So far I've been more of a passive observer during the planning of my upcoming trip to China. Most of the details I've left to Catherine and to a lesser extent David, not because I can't be bothered, but because this trip is much more meaningful to Catherine.
Not that I'm not very excited about going, but China has been something of an obsession for Catherine. She wants to hold a panda (which you can do if you grease the right palms), visit several cities and take in the sights. I'm really excited about spending a night at a watchtower on the Great Wall itself as well as visiting what has been described as the most scenic group of mountains in China.
From Beijing to Chengdu to Shanghai and back, it's going to be a good trip. So far I've left all the planning to Catherine (though I did find the hostels) because it still seems so far off to me despite only being three weeks away. Also, while I have travelled overseas before, it was some time ago and my frame of reference is a little bit foggy.
To this end, I have begun to create our own travel book filled with maps and the names of some of the places we will definitely be staying at or might be staying at. I'm sure I could print all of this stuff off in other ways, but at least this gets me more involved and it creates a fun little travel book.
This is a big job I've given myself.
I've been given the green light by work to go on my trip, and other upheavels here regarding tenuous employment seem to have calmed down, so it looks like I'm good to go on the trip and good to come back for a month afterwards. I'm both delighted and dismayed by this news.
How many people out there can say they've run into someone who, at first glance, appears to be your twin? On my way to work this morning, I was reading the Metro and was given pause because I dont' normally appear in newspaper ads. I had to look a little more closely to see that it wasn't me, but the TV critic, Rick McGinnis.
Not only is it strange to see that he looks like me, but it's odd because I've been meaning to write to him to get advice on becoming a TV columnist/critic because I really like the sarcastic but informative tone that his pieces in the Metro have. Perhaps he's from some sort of alternate future reality and the reason I like him so much is because he's ME.
Probably not. The nose is different as several have pointed out, but he could be my father, brother, or myself several years down the line. Nathan was shocked, Larrie thought it was creepy, Catherine thought it was me in the thumbnail version of the photo I sent her. My mom's reaction was less subtle: "Ewwwww! THAT'S really kinda creepy isn't it! OMG! At first glance I thought you had screwed with the photo and dumped your head on it ...."
I really hope she isn't saying that I look creepy.
I had Li scan the newspaper ad in for me as I thought it worthy of making note of. I still plan to email McGinnis later this week, and perhaps I'll send a photo of myself along with it (in a non-creepy way) as well as the anecdote of my discovery.
Still... a guy who looks like me who is really into television and is sarcastic. What are the odds?
Nathan and I have been become more and more alike during the time we've spent working together. It's funny, because in so many ways we're very different people. We're both losing weight, though for Nathan I think it's also somehow affected his height.
We also share the same sick, twisted, demented sense of humor. One co-worker, Larrie, who deals with the seedier side of this business has been politely harassed by those who smile to his face and kiss his ass, then rip on him the second he's gone.
This is not an uncommon thing in any job.
What makes this funny to Nathan and I is that despite their attempts to have him thrown out of the office (asshole manager even emptied out his desk for him once), Larrie keeps coming back.
I find this greatly amusing.
Just the other day, our mobile guy was booted out of his semi-office directly in front of Nathan and I. Larrie got yet another repreive and has managed to make his way BACK into our area. This is quite amusing as it seems to frustrate asshole co-worker. Seeing as how Larrie isn't a bad looking guy, he seems to attract the attention of the women in this room as well as our resident gay co-workers.
As Nathan jokingly stated yesterday: "Oh no, this means lots of Leo ass-wiggling." He's referring to one male co-worker in particular who seems overly smitten with Larrie (who is not gay).
We laughed and giggled as we are the mental equivalent of children. Within an hour and a half of Larrie taking over the office today, however, Leo stopped in front of the door, on cue, and began to chat up with Larrie. Nathan and I, unbeknownst to each other, messaged each other the EXACT SAME THING at the same hour, minute, and second.
"And so it begins."
We burst out laughing and no one knew why. Nathan even stood up and walked away from his desk in disbelief.
I think we need to branch out more.
In totally unrelated news, doesn't this get anyone else's geek up?
Look at that! I mean, LOOK at that! It's simply the gorgeous and it fulfills the dreams of that 7 year old kid in me who wanted desperately for there to be a live-action Transformers movie when I was a kid. Only 20 days until the teaser trailer.
They said it couldn't be done. No way. It'd look awful. And they were right. Technology has finally caught up to a point where we can do this right. Then again, with Michael Bay directing (The Rock), who knows what we'll get. I'm hoping for a stylized action epic with lots of battling robots.
Early word is that Bay is auditioning the original voice actors for all the various parts. This must come to be or else I'll start a protest. I'll probably be the only one there, but it's a start. I mean, come ON. Look at the detail in that eye. This movie is going to be insane but it has to be as perfect as possible. The 7 year old in me demands this come to pass.
The current headline making story arc for Marvel Comics deals with events in their Civil War comic book written by Mark Millar (The Ultimates) and Steve McNiven (Ultimate Secret). It pushes superheroes towards making a black or white decision about which side their on in what could be taken as a parody of the political stance adopted by George Bush's America.
On one side of the equation we have Iron Man. The character has gone through his paces lately as an alcoholic and recently as a member of the US government. One of the trifecta of powers in the Avengers, Iron Man believes that the time has come where all super-humans must be required to regisier with the government. The alternate is a hostile response, jailing, and other assorted behaviours unbecoming a super-hero.
