Personally, I think my Dumb/Dork/Awkward score should be higher, but otherwise I'd say it's accurate. Technology/Computer seems a little low, but I guess that's because I'm not a coder.
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Hail The Nerd King! (Or Don't)
Personally, I think my Dumb/Dork/Awkward score should be higher, but otherwise I'd say it's accurate. Technology/Computer seems a little low, but I guess that's because I'm not a coder.
Calling All Comic Geeks Or Name That Comic
(Non-comics readers probably shouldn’t bother reading this entry, but feel free to do so if you want. Just don’t bother complaining in the comments about how you wasted your time. Or do complain; I don’t give a rat’s ass either way. You’ll be the jackass who wasted his or her time reading this and then wasted even more time complaining about it to someone who doesn’t give a shit about your complaints or your wasted time.)
Now, with that bit of hostility out of the way, this one goes out to any comics reader who stumbles across this blog and does more than spare it a glance and say, “This is retarded,” and move on.
To you, I put forth a request for assistance.
When I was a kid there was a comic that I acquired in one of those three for 49 cents bags of comics that had either part of or all of the cover missing that had a story in I that’s stuck with me ever since, despite the fact that the already mutilated comic either fell apart completely or was simply tossed away more than 20 years ago.
It was one of DC’s horror comics. I’m fairly certain it was Ghosts, though I suppose it could have just as easily been House of Mystery or House of Secrets. However, I remember the narrator part as being a ghost, not Cain or Abel, so I’m tending to rule out it being one of the latter two.
The particular story, set, I think, during World War I, involved a simple but beautiful peasant girl in a small village in some generically European country who was in love with an officer stationed near her village. I think her name may have been Rosalie, or something similar. In any case, the officer, a cruel, heartless aristocrat who has simply been using the girl, lets her know that she never meant anything to him and that, despite her belief to the contrary, he has no intention of marrying her, and that he’s leaving her village and fully intends to forget all about her. As I recall, this event actually occurs on what she thought was going to be her wedding day.
Still dressed in her gown, she throws herself off a cliff to her death. I vividly recall the surprisingly graphic depiction of her body lying dashed against the rocks below.
Her younger brother finds her and swears he will have his revenge on the officer who brought her to this unfortunate end.
Time passes, and the officer is once again back in this small village, leading on some other young unfortunate. I’m a little fuzzy on exactly what happens next, but ultimately the brother leads the officer to the graveyard where his sister is buried. There’s an altercation that leads to the brother’s death, but this is followed by an earthquake that opens up the Rosalie’s grave and causes the officer to fall into her waiting arms, where her rotted corpse locks him an a deadly embrace and he is trapped for eternity as the ground swallows them both up.
As I said, this story had quite an impact on young Jon, who had been rather entranced by the beautiful young village girl, appalled by the shabby treatment she received, and horrified by her decision to end her life, and I felt that the justice that was meted out to the cad who brought about her misfortune was nowhere near sufficient.
The truly gruesome imagery of her lifeless form at the base of the cliff, her wedding gown hanging in tatters from her broken body, and later, her skeletal remains, rotting flesh still clinging to her to her bones, taking the officer in her arms and pressing her absent lips to his in a horrible kiss that stifled his screams also had quite an impact.
The point of all of this is that I would like to have this comic in my possession once more.
In doing some online research, I’ve determined, based on the title of one of the stories and the year of its release, that the most likely candidate for the comic this was in is Ghosts #99.
However, I’m not entirely certain of that, and even the lower-grade copies cost more than I’m willing to spend on a hunch.
So I’m – most likely pointlessly – throwing this out there on the off-chance that some kind soul who is knowledgeable about this will leave a comment telling me that, yes, this story is contained in Ghosts #99, or, if it isn’t, what comic it does appear in.
Thanks in advance (or in vain, as the case will most likely be).
Now, with that bit of hostility out of the way, this one goes out to any comics reader who stumbles across this blog and does more than spare it a glance and say, “This is retarded,” and move on.
To you, I put forth a request for assistance.
When I was a kid there was a comic that I acquired in one of those three for 49 cents bags of comics that had either part of or all of the cover missing that had a story in I that’s stuck with me ever since, despite the fact that the already mutilated comic either fell apart completely or was simply tossed away more than 20 years ago.
