Welcome to the Monday

Hey all you folks out there in the blog-overse.  I hope that everyone had a good weekend.  Mine was pretty good.  Low key, but I am alright with that. 

 

So this weekend was a bit odd for me.  I think this is the first weekend in awhile where I haven't devoted a considerable amount of time to TF2 on the video game front.  I spent most of my gaming time stepping back into "The Witcher."   A really interesting RPG.   I had tried playing through the game before, but found the default Over the Shoulder camera view to be a bit cumbersome and made navigation hard.  This time around I'm playing the game with the camera set for isometric controls, and I am enjoying it a lot more.   In the isometric view the game plays much more like Diablo II. Which I definitely find to be a plus.  Being able to play a majority of the game with just your mouse makes for a much more relaxing experience.  I am still having troubles with the game.  I think the interface is just a touch counter intuitive especially when if comes to tracking your active quests.  I am pretty much to the point in the game where I was before, where I have a variety of quests to complete, but not a real good sense of what I need to do or where I need to go to resolve the quests I am currently working on.  Plus, there is totally a chick in game waiting for me at the old well for a date. (Yes, in this game you are able to charm some of the ladies out of their corsets.) If only I could find out where I need to go to buy a bottle of wine. 

 

In other video game news, I scooped up Lego Batman for my DS yesterday.   I had such fun with the Star Wars Lego game that I have been looking forward to Batman getting the same treatment.  I am not to far into the game as of yet, but I am at present a bit unimpressed.   The actual game play mechanics remain pretty much intact from the Lego StarWars game, as you combine the abilities of different characters to pass various obstacles in the game world.  The game play remains fun and entertaining, and I actually found it to be less repetitive the the Star Wars games, as the focus in this game is more upon using your characters to pass through the levels then fighting wave after wave of generic respawning enemies.   At this point, if I do have an issue with the game it is due to the lack of animated in game cut scenes.   One of the most entertaining aspects of the Star Wars games were the animated cut scenes between levels.  These were hysterical in the Star Wars game.  Here in Batman we are deprived of these cuts scenes which have been replaced by a slide show of static images to convey the story.   Sadly, these slide shows while they strive to be entertaining are actually quite boring.   Especially in light of how entertaining the Star Wars cut scenes were. The lack of animated cut scenes just smack of laziness on the part of the developer.   The biggest crime that these scenes perpetrate however, is that they make the story line attempting to be told almost unimportant.   Which is a shame, because the potential for this game (had it been a complete package) was incredible and could have been special.   In it's released state it rates an average.  I hope more time was put into the console versions.

 

Friday night was interesting.  I took in the Presidential debates with The Gent.   Now, as I've said before I am planning on supporting Obama in the upcoming election, and Friday night's debate did little to alter my opinion in this matter.  What I saw on Friday night only reinforced my opinion that the direction that John McCain and the Republican party will take our country is indeed the wrong direction.  John McCain's belligerent attitude towards the majority of foreign policy issues discussed scares me.   His attitude was arrogant and in my opinion borders on war mongering.  While I think John McCain was trying to portray himself as knowledgeable and authorative with regards to our place on the world stage I think all he really served to show was how out of touch he is with the current state of the world.  He may have said he had no desire to see a return to the cold war, but the way that his rhetoric regarding Russia and meeting with foreign heads of state  came across to me seamed quite the contrary.   John MCain sadly I think exposed his thinking as woefully archaic.   Our country is at a cross roads in it's evolution, and I think small minded and combative thinking has no place in our government.   What kind of leader can a man be if he can't even acknowledge his opponent in a political debate?   What does it say about the man who wants to lead our country that he can call his opponent to far to the left to reach across the isle, yet can't ever bare to cast a glance across the four feet of stage separating the two candidates?   

This is how you can tell if your day is going to suck...

That's the key to my apartment Ladies and Gents.  Awesome!

HIMYM...How I See It Going Down

I hate it when my brain starts thinking and ruins things for me.  Stoopid brain.  On Monday night I watched the season 4 premier of "How I Met Your Mother".  So just based on what we've seen so far here are some ponderings that I have relating to the rest of this season.

I Don't Know If These Are Spoilers cause I'm just speculating but here we go.

