Aleph Ersatz

Ok to follow up on my two-day-old previous post.  I went to the Statio Square pub and got to see Distracticon / Jackie Treehork / Grapefuit (three projects with the same major players) and Damage Inc., a local Metallica Tribute band.  $6 ass kick and a half!  It was awesome.  Got a wee drunk and they were competing against the Festival of Lights, so there was like 25 people at the bar, but I’m glad I went.

I really like Distracticon and the crew, so that was what I went for.  Damage Inc. was icing on the cake, and damn was it good cake.  I highly recommend seeing all of them if you get a chance, and like those styles of musics.

If the bartender, or waitress, gives you one more than you wanted, just send it back.

But, man, those bands were good tonight.  More on this tomorrow, I’m surprised I can type at all right now…

After two and a half straight days of playing it, I have to say that Demigod is a fantastic LAN party game.  I wish we’d found it sooner!

Easy to pick up, easy to challenge oneself, easy to strategize and perfect.  Damnably entertaining in large groups or small.

Updated the Otaku List again.  Been far too long, had tons to add.

Found one of the best metal music videos ever.  Meshuggah is this really talented experimental metal band, with crazy math-metal esque licks, and they made the following their OFFICIAL video for their song.

Yes that is the real band in the video.

So I didn’t even hold out six months before I’m back on the “no-posting” wagon.  For a while there, I actually contemplated switching to Twitter, but really, I don’t want to be a twit.  And the concept is stupid.  I hope it dies, just like that stupid AYBABTU.  That didn’t last long, right?  I mean, who even remebers it?

I have been up to alot, actually.  Working, tons, been doing 200+ hours a month again.  Reading tons and tons of manga.  The otaku list needs a major update as I’ve read at least 10 - 15 different books and novels in the last while.  Found a bunch of new good stuff, and some of the worst mangas in existence!

I’ve begun the long and arduous process of learing Japanese.  Not only am I horrible with spoken languages, but this one also involves re-learing how to read.  However, I’ve managed to nail down most of the Hiragana table, so all I need to do is learn Katakana, practice, and start learning the grammar structures.  Sounds so easy doesn’t it?  Been practicing my reading on vaious things around - maily mangas - and actually I’m doing pretty well.  Plus I’ve found a variety of very useful and informative websites.

• Grammar and Langauge: http://www.guidetojapanese.org/index.html
• Writing and tidbits: http://japanese.about.com/
• Writing: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Shrine/7047/
• Hiragana Pracice: http://www.chipchat.com/NihonGo/protect/HiraganaDrill.html
• Katakana Practice: http://www.chipchat.com/NihonGo/protect/KatakanaDrill.html

I’m actually really enjoying being able to read it.  It seems like such a huge feat, but I know there is much more to come.

Lastly, I wrote a letter to a newspaper and got it printed.  While not hugely exciting, I’m kinda happy.  It’s in today’s Now Newspaper.  If you can read it.  I’m not readily posting a link because it lists my name on the letter.  But if you know me, send me an IM or email and I’ll send you a link.

Finally finished The Talisman.  Was a pretty good book, very interesting, and I can see how the styles of King and Straub converge, but generally had a  good idea of when King was he predominant writer.  His work just burrows under the skin of one’s imagination, creepy as hell, but absolutely fantastic.

With that is done, I’ve been pounding away and the local libraries’ manga collection.  Found a few interesting ones, and updated my otaku list to match waht I’ve read recently.  Insert sigh here. It grows, always growing…

Got my hands on The High End of Low.  Jesus fuck, was that ever a load of shit.  Not that I expect much from a Manson album, but that was pure, uninspired, crack induced crap. Not even worth a once-over listen too.  Couldn’t do more than three songs at a time, at most.

Gladly, though, a couple other good albums may be coming out soon from artists I enjoy alot more than Manson.  VNV nation has a new album on the 23rd, and are touring.  Now if I could only get to Seattle for July 1st!  30 Seconds to Mars may also have a new album soon, which will also be pleasing.  There are a couple more, too, I just cannot remeber whom!

Well I’ve had a busy month.  I’ve been working crazy hours due to a deadline, and a bunch of other stuff has been going on, so the few hours I do have to blog, I’ve been too damn tired.

I did managed to do alot of stuff in the last month though.

Saw Start Trek and Wolverine, but missed Terminator Salvation.  From what I know, Star Trek was the only one really worth watching.

