Writing A Guest Blog

Hi. My name's Ian. I'm filling in for Justin today.

I've known Justin for a while online. Not sure exactly how long, but it does extend back to the two of us getting shout-outs in a Heroes GN... because Jason Badower rocks. I'm not even sure what led us to start talking to each other, in point of fact. Like most of the better things in life, specifics tend to fall away into nothingness and you tend to see things as happening because they were meant to happen, via some odd sprinkling of fate and destiny.

Or, you know, we could've just been introduced by our mutual friends.

What does this have to do with the blog? Simply, it couldn't happen without the Heroes fanbase. And I wanted to posit a more warm and friendly feel in regards to Heroes than has been shown recently. I've met some wonderful people online, and in real life, via the show, and felt it put across some of my personality to reflect on the positive ways that a TV show can give people who'd never speak to each other a reason to commune.

That... and I'm not sure what to put in this blog.

At first, I was going to discuss writing. For I am an unpaid writer. Had some minor... minor comic-book stuff published, and I self-publish a lot of Virtual Series unproduced scripts in a television script format that air online sequentially.) But I don't think I'm capable of technically distilling my writing approach to an adequate proportion. There are far better books out there for that kind of thing - I mostly go with the 'I write, and then I look at my writing... then I leap onto the next piece of writing' approach.

Then I thought I'd discuss my varius dating mishaps by comparing them to a game of Pacman. But that just made me feel ever so slightly depressed, given that most Pacman games involve you being destroyed in the process of trying to take a lot of dubious looking pills.

Maybe I should talk about the - for fun - writing project me and Justin are embarking on?

We're working on something that's rather awesome... though, sadly, I'm not sure how much I can actually say about that. It's still in the early stages, and while I like jinxing my own stuff I'm cautious about jinxing stuff that I'm working on with someone else.

I guess I could discuss the interview I'm trying to get for Justin.

We were bantering about it on Twitter yesterday. I said Brea Grant (Daphne on Heroes) or Allison Mack (Chloe on Smallville) would be a good choice because, deep down, I have a thing for snarky blondes in superhero shows. He felt I'd be adequate at interviewing Allison Mack... and if I can pull that off... well, I think I would probably be down for the best year of my life given how fantastic she is as an actress and, from all accounts, thoroughly pleasant as a human being. It'd give me more experience in writing and journalism, which would be tremendously enriching.

So that's...

Hey - what do you know? That works as a climax (note to all - the climax isn't the end of a story, the resolution comes after. That's why LOTR: ROTK is so long... because the last twenty minutes is resolving the character stuff.) Well, I have to say this has been amusing... diverting... and scary.

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O-Cast episode 2, and…

A website watch, all in the same entry! Let the wonders never end!

When we left our Greek gods and goddesses last week, Poseidon was struggling to get everyone in line with the idea of “O-Cast”, a would-be viral video documentary series, to bring back the faith. Athena, goddess of wisdom and all-around know-it-all, let him know how she felt about his idea, and he asked if she’s got something better. She replied with a very abrupt “Always”, so let’s see the fruits of her mental labors:

 

And with that episode of O-Cast set up and (hopefully) enjoyed, let’s get onto the website watching!

This week’s section is going to be devoted to a webcomic I’ve started reading recently that is, in my opinion, brilliant in it’s simplicity: Stickman and Cube.

As it would sound from the title, this comic has two (primary) characters – a stick-figure man, and a cube. Stickman is the brains of the operation, and while both of them are funny, Cube is definitely more of a funny-because-he’s-dumb type.

The cartoonist mostly shies away from any serious storylines (and I’d imagine it’s hard to have much in the way of seriousness with this lack of art), but still manages to be clever with his jokes and spot-on with his delivery of them. Most of the panels have at least gotten a chuckle out of me, and I strongly urge you to check it out. As a favor, I’ll put up the first couple strips here, see if I can get your interest…

Strip #1: “Hello World”

Strip #2: “OMGBISHIE! Or, Shameless Bids to Get Popular on DeviantArt #1”

Strip #3: “Inflato-Cube! Or, Shameless Bids to Get Popular on DeviantArt #2”

READ MORE - O-Cast episode 2, and…

Don’t do that! … unless the people on the TV do it too!

AKA “Why do we glorify shitty behavior?”

This is going to be another rant, and really, I’m starting to think I should call it ‘Rant Friday’ instead of ‘Philosophy Friday’. Really, though, I’m starting to wonder, because it bugs me. We try to encourage the younger generations to make the right choices, and then tune in for our weekly drama-filled idiot-fest.

Case in point: ANY show on any MTV channel.

You’ve heard of the day the music died?
This is the channel it used to live at.

Jersey Shore. 16 And Pregnant. My Super Sweet 16. The X Effect. These shows, and more, are just more and more of MTV’s attempt to cash in on everything shy of what it used to be: music television. They take stupid behavior (teen pregnancy, relationship meddling, and any/all ‘guido’ attributes) and make shows that are, for some bizarre and unknown reason, wildly popular.

More and more, adults in the nation raise their voices in protest of the youth of America, with their desensitized mindset and ‘lowered morals’. But those same adults can’t wait to see what sort of things will happen with the 19-child Duggar family, or the latest drama between Jon and Kate (of Jon & Kate Plus Eight).

I’m not saying that these shows should go (unless you ask my opinion, and I think they’re all wastes of money), but I am saying that taking shitty behavior and blowing a lot of money on making TV “reality” shows about it is definitely not a way to increase your ‘moral agenda’, or whatever.

This day and age has seemingly devolved to, as the title says, “Don’t do that! … unless the people on TV do it too!”, and that’s a little upsetting.

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WYO: Conspiracy theories

You hear about them all the time, usually from people who deal with them – crazy people who decide to rant and rave with their craziness, whether it be the “Da Vinci Code” nutjobs, the “aliens abducted me” type, or the ever-so-plentiful “the government is doing _____” people.

I’ve actually had a few lovely firsthand experiences with some of these, and the most recent was kind of a combination of the last two. Get comfortable while I tell you a short little story…

There I was, the protagonist of the story, minding my own business during a weekend night shift at the hotel. We had a military group in, and since I’m not here during the day, I don’t know who is or isn’t with the group.

A gentleman comes in and goes over to the video games in our lobby (some Superman arcade game, and an arcade Ms. Pac-Man), and I assume he is with the group and is just playing the video games before going to sleep. After about an hour over there (keeping in mind that it is now 4 or 5 AM), he comes over to the desk area, and proceeds to look around at everything, with a sort of glazed look on his face.

I ask, humbly, if there’s anything I can do to help. He asks for room rates, and after we go over that, I book a hotel room for him on first floor. This man proceeds to go in the room and come out ten minutes later with a cup of coffee (our rooms all have coffeepots in them). He rants and rants to me about various government this, and finance that, a plethora of topics for at least 20 minutes.

When he’s finally paused long enough for me to ask if he wants to check out, he says yes. He doesn’t leave it at that, though. Instead, he continues on about how he’s checking out because someone or something drove into his hotel room and put some sort of ______ “fix-it” ______ in his head (all I could understand was “fix-it”).

Yeah, needless to say, I wasn’t very comfortable in that situation. I’ve had a few oh-so-wonderful instances like that, and I’ve grown to dislike conspiracy theorists (my former landlord had some pretty out-there conspiracy thoughts too, but he lived hours away… thankfully) in most forms.

