Crave Thought

Time to check this place in.

2009-12-31T07:07:00.003-05:00

Right around the end of December I usually do a wrap-up post for the year that's about to end. I'm sitting here typing 2009's entry right now, and I'm baffled to see that this site hasn't been updated in two solid months; that's never happened before.

I feel guilty because it's like I'm neglecting my firstborn child; this blog has served me well since I decided to get into this weird world of writing almost four years ago. However, that analogy explains why I shouldn't feel guilty all the same: Crave Thought's grown up, and I've got to turn my attention towards its younger siblings.

In reality, I started this blog because I didn't have anywhere else to publish my work. It's been here for me through thick and thin, and if there's a piece I don't feel I can publish anywhere else, I know I can always put it here. However, that's happening less and less now that I've got other places that accept whatever my cynicism-addled brain can church out. I'm content to just let Crave Thought enter the twilight of its life, rocking back and forth on a chair at the blog retirement home, jumping back in the saddle for a blaze of glory whenever the ratings need it.

I'd be nowhere close to where I am right now without this place. As I type I'm putting together a portfolio site that just uses my name as its brand instead of this site. I need to start moving forward towards bigger and better things, and 2010's the year to do that.

So rest in peace, Crave Thought. So long, and thanks for all the posts.

What being a Tetris block for Halloween taught me; fitting in with the world.

2009-11-02T08:46:00.001-05:00

Yes, I'm partially making this post to show off my Halloween (and future comic book convention) costume, which took me a couple days to build. The ingredients to this marvel were three office chair boxes, a roll of black duct tape and a whole lot of red spray paint; I'd say it turned out pretty well, don't you?

Alright, so I wouldn't say this Halloween was a complete and total drunkfest; along the way I learned a couple things about myself and basically Toronto in general.

1) Always make it yourself. I had been throwing around the Tetris block idea for a couple months, harkening back to my foray into Nerd Convention-ing for Fanexpo 09. However, this Halloween marked the perfect occasion to throw my love of sorting blocks into horizontal lines out into the world. Making the costume took 3 days, but was possibly one of the most rewarding builds I've ever taken part in. From discovering that I could use my deck floorboards as a cutting guide, to adding a final "I <3 TETRIS" sign onto the front flap (see below), nothing really went wrong (which was nice), and in the end it withstood the onslaught that was the Church Street street party.

2) People want to take your picture - let them. I had a lot of friends complaining about Church Street (Toronto's resident gay village) denizens wanting to take their picture. The logic follows thus: if you're dressed up, you want people to look at you. Indulge your inner attention whore and satisfy a fan. However, if they get creepy (like that one guy who fondled my.. er.. block), don't hesitate to tell them to fuck off. You have that right.

3) Give things a chance. Coming from a self-proclaimed king of pessimism, I usually hate Halloween; this year, however, I decided to say "fuck it" and actually try something new. It worked out well, and I had a blast. I drank way too many beers and decided to mix it with gin. This did not end well. However, I achieved my goal, and found somewhere to fit in that night.

Matt vs. H1N1

2009-10-20T00:05:00.005-04:00

I had swine flu.

I had the dreaded disease of today's media, and lived to tell the tale about it; a tale I'm now imparting to you, faithful reader of my blog. This pandemic is a strain of the "common" influenza virus that plagues us (oh I'm full of the good ones, today!) every year, and in order to describe how it feels, I've concocted an elaborate metaphor. Stay awhile, and listen, if you will.

---
Imagine being hit with a cement truck out of nowhere. Every muscle in your body just doesn't want to move, and your higher brain functions are slowly shutting off, one by one. What's left of your aching self just wants to slip into a cold world where you cannot feel anything anymore, and stay there for eternity.

Now imagine you were Wolverine when this happened, and your healing factor fixed you right up. The last bones were just snapping back into place, when another cement truck hits you, this time harder than the first. And it was carrying nitroglycerin, a compound which explodes on shock.

Being Wolverine, who lately has been written like a complete ass, you eventually regenerate from this crash, too. Only now there's one nagging bone that won't grow back into place properly. You're forced to re-break that bone over and over, hoping that each time you to, it'll fit back together the right way, letting you get on with your day, which consists of keying Scott Summers' car and banging his hot redhead wife.
---

That's basically my experience with H1N1. It comes out of nowhere, hits you hard, then fades away for a little bit (to give you hope) before coming back harder than ever, crushing your spirits and making you forget how it ever was to be well. However, treatment is basically the same as any flu, and really, for all intents and purposes, that's all H1N1 is: a flu that's looking to prove itself among the common colds and SARS of this world. It just wants to feel loved/feared.

