Category: General

So, there’s
this great band called Down By
Avalon appearing at The Cave on
February 7th 2003.  My good friend
Pretzelboy is in the band.
Be sure to pay them a visit!  Speaking of upcoming shows, don’t forget
Groovelily is coming to
The Six String Cafe and Music Hall January 30, 2003.    I hope
those links work, my internet’s running slow right now.  maybe because i’m
downloading a bunch of stuff.  Speaking of downloading a bunch of stuff,
want to see what i’m downloading?  Today I found
a
great Chinese site with pics from cosplay’s there.  What is cosplay?
People dressing up and playing the role of a character from usually an anime
series or video game.  This is usually done at anime conventions.
Anime usually coming from Japan, this site is in China.  However, in the
background I noticed the Tokyo Dome.  That’s where some great artists like
Ayumi Hamasaki have performed huge concerts.  Anyway, they also have some
great wallpapers and music from different games and series if your adventurous
enough to navigate the site without knowing the language.  If you think
that kind of stuff doesn’t happen here, think again.  Check out my links to
Con Reports.  Right now it’s located on the left hand side of the screen.
It’s got pictures i’ve taken from the local cons i’ve been to.  Next one
extremely local to me is Animazement,
in Durham, North Carolina from May 23 to May 25 2003.  These events are
24/7 so be sure to get a 3 day pass and a hotel room.

In other
news, I received an Xbox for Christmas from my Mom.  Thanks mom.  and
the other day, i finally went out and bought my first game.  Shenmue II.
When I received the first Shenmue on Dreamcast, it was a new experience.
It really throws you into this other world.  It’s so realistic and
realistic doesn’t have to mean only graphically you unimaginative fools.
You can conversate with anyone.  yes, i meant to say conversate.  You
can go anywhere, enter any store.  Buy something.  doesn’t matter.
It was such a great game that I began to have dreams about it.  I was
there, in that world.  I was Ryo for a while.  and what i wouldn’t
give to kick Ryo in the balls and tell him to ask Nazomi out.   its
obvious they like each other.  She’s extremely interested, but he just
blows her off.  he’s not apparent at all, until the very end – if you call
Nazomi just before she leaves town, he almost spills the beans.  Anyway,
Shenmue II takes the step much further.  You enter into this new world,
(you’ve just arrived in Hong  Kong) and there are so many people there.
You exit the boat and can wander the harbor, the streets and what not.
Talk to anyone.  See anything.  So much going on.   People
say the game is no better on Xbox than on the Dreamcast version and that’s just
crazy.  Even though the Dreamcast Shenmue I was very technologically sound,
it was a step above what had been done on any console before.  Yu Suzuki
said that the game was really an experiment.  To create a new style of
game.  Put you in this world and let you go.  Live it. Walking the
streets of Shenmue II there is sooo much to see.  the shops are incredibly
detailed.  Even the signs and banners above the streets are polygonaly
amazing.  And moving 30 or so people around on the screen at once is no
small challenge.  Anyway, point is Shenmue II is awesome.  Get it.
Watch the DVD movie of Shenmue I if you didn’t play it or you will really be
lost.  Not too bad, but it wont make a whole lot of sense.  Besides,
props to Yu Suzuki, quoting here from Gamespy:
“SEGA Chief Executive
Officer Yo (edit – i think it’s Yu not Yo) Suzuki will receive a Hall of Fame
award from the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS) during the 2003
D.I.C.E. Summit on February 27. Last year’s winner Will Wright of Maxis (edit –
Sim City hall of fame) will present the award to Suzuki, who has “not only
created some of the best video games in the world, but he has also helped
enhance awareness and appreciation of this interactive art form,” according to
AIAS President Paul Provenzano. The industry veteran is best known for the games
Outrun, Space Harrier, Shenmue, and the Virtua Fighter
series.”

moving on.  what do you do otherwise?
when the realization sets in.