How about you? Any of you have any fun (and/or crazy) stories to share? Or are you a conspiracy theorist and take offense to that title? Speak up!

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A tale of two Deadpool comic books…

DEADPOOL #19
Main characters: Deadpool, Spider-Man
Written by: Daniel Way
Penciller: Carlo Barberi

I wish that I’d enjoyed this comic better, but I read it second, out of the two comics being reviewed today. That might not have been an issue, but you never know.

The story in this issue, to me, feels like filler. After helping out the X-Men in the last issue or two, Deadpool is now having a cameo from the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. The comic sets you up to believe that Deadpool killed a local grocery store owner who was a former merc, and then reveals that he didn’t, in a kind-of boring way.

Then, in what I can only assume is for Marvel to have a storyline in this issue and also promote Daniel Way’s new “Hit-Monkey” one-shot, the comic has Deadpool and Spider-Man teaming up to check out the murder scene, and then to track down Hit-Monkey, the culprit: a monkey who is an assassin and only kills current/former assassins. It will carry over into Deadpool #20 as well, and I’m hoping that it is a much better story than this mild and boring issue.

 

DEADPOOL: MERC WITH A MOUTH #8
Main characters: Deadpool, Zombie Headpool, Dr. Betty Swanson, Bill (Agent of A.I.M.)
Writer: Victor Gischler
Penciller: Bong Dazo

This issue is muuuuch better, and might’ve spoiled Deadpool #19 for me. Gischler’s been crafting a fun storyline for Deadpool at least this far into the series, and a trip to the zombie universe is always a fun idea for me.

At the start of the issue, Doctor Voodoo (the new Sorcerer Supreme for anyone not keeping up with that) shows up in the swamp with the dimensional portal that originally brought some of the Marvel Zombies to the main universe. Deadpool and Zombie Headpool figured something was off when, instead of the portal taking them to Marvel’s own little Zombieland, it took them to multiple alternate dimensions, with multiple alternate Deadpools.

Being the Sorcerer Supreme, and knowing that two Deadpools being around will likely fuck with someone’s mojo, Doc Voodoo fixes the portal to let them pass to the zombie universe. Deadpool and Headpool go through and within a short few minutes are followed by Dr. Swanson and Bill, who are both fearing for the lives from a swamp creature.

There’s cameos from all sorts of different zombie versions of obscure superheroes, and the issue ends with Deadpool and company being taken in by a group of would-be freedom fighters – zombie killers that were professors at Empire State University.

Unlike Deadpool #19, I’m actually looking forward to the next issue of this series. I won’t say that Way’s a worse writer than Gischler, but at least in this pair of issues, Gischler’s story is MUCH better.

 

Release dates (both issues): 2/17/10

READ MORE - A tale of two Deadpool comic books…

Dammit, it’s 2010! What’s the tech hold-up?!

Seriously, tech developers, what’s the deal? By 2015, we’re supposed to have all kinds of commercially available hover-boards, AND flying cars! If we don’t, how are Doc Brown and Marty McFly supposed to save the day, HUH?!

Are you going to let him down?

While the near-future does look like its going to be predominantly hoverboard-less, and it is looking like we will need roads, no matter where we happen to be going, there is still the occasional shining beacon of technological light.

Sure we may not have total-immersion, you-might-as-well-be-there gaming, and self-drying clothes aren’t quite up to par, but computerized clothing is definitely possible. And not only possible, but if you’re bright enough, you can do it yourself! After all, Zach did!

Yes, from the listing of stories at Engadget comes another brilliant do-it-yourself project that they’ve had submitted to them. A wonderful little techie, Zach saw a concept pair of pants with a fully functional keyboard, and loved them. So what did he do about it, since the pants weren’t exactly commercially available?

Now that’s more like it, Mr. Wayne*

He chopped a keyboard in half and used a laser cutting and some old-fashioned sewing to make himself a pair. Given that the keyboard wasn’t designed to be used like this and was cut to fit, only the left side of the keyboard works, but hey, that’s a lot cooler than any of the pants you own. Not sure I dig the pink keys, though… Hey Zach, got any color options available?

 

*I don’t know this “Zach” person’s actual last name. For those of you reading this a couple years ago, that’s a quote from 2008’s The Dark Knight. Try to keep up. =P

READ MORE - Dammit, it’s 2010! What’s the tech hold-up?!

STAR TREK contest winner!

Alright, folks! Monday the 22nd is here, and I have a contest winner for you! I cut off the contest a little early, saying on Twitter that I’d cut it off by 11pm on the 20th if there weren’t many entries before then.

There were a lot of hilarious entries, and it wasn’t easy to decide between them, I’ll be honest. This definitely worked out better than my last contest, and I’ll work hard to get another great contest going for you guys! :)

In the end, it came down to three comments. I made my own little rule that if I picked someone’s comment as funniest for one picture, their comments couldn’t be judged for the others. I felt that it would make for an unfair drawing process if it was too heavily tipped towards any one person. Keeping that in mind, here are the comments from the “finalists” for each picture:

STAR TREK:

HEROES:

RANDOM:

And, using a completely random system (also known as this randomizer) and a system to ensure the most randomly-selected person possible, jsnyder has won the Star Trek movie contest! So, send me an email within the next two weeks with your address information for me to mail the Digital Copy disc to you!

If I don’t hear from you within the next two weeks jsnyder, then your win is forfeit and Lauren Ashley, the first runner-up, will receive the movie instead! My email is justinbarlow@rroarm.com :)

READ MORE - STAR TREK contest winner!

On Message and Delivery

Hello all! Jordan here, providing all you Rambling readers with your weekly guest blog!

I wanted to talk about something that happened over on Facebook about a week ago.

My uncle, a devout Seventh-Day Adventist Christian, had posted on his status a quote from a sermon given by Tony Compolo. I want you all to pay close attention to this quote, since that's what I'll be talking about:

“I have three things I’d like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don’t give a shit. What’s worse is that you’re more upset with the fact that I said ’shit’ than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”

Get it? Got it?

Good.

When I first read it, I was in awe, because it's so completely true. I may not have been completely bewildered, but I was like, "Whoa! He's a pastor and he said 'shit'! Craziness!"

I responded to this message with a round of applause, for driving the point home hard. Others joined me in agreeing wholeheartedly with the strong statement. However, the message got other responses as well.

One such response:

Although true, it's probably better not to turn people off with the first four sentences of your sermon. He's lost a chunk of his listening population from the get go, knows it and doesn't seem to care.

From then on, more joined in the debate, some even bringing in Scriptural evidence that Jesus himself had used profanity to make a point once.

In all this, I was dumbfounded. So many people really were worked up over all that "shit," and they didn't realize that what they were doing was proving the guy's point. It really put things into perspective for me concerning what people believe is right and wrong, and what they hold to a higher value above others. When hearing a naughty word uttered from the lips of a pastor gets people more riled up than knowing that helpless children the world over are starving and dying every single day, you know something's wrong.

And personally, I think that anybody who missed the point aren't going to care about those children anyway. What a horrible thing to say, I know, but it seems that they're more concerned with image, the wrapping of the package instead of the content itself.

What do you think? Did the message ring clear with his delivery, or was the delivery a distraction from his message?

READ MORE - On Message and Delivery

We interrupt your website watch….

To bring you the first in a series of posts about the episodes of O-Cast!

