getting over my own funk. No worries though. Btw, if you have a topic you'd like to read my two ¢ on, feel free to email me. Later taterz.

You know what? A friend of mine in a comic news blog once said "Blogging on the weekends is a bitch". He's right. I mean, most people have off on the weekends, and want to do stuff that they'll talk about on monday (or sooner if they've just seen "Return of the King" and haven't come down off the three-hours-stuck-in-one-seat high yet [and before you ask, no I haven't seen it yet]), but certainly, if you're stuck in a place/position (like say... work for example) where you normally WOULD post to your blog, the last thing you want to actually do is blog!

Also, someday I'll get some links up in that little box in the corner (aside from my email link) to cool sites and other blogs (so if you have a cool blog, you know, share. Let me know. I'll take a look). You can see some of where I spend my days when I'm not actually working (which is not too terribly much, actually).

Well, we have Christmas coming up very soon, and I'm probably the last person to say "Bah Humbug", but...


Bah Humbug.

I used to love Christmas at home, especially when I was steadily working. I love buying gifts, and watching the faces of my loved ones as they opened them. I moved away from home in April 2000. I spent several christmases with my former girlfriend and her family. It was a nice, quiet traditional Christmas. 7 children in the family (the youngest was 19 in 2000, so no actual kids, aside from grandkids [my girlfriends nieces and nephew to be precise]), and for the most part, not a lot of money. So it was a nice, pleasant time, and they were very neat, so there wasn't a warzone of ribbon and torn wrapping paper after the present opening. It also took awhile, as everyone was neat and patient, so no ravenous ripping. This was nice, but certainly not what I'm used to. This may come as something of a surprise, in the fact that I'm the youngest member of my immediate family, so it wasn't like I used to watch a bunch of kids opening up gifts with glee. Just happy family members. And even after my dad passed away (January 10th, 1995. 3 days before his 50th birthday, and so soon after Christmas), we were still able to have a wonderful christmas. Mom always made baked ham and homemade potatoe salad. It was wonderful. there was even a year (before dad passed on) that we had little money, and I actually wound up making most of the presents I gave. I made an eye glass case for dad using flat, wooden sticks and felt (so as not to scratch up the glasses). It even had a little lock I made. And I made earrings for my mom and sister. 35 pairs of them! For Christmas that year, the only thing I got was a set of nail clippers (toenail clipper, fingernail clipper and a little knife thingie, in a little carrying case). Almost 10 years later, I still have it, and use it regularly, and cherish it deeply.

Later on, when I started working regularly, I was definetly santa. The first year, I got my sister a stereo, and a big white stuffed bear, and mom got a VCR (I was tricky with that. After she went to bed, I disconnected the old one that didn't work so well, and hooked up the new one, and simply wrapped up the remote and instruction book), and a bunch of other stuff for mom, dad and sis. (this was in 1994, just a couple of weeks before Dad would pass on). It was one of the happiest Christmases ever for me. The first real Christmas that *I* could make it happy for the family, instead of relying on them to make it happy for me. Even after Dad left us, christmas wasn't so bad. My nephew was born in mid 95, so there was baby stuff to be bought, and after that, educational and toddler stuff.

Then I moved, following my heart (literally). It was wonderful for awhile, but I grew homesick on the holidays. Things just weren't the same. Then last year (2002) it happened. My girlfriend and I went our seperate ways (amicably. She still calls me "sweetie" and "love" when we speak), and it just got too expensive to live in North Carolina (shortly after I moved there, the job market bottomed out. I was doing freelance for awhile, but when I needed a job, I couldn't get one, even at a mall during seasonal hiring! I just wasn't meant to stay...), so mom, with open arms, invited me back home. After Dad passed away, maybe a year or two later mom and I had had one major spat, and it was like a floodgate. We got EVERYTHING off our chests, and what a relief. No more assuming what the other person was thinking (Mom thought that I held her responsible for Dad's passing, because she didn't force him to go into the hospital. Hey, he just had the flu, who knew it would lead to congestive heart failure? I certainly don't blame her. Never did. Had a little guilt myself, because Dad collapsed right in front of me, and I felt helpless. Couldn't even catch him when he fell). But it was good. After that, mom and I got along wonderfully. She'd ask me for advice, I'd give it, she'd ignore me (every time!) and I turned out to be always right (seriously, that's not ego talking. I just seemed to have the right sense for the situation and she'd never listen). But when I left, she said her door was always open for me.