It was one of DC’s horror comics. I’m fairly certain it was Ghosts, though I suppose it could have just as easily been House of Mystery or House of Secrets. However, I remember the narrator part as being a ghost, not Cain or Abel, so I’m tending to rule out it being one of the latter two.
The particular story, set, I think, during World War I, involved a simple but beautiful peasant girl in a small village in some generically European country who was in love with an officer stationed near her village. I think her name may have been Rosalie, or something similar. In any case, the officer, a cruel, heartless aristocrat who has simply been using the girl, lets her know that she never meant anything to him and that, despite her belief to the contrary, he has no intention of marrying her, and that he’s leaving her village and fully intends to forget all about her. As I recall, this event actually occurs on what she thought was going to be her wedding day.
Still dressed in her gown, she throws herself off a cliff to her death. I vividly recall the surprisingly graphic depiction of her body lying dashed against the rocks below.
Her younger brother finds her and swears he will have his revenge on the officer who brought her to this unfortunate end.
Time passes, and the officer is once again back in this small village, leading on some other young unfortunate. I’m a little fuzzy on exactly what happens next, but ultimately the brother leads the officer to the graveyard where his sister is buried. There’s an altercation that leads to the brother’s death, but this is followed by an earthquake that opens up the Rosalie’s grave and causes the officer to fall into her waiting arms, where her rotted corpse locks him an a deadly embrace and he is trapped for eternity as the ground swallows them both up.
As I said, this story had quite an impact on young Jon, who had been rather entranced by the beautiful young village girl, appalled by the shabby treatment she received, and horrified by her decision to end her life, and I felt that the justice that was meted out to the cad who brought about her misfortune was nowhere near sufficient.
The truly gruesome imagery of her lifeless form at the base of the cliff, her wedding gown hanging in tatters from her broken body, and later, her skeletal remains, rotting flesh still clinging to her to her bones, taking the officer in her arms and pressing her absent lips to his in a horrible kiss that stifled his screams also had quite an impact.
The point of all of this is that I would like to have this comic in my possession once more.
In doing some online research, I’ve determined, based on the title of one of the stories and the year of its release, that the most likely candidate for the comic this was in is Ghosts #99.
However, I’m not entirely certain of that, and even the lower-grade copies cost more than I’m willing to spend on a hunch.
So I’m – most likely pointlessly – throwing this out there on the off-chance that some kind soul who is knowledgeable about this will leave a comment telling me that, yes, this story is contained in Ghosts #99, or, if it isn’t, what comic it does appear in.
Thanks in advance (or in vain, as the case will most likely be).
Friday, September 07, 2007
Search Stings
It's time once again to look at some of the search strings responsible for generating what I laughingly refer to as "traffic" to this blog:
macho comic tract buy online jack chick
I'm not sure exactly what's being sought out here, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's a tract called The Sissy? Like any tract that's still in print, it can be purchased directly from the Chick Publications Web site.
(I just love how over-the-top macho Duke, the truck driver who thinks Jesus is a sissy, is in the opening panels. The guy's hairier than Wolverine [or Robin Williams for non-comics readers], and looks like he sweats pure testosterone. As the tract progresses, though, he definitely deflates, and ends up looking more like Harvey Pekar. Bonus: check out the great reaction shots of the waitress.)
satellite tv goes out each time it rains
Yes, I'm rather afraid that it does.
assorted giada-related searches, mostly involving her height and/or bra size
Interestingly, one of the searches was for a "giada t-shirt." That was a new one on me. As an aside, a couple of weeks ago I was flipping through the channels and as I was going past E!, I saw Giada, with a voiceover saying "...in her trademark low-cut tops." Then they started talking about someone from another Food Network show. Looks to have been a countdown of Food Network Babes or something, as there was definite focus on looks and décolletage.
geek babe chainmail
If you go to my MySpace page, click on Wendy from my list of friends, and send her a friend request, you will find a treasure trove of pictures to satisfy all of your geek babe chain mail needs if she accepts your request.
carla gugino bra size
I'm going to go with "freakin' huge."
brutal dilton
Uhh...?
snickers bar machine produsing
Is this a request for something you'd like to see on How It's Made?
direcpath reviews
Here's a very succinct one: they suck ass.
lena alexander boobs
Who's Lena Alexander?
ceramic tile moose
I see your ceramic tile moose and raise you a Naugahyde swatch caribou.