its that time of year again. i’ve spent the last few weeks shopping for your present. i have several methods of which i purchase gifts. one, i will buy a bunch of stuff that is gift worthy. then i’ll take it all home, and pick one of them up and say this would be good for so and so. and pick another up and say this would be for so and so. and so on until all the gifts are accounted for. another method, i walk aimlessly around the malls until i see something that catches my eye and makes me say that would be good for so and so. and i’ll buy it. thats the best way i think. problem is since i’m a man, i dread spending all day in the malls. so if at the end of the day of walking around i still haven’t seen something to catch my eye for a particular person i’m missing, i feel very lost. that’s when i resort back to method #1. but sometimes the combinations of methods leads me to have extra gifts. which is good anyway, because i’m sure i’ve forgotten someone. i spent a lot of money on myself this year. since i dont have a partner to spend money on, i might as well enjoy it. so i got a PS2. and i got the very awesome final fantasy x. i also got kingdom hearts which i am already stuck in. besides, i’ve been wasting my time with yuna and rikku and the ever growing on me lulu. the game is filled with gratuitous shots of her breasts which i’m noticing way too much, so thats not good. shots of her breasts are allowed, but not to the point where they’re just doing it for the hell of it. it’s not necessary to have a shot of someone standing to the side of lulu talking, and having lulu in the foreground with just her cleavage showing. when she wins a battle, she’ll hang her torso down and let them hang and swang around. lulu is just a little slut. but yuna and rikku on the other hand. ahhh. well, anyway. my good friend margaret in china informed me she would not buy any Christmas cards because it would contribute to the pollution. that’s a new concept for me. but i guess when you have a country with how ever many billion of people they have and if each person gave away 10 Christmas cards year after year, they can pile up pretty quick. where do old cards go? do you throw them away? do you keep them in a box? do you send received cards to someone else? my downfall is i have some clothing i received for Christmas that i never returned because i dont like them. i dont know what to do with them. i would give them away but i’ve forgotten who gave them to me. i dont want to give it back to the same person who gave it to me. i think my dad did that last year. if i remember correctly i gave him a lowes gift card two years ago. well, last year i got one from him. pretty sure it was the same one i gave to him. ahh well. actually, i don’t know if i’ve ever spent it. hmmm. i have a gift card for best buy that i will never use. because i’ve boycotted best buy. i’ve boycotted wal mart from game purchases as well. eb games and babbages and of course somewhere online are my new fav places to buy from. i’ve even already received my first gift. thanks marty. but i haven’t opened it yet. i’ll wait until we can officially exchange presents until i do. marty’s one of those people i saw something and said oo that would be great for marty. i even was tempted to pick one up for myself. but i refrained. maybe i’ll go back later and get another one. friday night we had our company Christmas get together. and i didn’t feel lonely one bit. although i was the only single guy there. you know this is the first Christmas in about 7 years where i haven’t had a girlfriend? it’s weird. almost as weird as my first Christmas with a girlfriend. the only decorating i’ve done for Christmas is the tons of unwrapped presents on my floor. the bags they came out of are strewn amongst the house belongings. receipts are all over my kitchen counter. i’m gathering wrapping paper and tape and scissors in anticipation of a hurried wrapping session. my cats attempt to wrap themselves. my dog thinks Christmas cookies are hers. yet i’m right on track. i haven’t given in to the commercialization of Christmas. maybe. you know, like charlie brown. i only this year realized what the charlie brown Christmas special was all about. ok, my cat just fell off the desk. that’s rare. anyway, pay attention next time. but watch it on tv. the dvd version only brings out the bad sound quality and editing. it was obviously meant for adults, kids would never understand a show like that. and did you see the new muppet Christmas show? not for kids either. i’m proud of them. there was enough political, satirical and sexual humor to please me and make me laugh so hard to fall off the couch. well in case i dont have time to write again, and in case i dont see you again before hand, merry Christmas. enjoy it. get and give what you want. relax, meet old friends and family. eat lots of food. and spend the next week cleaning up, organizing your house, and wondering when you’re going to do all those returns and exchanges

still recovering. but i’m alive. For those who don’t have a clue, my area received a huge ice storm last Wednesday night. my power went off right around midnight Wednesday night. i lit some candles, played some guitar, and then went to bed. i awoke to a very cold house, and as it continued to get colder, i decided against roughing it and went to my dads. who has a fireplace and a generator. i packed up a huge backpack of clothes, magazines, water, food, camera equipment and the like and walked to his house. on the way, i took lots of pictures which i will be working on posting here as soon as i can. and it wasn’t until quite a while of me doing photos for documentary sake and arts sake that i realized i had been stepping all over a power line. apparently and luckily it was disconnected at both ends. The trees all swayed into the road, taking the power lines with them. all around me was the popping snapping sounds of trees breaking and falling. at that point, i knew i was going to be out of power for quite some time. if just my immediate area was like this, it must be far worse elsewhere. got to my dads, and me and my dad went walking and i took more pics. we walked his woods and saw all the damage to the trees. got depressed, and walked back, and Marie (my stepmom) had cooked up some food on the fireplace. we ate and watched the news (tv on generator) and just lounged around. nothing else to do. that night, power came on at about 10:00 pm. i was watching tv, and noticed the clocks coming on and the answering machine start. cool, but i hadn’t seen anyone come fix the power lines. 30 minutes later it went back off. well, ok, to make a long story short, it came back on saturday night about 8 or so. we washed clothes and things like that while we had power, they still hadn’t come to fix the down line yet. not quite sure how we had power, but we did. and it continued to stay on. i ended up leaving today around 3 pm. sat and sun was full of chainsawing and picking up and hauling and the like. i counted 6 truckloads of limbs we hauled in the truck, and maybe another 10 full we moved by hand. trees are very heavy to move especially when covered in ice. the most exercise i’ve had all year maybe. well, im thankful i have power now. i can come back home and clean my house, wash clothes, take a hot shower and eat a good meal. i think i’ll even sleep naked tonight just cuz i can