Anyways, some interesting stuff happened as result of this.

1. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, thinks you will be dying in the next 24 hours. Friends, family, and (perhaps the best of all) teachers think that they are one day away from throwing all your possessions on eBay to make back all the cash they spent on you. This tends to get you a lot of leeway with things like assignments and the sympathy actually does do wonders for recovery.

2. Wearing an "isolation mask" in public is embarrassing, and no one should ever do it for longer than necessary. The amount of weird looks you get from people (some assholes downright laughed at me) is staggering, and really, it's just doctor's orders. I'm not wearing it for kicks, you dolts; I'm trying to extend some courtesy and keep you from getting sick.

3. Rooming with theater school kids who pass around bugs like this is to be avoided in the future.

4. A nagging sore throat that basically feels like acid cannot be fixed by anything other than drinking something in large quantities. Next time I shall invest in a camel back water backpack. Money well spent.

To all you sick people out there, my best advice is to just sleep. It's the best time to actually get a semblance of a sleep schedule back in order since your body wants you in bed early and up early as well; I actually saw what before noon on a Saturday looks like.

It's glorious.

Year Two

2009-08-31T23:35:00.003-04:00

So, I'll dispense with the usual "been a long time" bullcrap, as it's very much old by now.

Some thing that've developed in the last little while:

Moved into my new house in Toronto. It's a kind of humbling experience, but the freedom is nice. It's going to be interesting balancing free time with the writing projects I've got on the go, but since when has that ever stopped me from trying? Got stuff to deal with like rent cheques and balancing a budget. It's a bit daunting, to be honest.

Nerd Girl Pinups finally launched, and our opening weekend (so to speak) at FanExpo 2009 went off without any (major) hitches. Got to see a lot of cool costumes, met some new people, and bought The Art of Reboot; this was my major "vacation" for the summer, and damnit, I was going to enjoy it.

It's weird; I've never considered this blog to have a niche, but when it comes to small things, like a funny video, I don't feel like they deserve a minute spot on here. I feel like I kind of have an obligation to post something mildly mentally-stimulating, at least. I think that's where my posts at W0rd.ca come into play. They kind of give me the freedom to just throw out whatever I want and see what other people think; huh, I think I just reiterated the reason why I started this blog.

As always, check out my Facebook page for all my work consolodated at one place; now it's linked to my Twitter, so anything posted on Facebook will be posted there, as well. Pseudo-simplicity!

Drums in the dark

2009-08-16T23:55:00.003-04:00

Couple new projects I thought you guys should be aware of. I've been hella busy with those, so while Crave Thought's posts are getting fewer and fewer, you can find most of my other stuff posted on my Facebook fan page; there's a new widget there to the right.

w0rd.ca - Got word of this site from Jeff, a friend of mine. It's very Boing Boingish in the sense that there's a lot of interesting things without a clear, set niche. If you're bored and looking for something to do, you can find my posts, along with my fellow contributors, there.

Matt's iPod - This is a long-term concept I'm challenging myself to stick with for the next little while. In short, I'll be reviewing all the albums on my iPod in alphabetical order, by artist; for example, Beastie Boys - Ill Communication would come before Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik. For the long version, check out the intro post here. Not much work put into the layout yet, but that'll change soon.

Nerd Girl Pinups - Been working on this project for about a year now and at the end of the month it's about to bear fruit. I'm managing editing the blog for this site, which essentially does what it says on the label. The blog, however, is going to be 100% nerd-related content, regardless of good-looking ladies involved. No link yet, but I'll keep you updated.

To those reading it, be sure to comment on whatever you can; I love hearing from you guys, and it helps me grow better as a writer. On Facebook, PLEASE click "View Original Post" to comment and view in any case, because it gives the traffic to the site that deserves it, not Facebook.

Thuganomics

2009-08-04T00:04:00.001-04:00

Is it weird that watching this video on thug economics is so damned interesting?

Click "View Original Post" from Facebook to see the video.

Takin' care of business

2009-07-26T23:50:00.003-04:00

So I'm on the hunt for new writing work again.