When I was contacted by the producers of O-Cast, we came to an agreement that I would syndicate their episodes, and what better than to start with the first (so people actually know what’s going on)!

O-Cast is created by Bryan Dechart and Anne Richmond, and employs the talents of New York area film school students, graduates, and others! Enjoy!

READ MORE - We interrupt your website watch….

“No sir, the hotel is NOT responsible for that…

You didn’t look when you were parking, and drove into our sign. We aren’t responsible for paying for damages to your car.”

Okay, I’ve never had any that bad, but let’s get one thing clear right off the bat: you are wrong. And by “you”, I mean any customer who does stupid shit, not actually you specifically.

Society today, especially in a lot of American businesses (hotels and restaurants tend to be the worst), have taught us one thing. One thing which has been the societal norm for long enough that we still think it applies. That one thing is “the customer is always right”, and I’ve got some news for you.

Maybe not “always” wrong, but when you’re dealing with customer service, odds are that they know their job a lot better than you know their job. The customer ‘always’ being right leads to nightmares for anyone who has ever worked customer service, because some people do some stupid shit.

My friend Mike, who inspired this blog topic, showed me a great website, one that is also hilarious. The URL is http://www.notalwaysright.com, and the site is called “The Customer is Not Always Right”. There are entries from business employees, patrons who witness others doing really stupid things, and anyone really familiar with the customer service industry. Here’s a great example:

SETTING: Fast food restaurant in Texas.
(After ringing up a customer’s order.)
Customer: “Is it too late to make the drink and fries big?”
Employee: “Of course not, let me just charge it.”
Customer, to my manager: “It should be free since she didn’t offer it to me! You should offer it to everyone equally!”
Manager: “I’m sorry sir, she can’t give it to you for free. We’re all human. We all make mistakes.”
Customer: “Well, fine! Next time I want to be helped by someone who isn’t human!”

Yes, there are people who make statements like that. Some of the entries in that site are hilarious in their stupidity, and some are almost unbelievable – unless you’ve dealt with the kind of crazy things that only customer service people deal with. But not all customer service people work against the customer. Here’s an awesome example of an employee sticking up for a customer, told from the customer’s point of view:

SETTING: Grocery store in Virginia
(I’m a customer in the check out line. I’m buying a box of tampons for my mom, who is bedridden after surgery. One of the two customers standing behind me in line speaks up.)
Other customer: “Ha-ha what a p****. He’s buying tampons.”
(I ignore the two and move forwards to the cashier. She’s an attractive girl of about 20 years old.)
Cashier: “$5.71 after the discount.”
(I have no idea what discount she’s talking about, but I pay her and get my change.)
Cashier: *with a smile on her face* “Here you go baby, I’m taking my break now and I’ll see you at home at 8. Just leave the tampons in my car, please.”
(She leans over the counter and kisses me on the cheek. She then turns the light off on the register number and walks off towards the other side of the store. The two customers watched her with their jaws open and angrily walk off to another register.)

Long story short, treat customer service people well, and they’ll treat you well. Act like you’re always right because you are the customer and “How DARE they say you’re not right?”, and you’ll find out just how wrong you are.

READ MORE - “No sir, the hotel is NOT responsible for that…

WYO: Militant Messages

Also known as, among other things, hate-preaching. No, I don’t just mean being militant and all hellfire-and-brimstone about religion, but about any message you’re trying to get across. I have a little hint for those of you who think delivering messages in a militant manner is the only way to do it:

You can make your point without being a douche.

Not all people get that, though. Take Onision, or OnisionSpeaks, the self-titled “Militant Vegetarian”. The video that is gaining popularity (or at least getting more views, probably from people who want to RAGE about it) is also called “Militant Vegetarian”, and he decries carnivorous behavior, saying that humans were designed to eat plants*. Tell ya what… have a little look-see at the video itself.

Yeah… the guy is more than a little annoying. And really, plants are living creatures just as much as humans and animals are. They may be a different kind of living creature, but humans and animals are also different kinds of living creatures. Sounds like a diet of dirt and water is the only way to truly appease this guy.

But today’s “What’s Your Opinion” isn’t just about picking on this guy. If I wanted to do that, I’d rant about him for Philosophy Friday tomorrow, so let’s get back on topic.

Militaries, terrorists, and various types of vigilantes use a similar tactic when dealing with enemy militaries: messages through violence and threats and anger. In it’s own way, this is a similar type of militant messaging, and a malicious attempt to get your message heard by the target audience.

So, what is your opinion of “militant messaging”? Do you think it’s effective, ineffective, outright stupid, or awesome? Leave a comment below! =]

 

 

*We weren’t, though. Many things we have, like lateral incisors, would be completely unnecessary if we were only biologically designed to eat plants.

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This Is The Only Level: Adventures In Singularity

In true Rambler fashion, I’ve slacked off at work …devoted precious time and effort to find a way for you to slack off at work …find new ways to entertain yourself. Allow me to show you the latest fruit of those minutes …hours of labor! This game, as the title of the blog says, is called “This Is The Only Level: Adventures in Singularity”!

The name of the game is sort of deceptive, and yet also not. It is definitely not the first game to use the concept of each level having multiple stages, but it is the first game that I’ve seen take it to this extent.

“This Is The Only Level” has 30 stages in the one level, and the design of the “room” is the same in every stage – aside from the color changes and, more importantly, the obstacle to pass to win the level.

While it’s not always easy to figure out, and you will definitely die a few times before the end, the title of each stage gives a hint. In the level pictures above, ‘Candy stripes of doom’, the obstacle is the alternating colors themselves. The color directly under the pipe you emerge from is safe to land on, and it’s alternating color will kill you instantly. You need to jump carefully, get to the red switch and unlock the door way to the exit pipe, then jump carefully to get to the exit pipe.

If nothing else, it is a fun (and occasionally irksome) way to spend a little time, if you find yourself with a computer, internet, and boredom. Have fun, and post comments with your best time and lowest amount of deaths before you reach the end of Stage 30! :)

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YouTube’s not-so-secret beta modes

LO AND BEHOLD! FROM THE DEVELOPERS SKIES,
COMES A MIRACLE NEW SHINY THING YOUTUBE!

Or, you know, YouTube’s been playing around with developing stuff again. It’s totally not something that randomly fell from the skies, awesome as that would be. Maybe I should pretend that it did? :)

In the oft-overlooked “What’s New” section, there are two new-ish “beta” modes, so that you can experiment with YouTube’s design changes/thoughts: one of them, the “new video page” is also known as the “Feather” beta, and the other is the new HTML5 video player.

“Feather”, so named because of the lighter coding and therefore quicker loading, is no longer an opt-in beta. Instead, simply clicking the link “New Video Page” changes your YouTube design from the old and familiar to a new and much cleaner viewing page, still divided into frames, but without the markings to indicate it as such:

New video-watch page design.
Click for (much) larger image.

While a lot of the comments seem pretty negative so far (gee, where have I heard that before? ), I actually really like this design. As I said, it has a ‘cleaner’ look to it without the frames, and anything that looks less cluttered is just fine in my book.

Aside from the “new video page”, which I have no doubt YouTube won’t wait too long on making official, there is the new HTML5 player – kind of exciting for a geek like me. HTML5 (link to Wiki) is the “next major version of HTML” (which is kind of what runs the internet, to the tech-tarded).