And that's it for the more noteworthy searches. The rest are mostly variations on the main themes.
macho comic tract buy online jack chick
I'm not sure exactly what's being sought out here, but if I had to guess, I'd say it's a tract called The Sissy? Like any tract that's still in print, it can be purchased directly from the Chick Publications Web site.
(I just love how over-the-top macho Duke, the truck driver who thinks Jesus is a sissy, is in the opening panels. The guy's hairier than Wolverine [or Robin Williams for non-comics readers], and looks like he sweats pure testosterone. As the tract progresses, though, he definitely deflates, and ends up looking more like Harvey Pekar. Bonus: check out the great reaction shots of the waitress.)
satellite tv goes out each time it rains
Yes, I'm rather afraid that it does.
assorted giada-related searches, mostly involving her height and/or bra size
Interestingly, one of the searches was for a "giada t-shirt." That was a new one on me. As an aside, a couple of weeks ago I was flipping through the channels and as I was going past E!, I saw Giada, with a voiceover saying "...in her trademark low-cut tops." Then they started talking about someone from another Food Network show. Looks to have been a countdown of Food Network Babes or something, as there was definite focus on looks and décolletage.
geek babe chainmail
If you go to my MySpace page, click on Wendy from my list of friends, and send her a friend request, you will find a treasure trove of pictures to satisfy all of your geek babe chain mail needs if she accepts your request.
carla gugino bra size
I'm going to go with "freakin' huge."
brutal dilton
Uhh...?
snickers bar machine produsing
Is this a request for something you'd like to see on How It's Made?
direcpath reviews
Here's a very succinct one: they suck ass.
lena alexander boobs
Who's Lena Alexander?
ceramic tile moose
I see your ceramic tile moose and raise you a Naugahyde swatch caribou.
And that's it for the more noteworthy searches. The rest are mostly variations on the main themes.
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Catch The Madness!
There are certain people whom I know exist simply because some entertainment blog tells me they do, and I have no real reason to doubt them on it. After all, there are significant aspects of life and the world around me that I just don't pay any attention to, so it's unsurprising that I lack any real familiarity with what's current in popular culture.
Thus I am only vaguely aware that there people in the world such as Amy Winehouse, the "stars" of TV shows like The Hills (or even that there are TV shows such as The Hills), the cast of High School Musical (whatever that is), and Lily Allen.
So while I was aware that she existed and that she was apparently a singer or something, and there was something or other to do with MySpace that made the people at the Best Week Ever blog hate her, I was, of course, totally unfamiliar with her work.
Then on Saturday Brian sent me a link to a video by her. He had done so as a WTF? sort of thing, which was pretty much my response, and I'm sure it will be your response as well:
Alfie
I have to admit that it's sort of catchy (and she's very cute), though not necessarily in a good way, and kind of amusing.
I shared the link with Scott, who went on to check out some of her other videos, which led me to do the same. They are also sort of entertaining:
Smile
LDN
I can't say it's anything I would want to listen to on a regular...ever, but the videos are sort of fun in a light, shallow, but ultimately maddening - given their tendency to stick in your head - sort of way.
And so I thought I'd share the madness with you.
You are, of course, welcome.
Thus I am only vaguely aware that there people in the world such as Amy Winehouse, the "stars" of TV shows like The Hills (or even that there are TV shows such as The Hills), the cast of High School Musical (whatever that is), and Lily Allen.
So while I was aware that she existed and that she was apparently a singer or something, and there was something or other to do with MySpace that made the people at the Best Week Ever blog hate her, I was, of course, totally unfamiliar with her work.
Then on Saturday Brian sent me a link to a video by her. He had done so as a WTF? sort of thing, which was pretty much my response, and I'm sure it will be your response as well:
Alfie
I have to admit that it's sort of catchy (and she's very cute), though not necessarily in a good way, and kind of amusing.
I shared the link with Scott, who went on to check out some of her other videos, which led me to do the same. They are also sort of entertaining:
Smile
LDN
I can't say it's anything I would want to listen to on a regular...ever, but the videos are sort of fun in a light, shallow, but ultimately maddening - given their tendency to stick in your head - sort of way.