Captain America, of all people, stands on the other side of the fence as a strong believer in letting people make a choice about whether or not to 'out' themselves. After all, not only are they putting their own lives in danger, but also that of their families and loved ones. Personally, I'm with Cap, but seeing as how super-humans can, and quite regularly do, cause a lot of damage to the world, I can also slightly sympathize with the other side.
It's an interesting story with interesting ramifications. Written by a Scotsman who has made no bones about his feelings about Bush and the war through his stories, Marvel has taken what could be seen as an aggressive stance at the exclusive and hostile administration in the White House. Gay marriage? Not going to happen. Going to fight with us in Iraq? No? Now you're going to need a passport to get into the country.
It's gut-reaction politics at its best and this is what we're seeing in the comics.
As a Canadian, I can, for the most part, sit back and take all of this in without needing to express my feelings one way or another. However, when it does spill over to my neck of the woods courtesy of an aggressive Marvel PR agent, then I get touchy.
I've often expressed distaste for the way in which the Big Two (Marvel and DC) handle their PR machine. Understandably this is much more of a niche market for news agencies, primarily online, and so compromise has to be made much more frequently in order to keep the new material and inside scoops flowing. It's not the best system, but it's hard to see any way around it at this point.
Marvel, as politely as I can put this, can be a bit snobbish when it comes to who they deal with. They are the clique of cliques and while their body of work has made them an entity worthy of admiration, their George Bush "you're in or you're out" antics are frustrating.
Case in point: I received this email second-hand as part of a Marvel PR blitz.
All,
We have a situation and I must play hardball and get everyone on the same page.
A few copies of Thunderbolts #103 got out a week early. This issue (which is due to come out next week) references the ending moments of Civil War #2. There is talk on message boards about what this is. Please do not report on this, reveal this, or write up news stories on this until Weds 6/14, when Civil War 2 is out. Message boards will be message boards, and they will talk there, but please contain it to that. There will be no official confirmation from Marvel.
If any stories about the ending of Civil War #2 are posted on sites before the issue hits stands on 6/14/06 (next week), that site will no longer receive any information on Civil War. Period. This is a sensitive matter and only so much can be done to contain it, but it requires everyone to play along. No one scoop this, or else you will be cut off from Millar, McNiven, Brevoort, Quesada, everyone and everything regarding Civil War, including art and press releases.
This is not open to negotiation.
Thank you for your attention to this. Please let me know you have received this and understand.
Jim McCann
Um, excuse me? Openly threatening news agencies is a low blow, especially considering the politic-heavy storyline they're concerned about here is about granting individuals the rights and freedoms of chosing for themselves. Marvel's bottom line here is either you fall in place or your screwed.
They don't need to do that. Comixfan, for instance, wouldn't publish this as a story ANYWAY. It's spoiler material and not related to what the site currently covers. I can appreciate covering your asses, but a simple "please don't say anything" is much better than "do it and we'll make sure you'll regret it" followed by a bullying of "write back if you understand plain english and get that this is a threat."
Whose side are you on? At this moment, not Marvel's.
I really can't stress that enough. It's filled with frustrations, both generated within myself and from outside sources. And yet there's not much I can do about, being a wage slave and wanting so-called "better things" for the future that will be partially funded by my efforts here.
It doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.
Today, for instance, I find myself knee deep in a template change. Every three months or so, we totally revamp the look of our ads (pictures, background, etc.) in a bid to keep our dwindling audience on the hook and entice a few other loveless into our net. It works briefly, sometimes aided by contests that we run.
Nathan and I devised the current one. The premise is simple: give us your best pick-up line, and we'll pick-up the tab. Short and cheesy, we both scoured the net for example lines and put one or two into the contest ad itself. "Your eyes are blue, like the ocean. And baby, I'm lost at sea."
You get the idea. You should have seen some of the ones we didn't pick (but wanted to for our own amusement).
The template change is the greatest amount of work I have to do in this job. The main part is maintenance and upkeep, but changing the entire layout of more than 200 ads is quite a bit of work. It doesn't help that my assistant is getting sloppy in her work, and despite being shown what I want, persists in doing it wrong leaving me to do it anyway. That really makes me angry.
And yet many, including Catherine and Nathan, can't understand WHY it makes me angry. If I hate this place so much, why should it matter how well others do their work? Well, I have this weird pride thing where I feel that if I accept a job I have to perform to my best ability. I hate this place and will likely be quitting sooner than I intended for a long, drawn-out reason that means one of my supervisors is an idiot, but while I'm here I'll do it right.
Need the money, hate the place. Need the money, want my soul to survive. You can't have everything you want.
We've been putting the camera through its paces over the weekend trying out all of the various features. It's been going quite well, and a few shots are posted here, including Truffle in silhouette (more or less), Catherine on the GO, Paul, and Jamie being very polite.
We spent Saturday at Paul and Victoria's for her 30th birthday. Vicky wanted a games weekend so one was had, and I was up until after 3am playing many games that I will never remember. Well, I did rather like Ticket To Ride, but I've got a thing for trains.
It was a good time, though it was too bad we didn't get to know Vicky's friends better. We had Jamie, a very pregnant Nicole, Josh, Steph, Catherine and myself all mostly huddled together, though Josh and Steph branched out more than the rest.
Too bad Catherine went home early not feeling well. I got up early on Sunday to go home to make sure she was feeling better. Of course, having only had 5 and a half hours sleep, I was a walking zombie until I passed out for an hour around 4:30.