YouTube’s HTML5 player has some changes from the original, too. At the moment (while it is in beta), the player doesn’t play videos with ads – those get played by the default Flash-based player. By the play button, there is an raise-up area that allows you to change the speed of the video playback (turtle = slowest, rabbit = fastest). The player doesn’t support full-screen in all browsers yet, and the beta itself is supported in the latest versions of Google Chrome and Apple Safari, as well as Internet Explorer (if you have the Google Chrome frameset installed).

So go and play around with it, folks! You can opt in or leave the HTML5 player beta any time you want, so you might as well try it out and see what you think!

READ MORE - YouTube’s not-so-secret beta modes

DOs and DON’Ts of planning for holidays

Given that Valentines’ Day Single’s Awareness Day was yesterday, I figured that I’d enlighten you all on some tips and tricks I’ve picked up over the years. Some come from experience, but most of them are coming from the fact that I’ve see all sorts of idiocy around the holidays, working in a hotel.

The hotel I work at

1. This is easily the most important one for major holidays: if you are planning to go on any sort of ‘vacation holiday’ (i.e., Valentines’ Day get-away, or New Year’s Eve party, or summer vacation) don’t wait until the last minute to try and get reservations. Seriously, anybody who does this deserves to not get a hotel room. Yes, I said deserves.
   
   Depending on the holiday this can vary, but as a hotel employee, I recommend you call around a month in advance at the latest for something like Valentines’ Day. Independence Day? Try three months in advance, bare minimum. Big event in town like the Sun & Surf Motorcycle Run? The same, two or three months. Christmas or New Years? Two months. DON’T TRY LAST MINUTE.
   
2. Here’s one for Valentines’ Day from personal experience, fellow dudes: don’t get something completely tacky and conventional. Yes, some women do still appreciate a dozen red roses and/or a box of chocolates. Some women, though, will assume you waited until the last minute and got what you could.
   
   One of my friends in Canada, who works in a flower shop, gave this advice: “Do NOT get your girl roses. Right now they are ridiculously overpriced and at a lower quality than the rest of the year. Growers are not cutting for quality, they are cutting for quantity. Get her tulips, lilies, irises or tropicals. They are in season, cheaper and a million times less cliché.”
   
   There you have it, from someone who works with flowers. I’m not saying get her something off-the-wall weird, but find out what she really wants instead of just giving her the same thing everybody would.
   

Okay, so it was only really a set of two “DON’Ts”, rather than a list of DOs and DON’Ts. I’m okay with that, because I’m running on about ten hours sleep over the course of three and a half days. You’re lucky I’m even physically able to type! =P

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A Texan's Perspective on the Wonders of Snow

Hey, LimitedEmpathy here, making another guest post!

So, what happens when over a foot of snow falls on an area that’s normally thought of as hot and dry? Utter MADDNESS is the correct answer here. I live in Denton, Texas, and boy, did it snow! We got about 13 inches over a period of 14 hours. I can’t remember a better day. The university closed at noon, though most students didn’t even try to brave the weather. (And really, who would want to?) I was one of the unfortunate students with a 9:30 class, but when I got there, my professor kept us for about 30 minutes, and then let us go. So, it was back to the apartment for some winter fun!

The last time it snowed hard-core down here was Christmas Eve. And if having a white Christmas wasn’t already just the best, I got to experience the most amazing snow day of my life with my closest friends! I live with three other girls in an apartment, one of whom I’ve known since elementary school. She and I grew up on the same street, along with another girl who experienced this day with us. It was really special to be able to share this with them, since we have shared so many snow days already over the years.

I love snowball fights. I have terrible aim and couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, but I still participate fully. After a snowball fight with a good friend one on one, and then another with a bunch of guys I didn’t know at all, I got the text announcing the mother of all snowball fights, to be held on the courthouse lawn at 4PM. So, the gang and I suited up in our coats and gloves, and headed out to the square. When we got there, we saw close to 200 college students running around the lawn, with snow flying everywhere! (Living in a college town pretty much rocks.) At one point, a news van got pelted by us “revelers” as they referred to us in the news story. (go here to see the story video.)

We ended the day outside one of the local cemeteries making a zombie snowman army, complete with ketchup for blood! All in all, it was so awesome. And now for your enjoyment, pictures and videos!

Link to the video of the college kids hitting the news van

Link to the WFAA story.




That's me over there in the black coat and ponytail...looking silly. Zombie group for the win!

READ MORE - A Texan's Perspective on the Wonders of Snow

Website Watch: THINKGEEK!

What do you say we keep up this trend of my favorite sites being the “Website Watch”? In that case, let me introduce (some of) you to my FAVORITE online store, EVER:

Yes, ladies and gents, it’s time to talk about ThinkGeek.

Now, considering that this store has been in business for a pretty long time (hell, I was goofing around in a high school web design class looking at this site, and that was ten years ago!), most of you have probably heard of it. But I always run into the occasional person that hasn’t, and trust me – I’m more than happy to spread the word.

There are so many geeky things at this store. By the very nature of the store, 99% of the products are insanely geeky! Also useful, but definitely nerd-gear! Some examples? Why, of course I can provide them!

 

Yes, that is a JEDI robe. And really, not that expensive of a Jedi robe (link), considering the quality of it, and the size of it! And why stop there? You could also get Star Wars Force FX lightsabers, classic Hasbro Star Wars blasters, a Tauntaun sleeping bag (may not smell the best, but it will keep ya warm!), last year’s very  talked-about Star Wars Force Trainer, a Yoda plush backpack for your school or work things, and a handmade custom saber! Because really, if you’re going to nerd up and refuse to get laid, you might as well do it completely!

 

So, is that geeky enough for you? No? How about I mention the fact that they have an entire section devoted to caffeinated goods? And not just caffeinated foods, but things like shirts with caffeine molecules, wallets with caffeine molecules, caffeinated SOAP*, and a little bit of caffeinated everything (candy, mints, lip balm, BAWLS energy drink, gum, breath spray). And if caffeine isn’t your thing**, they’ve got the other wonder of the geek food group, too: BACON!!! All. Kinds. Of. Bacon. Stuff.

On top of all that, if you really needed more, they’ve got sections for computer stuff, cool home and office gadgets and knick-knacks, t-shirts and other apparel, books, and even a section for things to buy your little geekling (kids/toddlers/infants’ geek gear).

Do I really need to convince you any more? Because if you aren’t convinced by now, you might be a little hopeless. Tell ya what. Just go check it out. If you don’t like it, blame me. All I know is I’ve gotten plenty of cool stuff from there!

THINKGEEK.COM

READ MORE - Website Watch: THINKGEEK!

There CAN be too much of a good thing, and…

… Uncle Rambler’s going to show you the (current) worst perpetrator:

Yes, Marvel Comics. The guys who have Iron Man, Wolverine, the X-Men, the Avengers, and some of the most recognizable names in comic book characters (other than Supes and Bats, but all my little nerdling buddies knew that).

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate Marvel, I really don’t. Like I said, they have some freaking wicked awesome characters going for them, and Siege #2 would probably be tied for “best comic [I read] over the last month” with Green Lantern #50. But recent news, while exciting for me as a geek, is kind of making me say “Seriously? Come on, dudes.”

What recent news? The Deadpool Corps.