• Stella is not the Mother  - i think that this is a pretty easy assumption to make.  Yes, as season 4 opens we know that Ted has asked her to marry him, and that she has said yes.  Still, based upon the flash forward scenes with the children, I still do not think that we've actually met the mother.
• Ted Will Meet The Mother This Season - I just think that is going to happen.  Here is the sucky part.  What we know so far about the mother, is that a) she appears to be the girl with the yellow umbrella, and b) the girl with the yellow umbrella was at the bar that night Ted got really drunk with Barney on St. Patrick's Day  We also know that Stella was there.   I don't however think that was Stella's yellow umbrella. What this says to me then and if the show remains true to the past is that Ted will at some point meet the mysterious girl with the yellow umbrella, and start to fall for her despite his relationship with Stella.   The writers have made it clear from the start of this season that Ted and Stella's relationship has a lot of unexplored issues at this point.   Especially from Ted's stand point as he seams to know very little about his future bride.   Knowing Ted's character one has to wonder how long it will take until he "Seindfields" the relationship as he has done quite often in the past in favour of the actual mother. 
• Stella Will Ether Have Her Heart Broken or Die - If my above theory is correct this is really the only way things can end for poor Stella.  I actually do feel bad for Stella, because I think she is very invested in the relationship.  Perhaps even more so then Ted.   I mean she's going to pretend to love "StarWars".  My biggest fear is that when Ted does meet the girl with the yellow umbrella that she is not one of Stella's girl friends.  A very real scenario.  I think Stella deserves better then that.  So I guess the only way to resolve that problem would be to kill Stella.  (Which would lend itself well to my "Ted is Danny Tanner Theory".)

Actually, I wont lie.  I kind of hope this is the way that things shake out, because Ted bores me and I would much rather devote my energy to focusing on the other characters.  Barney in love is so De-Lightful!

Awesome!

Thanks to the Attache for this.

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

This is for B.A. Start

My friend Alex is always on the look out to expand his knowledge of language.  Here is something to further assist him.  Boobs.

 

Match -o-Matic II

I found a link to ABC New's "Match-o-Matic" from The Wannabe Outdoorsman.  It is a neat little concept.  They give you quotes regarding the opinions of McCain and Obama on various topics and you click which one you agree with the most.   At the end it reveals which candidate you choose the most.  I like this sotrt of thing, because it separates the men from their ideas and allows you to focus on the issues at hand.  My results did come out on the side of Obama, but I did agree with McCain on a number of points.

Ask and Thou Shalt Receive

My prayers from earlier this week have been answered!  Thank you to Kitten for finding this site for me:  TidalTV

 

It has How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory and a whole lot more!

 

So now is your chance.  Need to catch up on HIMYM before next Monday?  The whole 3rd season is there.  Enjoy!

Burn After Reading

 

Last night Finch and myself had the opportunity to take in the newest picture from the Coen Brothers "Burn After Reading".   I will say that I found this movie to be wonderfully entertaining and absolutely hysterical.   I would highly recommend it.   I won't go into any plot details here, because I'd want you to enjoy it for yourself.   The great thing about this movie, is that it features a cavalcade of stars who are all given a chance to steal scenes.   The humour borders on farce and is well executed by a cast that features George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malcovich and Tilda Swinton.   However, for me the top marks in the movie have to go to the performances by Brad Pitt and especially J.K. Simmons who shows up late in the film to play a part that really only he could play, and he nails it.  You should check it out.

Sorry it's been a busy day...

Have not had much time to blog today, but I wanted to give you folks some content.   This was sent to me today by a friend.  It is entertaining.  I did get to climb on AC ducts today at work and got a pretty nice cut on my elbow from it. 

I'm a little confused. Let me see if I have this straight.....
* If you grow up in Hawaii, raised by your grandparents, you're 'exotic, different.

* Grow up in Alaska eating mooseburgers, and this is a quintessential American story.

* If your name is Barack you're radical and unpatriotic, perhaps even Muslim.

* Name your kids Willow, Trig and Track, you're just a maverick.
* Graduate from Harvard law School and you are unstable.                    

* Attend 5 different small colleges before graduating, you're well grounded.
* If you spend 3 years as a dedicated community organizer, become the first black President of the Harvard Law Review, create a voter registration drive that registers 150,000 new voters, spend 12 years as a Constitutional Law professor,  spend 8 years as a State Senator representing a district with over 750,000 people, become chairman of the state Senate's Health and Human Services committee, spend 3 years in the United States Senate representing a state of  13 million people while sponsoring 131 bills and serving on the Foreign Affairs, Environment and Public Works and Veteran's Affairs committees, you don't have any real leadership experience.
* If your total resume is: local weather girl,  4 years on the city council and 6 years as the mayor of a town with less than 7,000 people, 20 months as the governor of a state with only 650,000 people, then you're qualified to become the country's second highest ranking executive.
* If you have been married to the same woman for 19 years while raising two lovely daughters, all within Protestant churches, you're not a real Christian.    