So I returned on the bus trip to end all bus trips (maybe I'll explain that horror story sometime). And it was close to christmas. I had some money, and went shopping. I made sure mom, sis and my then 7 year old nephew got something from me. My gifts to mom and sis were the only ones they got. Mom and sis agreed to buy mostly for my nephew (with his grandparents on his fathers side buying him toys constantly, mom and sis agreed that they would get him necessities; mostly clothing and a dresser/armoire he needed for his room). God bless him, I love my nephew. But he was not raised well at all (and not really due to my sister, as she was busting her butt at work, to make ends meet. My now ex-bro in law... well, I'll speak no ill of him at this time, but you get the picture). He has no respect for anything, or anyone. He's still a loving little boy, but has no concept (or seeming care of) hurting people or others (we try to keep him and the cats and dog seperated, because he will intentionally rouse her, even be somewhat malicious towards her). But still, he's family. Christmas comes. But it's not Christmas. Not really. There some nice decorations (Mom was always a big decorator. And she's been collecting various ceramic villages since 1990, so she's got quite a collection, and she's an artist when it comes to setting it up). But for the first time I can EVER remember, there's no ham and 'tatoe salad. Budget and food shopping didn't coincide this year, although I'm promised it later on (maybe after the holidays, she said). It was alright. I mean hey, I was home for the holidays, with family for the first time in years. Christmas morning came. I honestly didn't know that I was the only one who bought anything for sis and mom. I thought they'd at least have given each other a token gift or two. And then the gift giving.

There was a nice haul (all of it for my nephew, save the two gifts for mom and sis I bought). And my nephew started opening gifts. After a few gifts, that's when it dawned on me... it's not Christmas anymore. My nephew was just an opening machine. Not taking the time to appreciate anything (unless it was a toy that caught his fancy), and he just wanted to move onto the next thing. Granted, even as kids we didn't like getting clothes. But we appreciated them and were thankful for them. Always. When we got toys or electronics or whatever, we were VERY thankful. We used to start opening gifts around 7:30am, and we wouldn't be done until close to 10am. We weren't as meticulous as my former girlfriends family, but we made sure wrapping paper was thrown out, and everybody LOOKED at the gift they'd just opened. Afterwards, we would hug and stuff, you know, family love. There were more presents last year than many of our own former Christmases, yet it took my nephew barely 40 minutes to tear through them all. After the last was done, and he thoroughly searched in vain for more presents, he wanted to go play with some new toy. His mom (my sis) had to remind him to give my mom and me a hug and thank us. Not that we do it for thanks, of course, but it's like the cherry on top of the sundae. It's just not "complete" without a round of love.

God bless him, I love my nephew. But I also feel sadness. Sadness at what used to be, and what seemingly, he may never experience. I dreamt of coming home for christmas, and finally did after several years. Then when it was all over by 8:15am, I couldn't figure out what I had longed so much for. And while I know I can't recover what is missing with my family now, I hope someday to revitalize that with my own family, my own kids. I want what Christmas used to be (to me at least), because it was so much built in my heart, we didn't need the gifts. That was abundantly clear over several financially harrowing Christmases. How deeply does it wound when a heartbuilt construct is torn asunder? I know it can (and have faith that it will) be built even stronger. I have a stronger foundation, but am lacking the building blocks. But that is why, until I can rebuild it again, Christmas is a bah humbug to me...

I would like to note that I am a christian (of the born again variety). It is Jesus, the "reason for the season" that is my solace. But even before I accepted Jesus into my life, I always knew Christmas was so much more than the sum of the commercialism pieces it's largely made up of nowadays. This is why my foundation is stronger now, but also why it hurts so much more that, what was, has been torn down.

Good night, everybody.

Yeah, I know I didn't get around to posting much else yesterday other than that incident. Oh well, at least I posted :]

But I'd like to get semi serious for a moment. While I was folding my clothing this morning (He does laundry and can make stomach acid shoot out his nose?! YES!, and I'm available, ladies! ;] ) I got to thinking. Thinking about comics. I used to be a huge comic nerd. There was a time when I bought everything. Everything (I even have the 4 issue marvel mini, "Brute Force" about some cyborg animals hell bent on saving the environment). I actually bought every comic by marvel that came out in the summer of 1990, just to see which ones I'd like and which I would drop. There was a time when Punisher, Spiderman, Xmen, Hulk, Thor, and a plethora of others could do no wrong. I even "oooh'd" if I saw the name "Liefeld" on a comic! I was just that into it. But times they have-a changed. And it's not a money issue. Managing a comic book and gaming store, I can pretty much order ANYTHING I want, at wholesale, and don't even have to pay for it myself. There are titles I pull to read before they hit the shelf. But you know what?