No, that’s not (entirely) a Green Lantern Corps rip-off, it’s actually a legitimate series they are starting in April. And that is my problem. It’s another Deadpool series. Which brings the total now to four Deadpool series: the main Deadpool series, the not-so-highly-reviewed Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth, the least-popular Deadpool Team-Up (which is counting down from #899), and now Deadpool Corps. Oh yeah, and on top of that? Each week in March is going to have an issue of Prelude to Deadpool Corps.

Deadpool Corps members: Deadpool, Lady Deadpool,
Kidpool/Kid Deadpool, Dogpool, and Zombie Headpool

As was discussed in a three-part video from the self-titled “Deadpool Corps of YouTube” (mgalusic, TallestSilver [typically does cosplay videos as Lady Deadpool*], and DeadpoolAndFriends**), and in a video on Nate (DeadpoolAndFriends)’s main channel, this feels like little more than milking a cash cow for all that it’s worth, and as a Deadpool fan, it kind of sucks. Hard.

Sure, I’m excited at the prospect of a Deadpool Corps. Like I said, I’m a fan. I read Deadpool, and Deadpool: Merc With A Mouth, and I’ve thought about checking out an issue of Deadpool Team-Up to see what I think. So yes, I’m doing exactly what Marvel wants me to do. But it sucks because a few years ago, nobody would have heard of Deadpool. Then the news came out about him being played by Ryan Reynolds in X-Men Origins: Wolverine***, and people started looking into it more.

Thus Marvel decides “Hey… they really dig this guy!”, which most Deadpool fans had been trying to tell them for about a decade, and does what businesses do best: finds a way to make it profitable. And by profitable, I mean draining the pockets of nerds everywhere. Yay?

Mike, Nate, and Silver do a much better job then me, and a hell of a lot more entertaining with their off-topic-ness and pretty much general awesomeness. They’re the ones who helped me figure out this topic, so go check out their three-part group rant! And subscribe to them!

DEADPOOL CORPS RANTS ABOUT ITSELF
Part 1 (MGalusic’s channel): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoZ7lc9pyJI
Part 2 (TallestSilver’s channel): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgKKqqx03xo
Part 3 (DeadpoolAndFriends’ personal vlog): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVdh6V9LOrw

 

 

*Silver was actually being Lady Deadpool before there was a Lady Deadpool
**DeadpoolAndFriends’ part isn’t on his main channel, but his personal vlog channel, uskafighter.
***And he didn’t even really play Deadpool. He played a BRILLIANT Wade, and then the movie fucked Deadpool.

READ MORE - There CAN be too much of a good thing, and…

Want to submit questions for an interview?

One of the things this blog has allowed me to do, and that I love doing, is have interviews with some really awesome people!

I've interviewed people involved with Heroes, like actress Deanne Bray and Wendi Allison, as well as graphic novel creators, like writer R.D. Hall and artist Jason Badower. I've even done what I can to help out Kels Ferguson, interviewing her about her (awesome) band, The Hands Off Love Affair!

All of these people have been absolutely great, and so accommodating. One thing that has been the most fun about my interviews is what I call "reader involvement", which is where I get as many questions as I can from you readers! I can't always include them all, but it's cool to see what you guys wonder, and I'm sure you all like getting answers when you can!

So, if you want to be part of that in future interviews, it's REALLY simple! All you have to do is send an email to interviews@rroarm.com! I check there any time I have an interview set up, and you're even welcome to send emails with people you'd like me to try and get interviews with!

Again, just shoot an email over to interviews@rroarm.com with who you'd like interviewed, any questions you might have for upcoming interviews, and anything like that! I look forward to seeing your emails!

READ MORE - Want to submit questions for an interview?

Eight days a week, is not enough to show I care!

HISTORY HIGHLIGHT: FEBRUARY 11th!!!

Arguably one of the most well-known bands, as well as one of the bands that most changed the music industry, February 11th is a day that is actually of some importance, when it comes to talking about The Beatles’ history.

The year? 1964. The place? The Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C. The event? The Beatles’ FIRST concert in the United States!

There aren’t a lot of people that don’t know at least one line from a Beatles song, whether it’s simply “Hey Jude”, or “I Want to Hold Your Hand”. They were a game-changer in the music industry, and still remain a favorite for a lot of people

But hey, that’s just one event from this day’s past. Here’s some of the others!

• 660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
• 55 – Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman Emperorship, dies under mysterious circumstances in Rome. This clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.
• 1531 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.
• 1659 – The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses.
• 1752 – Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, opens.
• 1790 – Religious Society of Friends, also known as Quakers, petitions U.S. Congress for abolition of slavery.
• 1794 – First session of United States Senate open to the public.
• 1808 – Anthracite coal is first burned as a fuel, experimentally.
• 1809 – Robert Fulton files a patent for improvements to steamboat navigation
• 1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry "gerrymanders" for the first time.
• 1814 – Norway's independence is proclaimed, marking the ultimate end of the Kalmar Union.
• 1826 – University College London is founded under the name University of London.
• 1826 – Swaminarayan wrote the Shikshapatri, an important test within the Swaminarayan faith.
• 1840 – Gaetano Donizetti's opera La Fille du Régiment receives its first performance in Paris.
• 1843 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera I Lombardi receives its first performance in Milan.
• 1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia, by Abuna Salama III in a ceremony at the church of Derasge Maryam
• 1861 – American Civil War: United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
• 1873 – King Amadeus I of Spain abdicates.
• 1889 – Meiji constitution of Japan is adopted; the first Diet of Japan convenes in 1890.
• 1903 – Anton Bruckner's 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna.
• 1905 – Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer nos.
• 1916 – Emma Goldman is arrested for lecturing on birth control.
• 1919 – Friedrich Ebert (SPD), is elected President of Germany.
• 1929 – Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
• 1937 – A sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers Union.
• 1938 – BBC Television produces the world's first ever science fiction television program, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Capek play R.U.R., which coined the term "robot".
• 1939 – A Lockheed XP-38 flies from California to New York in 7 hours 2 minutes.
• 1941 – The first gold record is presented to Glenn Miller for "Chattanooga Choo Choo".
• 1942 – The Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore during World War II.
• 1943 – World War II: General Dwight Eisenhower is selected to command the allied armies in Europe.
• 1948 – John Costello succeeds Éamon de Valera as Taoiseach of Ireland.
• 1953 – President Dwight Eisenhower refuses clemency appeal for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.
• 1953 – The Soviet Union breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel.
• 1963 – Julia Child's show The French Chef premieres.
• 1964 – Greeks and Turks begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus.
• 1964 – The Republic of China (Taiwan) breaks off diplomatic relations with France.
• 1964 – The Beatles hold their first concert in the United States at the Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C.
• 1968 – Israeli-Jordanian border clashes.
• 1971 – Eighty-seven countries, including the US, UK, and USSR, sign the Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in international waters.
• 1973 – Vietnam War: First release of American prisoners of war from Vietnam takes place.
• 1978 – Censorship: the People's Republic of China lifts a ban on works by Aristotle, Shakespeare and Dickens.
• 1979 – Islamic revolution of Iran achieves victory under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
• 1981 – 100,000 US gallons (380 m³) of radioactive coolant leak into the containment building of TVA Sequoyah 1 nuclear plant in Tennessee, contaminating 8 workers.
• 1987 – Philippines constitution goes into effect.
• 1990 – Nelson Mandela, a political prisoner for 27 years, is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa.
• 1991 – UNPO, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, forms in The Hague, Netherlands.
• 1997 – Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
• 2006 – Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney accidentally shoots Harry Whittington in the face, neck, and upper torso while hunting quail.