freak #1,

freak #2, to

walk in those shoes, looks like some

sort of art work,

freak #3  – designed?  created?  this is supposed to be
professionalism? this is just
asinine.

here here, i agree
completely.  smoking
stinks.  I left my last girl because of it.  the smell is nasty.
it makes you stink.  it makes people around you stink.  i can smell it
on you after you sneak away to smoke and you dont think anyone knows.
browsing the wonderful jinx site, i’d
also like to point out this.
aint no way i’d do that.  Screw
walmart.
game developers should release their games as they see fit.  walmart wont
carry them, but ebgames, gogamer.com, amazon.com, buy.com babbages, whatever
tickles your pinky will carry them, make the stores lots of money and wal mart
wont get a penny cuz the customers will go where they need to go to get the
games.  maybe then when walmart looses their 25% share on game sales will
they wisen up and let developers do their job and develop.

screw the little kids and their extremist ways too.  screw the people
who go

cow tipping.   screw the

women and their evil intentions.  a system made 20 years ago was
a challenge to
recover a ‘timecapsule’ project?  makes you wonder about digital
archival.  monopoly
has a
monopoly. 
recruits brainwash kids.  recruiting kids is not a business.  it’s
a choice that needs to be made by a clear minded individual who knows and
understands all risks and consequences of joining the military.
Like arcade machines?  Oooo
looks like DDR 8th mix is out soon according to them.

Be sure to read
the novel Storme wrote.  In
fact, there’s over 2000 50,000 word
novels written in November alone!  Maybe i’ll participate next year.

so I saw the new
James Bond movie last night, Die Another Day.  Awesomely perfect.  I
watched 15 minutes of previews.  then they showed the little pre game show
where they tell you how to leave in case the building catches on fire.  I
was ready for the dun dun da dun da when they showed TWO more previews!
everyone laughed.  Madonna’s song rocks too.  I’m also listening to
the new Mitsubishi commercial’s song, Just Breathe.  by Telepopmusik.
also awesomeness.  there’s an extremely calming feeling when you’re in the
mens room by yourself.  just walk on in, you can even start whipping it out
before you get there.  Relax standing there, you can stand just as far back
as it’ll flow.  You don’t mind farting, burping, scratching yourself.
But, there’s an extreme sense of awkwardness when you walk into the bathroom and
look at a wall of 3 urinals and you see one guy on both sides.  There’s
just as odd uneasiness when you’re there alone doing your chores and another
walks in.  you must cover up, move closer, try not to touch it with your
tip,  turn slightly away from him, and take your stance.   Wonder
if the other guy is watching, wondering why you’re wondering if the other guy
may be watching.  a pin could drop in a room like that and the whole room
would hear it.  and you stand there and shake it off and wonder if you look
silly.  carefully listening to the other to be sure you both don’t head for
the sinks at the same time.  trying to beat the other guy who came in after
you cuz you were there first, so you should finish first.  if you didn’t
finish first, then what were you doing?