Comics just aren't what they used to be.

Most comics are mediocre at best nowadays. The closest to a "fave" I have is Amazing Spiderman. Not that I'm a huge Spidey fan, but in one issue earlier this summer, JMS (that Babylon 5 guy, I'm not even going to try to spell his last name off the top of my head) wrote something that really made me take notice (I don't remember the specific issue, but it was something that Peter told Mary Jane towards the end of the book). Since then, I've tried to read all the ASM issues (possibly more out of respect, but I haven't been majorly disappointed yet). I enjoy Ultimate Spidey too. But on the whole, there is so much over-inflation out there (from hype to egos and back again) that it's hard to enjoy the medium anymore. The art is so willy-nilly now, it can go from nicely detailed, dynamic poses (See: Jim Lee on Batman) to so simplistic as to be actually ugly (see some of the recent "Catwoman" covers). Even interiors are ragtag. Hitch on Ultimates is great, but then look at the pic of Batman on the last page of the newest issue of "Flash". Ugh! Too many extremes. It makes a good book hard to enjoy, or makes it harder NOT to buy a crappy book just for the art. Writing is in the eye of the beholder as well. Millar is a shock writer. I see nothing spectacular about his writing (it's decent in places, but not so in others), but you can easily see where he'll write something simply to try to shock you. That's just stupid. Build up a pace, a suspense then release it. Don't just throw some crap at me from left field and expect me to bow down and kiss your pasty, white ass for having done so. Grant Morrison, my current "kick in the balls". When he had Xorn reveal himself to be Magneto in "New Xmen", I nearly threw a fit of atomic proportions. LET THE BASTARD STAY DEAD AL'FRIGGIN'READY!!! It's so damn tired and cliche, I don't care how "cleverly" he may have written Xorn. I mentioned a few specifics, but the trend has infiltrated the entire genre en masse, unfortunately.

It makes me long for the days of "Psycho Backhoe".

Ooh, can't forget. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! (she's the big 6-0. Shhhh)

I am finding that it's easier to post in multiple parts rather than all at once. In that vein, I'd like to start off today with something seriously nasty. Yes, it's gross, and yes, it involves bodily fluid. I'll leave some space for the faint of heart:





Ah, that's enough space.

Let me preface this by saying a] I have had my nose almost busted twice. It was too stubborn to actually break, but it has been damaged. As such, I do tend to get nosebleeds under "optimal" conditions. b] in the last few months, I have had bouts with acid reflux. That having been said, on with the story!

I've had some nasal congestion the past few weeks. aggravated severely by the rain yesterday (high humidity). So I was pissed when I got home from work and realized I had left my medicine at the store. It really sucks trying to sleep when I can't breathe through my nose. Well, I pushed on, utlizing the "self-threat" method. I forcefully (and I do mean forcefully) breathe through my nose, and tell myself "Self, I am NOT breathing through my mouth. Either you clear open a breathing passage or else you suffocate." Apparently, myself was wise enough to not call my own bluff. So lo and behold, a passageway opens up, and I can breathe through my nose. This works for awhile, but a few hours later, I get what seems to be a devastating nosebleed. Granted, I've had them before whilst sleeping (I sleep oddly, and sometimes my nose may not like the pressure from the position I'm sleeping in, so it will start to bleed. I've woken up mid-bleed, or sometimes just to discover blood on my pillow). This one seemed particularly gushy, so I tried to pinch my nose with one hand, whilst reaching for tissues with the other, so I could wipe off my pillow, and now wet arm (not to mention my moustache) before it dries. I thought to myself, "That was unnecessarily gorey." So I manage to do just that, but when I look at the tissues in the dim light, there's no dark spot on it! I wasn't having a nosebleed. It was stomach acid that shot up into my nasal cavity and flooded out my schnoz! All I remember thinking before I fell asleep again was "That was really, really nasty, and I MUST share this information in my blog!" Aren't you lucky? :Þ

I'll probably be back later to share more thoughts, of a less physiologically disturbing nature.