And so I thought I'd share the madness with you.
You are, of course, welcome.
Surfing The Qorld Qide Qeb
Every so often, if you read the sort of geeky articles I read, you'll run into articles about things like Internet 2, and various other potential successors to the Internet of today.
For my part, I'm not so much concerned about a new Internet of the future, I'm looking for parallel Internets.
They would basically be carbon-copies of the current Internet, and their purpose would be to take me to where I intended to go when I fat-fingered it and entered "qqq" or "eee" instead of "www" in my browser's address bar.
It doesn't seem like so much to ask for.
For my part, I'm not so much concerned about a new Internet of the future, I'm looking for parallel Internets.
They would basically be carbon-copies of the current Internet, and their purpose would be to take me to where I intended to go when I fat-fingered it and entered "qqq" or "eee" instead of "www" in my browser's address bar.
It doesn't seem like so much to ask for.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
Competing Hatreds Or Did I Step Through Time Warp?
Hmm, looks like I’ve been a little light on the posts this week, but really, not much has happened.
Sure, that’s never stopped me from posting before, obviously, but this week…well, I just didn’t feel up to it.
This morning I got up, watched a movie I’d downloaded, then watched a TV show I’d recorded, then sat around for a while.
No trip to the comic shop this week, as the new books won’t be out until tomorrow due to the holiday.
I did go near the comic shop, though, as I stopped to have lunch at the Thai place before heading in to work for a training session. I didn’t order anything comic book-y, though, going with the simple “Special Eggplant,” which was very tasty, and sweat-inducingly spicy.
I got an e-mail from my mortgage company with a bunch of paperwork attached that I supposedly had gotten back in July – which is a bunch of BS, as I had never previously received it – that I needed to sign and fax in, which was supplement to the other stack of paperwork I had to mail in. I apologize to the families of the trees that died so that I could fill it all out.
The amount of paperwork involved in buying a house is simply retarded.
I mean, last time I checked we were living in the 21st Century. Did that change somehow? Have I stepped back in time?
Seriously, that there is so much paperwork involved just says to me that a good percentage of the people involved in the loan business are short-sighted idiots who have no grasp of the kinds of capabalities that modern technology makes available to them.
I mean, they have these amazing newfangled contraptions called “computers” and I hear tell about some kind of “interwebs” or somesuch.
Seriously, a significant portion of the documents they needed from me I obtained by logging onto an Internet site, printing out its contents, and mailing it to them via the postal service.
Why don’t we use the Pony Express while we’re at it?
Seriously, all I should have to do is provide them with my Social Security Number, and then sign one form (it could even be an electronic form, but I’ll allow them this one piece of paper for the sake of nostalgia) which gives them permission to collect whatever financial data they need, and which indicates that I have been made aware of all of the pertinent disclosures.
Of course, I know that the worst is yet to come, as the closing will involve all manner of signing and initialing, and sacrificing goats to Ba’al, and who knows what all else.
I’m sure that someone in the know could provide me with all manner of justifications for why all of this paperwork is necessary, but I would submit that those reasons are specious and stupid and are designed to support a needlessly complex and antiquated top-heavy structure of tradition and willful ignorance.
So yeah, pretty damn sick of signing stuff.
Maybe in honor of the primitive and quaint nature of the process, at the closing, rather than signing my name, I’ll simply make my mark, like some pre-movable type illiterate serf.
In any case, my work week is nearly upon me, and as we move further into September we come that much closer to the day when I can say goodbye to this place that has been my home, and which I have come to hate so very, very much, and it’s the fact that my hatred of this place burns so much hotter than my hatred of pointlessly signing useless pieces of paper that keeps me moving to my goal of positioning my shoulders Atlas-like under a world of debt.
And on that thought, I’ll bring this entry to a close.
Sure, that’s never stopped me from posting before, obviously, but this week…well, I just didn’t feel up to it.
This morning I got up, watched a movie I’d downloaded, then watched a TV show I’d recorded, then sat around for a while.
No trip to the comic shop this week, as the new books won’t be out until tomorrow due to the holiday.