a day in the life
of a single guy.  i went shopping last night.  for myself.  and
as i walked around the mall, i realized again what pointless of a situation it
is to circle the mall.  over and over.  i went into the store i was
needing to go to, made my purchase.  i had a box of 4 rolls of film.
you can buy 2 more rolls for only a dollar if you get this box.   sure
why not.  the power of marketing, i said to the guy.  and as i exited
i got caught up in the flow of traffic which meant that i was to walk on the
bottom floor all around the mall, then go up to the second floor and circle that
one too.  onlooker as i passed by stores, odd make shift shops in the
middle while i sang the song I’m a girl watcher to myself.  i browsed the
arcade, and relaxed for a while watching and listening to a few guys compete at
DDR, and I knew the words to all the songs, since I have the 5th mix on CD.
Someone brought foot stools, or maybe the arcade provided them.  but there
was a small crowd at the ddr machine, lots of teenagers sitting around on the
floor and the stools.  reminded me of an anime con.  of course, there was the
obligatory goth couple.  who sat between two other machines near me.
after a few songs, i left, and browsed for some food.  decided on chik fil
a and had a seat.  i watched the people in the food court eating their
foods, talking to their friends, browsing through what they bought.  then i
noticed him.  he was sitting alone.  far away from me.  older,
maybe 28-30.  and he seemed to look at the passing ladies like i did.
come on, a single guy like myself has to amuse himself somehow.  and i
realized that i wasn’t the only pathetic guy in the mall, all alone, sitting
here hoping to get a glimpse of a cute girl.  but i felt like he was
watching me too.  like i was his competition. or maybe like he didn’t want
anyone else to notice he was alone and looking.  anyway, i continued to eat
my food, nodding at people walking by.  twiddling my thumbs and otherwise
wasting time.  and i looked up to notice the guy was now no longer alone.
apparently a friend had joined him.  they were talking and looking and
laughing and all.  ok, so i was wrong.  i was the only pathetic guy in
the mall.  and i looked up later once more and i saw a guy walking across
all the tables by himself, but jabbing away on a cell phone.  and i noticed
from the corner of my eye, a lady walking from the other side in the same
direction as the guy walking alone jabbing on her cell phone.  i was waiting for the
two to meet and sit down to a table.  however, each sat down at different
tables.  each continuing to talk. and i never noticed the guy get up for
any food or anything.  and i wondered if maybe he was really like me, here
all alone, with no one to talk to, but too embarrassed to admit it, so he’s
acting like he’s talking to someone on his phone when in reality it’s only the
operator.  and the lady, i had lost sight of her.  but she was korean,
i’m thinking.  light skinned asian.  a very attractive lady.  i
lost track of her.  i continued my food and when all the table around me
were empty, i decided it was time to go too.  so i got up, threw my trash
away, and greeted the lady at the cookie counter.  i’d like 2 cookies.
buy one more and get one free, she said.  sure why not.  the power
of marketing i said to the lady.  and still confused, i had to ask how many
cookies that would be total.  she said four, and i told her my choices.
chocolate chip and macadamia nut.  i gathered my cookies, and walked back
to the chick fil a to get a refill.  and as i walked by, i noticed the
pretty asian lady before was sitting with an even prettier asian lady.  i
couldn’t help but to stare.  i went to the store, and waited for my refill.
and looked and there was the prettier lady who must of gotten up right after i
walked by, she was waiting for something too.  and i couldn’t help but to
wonder what would have happened if she got up just as i was coming by and we
bumped into each other.  she got what she needed, never looked my way and
left.  i got what i needed, shrugged my shoulders in a sense of normalcy
and left too.  and as i exited the door, i noticed out of the corner of my
eye a lady behind me.  i passed the first door before seeing her, so on
the second door, i paused as i held it open for her.  i looked back and the
same obligatory goth chick was walking towards me.  i held the door, and
she looked at me and said in the sweetest voice thank you.  i nodded my
head smiled and continued on.  in my car, i situated my cookies to eat on
the drive home.  i looked at the movie listing i had printed out to bring
with me to see if a movie i wanted to see was playing soon.  it wasn’t.
an hour and half would be the next showing of something im interested in.
so i cruised on home.  i came home to my loving fat ass cat.  who
greeted me at the door with a meow, purr and a rub against the legs.  he’s
sleeping on the chair behind me right now.

a
devastating black hole
is headed in Earths direction.
The Pope declares
himself immortal.  Thieves try to

sell stolen goods back to original owner.
A neato picture.

Downloading copyrighted or otherwise restricted music that you
don’t own is illegal.  I like to download music from my favorite artists
(and unknown) so i know what cd to buy that i’ll like the most songs on.
I’ve bought more cd’s this year than i have in the past 5 years i bet.  I
want to raise a question to my audience.  is downloading copyrighted porn
illegal?  Is downloading copyrighted porn immoral?  porn in itself is
immoral.  having sex outside of love is wrong.  so if i copy or
download a porn that i should have paid for, is that so wrong?

i
recently bought warcraft 3.  and i’m going to play it.  a lot.
it’s going to take up all my time.  and there’s not a thing you can do
about it.