You know the nice thing about this? I can blog whenever the heck I feel like it. Granted, I try to keep it down to once per day, just so all my thoughts can collect into one vaccuous hole that empties into this blog in a single outpouring, but hey, whatcha gonna do? Btw, I am off on tuesdays, so for anyone who has issues with the fact that I don't blog on tuesdays, well... too bad. (oooh, what a meanie I am. Boogity boogity!)

You know, I overslept yesterday, but kept thinking of stuff that I wanted to put into this blog. But when I woke up this morning, all of that had gone out of my head. Oh well, your loss, I'm sure. I did have something of a public service message I wanted to share though:

Life is hard. No really, it is. Find humor in everything. It's one of the best ways to make it through. Yes, laughing at someone who's just fallen down and gotten hurt is cruel, but on the inside, we're all chuckling. It happens. It's human nature. It's okay to laugh (but don't turn your back on the fallen person! that's just not nice). It's the Homer Simpson, "It's funny 'cause it's not me" syndrome. It's real folks. When people say it's wrong to laugh, just say screw 'em and laugh at them. Try pointing too, it adds to the humiliation. Oh man, did I say that out loud? Ah, screw it. Seriously though, laugh. It helps ease the pain...

There, done my good deed for the day. No, really folks, I'm a nice guy. Honest. Just ask the two people I keep locked in the basement...

I had another wierd dream. I won't go into detail now, but let's just say DragonBall Z and World War II really don't mix (especially in a psychological "who dunnit" mystery). Yes, my subconscious actually does combine the genres. It's just that wierd...

You know what's on my mind right now? Not a darned thing. I'm totally drawing a blank. I may have to come back to this after I eat lunch...

PART TWO:

Well, I wrote up that dream, and asked a friend of mine if I should post it. He said I should, so direct any and all angry and hateful comments at him.

Okay, first, I was a bomber pilot. Apparently, the planes were disposable. You drop your payload, then just fly your plane towards the ocean, eject and wait for pick up (friendly hopefully).

So myself, and some people I recognized, and a bunch I didn't are waiting in the water. Then the scene changes to the street outside my house, only the situation hasn't changed. It's still a bunch of us in puffy orange, starwars pilot looking suits, waiting for pick up. But here's the thing, one guy (who looked amazingly like Rick Schroeder, btw) decides we can soup up one of these cars (conveniently parked on... the street outside my mom's house! Dun dun DUN!), and just tag along for a ride home. So he soups it up (something a nitro burst, but it'll last longer), and he jumps in the car. Myself and several other guys do too (and one behind the steering wheel), and zoom, it takes off. Think about careening down a steep hill, and all you can do is aim yourself. That's what it was like. Suddenly, we're on this transport thingie. It's like a chunk of seats taken out of a movie theatre (like 6 seats across, I don't know how many deep), and it's a moving vehicle, but with no real sides or top. It's a "heroes on display" kind of thing. So we get home, and we're touted as heroes (I believe I mentioned that already).

But then they tell us the bad news. Warsaw, Poland is burning! Warsaw Poland? Yes, Warsaw Poland!!! It's totally on fire! Supposedly, Berlin was overheard talking to the Pope last week, and threatening to burn down Warsaw, and some other place. And yes, it was the *places* speaking. The Pope didn't speak with SOMEONE from Berlin. He spoke WITH Berlin. So, I'm pissed. In front of everyone I declare "I can wipe out half of Berlin right now, from here!" So now, some guys take me aside and we start talking. Can I really do it? Apparently, yes! I can focus my energy into a twelve inch around (yes, the specific measurement was mentioned in my dream) ball of energy capable of destroying half of Berlin, and I had total control over it. I guess I had issues with making a 24 inch around ball and destroying all of Berlin.

But was Berlin really the culprit?! The threats against Warsaw were widely known, could some third party have burnt down Warsaw in an attempt to open up this war?

I kind of woke up after that... Except for the energy focusing thing (I'm a dragonball fan), I have no clue where *any* of the other stuff came from...

Wierd, huh? Ironically, I have NO interest in WWII, Poland, Berlin, or most of Europe whatsoever. In fact, last night, I was watching a show about Jesse James (right after watching Family Guy), so I can't say where the imagery came from...