Just to put it out there as part of an official record: I won games. Not just one, but a few of them. Most people said it couldn't be done, and I'm sure there will be more 'Brian Loses' cards in the future, but for now, I stand victorious on the ashes of my enemies.
Apologies to Jamie, Nicole, and Steph who were all still asleep by the time I left around 9:40. I just thought I'd cry having to leave you all again so soon after meeting up, so I figured I'd save face and leave early. Nah, I just wanted to get home to Catherine to make sure she was feeling okay.
In totally unrelated news, I got a rather bizarre email today. I'm used to getting a few requests from the posters at Comixfan, a comic news website to which I am but a figurehead, about how they can post, or complaining about other posters, or asking my opinions on things, and the list goes on.
Just last week one kid (I'm assuming) emailed me and asked me if he could interview me about comics for a project he was working on. I agreed and I answered of his few (but bizarrely technical) questions about the X-Men. That's about it. Mostly harmless.
Today, however, I got a request from a girl (an actual FEMALE on a comic message board) who was new to the site and wanted to know how she could post images of herself from the Wizard World Philly convention. These kinds of emails I ignore as I'm not a bloody FAQ (in fact, I ignore most tech questions), but she sent me the photos she wanted me to post and I laughed myself silly. Then I called Nathan over who offered a succinct 'WTF'?
This is the strangest CXF email I've ever received and I thought it best to share the photo of this girl as Emma Frost with my three readers.
To those of you who say I'm a geek, at least I only BUY comics, I don't dress as characters in them. If I did, however, I'd want to make sure I could pull it off. This girl is pretty far from pulling it off. Is she using a tablecloth?
I wrote her back and told her to use imageshack if she wanted to post her pictures. I figured I owed her that much for amusing me.
So Catherine and I finally took the plunge that most couples fear to do... after nearly seven years together, we decided last night that it was time to buy a new digital camera.
Hold your congrats until later.
We picked up a Canon Powershot S2 IS after much deliberation, testing, and procrastination. What really cemented it was the fact that the guy at Futureshop took an extra $50 off the already-on-sale price for the camera.
I've attached a link to the online review that we based much of our decisions on. If you're looking to buy a new camera, this site is incredibly helpful as this guy seems to have bought every single camera available on the market, tested it, and revealed the results.
One of the main reasons we bought a new camera was because we're headed to China in a little over a month and we wanted something that would really do well. The camera has a 12x zoom, excellent movie mode, and we bought a 1 gig memory card, up from the 32 mb card we'd been using in Catherine's old camera.
We're quite pleased about it and still figuring out all the little tips and tricks that come with it. The zoom is fantastic, and you can snap photos in black and white, set it for night shooting, fireworks, snow, and more. You can even edit your movies together using the software for your comp or else you can clip movies right on the camera itself.
It has also AV outputs, tons of different settings, takes four AA batteries (which we wanted as they're much easier to replace in a pinch) and Catherine's favorite feature is you can set it so that every time you take a picture it barks like a dog. She giggles each time.
We'll likely bring it with us to Paul's on the weekend to give it its first official workout.
I also bought two new pairs of shoes. This is newsworthy because I don't usually do that sort of thing. The last pair I bought was nearly a year ago. I'm awful when it comes to shoes. Thanks to Catherine, though, I'm learning.
I can name all of the video games that had a lasting impact on me when I was growing up. True, I value outdoor experience much more so, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm part of the video game generation born out of the early 80s. I had the Commodore 64, the Atari, NES, and so forth.
Though many games made a huge impression on me, including Double Dragon II, Super Spike V-Ball, Galaga, Altered Beast, Mortal Kombat II, Street Fighter, Punch-Out!!, Contra, Castlevania, Zelda, and many others, it was the epic debut of 'next-generation' beauty Final Fantasy VII on the Playstation that converted me to a new style of game play and tore up more than 60 hours of playing.
That was a huge amount of investment into a single game. It was so enjoyable, that I didn't hesitate to play the next three installments either. None of them, while all good, came close to capturing the joy of that first experience. Anyone know how to breed a gold (or plaid) chocobo?
Most of my friends were converted as well. I know Jer was heavily into it, as was Jamie, Paul (Haynes), and I believe Josh got addicted as well. There was something so special and real about that game that hasn't been caputred since. The graphics have improved since then, but I still remember sharing Jer's feelings of shock and loss when Aerith was killed by Sephiroth.
But a game is just a game, and until recently, direct sequels were not part of the Final Fantasy legacy.
Many fans were surprised at the creation of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, a motion picture story that tells of what happened after that final fight against Sephiroth in Midgard. Jer and I almost bought the movie when it was finally put out on DVD, but it had already been sold.
I finally picked it up on DVD the other day and got a lot of what I was expecting. A basic, Square-oriented story that feels like a great blend of cut-scenes and questionable storytelling merit. I was also treated to stunning graphics and great fight scenes.
I have to say it again: the effects in this movie are stunning. When Bahamut is summoned later in the film, you can feel the immensity of this creature. It's a masterpiece of technology and art.
Good animated films are hard to come by (as are films in general). This one isn't going to set the world on fire, nor do I think it will become a cult hit of any sort. Instead, it's more a piece that plays to that gamer nostalgia and those who like ludicrous action movies filled with impossible stunts and huge swords. From this angle, the film succeeds.
The rest of the film is so-so. It follows Cloud as he tries to deal with feelings of guilt he's suffered after Aerith was killed. Tifa is still with him, as are two orphans. As part of the fallout from Meteor and Holy, there is a geo-stigma illness that affects some of the people of this world, slowly killing them.