READ MORE - Eight days a week, is not enough to show I care!

Sink your teeth into “Chew”

 Chew, issue one (June 2009)

     “Meet Tony Chu. Tony is almost always hungry, and almost never eats. Here’s why: Tony Chu is cibopathic. That means he can take a bite of an apple, and get a feeling in his head about what tree it grew from, what pesticides were used on the crop, and when it was harvested. Or he could eat a hamburger and flash onto something else entirely.”

That section above, save for some alterations in future issues, is the opener for each issue of the Image Comics-published Chew. In a world where bird flu paranoia led to a ban on chicken, the Food and Drug Administration became the highest branch of law enforcement. Like it or not, on either side, Tony Chu is their most valuable player.

Not that he’s appreciated, of course. His boss is a dick, and his partners tend to hate him, save for Mason Savoy, the F.D.A. agent who brought Tony into the force. Mason is another cibopath, just like Tony.

Created by John Layman and Rob Guillory, Chew is quite the comic. Most issues have been received positively by the general public, and all of them so far (a total of eight) have been liked by me. The story is into its second chapter – the first chapter, “Taster’s Choice”, consists of the first five issues. The second chapter – “International Flavor” – is three issues in so far, with two left.

Layman continues to craft an interesting story, with sometimes-disgusting things for Tony to get flashes of, and Guillory’s art pleases the eye with it’s simpler touch than a lot of the comic books from the Big Two publishers. For any people who don’t take independent titles seriously, Chew is definitely one that can change their minds.

READ MORE - Sink your teeth into “Chew”

Could you Prepeat that, please?

Hello Ramblin' Readers! Guess who's back! That's right, it's me, Lauren! Now, I know what you're thinking... my last two Tech Tuesday posts were about things that I was fairly blah about, but fear not! Today's post is all about a piece of technology that makes me shudder with excitement!

Have you ever spent hours on something, writing, editing, revising revising revising, only to print it out and discover that a number of mistakes somehow managed to slip through the cracks? All that paper, all that ink and toner... wasted. Don't you just wish you could go back and erase all of your mistakes, without being unkind to the environment?

Well, now you can! Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce Prepeat!



Finally, an advancement in technology that's both practical, and could be arguiably environment friendly... and it's just cool.

As the video states, the Prepeat "rewritable sheets turn black, then lose their color again, depending on the temperature. These changes are controlled precisely by the sublimation and liquefaction technology in the thermal head. This enables high-speed printing." Now, I'm not a scholar or anything, but I'm pretty sure that means the printer is magic... or from the future.

Or both.

WHAT'S GOOD:

• It's a printer that can reprint on the same sheet of paper using no extra toner or ink. Seriously... what more do you need?
  
• The lack of toner/ink/paper means it's somewhat environmentally friendly. Practical AND green... nice. Although, I can see the PET plastic being a problem... (I joke, of course)
  
• It's a printer that can reprint on the same sheet of paper using no extra toner or ink. I just felt it had to be said twice. For emphasis.

WHAT'S BAD:

• It's kind of pricey. I know, I'm being picky... but Mr. Sugano says multiple times in the video that the minimized usage of toner/ink makes it cheaper to use. The word "cheap" is thrown around a lot, but in the end, the thing still costs about 4,700$*, and that's without paper. Still, I have to say, I probably wouldn't mind dropping that kind of cash on it.
  
• It's paving the way for robots to take over the world. Okay, I made that up... I'm not used to having next to nothing bad to say about a technological advancement.
  

So there you have it, people. Prepeat: the printer of the future! I don't know that we'll see one popping up in every house in America, but it is still quite a gadget. I'd actually love to own one... so, to Sanwa Newtec, I say BRAVO. Bravo indeed.

READ MORE - Could you Prepeat that, please?

STAR TREK MOVIE CONTEST!

Alright, folks, here it is! I said multiple times yesterday, if ‘#SaveHeroes’ became a trending topic on Twitter, I would have a contest! The winner would get a copy of the 2009 “Star Trek” movie for their video-capable iPod or iPhone*, in the form of a Digital Copy disc that came with my BluRay copy.

So, here is the way this contest is going to work: I am going to post three pictures – one from Heroes, one from Star Trek, and one random picture. The person who comes up with the FUNNIEST caption for each will be entered into a drawing, and whoever is drawn will win the movie!

Pretty simple, eh? Not a lot of work to it, all you have to do is be funny! You can leave your comments below (preferred), or email them to me at justinbarlow@rroarm.com if you’d rather it be private during the contest! =] As discussed, here are the pictures!

STAR TREK

 

HEROES

RANDOM

There you have it, folks! Very simple contest, and some pretty awesome/amusing possibilities! Make sure to provide a way for me to contact you (Twitter, instant messenger, email, etc) in case you’re the winner! Good luck, and I can’t wait to see what you guys produce!!!

Remember, leave your captions in the comments below, or send them to me in an email!

 

*The Digital Copy is not compatible with Zune. I believe the same applies to “third party” video-capable media players.

READ MORE - STAR TREK MOVIE CONTEST!

On Being an Artist

Hi readers! Jordan here filling in the guest blog spot for this week!
I've guest blogged here a few times before, and one thing you may or may not know about me is that I am an artist. I draw, I paint, I love to create. Hell, I'm currently challenging myself to sketch something (and hopefully post it) for every day of the year, the progress of which you can see on my own blog.

As an artist, I constantly hear the phrase, "Wow, I could never draw like that!" and "I tried to draw, but I just got so discouraged!" Though they may seem like testimonies to my skill, all I can really do is shake my head and give a small thanks. It's hard to see my creations as works of genius, difficult to separate them from the time and toil spent. I am so very often discouraged by the unsatisfactory quality of my own art that frankly, I'm surprised I didn't quit a long time ago.

Based on a slew of reflective art and design articles I've been reading, as well as the testimonies of some of my design professors and lessons in art history, I've slowly come to accept a rather stark theory:

Artists are never happy.

If you choose to be an artist, you must accept the fact that you will never be satisfied with your work. Yes, you'll have flashes of brilliance and produce great works, but there will always be that nagging feeling that you could have done better. And next time, you will do better, then you'll wish you'd have done that better. It's an cycle without end, which makes a serious passion for art something not for the faint of heart. And yet as artists we keep putting out our works, showing it off to the world because perhaps on some level we are proud, if nothing else but for the hard work we've spent on it. Writing is rewriting, drafting is redrafting and painting is repainting over and over.

Despite the need to constantly improve upon a work of art in order to keep making it "better," artists do have to stop at some point. There is such thing as over-working a piece, and I've done this a couple times. It's more horrible a feeling than having a work never reach its potential, because it means I've missed the point. Artists need to stick together in order to validate each other's works and prevent such over-working. This is why we need critique: it's not praise, and it lets us know when to stop.

Let's skip over to a small art history lesson on Michelangelo.

Michelangelo's Pietà

Michelangelo is the epitome of the "tortured artist." He frequently expressed dislike of his paintings and sculptures, even though he is arguably the best artist of his time. He lamented over the labour and scorned the finished product. He never let anybody see his initial sketches and drafts, definitely not a big "process" guy so much as a "finished product" guy.