* If you cheated on your first wife with a rich heiress, and left your disfigured wife and married the heiress the next month, you're a real Christian.
* If you teach responsible, age appropriate sex education, including the proper use of birth control, you are eroding the very fiber of society.               

* If, while governor, you staunchly advocate abstinence only, with no other option in sex education in your state's school system while your unwed teen daughter ends up pregnant, you're a responsible example for others.
* If your wife is a Harvard graduate lawyer who gave up a position in a prestigious law firm to work for the betterment of her inner city community, then gave that up to raise a family, your family's values don't represent America's.                   

* If your husband is nicknamed 'First Dude',  with at least one DWI conviction and no college education, who didn't register to vote until age 25 and once was a member of a group that advocated the secession of Alaska from the USA, your family is extremely admirable.

All Television Programs Should Be Available Online

Wanted to write today about something that has been bothering me recently.  I always have to wonder why more television programming is not available to me online in some form of streaming delivery.   I have been a huge fan of Hulu since the sites launch, and I think it does a wonderful job of providing a wide array of content for viewing free of cost.  Sure you have to watch a few adds, but the ability to do this via the internet is a godsend to me.  Especially because I do not subscribe to a cable television service in my home.

 

What draws my ire though is that while the selection on Hulu is pretty extensive. (The Daily Show, Battlestar Galactica (New & Old), The Simpsons, The Family Guy and many, many more)  It is not complete in terms of the shows I would like to keep up with.  While I am not Naive enough to believe that my life could be so simple as having one website to satisfy all my viewing desires I have to wonder why a good majority of networks have not embraced the internet to deliver content through legitimate means.  If the point of television programming is to draw viewers to your station with the intent of exposing them to the advertisements of your sponsors why do the networks turn away from this additional source of advertisement revenue? Ultimately, all they do is cause potential viewers to venture elsewhere to watch the shows they want, and these other venues for viewing provide them no return in terms of advertisement.  

 

I know that the internet has caused a lot of traditional information mediums to have to rethink their strategies for reaching their intended audiences, and I am not surprised that mediums like newspapers and magazines are being hit pretty hard.  Especially since the basic logistics of their business prevent them from providing information to customers with the speed of the internet.   What does surprise me though is how slow the television medium has been to adopt the internet.   It would seam to be a pretty easy transition to make from a core business stand point.  You are still broadcasting content, just through a different set of "tubes".  

 

I think if networks were smart all content would be available online.  I don't mind watching the adds that are on Hulu, because I expect them when watching television shows.  Now that home internet speeds are reaching a point where providing this type of content is more feasible to a larger portion of the country it just seams to make sense to me.  The only thing they are losing by not doing this are the eyes of potential customers for their advertisements.

 

Here are a few things I would like to see available for viewing online:

1. How I Met Your Mother
2. The Big Bang Theory
3. Bravo Reality Shows (Project Runway, Top Chef)
4. NFL Football
5. MLB Baseball
6. NHL Hockey

FINAL NOTE:  Buffalo NY Featured in Recent Episode of Ghost Hunters.

Available right now for streaming viewing is an episode of Ghost Hunters that takes place at the Iron Island Museum in the Love Joy district of Buffalo.  (A scant few blocks away from my Grandma's old house.)   It is a really cool episode.  Check it out HERE.   I will be planning on making a visit here next time I return to Buffalo to check it out.

Another New Friend

GA, the Heaviest Heavy now has his own blog.  Welcome to the blogoverse.  Perma-link in the side column.

Not All Gloom and Doom

Time for a break from the normally serious tone of this blog.

Finally a Candidate We Can All Believe In!

 

I found this here.

Sarah Palin

Today's subject is Sarah Palin.  She could be our next Vice President.  That's scary.  However, as I like to avoid making any hard political analysis on my blog, I thought instead I would share some funny videos.  The first is from SNL.  It's pretty funny. 

My next little clip here absolutely floored me.  I couldn't stop laughing.  Yes.  I understand that it is Matt Damon, and I've never been one to look to Matt Damon for guidance.  (However, he did hook up with Franka Potente in The Bourne Identity and is fucking Sarah Silverman, so perhaps the man knows something I don't.)  Anyway, if you have not seen this clip you should watch it.  He actually does raise an few interesting points.

 

I guess though the thing that makes me the most cautious about her is this:

War with Russia?  Really?  War with Russia?  That's so '87.  

Hey Major...

Remember back in the day when we used to go rolling down Elmwood in the Mach 5 (R.I.P) and you used to throw on some Lauryn Hill so we could (in your terms) "Roll Ghetto."  Next time you get a yen for that pop on this disk.  I guarantee that you'll ether love it or hate it.  I hope it is the former.