The plot revolves around other Cloud/Sephiroth clones who are trying to find the last bit of Jenova and bring her back to life. Apparently by ingesting some of her, you can also bring back baddie Sephiroth.
My only complaint about this movie is that the great supporting cast from the game doesn't have much to do. All of them appear, but not until later in the film and some, like Cait Sith and Red XIII, only have a couple of lines each. It's great to see them, but I wish they had more to do.
It's worth a rent, not a buy, if only to see the amazing visuals. It won't go down in cinema history as the best film ever made, but it's light-years ahead of the previous film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.
Advent Children is really only for people who have played the game. Others will think it looks pretty, but it won't mean anything to them. Personally, I'd rather have a direct sequel in video game format, but letting Square show off their artistic abilities here is just too much fun to miss.
The above was way too much review-talk. I'll make this a personal blog again... NOW.
Nathan was looking across the way at evil manager's office. He said to me, speaking of a reflection he could see, "I can see the other side of the room if I stare at his... thing." I started laughing as he corrected himself and said "window." He says his mind failed him, and then looked a bit embarassed. To help, I told Li and Sandy what he said as soon as I could.
Tonight, Catherine and I are going out to buy a new digital camera that will set us back several dollars. Then I'm buying new running shoes. Then... back home, I guess.
Generally I have nothing but positive comments to make about the TTC. The service is quick, reliable, and many of the drivers I've encountered could pass for decent human beings, some might even say they're good people.
I don't begrudge them their wish of safety or their desire to better their jobs, but I question their wisdom of pulling that stupid strike on Monday and screwing over nearly a million people in the process. It's a way to get your point across, sure, but there are other ways to go about making a point.
It only requires that you show people the same respect you're complaining you don't get from them. A little warning and people could have otherwise arranged rides or transportation to work. For me, I was happy not to be able to get to work. I called in and was told not to worry about.
Then work screwed me over. Again.
Through my co-worker, an evil manager at the company called and told me I'd be taking a ride to work with him and three other people I would not call human since they have no souls. I got out of my comfy shorts, stopped playing Nintendo, and walked a block or two in the heat while noticing that my black shoes were starting to stick to the sidewalk because they were melting.
All so I could get to work. The rub is that because of the American Memorial Day holiday, my work had already been completed last week in order to hit deadline while my American counterparts were on vacation.
Oh well, it was a nice way to end the weekend. Despite Jamie's vehemence to the contrary, I didn't find X-Men 3 to be that bad of a movie. Perhaps Jamie had too high expectations, but I got what I was expecting from the director of Rush Hour. A fast, dirty action flick. Certainly the weakest of the three in terms of plot, I chose to look at this as part three of one big movie with the big final act and I wasn't disappointed.
I absolutely loved Multiple Man. While not one of the better known characters for a general audience Jamie Madrox (played by Eric Dane) was fantastic. I've been spending quite a bit of time trying to find an image of him online where it shows the shirt he was wearing. It's very similar to one of the designs used in the comics and I want that shirt. Of course, I'd also have to find at least four other guys who look exactly like me in order to pull the whole thing together. I'll likely wind up designing my own damn shirt.
On the whole, I've come to expect much less out of the cinema experience these days. I'm through and through a TV whore now, which is too bad considering how much time it eats up.
It was nice watching X-Men, though, because my dad drove down on his motorcycle and along with Catherine, we walked down to the Paramount to take in the show. It's always good seeing my dad and he seemed happier than he's been in a while, which is always a good thing. What wasn't fun, was trying to explain how to access my blog to a man who blinks a lot when you mentioned websites, links, and bookmarks.
Sunday, Catherine and I went to see the Blue Jays. I think it must be me, but every time I go to a game, they seem to lose. The only consolation was that we got Vernon Wells bobbleheads to take home. Mine is on my desk at the moment and Nathan actually got giggly excited when he saw it. The rest of the game was okay, but in that heat, nothing is fun for long.
Poor Truffle. She's at home with a fan pointed in her direction and all the windows open. At night, we've been running the air conditioner in the bedroom, so we bring her in with us (cage and all) so that she can cool down. It doesn't get TOO hot in that apartment, but hot enough that you start to sweat if you walk any distance at all.
I'm told that this is nothing compared to China. I'm expecting to drop thirty pounds in total due to sweat my first week away.
The television season has come and gone with the exception of the final episode of Battlestar Galactica, leaving me with more free time than I'd like. Then again, I'm sure I'll be plenty busy with karate, Catherine, and our three week trip to China.
That doesn't, however, kill the summer for viewing pleasures as the movies are just getting warmed up. Because I can, I'm going to quickly run down the list of a few flicks coming out this summer that I'm interested in seeing.
Tonight begins an odyssey that started more than 7 years ago when I was in university. Just before my final year and just after Catherine and I started dating, I had the chance to be in the first X-Men movie. An exciting experience that capped off with a four-hour drive from Jasper to Edmonton just to see it the next July as well as me (surprise) buying the action figures from the movie.
1. X3. Now it's time for X-Men 3: The Last Stand. By all accounts it's the weakest of the three films as it's heavy on action and unloading tons of characters, but that doesn't bother me as I know who they all are anyway. I'm particularly happy about seeing Multiple Man in action.
2. The Da Vinci Code. I didn't really want to see this as I wasn't terribly impressed with the book (other than the research, the plot was laughable). However, Catherine and I got free passes to see an advance screening. Despite being free, the movie still cost close to $20 in snacks. If the film industry ever complains about pirating again, I'm starting a television campaign against the high cost of popcorn.