Hey, look at this. I haven't even had this blog for what, 4 days and already I'm backed up. Nice to know some things never change... okay, maybe it's not so nice to know. Did I mention my disdain for snow and ice? I'm currently living in New Hampshire (I say currently because in the last few years I have a bad habit of moving a lot. 5 times so far since April 2000), and we just got our second major Nor'easter in less than two weeks. Oh, did I mention I walk to work? And my foot is acting up again? (long story, but I'm currently walking with a cane). You know what, I like snow. But I loathe ice with a passion. Yes, I've had bad experience with ice. In January of 1994, when I was still living at home in New York, we got about 4 inches of solid ice, that lasted into february. Mom fell, dislocated her shoulder and was out of work for months. I fell, banged up my elbow badly. In an ice event prior to that, as I was walking home from the store, I slipped in the middle of the street. The street curved slightly downhill. I couldn't stand up, at all. No grip whatsoever. I had to crawl to the curb to get up. That was nasty, frightening, AND embarassing. No sir, I do not like ice, except in my drinks (and even then, sparingly).

See? I told you I tend to gripe, and I didn't want to let you down.

To add insult to injury, I'd like to pose a little question: Why do people who's cars become trapped in by snow, INSIST on sitting on the gas pedal for half an hour, squealing the tires in hopes that it will "catch" at some point? It's just really annoying to the rest of the human race is all. Not that I wouldn't help push them out. I have in the past. But hey, my foot and all, plus I'm actually working. I don't think the store owner would appreciate it if I just upped and left the store alone.

Oh yeah, don't mind me. The unit next door has been dealing with some nasty chemicals. The fumes are noxious, and penetrate into the store with no problem. I've probably lost as many brain cells already as a night of drunken debauchery (I love that term) would have taken from me. Aw man, now I'm pissed. I'd rather have the night of drunken debauchery than have to sit here and smell the fumes. That being said, I'm not even getting high off them! Couldn't they have used something more... hallucinogenic?

I had this wierd dream last night, that I was shaving with one of those Norelco dealies (with the 3 circular heads), and I was loving it. I wanted one for Christmas. Folks, let me tell you, I shave maybe twice a month at most, and I only shave my cheeks. The rest is free growing (I initially entertained thoughts in October of growing my beard and dusting it, to do an instore "Santa appearance". I've since nixed that, but haven't nixed the beard. I'm Grizzily Adams, Jr.). Still, all those electric razors I've seen commercials for on TV look pretty neat. I just don't know if I could justify a 35-80 dollar purchase for what would amount to maybe an hour of shaving a year?

Oh hey, speaking of commercials, has anyone seen that picture cellphone commercial with Sasquatch? I haven't seen a commercial that made me laugh out loud in a long time, but this one's a winner. I'm not going to go into detail here, but if you've seen it, you know what I'm talking about. If not, it's not worth explaining. Just keep an eye out for it.

I guess that wraps up this particular installment of my blog, especially considering I have to go take a pee. Anyway, catch ya later!

Wow. It actually happened. I signed up for one of these things. Whodathunkit? And just who came up with such a horribly ugly conjunction like "whodathunkit"?

Well, I used to have a personal web page a long time ago on an internet server far, far away. I updated it monthly for awhile. It had set topics though. This bloggie thingie, it doesn't have set topics (at least, not forced topics), and it expects you to update a little more often than once a month.

Okay, I think I can handle it.

The long and short of it is, I am a person who generally has something to say. I bitch and complain sometimes, but hey, who doesn't. I'm sure even the Pope has muttered a thing or two about that teepee he wears on his head. I don't consider myself overly political, although I do have opinions there and about current events. I don't consider myself a nerd, but I do think I'm smart. Damn smart. At least, smarter than your average bear. Okay, okay, ego aside; I like to learn, even if I'm not always well informed, so I tend to have an opinion on *most* things. I also know a lot of crap and like much of Dennis Miller's stand up career, will tend to spout out the obscure reference from time to time. If you don't get it, look it up, or ask me about it (assuming there's some kind of email link here somewhere).

There are days (perhaps even weeks) where I'll barely share 3 words on this blog. But there will be times that you'll be reading this thing for an hour just from one post. You never know. I'm just that wacky. Oh yeah, I'm also an artist, and into gaming and comics (I manage a gaming and comic book store, by some divinely odd coinky dink), but I don't intend to be one of those "news blogs". If I feel some news is important enough to share, or has warranted my opinion, I'll share. If not, oh well. No hair off my back.

Anyways, I'll probably post more later if I feel like it. So just sit back, and enjoy the ride.

... or don't enjoy it. See if I care.


- Mark