Sunday, November 17, 2002 – 11:10 pm – hi.  i slept
all weekend.  now i’m like wide awake.  nothing new to say here.
sorry.  so i’ll just blab.  blab blab.  i’ve been playing final
fantasy legend on gameboy.  i’ve almost beat it.  it will be the 3rd
time i’ve beaten this game.  2wice was on the real gameboy.  years and
years ago.  now, i’m playing it on my dreamcast using an emulator.
playing these games on my big screen tv is really cool.  i dont want to
give away any secrets.  a secret isn’t a secret when you tell someone.
i have secrets.  i have things i wish were secrets.  i have secrets i
wish i didn’t have, and i have things that are secrets just for the purpose of
me saying i have a secret.  i dont trust anyone to know my secrets.
it can take me hours just to type up one paragraph here.  it’s already been
15 minutes so far this one.  i’m not inspired right now.  too many
projects loom in my mind.  i’m one to start many things, but never finish
one of them.  this web site isn’t even finished.  its been over a year
since i’ve had it.  of course, a work like this can’t ever really be
finished.  at some point, all the creative work in the world will have come
to an end.  at some point, everything that could be created will have been
created.  every song, every story, every piece of art.  what will
humans do in a few million years when the sun explodes?  the earth will be
no more.  consider that?  our children will have to have a new place
already established and thriving to continue life.  you think there will be
people who stay behind because they dont want to leave their home?  like
the freaks who dont leave home during a hurricane?  we always are searching
for radio signals from aliens to see if we can detect any.  i am a member
of the seti project.  search for extra terreristals.  i think we
should stop looking for their signals and start sending our signals on our own.
for the purpose of making contact.  as far as i know, i dont think there
are any massive attempts at such.  i just sent a picture of our last big
snow storm to a friend in the phillipines.  she’s never seen snow in real
life.  she can’t quite grasp the concept of being stuck in the house for
days and not being able to go out.  ahh well.  maybe it’ll snow soon.
i remember our last big snow happened on Thursday i think.  saturday i had
a gig.  luckily i got ahold of my step moms truck blazer thing.
luckily my dad came and plowed out my driveway.  the gig was a go and it
was actually a good turnout.  ahh well.  no plans right now for a next
gig.  i’ll let you know when.

are you watching
24 this season?  really exciting, really gets me going.  catch it, fox
Tuesday nights at 9:00 pm.   I received my new
Groovelily cd today.  and as i
expected, it’s awesome too.  and I was really hyped when i saw all the band
members had personally signed the cd!  very awesome too.  Now, i have
2 cd’s signed by them, the first i picked up at one of their shows a few months
ago and asked them to sign.  check them out.  They’ll be back in Cary,
NC at the Six String Cafe and Music Hall January 30, 2003.
www.sixstringcafe.com.  While
I’m plugging, the last artist i saw there was the wonderful
Allyson Light.
If you like Tori Amos, you’ll like Allyson.  Although I don’t like to
compare artists like that.  each artist is different.  Allyson has
lots of talent, awesome piano, great lyrics and melody.  be sure to see her
live.  I’m sorry to say Allyson, but I picked up Water at your show (and
got a signature, thanks 😉 ) and it doesn’t do you justice.   Allyson
will be performing at the Berkley Cafe in Raleigh December 6, 2002.  She’ll
be opening for another artist, Alex Bach.
Show starts at 9:30.    i’ll be there, maybe, i’ll try.  oh
yea, ok i just went to the web site for Alex, and yea, i’m pretty sure i’m going
now 😉  plug plug plug, I took a road trip last night all the way to Chapel
Hill just to see a movie.  But, extremely awesome movie, i’ve had to travel
to 2 theaters i’ve never even heard of before just to see this movie.  Yes,
i’ve seen it twice.  Spirited Away.
By the wonderful Hayao Miyazaki, same guy of Princess Mononoke fame, another of
my favorite movies.    Spirited Away is the number 1 grossing
movie in Japan.  Ever.  Besting Titanic, Star Wars, whatever.
Spirited Away is #1.  Here, it only plays in small unknown independent
theaters.  Despite the gracious efforts of Disney to present this movie in
the US. This really outlines the major differences between our cultures.
In a land where business men are more likely to be seen riding the subway
reading manga (think comic books) than the newspaper.  Here in America,
i’ve seen the movie twice, and each time, i was one of no more than 20 people in
the theater.   it’s not advertised.  not admitted.  deemed
unfit because it’s a cartoon.  Americans don’t appreciate art apparently.
I have more animated movies than live action in my DVD collection.  I’ve
been to anime cons (check the con reports link to view some great pics!) to
spend 3 whole days of viewing anime.  And i’m not just stuck on anime.
The Simpsons also hold a dear place in my funny bone.  As do classics from
the Bugs Bunny family.  Pink Panther, Tom and Jerry.  Mad Magazine.
I still subscribe to Wired magazine mainly for the great artwork although I
could read all the articles online for free.