In regards to the movie itself, free is the amount of money I would recommend you spend. Seriously, the movie is quite dull, very predictable, and most of the actors look unhappy. I've seen worse and for those of you who are curious about it go ahead and spend the cash, but otherwise it's a pass.
3. Cars. I'm not terribly jazzed about the concept of this movie and the execution doesn't look to be on par for some of Pixar's previous efforts. I was totally blown away by The Incredibles and the first Toy Story is an amazing movie, but the lure of talking cars just isn't doing it for me. The voice cast seems okay (Owen Wilson, Richard Petty) and I have no doubts it'll be worth the price of admission. This will be one of the few times I go to a movie based purely on the strengths of the studio behind it. I hope to not be disappointed.
It apparently takes place in Radiator Springs and follows a young hotshot (Wilson) who dreams of making it into the big race. Standard predictable premise, but if anyone can make it worth watching, it's Pixar.
4. Superman Returns Everyone but me seems to be genuinely excited for this film. For some reason, I just can't get behind it. I still expect to see it, but perhaps it's because Bryan Singer left X3 to do this movie or because it completely clashes with Smallville, I'm not sure. I also don't like that Lois Lane has "moved on" or the way Brandon Routh looks. He looks like he's 12 and not at all suited to be Superman. Few are, however, and I was one of those people to retract my feelings about Michael Keaton as Batman.
You can't really argue with Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, though. He's got a great villainous quality and the film effects look pretty spiffy.
5. Clerks II. I'm wary of the whole thing, but Kevin Smith does dialogue well and perfected it in the original. If this is more of the same taken to yet another extreme, I'll be happy. The film promises lots of cameos by Smith veterans including Ben Affleck, Jason Lee, Ethan Suplee (My Name Is Earl), Kevin Wiseman (Alias)
The film picks up 10 years after the first one and Dante and Randal now work at a fast food joint. Typical bad service continues with a few other cast auditions to add to the hilarity. I'm expecting it to be one of Smith's better offerings.
Attached below is an internet teaser (no spoilers here) of Dante and Randal driving and talking about movie catchphrases. Good stuff.
Tomorrow, Catherine and I are going shopping for a digital camera and my Dad is coming to town. This doesn't happen often and I'm always slightly astonished when he agrees to come, so I'm actually holding off seeing X-Men until tomorrow so I can go with him. Other than that, I'm going to Blue Jays game on Sunday because they're giving away free bobble-heads and I can't resist getting free crap.
Building upon the success of our trip last year, Catherine and I decided that we might like to make a weekend trip to the Falls an annual event. We stayed at the same hotel, played some of the same games, and ate at one or two of the same places. It was great fun that could only have been better if the weather was cooperating and not making it feel as though it was the middle of February.
Can't always win, I suppose. Still, we played some mini-golf and in a landmark first I managed to beat Catherine. She'll likely blame the wind or the fact that I kept distracting her by tapping her club or hitting her with mine (not HARD, though).
We also spent more than $20 at the local midway playing skeeball, a popcorn game, and a shooting game. Catherine naturally beat me handily in all of those games, and for our reward we gathered all of these glorious, magical tickets that the games would spit out as a reward for our efforts.
By the end of it all, we had a total of 241 tickets. A fortune in cheap over-the-counter prizes! Still, as mighty as we felt, there were others lining up with more than 5000 tickets. I don't want to even think about how much money that translates into. There are people there for fun and the people who were kicked out of the casinos and are looking to make it BIG.
So, what did we spend it on? Well, 150 tickets got Catherine a dragonfly magnet. She seems to love the thing and how am I to judge? I picked two poker chips with the logo of the place on them, and then spent the rest on 22 plastic frogs of varying colours.
"You're going to hate me," I said to the clerk.
She looked up with a look I'm sure she's given at least a hundred times already today. "Go for it," she said.
"I want the rest in frogs."
Not blinking, she reached down, pulled up the bucket, and flatly said "Do you have a colour preference?"
Grace under pressure.
Catherine and I also picked up a polar bear magent on our trip, a Niagara Falls Christmas ornament, a ton of snacks, some pictures, and the glorious perfection that are the Hershey Store cookies. I tell you, all other cookies taste like ashes in my mouth.
A high point (low point?) of the trip was stumbling across an outdoor taping of Regis and Kelly. Dean Cain was there, but I'm not sure he qualifies as a celebrity anymore.
All in all, a good trip. I didn't glue myself together this year, nor did I have to repair Catherine's glasses once (two different fixes were required last year and she STILL hasn't bought new ones). Was it as good as last year? Hard to say. The landscape was a bit different and we were mostly confined to the hotel. Still, you make your own fun, don't you?
It took more than three years, but I finally went to the dentist yesterday. The only good things about this visit were that it came after a great weekend away with Catherine (Niagara Falls) and that it got me out of work two hours early.
Still, it didn't feel good.
I don't like dentists or doctors very much. Most of this comes from when I was younger as it seemed every time I went to the doctor, I'd be sent to the hospital. Mostly for asthma (I had to spend time inside oxygen tents), but also for meningitis and other problems, so as a result I tend to avoid things.
I decided to "man-up" about it and went to the doctor last week. Yesterday was the dentist. No cavities, I'm pleased to say, but the cleaning left me feeling as though a rabid dog had unleashed its foaming fury as my mouth was puffed and slashed by the not-so-tender mercies of the dentist.