Anyway, Michelangelo was thought by his peers to possess a special spirit of God. His innate artistic talent was said to have come straight from God, and that for all of Michelangelo's life he would strive to match the beauty and divinity that so inspired him—but obviously he cannot, as he was but a mortal man and not actually God. This was a very interesting understanding of him, and it's easy to sympathize in a way, whether or not you buy into the whole spirituality bit.

It's what makes an artist an artist. The inherent determination and drive to not give up and to keep going no matter how much it hurts or sucks. If you truly stop doing something, then you were not meant to do it anyway. This goes for more than just art, or perhaps this marks everything as art. Once you find something you're willing to put up with through your suckiest moments as well as your most glorious, that's when you know you've found something worthwhile. And honestly, I think it's worth trying to find that thing or things. I think passion is definitely worth it.

Once we inject passion and drive into what we do, what we do becomes art, and we become its artists.

READ MORE - On Being an Artist

Website Watch: “Limitless Ramblings”

Where can you get video game reviews, random blogs, movie/TV reviews, creative writing, and tech reviews all in one place? Well, probably at a few sites, but not many of them as cool as my friend Lauren’s Limitless Ramblings!

You’ve seen a few guest-blogs from Lauren on my site, usually dealing with technology reviews, and if you liked those – this is where you should be going!

Trust me when I say that we didn’t conspire to have “sibling” blogs – blogs with the same “last name”, so to speak. That just happened*, but hey, there’s not many blogs I’d rather be siblings with.

Aside from the many sections listed above, Lauren has others, too. She has things like Gaining My Respect, where she talks about celebrities that she is starting to appreciate, and this month is her “Drabble A Day Challenge”. In that, she posts a creative writing short to either her blog or her Tumblr, along with just a random little blog-blurb. She’s churning out a lot of good stuff, too! She really is a pretty talented writer, as is shown by her completion of the 2009 (and I believe 2008) National Novel Writing Month event!

If you’re looking for a blog to check out, I’d definitely at least give this one a shot. As you’ve seen from her guest posts here, she’s definitely got the gift of blogging! Get to it!

 

 

*She’s actually been blogging longer, so you could blame me, even though I didn’t know. lol

READ MORE - Website Watch: “Limitless Ramblings”

R.A.R.S. #1

Also known as: Rants Against Religious Stupidity #1!

As detailed in the video, I recently saw a sign at a local youth center that read as follows: “PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS”. For my reaction, watch the video. =]

SCRATCH THAT!

Sorry folks, but with my work’s internet, the upload on that video would be entirely too long. I’d be off work and internet-less before it was finished! So, allow me to put my words into text:

“Hey everyone, it’s Justin, and welcome to Philosophy Friday! Today, it’s going to be a bit of a rant. I like ranting, and I found a topic that’s PERFECT for it!

Last Friday while I was running around and doing errands, I saw something that kind of irritated me. The Grays Harbor Youth Center. In and of itself, not a bad thing. Youth centers are typically good things. Really, it was just a sign on the building. A sign that said this: “PRAY UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS”, in big letters.

Now, while I’m not religious, I’ve got no problem with religious people. Matter of fact, if you believe in the power of prayer, I respect that. More power to you, so to speak. Here’s where I have problems, though.

A lot of people take signs like this verbatim, and pray their little hearts out. That’s fine. What’s not fine is when that’s all they do – they don’t take action, other than prayer. If you want to talk to an “Invisible Man In The Sky” (to quote The Invention of Lying), that’s fine. But don’t leave it at that.

Get out and fucking DO something about it. Don’t just pray that you’ll get a job. Pray, and then get off your ass and start applying, and dressing nice to apply, and calling and checking up on the applications. Don’t just pray that some girl/guy will start liking you. Grow some stones and ask him/her out. If you get rejected, pick yourself up and try again. Don’t just pray you’ll get past hard times. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

I’m not going to tell you there is no god, regardless of my personal lack of beliefs. I’m not going to ease your concerns by telling you that there is a god. What I am going to do is tell you that if there’s a god, he’s got SIX BILLION people to look out for. Praying “until something happens” isn’t going to do you a damn bit of good. IF he hears your prayer and IF he chooses to act on it, congrats. But IF he doesn’t, then you best be working on figuring something else out.

Okay, maybe he’s fucked.

-----

 

I just did some research on this, after writing this up, and found out that this is NOT an isolated thing. There’s websites, shirts, hats, all sorts of shit. I stand by what I said – don’t just pray. If you want something done, then fucking do it. Prayer might help, but the only surefire thing is to go for it.

No, prayer is fine, but get out and DO something, too.

READ MORE - R.A.R.S. #1

History Highlight: February 4th

Welcome to the History Highlight! Today is actually a pretty awesome day in history! There are a few firsts, a few cool things created, and even a few world-changing events mixed in there! Let’s start things off with the biggest ‘FIRST!’ from today: George Washington, in 1789, was unanimously elected our nation’s first president!

Yeah, there it is. The U.S. Electoral College unanimously voted George Washington in as our first President, in what I think is our only unanimous election… ever. And not just once, but twice, in his second run as well. Yeah. People loved this guy.

There’s a first, so what’s one of the ones that changed a lot?

Facebook. Yeah, Facebook. Regardless of if you like it or not, since 2004 Facebook has definitely changed internet communication. Even if the change was nothing more than giving Myspace some competition, it still changed things. Now, Myspace and Facebook both have insanely annoying games that can appear dozens and dozens of times in your stream of friend’s events! Yay!

And there you have it, two of the big events for February 4th in history! Now, here’s a list of the rest of the things that went on, so I hope you find something that interests you! See y’all tomorrow!

• 211 – Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta.
• 960 – The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
• 1454 – In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
• 1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.
• 1789 – George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
• 1794 – The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic.
• 1801 – John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1810 – The Royal Navy seizes Guadeloupe.
• 1820 – The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald completes the 2 day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and 2 ships.
• 1825 – The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
• 1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
• 1861 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, Delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form the Confederate States of America.
• 1899 – The Philippine-American War begins.
• 1932 – World War II: Japan occupies Harbin, China.
• 1936 – Radium becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
• 1941 – World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
• 1945 – World War II: The Yalta Conference begins.
• 1948 – Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
• 1957 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571), logs its 60,000th nautical mile, matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus described in Jules Verne's novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".
• 1966 – All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
• 1967 – Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
• 1969 – Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
• 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
• 1975 – Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
• 1976 – In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
• 1980 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.
• 1992 – A Coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez Frías, against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
• 1996 – Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time record low temperature at -26°F (-32.2°C)
• 1997 – En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
• 1997 – After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.
• 1998 – An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.
• 1999 – Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.
• 1999 – The New Carissa runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon.
• 2000 – German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.
• 2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.
• 2004 – Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
• 2006 – A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing 71.
• 2008 – The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme begins to operate in the UK.

READ MORE - History Highlight: February 4th

Review: “O-CAST”!

Or, “Greek Gods in modern day New York City!”

Do you like Greek mythology? Do you like comedy? Do you like web series? THEN YOU’LL LOVE O-CAST!

Okay, stereotypical advertisement aside, this is definitely a fun web series. The premise is that the Greek gods and goddesses have fallen from power, and are now living (albeit with diminished abilities) in modern-day New York, trying to convince the world that they still have modern relevance.

The creators of this are Bryan Dechart and Anne Richmond, and I personally think the two of them are brilliant for working this out. Aside from that, I’ve talked to them in email and over Twitter a few times, and they’re very nice, too.