Knowing more about Wolverine from the original Origins series, I was whole unimpressed with it.  They really twisted and diverged in ways that forced the script into lame-leaping jumps just to fix giant plot holes.  Had they stuck with the original, I would have been much happier.

Star Trek, however, I know little about, and actually thought was pretty good.  Using alternate universes was a good way to totally diverge and reinvent Star Trek, and yet keep the same rough feel.  However the overacting and constant borrowing of lines and plot devices was indeed cheesy, and somehow fitting for the film.  Not sure it was worth the $10 I paid for it, but was still pretty good.

Got my eye on The Hurt Locker, even if it came out a while ago.  Saw a preview in the theater, and looks damn good.

Also managed to see Lucky Number Slevin.  Fucking awesome, head trippy, witty, and the strangest role I’ve ever seen Lucy Lui in.  Brilliant, just brilliant!

Been reading alot.  Need to update the Otaku list a bit, but not much.  Managed to read Fullmetal Alchemist #18 and Kurosagi #9 recently, but that’s about it.  The rest of the time I’ve been plowing through The Talistman and The Zen of Zombie.  The Zen, of course, is an excelent self-help book with some actually real and good ideas for improving your life.  The rest of it is just good old fasioned, brain-eating humour.  Go try it for fourself! Braaiiiiinnnsssss…..

Also have the new Red Dward 3-part mini-series to watch.  Yay!

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On the other side of things, I’ve been working alot lately.  Did a 6-day, 65-hour week last week, and looks like I have another one ahead.  Damn deadlines are killer, especially so when you are two weeks past.

Going to be missing Anime Evolution again this year, and for the second year in a row too!  But will be at the Thunder Rally fund-raiser dance on saturday instead.  Still going to that this September at least.

Have been trying to help and update the Thunder Rally website while the main webmaster is off in Germany, but all I have is read-only access to a SFTP site.  Such a pissoff too, because if I had shell access I could easily fix what I needed.  Now I have to try and contact the webhost, via the webmaster, to get the access I need.

Not sure what else to write, but that’s what I’ve bene up to lately.  Been a lot more I’ve wanted to write on, but been so busy and tired, I always forget.  Hope to get back to it, though.  I hate abandoning projects half way through!

After getting stuck, once again, in downtown thanks to the stupid Skytrain, I’ve realized it would be really easy to paralyze the Olympics.  If three jumpers simultaneous hit Granville, Burrard and the downtown station for the Canada Line, it would effectively shut down the Expo/Millenium line, and would cripple the Canda line.  This woulc ause huge commuter chaos, breaking the entire system and showing the fatalities of our stupid system.

Wouldn’t that just frost our lame asses?  Not that seal-skin Olympic outfits are any better…

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As for answers, I’ll have them, once again, behind the break.

(more…)

Damnit, it’s been far too long since I’ve posted.  Not that much has changed.  I’m working, alot, and coming home to do more work, game, or work on side projects.  Not much exciting going on.

Managed to get out to the local pool hall that reopened a few months ago.  Figures, the night a few friends and I go, they have a leak in the room.  Not huge, but was raining buckets of water in the middle of the room.  Luckily, the rest of the pool area was safe.  Was all good, even though I had to walk one friend home and help him for a while.  Hey, at least it wasn’t me who was drunk!

I must remeber to fill in the answers for April.  Until I got lazy on posting, I had quite a few this time.  Don’t ask me why I do it, but I point it out because I doubt anyone but me cares.  Cataloguing my own oddities…

No no, I haven’t forgotten, just been playing too much Left 4 Dead.  If you want to play L4D or Zombie Panic with me, email me and I’ll give you my steam account name.

Saw a couple really good movies recently too…and some bad ones.

Yes Man sucks.  Has some redeming qualities, but not till the last 20 minutes.  Jim Carey is just not funny any more.

Slumdog Millionaire was absolutely amazing.  Powerful story of never giving up no matter how bad things are.  And apparently, in India, if you are poor, things are really bad.  Money runs India, and everyone is corrupt.  The wealth gap is huge, and rights are non-existant.  It’s an eye opener, and heartwarming.  Bring a girlfriend.

Milk was actually really good, although I doubt many people I know would sit through it.  Yes, it’s about gay men, and yes tons of guys are kissing.  If you can’t get past that and enjoy the film for the acting, the story, the lives these people led and waht they accomplished, then too fucking bad for you.