I did go near the comic shop, though, as I stopped to have lunch at the Thai place before heading in to work for a training session. I didn’t order anything comic book-y, though, going with the simple “Special Eggplant,” which was very tasty, and sweat-inducingly spicy.
I got an e-mail from my mortgage company with a bunch of paperwork attached that I supposedly had gotten back in July – which is a bunch of BS, as I had never previously received it – that I needed to sign and fax in, which was supplement to the other stack of paperwork I had to mail in. I apologize to the families of the trees that died so that I could fill it all out.
The amount of paperwork involved in buying a house is simply retarded.
I mean, last time I checked we were living in the 21st Century. Did that change somehow? Have I stepped back in time?
Seriously, that there is so much paperwork involved just says to me that a good percentage of the people involved in the loan business are short-sighted idiots who have no grasp of the kinds of capabalities that modern technology makes available to them.
I mean, they have these amazing newfangled contraptions called “computers” and I hear tell about some kind of “interwebs” or somesuch.
Seriously, a significant portion of the documents they needed from me I obtained by logging onto an Internet site, printing out its contents, and mailing it to them via the postal service.
Why don’t we use the Pony Express while we’re at it?
Seriously, all I should have to do is provide them with my Social Security Number, and then sign one form (it could even be an electronic form, but I’ll allow them this one piece of paper for the sake of nostalgia) which gives them permission to collect whatever financial data they need, and which indicates that I have been made aware of all of the pertinent disclosures.
Of course, I know that the worst is yet to come, as the closing will involve all manner of signing and initialing, and sacrificing goats to Ba’al, and who knows what all else.
I’m sure that someone in the know could provide me with all manner of justifications for why all of this paperwork is necessary, but I would submit that those reasons are specious and stupid and are designed to support a needlessly complex and antiquated top-heavy structure of tradition and willful ignorance.
So yeah, pretty damn sick of signing stuff.
Maybe in honor of the primitive and quaint nature of the process, at the closing, rather than signing my name, I’ll simply make my mark, like some pre-movable type illiterate serf.
In any case, my work week is nearly upon me, and as we move further into September we come that much closer to the day when I can say goodbye to this place that has been my home, and which I have come to hate so very, very much, and it’s the fact that my hatred of this place burns so much hotter than my hatred of pointlessly signing useless pieces of paper that keeps me moving to my goal of positioning my shoulders Atlas-like under a world of debt.
And on that thought, I’ll bring this entry to a close.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Monday, September 03, 2007
Random Tutorial Crap
I don't know that anyone cares, but sometimes when I follow a tutorial I like to post the results.
Here's something I did today:
The tutorial was just on making a wax seal; the rest was my own tinkering around with the concept.
I know; it's all too exciting.
Here's something I did today:
The tutorial was just on making a wax seal; the rest was my own tinkering around with the concept.
I know; it's all too exciting.
Threshold Birthday Bonus Gifts
After finishing the picture of Carla Gugino for my Carla Gugino/Threshold birthday post, I did some messing around with different filters and effects.
I decided to post a couple of the results.
This one looks kind of like a hologram, I think.
This one just makes her look as though she has some sort of innter glow. I thought it was a neat effect.
I decided to post a couple of the results.
This one looks kind of like a hologram, I think.
This one just makes her look as though she has some sort of innter glow. I thought it was a neat effect.
Happy Day Off To The People Who Don't Normally Have It Off
So I ventured a bit outside of my routine over the past couple of days.
On Saturday night I was sitting at home getting my Saturday night fix of Kirsten Kemp (who was so utterly disgusted by the foolishness of her house flipping advisees that she was letting down that warm, nice person façade and unleashing her cold, inner ice queen, which I, of course, found extremely hot), whom, I’m afraid, I have no pictures of here, topless or otherwise, for those of you seeking them. As with all other seekers of famous and semi-famous boobs, I wish you luck in your quest.
Just as Kirsten had made one of the errant flippers say “Ow” in response to her ice-cold words, I became faintly aware of the sound of music coming from somewhere.
I shrugged it off until I recognized it as my Scott ringtone, at which point I got up, too late, to answer my phone.
I called him back and learned that he’d been calling me to catch a 9:55 showing of Balls of Fury.
Though I normally wouldn’t venture out on a Saturday evening, there are no actual rules that I live by in this regard, so I decided to take him up on the offer, even though doing so made me a liar, as at work Simon had asked me if I was going to see it and I’d said no.