But I did it. It's over and done with (for now). Now I can focus on getting a few other things together for China and I'm laughing. By now, no blood should come out of my mouth if I laugh too hard. Though rinsing after my cleaning was a bit of an unpleasant shock.
More on Niagara Falls tomorrow and the finding of 22 frogs.
PS. New blog layout. The old one made the text font too big and I didn't has as much room for images as I would have liked. As you can see here, some of the photos in previous entries no longer fit the window properly, so I may resize one or two. That, or just accept that no one is going to re-read them and move on.
So, I took yesterday off work 'sick' because I had a gazillion things to do. I arranged to get them all done on one day and even managed to do a few extra things as well. It's always nice to not be at work, but as Nathan says I tend to get a little paranoid that people are talking shit about me for not being there. Then again, no one cares.
I wish I did all the things that Ferris Bueller did. That movie was so inspiring... alas, I did grown-up things. Running errands and avoiding odd people. At least it was sunny out.
So, yesterday I went to the Chinese Embassy to arrange travel visas for Catherine and I. Ten minutes early and I was still the 13th person in line. The guy who helped me didn't speak any English, so I had to grunt and gesture a little. He seemed used to this so there were no real problems.
After that, I met up with Catherine and her job. I sent her an email to let her know I was outside, which I thought she got as she came to the window, but it turns out they placed their garbage can in prime office real estate. Hopefully that can thinks a lot of happy thoughts.
Went up there, collected her, then we went to the travel clinic where they charged us just shy of a billion dollars to tell us things we already knew and give us needles. I got two, Catherine got three (she was greedy). Then we left, I bought some bedding for Truffle, then I went home and did laundry. I managed to play a little Smash Bros before I left for a SECOND doctor's appointment (cool guy, two years older than I am, and from Guelph).
On my way back, I dropped forms off at U of T and mailed another teacher's college-related document. Everything's set until this fall when I get the bill. That, I don't want.
Went home, more video games, then off to karate. I got punched in the stomach quite hard.
At home, watched the hippies win the Amazing Race (ta-tao!) and Michael as he screws everyone over on Lost.
Not a bad day, overall. Unlocked the rest of the Smash Bros characters.
I set up my sick day exit by faking being ill the day before. It worked as one person wanted me to go home, one manager gave me advil, and others were sympathetic. Nathan laughed his ass off when he realized I was faking it. Normally, doing such things would be beneath me, but this place is evil and so the game must be played.
Today I'm back at work and hating it. The world has returned to normal, though Catherine and I got free tickets to an advance DaVinci Code screening tonight. Free is better than paying.
One of the funniest videos that I have come across online is this warped Japanese game show that punishes contestants who laugh at a video of a man attempting to speak English. I sent it to practically everyone in my office as it's just that darn good, but I'm making it much easier for you guys to come here to see it.
A major highlight is when he tries to count. I have to give the guy credit, though... he never stops trying.
It's hard to believe that I've hit my landmark 300th post already. Then again, I have been using this blog for a few years now and hopefully I've entertained and amused you, while occasionally providing bursts of damning insight into my soul.
My always helpful page-a-day calendar pointed me to this strange website the other day and I spent time looking through most (if not all) of the photos on the site because I have nothing else to do. At times funny, sometimes poignant, always strange, I thought I'd select 10 of my favorite shots to include today. I figured I might as well switch to a photo blog entry today as I've already done video, geekery, and other assorted bits of nonsense.
The first photo warns us of impending 'toad' of some sort. What kind of dire warning could this be and where did it come from? I hope someone figures it out before someone croaks. I selected it for inclusion because it's strange and I could see it becoming a group cheer of some sort down the road.
Many of these signs seem to have to do with animals in one form or another. This sign just seems like good advice, though I know of a few people I wouldn't mind seeing go over the fence.
I'm glad to see that the parks department has a bit of a sense of humor. Though I can't help but wonder if this sign has a deeper meaning of sort. Perhaps like Douglas Adams and his dolphins, the dogs in this area are super-intelligent and therefore should be able to outsmart us all. I could see it happening. After all, Vancouver is rich and teaming with natural splendour, mountains, hippies, and has a Hollywood North community second only to us all. That, or maybe it's a joke to play on Americans to make them think we really do talk to our dogs.
On the other side of the coin, perhaps this sign is a warning to dogs to say away from the pet exercise area. Seriously, though, who would take their pets here? What city council approved THIS as a good area?
Signs like this, as much as they amuse me, also kind of tick me off. I wouldn't go walking through there (TICKS!) so why would I risk taking an animal I love and care for into an area to get them killed? Elaine from Seinfeld probably likes the idea but me, not so much.
Instead, perhaps, we should follow the advice of this sign. Taken out of context, who knows what it could mean, but apparently if you're a man and you have a dog, you have to go over there. According to the subhead on the website, following the directions of the sign to the far end of the parking lot, there was an identical sign with no arrow. I don't know how long you have to wait there or what will happen if you stay for too long.
This sign seems to have a good suggestion on the matter. Just make sure you bring plenty of doggy bags. I hope the artist commissioned for this piece charged extra for the picture of the poop.
I don't know why, but this picture makes me think of Josh and Jer's cottage. I have no basis for this, but it just struck me as something he'd find really funny. Get drunk and apparently you dive underwater and begin to kiss fish. This hasn't happened to any of us so far as I know, but it's nice to know that, according to this sign, that it's an option.
It looks like it'd be a good party, though. You have the out of control boat, the beer, the guy who's obviously loving life, and the fish looks kind of happy with the whole thing. At least the fish is getting a kiss on the mouth and not a hook through it.