Primarily, the cast consists of current and former New York-area film students, and the series is on a hiatus while they get the funds together to take care of filming the next batch of episodes. Bryan and Anne write the characters perfectly, as far as I’m concerned.

I’ve always been a fan of Greek mythology, and this series has absolutely nailed the characters, and character interactions. Zeus is a lecherous drunk, Ares is a badass who earns his rent money by means of a sort of fight club, Hera is… kind of a bitch, and all in all, they are dead-on.

The list of gods, at the moment, consists of Poseidon, Hermes, Ares, Apollo, Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Hephaestus, Hades, Athena, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Demeter, and Artemis. Hades has only been in a little bit, mostly to make snarky comments towards Zeus, and the episodes have left off with the start of a competition between Hestia and Dionysus – a competition to see who will be the twelfth Olympian.

So go, watch the series, and if you feel the need to help, they have donation links too! You can choose to donate to help with episode costs, and it’s tax deductible!

Anyway, here is the website, and I’ll put the first episode up to get ya interested!

O-CAST WEBSITE

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The Apple iPad: The Missing Link...?

Hey howdy hey, folks! Due to some... something or other, Justin is unable to be here today to inform you on tech stuffs, so I volunteered to fill in for him. Now, some of you may remember me from way back when I reviewed the Motorola Droid, and some of you - probably most of you - don't.

Anyway, in that review, I mentioned that iOwn an iPhone (see what I did there?), and that I happen to like it. I also mentioned that I'm not a huge supporter of Apple and, after their big reveal a few days back, it seems I'm not alone.

For those that don't know, Apple released a type of "tablet" on January 27th, called the iPad. There was a big shindig in San Francisco to release this "revolutionary and magical new product" (Steve Jobs' words, not mine), and the web was losing what little sanity it had waiting to see it.

"Everybody uses a laptop and/or a smartphone. And the question has arisen, lately, is there room for a device in the middle? We've questioned this for years ourselves, but the bar is pretty high." - Steve Jobs

After all the buzz, all the hype, Jobs gives us this:



Ladies and Gentlemen, the iPad. This is supposed to be the "missing link" between smartphone and laptop... what it is is a very large iTouch.

Before I proceed, I'm going to admit I have not seen one in person. I've only followed the unveiling, and read up on it a bit since it came out. It may very well be different in person, but from what I've gathered, that's not the case. Any way, let's get right down to business.

What's Bad:

• THE SIZE: Smartphone users alike will probably agree that one of the best things about smartphone apps is the ability to pull your phone out of your pocket, wherever you are, and have them right there in the palm of your hand. An iPad is obviously too big for that. Now, if it ran special apps that could help justify getting one, size wouldn't be a problem. But seeing as it really just runs the iPhone/iTouch apps (with the exception of the iWork apps) on a bigger screen, all the extra surface area seems to be a waste.

• NO CAMERA: You think with something this groundbreaking, of this size, there would be some sort of signature built in Mac webcam... but you'd be wrong. In fact, not only is there not a webcam, there's not even a camera, something an iPhone 3G comes equipped with.
  

• NO REAL OPERATING SYSTEM: Amidst all the iPad "hate" floating around the internet, there are a few pro-padders who object to it being "just a large iPhone." However, Apple doesn't really seem to be quelling the claims, especially with it's choice of iPad operating system. As the "missing link" between smartphone and laptop, it would have been a wise move to give it an actual OS. Instead, it runs iPhone OS 3.2... and still no camera.
  

• THE PRICE/LACK OF BANG: I won't deny the iPad could end up being a cool toy, but I have yet to see a reason to rush out and get one, especially for a starting price of 499$ (tack an extra 130$ onto that if you want 3G, plus 30$ a month with AT&T to keep the service). It's large, it's clumsy, and it hasn't made too much of a separation from its more convenient smartphone counterpart... I'm really just not feeling it.

• STILL NO FLASH: There really need be no explanation for this one. It's huge, is supposed to be the Mac answer to a netbook... and yet, still no Flash capability. Of course, if we want to read into John Gruber's comment on the matter:
  

  "Apple isn't trying to replace Flash with its own proprietary thing. They're replacing it with H.264 and HTML5. This is good for everyone but Adobe."

  
  Then I think it's safe to assume we won't be seeing an iAnything with Flash capabilities.

WHAT'S GOOD:

• BATTERY LIFE: Jobs claims the iPad sports a 10 hour battery life, with about a month long life span in standby. That's pretty impressive, considering my iPhone drains in about 5 hours if used constantly, and it doesn't run movies. This is possibly the one thing that really - in my mind - separates it from the iPhone/iTouch.

• IT'S GOING TO HAVE GAMES. BETTER ONES: If I understand correctly, they aren't developed yet, but the iPad is said to have some games in the works, with good graphics and all that jazz. Now, for home use, that won't mean much. But combined with the extended battery life and a long plane/train/etc. ride, it could be the reason to get one.
  

• COULD GIVE THE KINDLE A RUN FOR ITS MONEY: The missing link between smartphone and laptop it is not... not yet. But a digital reader with some extras? Now that's a title iPad can live up to. And, with the cheapest model being a mere 10$ more than the 489$ Amazon Kindle, it could be the better choice.
  

My word isn't the law. I thought iPhones were stupid before I actually used one, and like I said I haven't used the iPad. But there are those who have, and for the most part, it's gotten mostly negative reviews. Is it the stupidest thing invented ever? Absolutely not. But did it live up to the hype? Did it manage to reach that bar? I submit that it did not.

I'm not saying don't get one, and I'm not saying I'd turn my nose up at one if I got it as a gift, but it seems that everyone - whether they've used it or not - is asking the same thing:

Why should I get one?

And Apple has yet to give us an answer.


Read the live blog for the iPad unveiling in San Francisco HERE.

READ MORE - The Apple iPad: The Missing Link...?

How To: “Start A Webcomic”

Yes, I’m finally getting off my ass and starting the webcomic that I’ve thought about for a long time. I’ve had different ideas, a lack of ideas, crappy ideas, and now have decided: I’m going with RANDOM ideas.

Unlike most webcomics that I read, this won’t have any sort of storyline, at least not from the get-go. It will be similar to Ctrl+Alt+Del’s “Sillies”, or Applegeeks’ “Applegeeks Lite” – the art won’t be that great (I’m a stick figure kind of guy), and the strips will just be whatever pops into my mind while I’m creating it.

You may be wondering how this is a “How To”, but I’m going to share the method that I will be using, as well as something similar to what most probably use. So, here we go!

1. First things first, come up with an idea. This one can really be swapped out with number two for the first position, but you need to have some sort of idea about the topic. I can’t give away mine just yet, but you’ll see!
   
2. Decide what kind of comic you want to do. Either swapped with the first, or merged with as part of the idea process: are you going to have a serious comic? A storyline-based comic? A batshit-crazy random comic? DECIDE!
   
3. Write out the strips in advance. This is a “duh”, but writing the strips is a necessity. No matter if it will be stick figure art or an artistic effort, it is always good to have a few strips written ahead of time, as a buffer of sorts.
   
4. DRAW! Duh. If you need this explained, then webcomic-making might not be what you should be looking into. So get to it!

And there you have it. From there, just find somewhere to put it online, like DrunkDuck.com (a GREAT comic-hosting site, with a lot of great comics there, like one of my favorites, Bad Guy High)! Check it out, and good luck webcomicking!

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