The movie was entertaining in pretty much exactly the way you would expect it to be, though I found it to be much more entertaining than I’d expected.
My drive home from the theater at close to midnight was sort of an odd experience. Nothing especially interesting happened, but given that I took the decidedly less-traveled and considerably more rurally-located back roads home, it almost felt like being back home in Michigan, complete with sections of actual dirt road.
Of course, it wasn’t quite the same as driving on similar roads back home, as there is considerably more paving, they’re populated by a lot more homes, and the trees don’t quite form the kind of canopy that make the experience of driving on back roads in Michigan rather like driving in a tunnel.
Also, like any road in Virginia, there is a lot more traffic to contend with on the back roads here.
Yesterday, as mentioned, I actually ventured out into the world, where I purchased a nearly $1,200 piece of paper that says I now own a 42” LCD HDTV.
In the interest of balance, I’m not doing anything today to make up for having done things on the past two days.
And that’s pretty much where and how things stand.
I hope you are all, laborers and non-laborers alike, having a good Labor Day.
On Saturday night I was sitting at home getting my Saturday night fix of Kirsten Kemp (who was so utterly disgusted by the foolishness of her house flipping advisees that she was letting down that warm, nice person façade and unleashing her cold, inner ice queen, which I, of course, found extremely hot), whom, I’m afraid, I have no pictures of here, topless or otherwise, for those of you seeking them. As with all other seekers of famous and semi-famous boobs, I wish you luck in your quest.
Just as Kirsten had made one of the errant flippers say “Ow” in response to her ice-cold words, I became faintly aware of the sound of music coming from somewhere.
I shrugged it off until I recognized it as my Scott ringtone, at which point I got up, too late, to answer my phone.
I called him back and learned that he’d been calling me to catch a 9:55 showing of Balls of Fury.
Though I normally wouldn’t venture out on a Saturday evening, there are no actual rules that I live by in this regard, so I decided to take him up on the offer, even though doing so made me a liar, as at work Simon had asked me if I was going to see it and I’d said no.
The movie was entertaining in pretty much exactly the way you would expect it to be, though I found it to be much more entertaining than I’d expected.
My drive home from the theater at close to midnight was sort of an odd experience. Nothing especially interesting happened, but given that I took the decidedly less-traveled and considerably more rurally-located back roads home, it almost felt like being back home in Michigan, complete with sections of actual dirt road.
Of course, it wasn’t quite the same as driving on similar roads back home, as there is considerably more paving, they’re populated by a lot more homes, and the trees don’t quite form the kind of canopy that make the experience of driving on back roads in Michigan rather like driving in a tunnel.
Also, like any road in Virginia, there is a lot more traffic to contend with on the back roads here.
Yesterday, as mentioned, I actually ventured out into the world, where I purchased a nearly $1,200 piece of paper that says I now own a 42” LCD HDTV.
In the interest of balance, I’m not doing anything today to make up for having done things on the past two days.
And that’s pretty much where and how things stand.
I hope you are all, laborers and non-laborers alike, having a good Labor Day.
Sunday, September 02, 2007
At Last
Today I decided to go out and check out what kind of deals places like Best Buy and Circuit City had on TVs for the holiday weekend.
I finally broke down and bought the HDTV I've been looking at for a while.
This one, to be exact.
Given that I've been saving up money specfically for buying an HDTV and that this one was on sale for $1,138, it seemed like the time was finally right.
Naturally they didn't have any in stock, so I won't actually have it until the 6th, but given that I won't have a source for HD content until I've moved into the new place, it doesn't really matter anyway.
It's actually the first of the last major purchaces I'll be making for a while (up next is a high-end Media Center PC to accompany it).
I finally broke down and bought the HDTV I've been looking at for a while.
This one, to be exact.
Given that I've been saving up money specfically for buying an HDTV and that this one was on sale for $1,138, it seemed like the time was finally right.
Naturally they didn't have any in stock, so I won't actually have it until the 6th, but given that I won't have a source for HD content until I've moved into the new place, it doesn't really matter anyway.
It's actually the first of the last major purchaces I'll be making for a while (up next is a high-end Media Center PC to accompany it).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