This photo makes me think of Catherine's brother, David. Currently teaching English in China, it's the kind of sign he's likely to come across and laugh at a lot. Considering he's sent us pictures of himself and a monkey, him holding a giant panda, and stories of receiving baby chicks as presents, it's really a smart bet that signs like this are inevitably going to follow.
This sign is by far my favorite. It makes me think of this job, or any job that doesn't make a person happy, and laugh my ass off. I can't believe the person who put up this sign didn't think it was odd, but apparently once you're in, you can't get out. Of course this isn't true so long as you have a hack-saw. Or Paul.
Go ahead. Want to leave? I know you do. Just try it. Look, there's an exit sign. And another one. I promise you it's an exit. Go ahead. A few more steps. OOOOHHHH... damn! Nope, not an exit. These signs were found in a hotel overseas. That's probably some poor guy's room.
So there you have it. Signs of life that point out the bizarre and humorous things that pass us by. If anyone else has pictures of signs like these or you want to start a blog of our own maybe that's something we could set up.
In the meantime, life goes on. It's lunch now and I have leftovers to eat and Veronica Mars DVDs to watch.
I had a pretty good weekend, with last Saturday being fantastic from start to finish. I've had a couple of 'blah' weekends lately, so a lot of good fortune and fun at once is happy making.
It started out in the morning with my karate grading. A few hours of exercise, kata, punches, kicks, and I'm now in possession of a brown belt. Despite doing karate for years before I came to this club, I was JUST below brown back in Guelph so to finally get it is really cool. It's just a short jump away from black. It's one of the main goals I set for myself years ago and it's good to be getting close to completing it.
Another fun side-effect of this was that the belt I got is a size smaller than my old one and fits fantastically. This means I'm losing weight. That's also quite happy making.
After that, Catherine and I went to the Pickle Barrel downtown to meet up with her parents who were going to see a show. We had a great breakfast/lunch, then walked over to the Silver Snail for Free Comic Book Day 2006. We both wound up with quite a few free comics (Catherine got an Archie) and headed back home.
The fun didn't stop, as my action-figure.com connection finally delivered my set of Marvel Legends 13 (Onslaught wave) to my front door. I saved more than $30 on this deal and wound up with my favorite set yet. I'll upload a few of my own pics (I know, I know... geek stuff) tomorrow but I'll include stock photos of some of them today.
I only opened a couple (Pyro and Loki) and left the rest (Abomination, Green Goblin, Blackheart, Lady Deathstrike) for Sunday to open. Still, it was lots of fun and Catherine put up with me.
After that, we went to visit friends Victoria and Jamie for a night of pizza and games. The pizza was great (couldn't tell you where it was from) and then we played Boggleand Bohnanza. Of course, I won both games (mainly because Wilt wasn't there).
I was quite pleased overall. Free geek stuff, new belt, time with Catherine. I feel slightly bad that I had to skip out on my brother's backyard barbecue reception, but as he only told me about it a couple days before and plans were already made, I couldn't make it. Still, great time overall. There are worse ways to live.
EDIT:
If you REALLY want to look cool at work, do a blog entry while your boss walks in the room and up to you (this NEVER happens). Then have him look at your screen (all of text). Minimize that to have imageshack.us open with a GIANT stupid ad on it for a fart button. For total hilarity, realize that your boss sees this, then watch as he reaches out and pushes the button on your screen.
For the rest of your day, clean your desk so that if you're fired you can just pick up and go. Luckily, my boss knows nothing of what I do and likely thinks I was working.
Paul, I can hear you from here. I'm not an idiot. Just... unlucky on Mondays. I do well on Saturdays and alternate Tuesdays.
How many people out there can say they've run into someone who, at first glance, appears to be your twin? On my way to work this morning, I was reading the Metro and was given pause because I dont' normally appear in newspaper ads. I had to look a little more closely to see that it wasn't me, but the TV critic, Rick McGinnis.
Nathan and I have been become more and more alike during the time we've spent working together. It's funny, because in so many ways we're very different people. We're both losing weight, though for Nathan I think it's also somehow affected his height.
The current headline making story arc for Marvel Comics deals with events in their 
As a Canadian, I can, for the most part, sit back and take all of this in without needing to express my feelings one way or another. However, when it does spill over to my neck of the woods courtesy of an aggressive Marvel PR agent, then I get touchy.
Um, excuse me? Openly threatening news agencies is a low blow, especially considering the politic-heavy storyline they're concerned about here is about granting individuals the rights and freedoms of chosing for themselves. Marvel's bottom line here is either you fall in place or your screwed.
I hate this place.
We've been putting the camera through its paces over the weekend trying out all of the various features. It's been going quite well, and a few shots are posted here, including Truffle in silhouette (more or less), Catherine on the GO, Paul, and Jamie being very polite.
Just to put it out there as part of an official record: I won games. Not just one, but a few of them. Most people said it couldn't be done, and I'm sure there will be more 'Brian Loses' cards in the future, but for now, I stand victorious on the ashes of my enemies.
Today, however, I got a request from a girl (an actual FEMALE on a comic message board) who was new to the site and wanted to know how she could post images of herself from the Wizard World Philly convention. These kinds of emails I ignore as I'm not a bloody FAQ (in fact, I ignore most tech questions), but she sent me the photos she wanted me to post and I laughed myself silly. Then I called Nathan over who offered a succinct 'WTF'?
So Catherine and I finally took the plunge that most couples fear to do... after nearly seven years together, we decided last night that it was time to buy a new digital camera.