Notorious B.I.G. vs. Frank Sinatra (Mixed By: DJ Cappel & Smitty) - 'Blue Eyes Meets Bed-Stuy'

(This is a torrent link.)

Way Back When...

Yesterday the Automatic Rebalancer took us on a trip down memory lane with his wonderful list of Old Skool Cartoon Theme songs.  I thought I would add a few of my own.

Dark Wing Duck

 

Tale Spin - One of my all time favourite Cartoons

Tom Slick

 

Super Chicken

 

JEM - This song is so awesome it hurts!

 

How can you leave out Spider-Man?

I don't feel like writing much today...

At least for now.  Perhaps I'll have some time later.

In the mean time entertain yourself with this article from the Huffington Post by Adam McKay.

We're Gonna Frickin' Lose this Thing

New People Who Say Things

I've been a bad boy at updating my links section.  I've just recently updated my links section to include one of my new favourite people.  Some know her as LadyKiller, others the Mad_Typist.  I mostly know her as the gal who whooped my butt in Fantasy Football this weekend.  Check out her blog "Cultural Cuisinart".  It's a good fun read.

He doesn't look a thing like him...

Hello everyone out there in the blogaverse.  Happy Mondays! I hope everyone's weekends were well.   Mine was pretty awesome outside of getting stomp raped  in Fantasy Football by the Mad_Typist.   (I do have an outside chance of winning in my second league.  Fingers CROSSED!) I did get to take in the Redbull Flugtag down at North Avenue Beach on Saturday.  The Showmen Clan showed up in force to basically watch people push crap off a dock.  It was awesome!  Watching the epic failures is just as fun as watching a team get things right and their flying machine take flight.  The winning team managed to soar an impressive 120 feet!   You can't help but watch this event and begin to think about what you would do next yeah.  Kitten better be wary.  She's the lightest of our little family and both me and the Attache are thinking catapult!

 

I also this weekend had a chance to revisit an old favourite of mine.  Sergio Leone's "A Fistful of Dollars." 

If you have not seen this movie you certainly need to check it out.  It may have the best soundtrack ever!  (Note for all you early holiday shoppers out there: A copy of the Fistful of Dollars Soundtrack is now being placed along side the New Kids on the Block Christmas Album on the list of things to buy me if you want to be my hero forever.)

Anywho.  I've gone on a bit here, so Let me bring today's post around to the topic that I wanted to address.  Last night via Hulu, myself and Finch were watching some back episodes of The Daily Show: With John Stewart.   The August 29th episode raised some interesting points, that I want to discus.  First of all, I want to commend the Daily Show during this episode for taking the piss out of the Democrats as much as they do the Republicans.  Historically the Republicans have not fared well at the hands of the Daily Show writers.  I must admit that I had to wonder if the Daily Show (which I think is the source of the most relevant political commentary today.)  would treat the Democrats with the same critical eye.   I was refreshed to see that yes they do.   As I have said in previous posts regarding politics, there are a few things about Barak Obama which make me nervous.  Do I think he is a good man, and the best choice to take our country in a new direction?  Yes.  However, one thing that does give me pause is the near messianic attitude that some people regard him with.   I am glad that there is someone that inspires this much passion amoung the people of our country.   That being said though, I also hope that people can keep things in perspective regarding the Democratic candidate.  He is not Jesus.  (AH!  Now the title of this post makes sense!)  He is just a man like anyone else, subject to the same foibles and stumbles that we all are.  I fear that the fervour that he causes amoung his supporters could lead to disappointment as the reality of our political landscape rears it's head post election.  I commend the Daily Show for the piece that they did during the August 29th episode illustrating just how over the top the Obama fervour has become. 

Thanks for reading!

You Know...

Towards the end of the Clinton administration and the beginning of the Bush administration I would have been proud to have John McCain as my president.  Remember when he would openly take a stance against the Republican party and just speak about things that seamed to make sense?  I don't want to take anything away from John McCain.  He has been a great friend and supporter of America for the better part of his life and I commend him for that.  

This is what this election means to me now.   This is the first time that the Post-Vietnam generation has really had a chance to step up and lead our country at the highest level.   The old guys have had a chance to run the country, they did some good, they did some bad.  No one is perfect, and I don't expect my government to be that way ether.   I want to give the rookie a chance, because you know what?  I think it's time for the next generation of Americans to step up into the leadership roles of our country.  Some of their decisions will be good, some of them will be bad.   They wont be any more perfect then their predecessors.  What is important is being able to properly frame the causes and issues of our time within the correct perspective of the time.  I am proud that Barak Obama wants to lead us,  I think he will do a good job.   If he doesn't, and enough of you agree, well then in 4 years we kick his ass out.  That is how America works.