It has also AV outputs, tons of different settings, takes four AA batteries (which we wanted as they're much easier to replace in a pinch) and Catherine's favorite feature is you can set it so that every time you take a picture it barks like a dog. She giggles each time.
I can name all of the video games that had a lasting impact on me when I was growing up. True, I value outdoor experience much more so, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm part of the video game generation born out of the early 80s. I had the Commodore 64, the Atari, NES, and so forth. 
Most of my friends were converted as well. I know Jer was heavily into it, as was Jamie, Paul (Haynes), and I believe Josh got addicted as well. There was something so special and real about that game that hasn't been caputred since. The graphics have improved since then, but I still remember sharing Jer's feelings of shock and loss when Aerith was killed by Sephiroth.
Good animated films are hard to come by (as are films in general). This one isn't going to set the world on fire, nor do I think it will become a cult hit of any sort. Instead, it's more a piece that plays to that gamer nostalgia and those who like ludicrous action movies filled with impossible stunts and huge swords. From this angle, the film succeeds.
Generally I have nothing but positive comments to make about the TTC. The service is quick, reliable, and many of the drivers I've encountered could pass for decent human beings, some might even say they're good people.
I absolutely loved Multiple Man. While not one of the better known characters for a general audience Jamie Madrox (played by Eric Dane) was fantastic. I've been spending quite a bit of time trying to find an image of him online where it shows the shirt he was wearing. It's very similar to one of the designs used in the comics and I want that shirt. Of course, I'd also have to find at least four other guys who look exactly like me in order to pull the whole thing together. I'll likely wind up designing my own damn shirt.
Sunday, Catherine and I went to see the Blue Jays. I think it must be me, but every time I go to a game, they seem to lose. The only consolation was that we got Vernon Wells bobbleheads to take home. Mine is on my desk at the moment and Nathan actually got giggly excited when he saw it. The rest of the game was okay, but in that heat, nothing is fun for long.
The television season has come and gone with the exception of the final episode of 
Building upon the success of our trip last year, Catherine and I decided that we might like to make a weekend trip to the Falls an annual event. We stayed at the same hotel, played some of the same games, and ate at one or two of the same places. It was great fun that could only have been better if the weather was cooperating and not making it feel as though it was the middle of February.
By the end of it all, we had a total of 241 tickets. A fortune in cheap over-the-counter prizes! Still, as mighty as we felt, there were others lining up with more than 5000 tickets. I don't want to even think about how much money that translates into. There are people there for fun and the people who were kicked out of the casinos and are looking to make it BIG.
"I want the rest in frogs."
It took more than three years, but I finally went to the dentist yesterday. The only good things about this visit were that it came after a great weekend away with Catherine (Niagara Falls) and that it got me out of work two hours early.
But I did it. It's over and done with (for now). Now I can focus on getting a few other things together for China and I'm laughing. By now, no blood should come out of my mouth if I laugh too hard. Though rinsing after my cleaning was a bit of an unpleasant shock.
So, I took yesterday off work 'sick' because I had a gazillion things to do. I arranged to get them all done on one day and even managed to do a few extra things as well. It's always nice to not be at work, but as Nathan says I tend to get a little paranoid that people are talking shit about me for not being there. Then again, no one cares.
Went up there, collected her, then we went to the travel clinic where they charged us just shy of a billion dollars to tell us things we already knew and give us needles. I got two, Catherine got three (she was greedy). Then we left, I bought some bedding for Truffle, then I went home and did laundry. I managed to play a little 
TOAD!!!
I'm glad to see that the parks department has a bit of a sense of humor. Though I can't help but wonder if this sign has a deeper meaning of sort. Perhaps like Douglas Adams and his dolphins, the dogs in this area are super-intelligent and therefore should be able to outsmart us all. I could see it happening. After all, Vancouver is rich and teaming with natural splendour, mountains, hippies, and has a Hollywood North community second only to us all. That, or maybe it's a joke to play on Americans to make them think we really do talk to our dogs.
On the other side of the coin, perhaps this sign is a warning to dogs to say away from the pet exercise area. Seriously, though, who would take their pets here? What city council approved THIS as a good area?
I don't know why, but this picture makes me think of Josh and Jer's cottage. I have no basis for this, but it just struck me as something he'd find really funny. Get drunk and apparently you dive underwater and begin to kiss fish. This hasn't happened to any of us so far as I know, but it's nice to know that, according to this sign, that it's an option.
Go ahead. Want to leave? I know you do. Just try it. Look, there's an exit sign. And another one. I promise you it's an exit. Go ahead. A few more steps. OOOOHHHH... damn! Nope, not an exit. These signs were found in a hotel overseas. That's probably some poor guy's room. 
I had a pretty good weekend, with last Saturday being fantastic from start to finish. I've had a couple of 'blah' weekends lately, so a lot of good fortune and fun at once is happy making.
The fun didn't stop, as my action-figure.com connection finally delivered my set of Marvel Legends 13 (Onslaught wave) to my front door. I saved more than $30 on this deal and wound up with my favorite set yet. I'll upload a few of my own pics (I know, I know... geek stuff) tomorrow but I'll include stock photos of some of them today.
If you REALLY want to look cool at work, do a blog entry while your boss walks in the room and up to you (this NEVER happens). Then have him look at your screen (all of text). Minimize that to have imageshack.us open with a GIANT stupid ad on it for a fart button. For total hilarity, realize that your boss sees this, then watch as he reaches out and pushes the button on your screen.