It's always harrowing when I'm looking through "cold" projects because I don't always have that "in" that I'm looking for. However, it's kind of exciting to test my skills without any outside help, you know? Instead of getting by on freebies and handouts, it's cool to earn a columnist job or a guest post

I have a feeling I need to get my expertise on a few things up, though. This blog's gone without a niche for a long time because frankly I don't think it needs one: I use it for my musings and rants, and it serves that purpose just fine. However, when it comes to writing on other sites there's a need to kind of devote yourself to that topic; sometimes it's harder to put down other things and just throw yourself headlong into it.

I've applied to a couple sites that I really admire because they put out quality stuff, and frankly, it sounds a lot like my writing here. I don't mind not getting paid because I genuinely love to write and see my name up there on the byline; nothing's cooler than that.

But anyways, I'm business will pick up soon; anyone got any leads?

Text Messages and Slam Dunks

2009-07-21T23:59:00.005-04:00

Couple things.

To the guy who accidentally texted me yesterday; thanks for brightening up my day. A bit of background: I lost my phone in Barrie a few weeks prior, and had no contacts on my new phone. As people text me I always have to do the awkward "who is this?" and feel horrible that I didn't add everyone back right away. This time, however, was different.

Around lunch I got a "that's an interesting story, lol" message. I responded with a "so, what's up?" to try and gauge if I could avoid embarassment. In response to that, I got a text saying "when are we meeting tonight?" This left me at an impasse. The jig was up, so to speak, and I found out that this was genuinely a wrong number, as well, I was not his ladyfriend. I wished him luck and he sent me this back. "Shouldn't have too many problems. Thanks for the high five, though."

I think this guy and me would've been friends if we knew each other. Heh.

Anyways, not much else to report in other news. Besides Patrick Chewing.

Facebook users are definitely going to want to click "View Original Post" to see the video.

Digg: Bitching Got Us Somewhere

2009-07-20T00:32:00.003-04:00

So today media linking giant Digg decided to get a little too big for its britches, and like anything else that makes the same mistake on the Internet (well, except for companies with iPhone monopolies), it was quickly smacked down by its userbase.

In short, Digg did a "bait and switch", leading to a lot of shortened links leading to their own website instead of the target, which got people pissed; instead of the websites with the content getting traffic, Digg did instead. People bitched, partners withdrew, and Digg founder Kevin Rose backpedaled. Apparently he was on vacation for the past two weeks, and was very unhappy with the changes - or so says his Twitter.

I'm wondering how he expects us to believe that he has 100% say in what happens in the day-to-day operations of Digg's website. I mean, it's not like he left for two weeks, gave the reigns to a good friend of his, and then came back being like "WTF, man!"

Digg's annoyed me for the past little while, and I did what any annoyed person should do: I stopped using the site. It always irked me that because of algorithms within the site, people who have gotten stories on the front page are more likely to get them there again in the future. I mean, that kind of defeats the entire purpose of having a user opinion-generated frontpage when one user is more likely to have success than another. It didn't help that when I used the site I got people spamming my gmail asking me for Diggs in order to get their stuff on the front page; in turn, it would grant them "popularity" on Digg, traffic for whatever site they were linking and small amounts of traffic to their own personal sites if people decided to look at their profiles.

I don't know; I'm definitely not qualified enough to call Digg a flawed system, but that's my opinion, at least. Nothing crowdsourced online is perfect because there are ways to manipulate the system for those who're smart enough to put the effort in. I guess it's just a matter of wanting to be that person, or just one of the people who agree with them.

Netbooks for me; Time to start blogging from weird places

2009-07-19T03:16:00.003-04:00

So yesterday I got my first piece of netbook bliss when my EeePC 1005HA came; I've been in the market for a new computer ever since I found out my old one was a piece of crap, and some consideration I thought a netbook was the smartest choice.

For the uninitiated, a netbook is a smaller laptop with a longer battery life. It's cheaper, but only because it isn't as graphically powerful as a normal laptop; it's meant for browsing and word processing - that's pretty much it.

Man, even as I'm typing this I remember why I hate laptops; every time my hand touches against the damned touchpad while I'm typing, the text cursor moves to where the mouse is pointed, leading me to start typing in the middle of a previous sentence.

It's maddening.

Anyways, since I assembled my own PC tower earlier in the year, I no longer have any need for a powerful laptop. However with a heavy weight and 2 hour battery life, my previous lappy wasn't cutting it in the world of 3 hour lectures; off it went to the graveyard of technology: the rest of my family.

Really, I'm just happy I have a new toy to mess around with. I shall soon conquer the world of mobile blogging, and looking like a hipster in coffee shops. More on that soon.

In our face, mortality

2009-07-16T23:26:00.003-04:00

I know I made a post a couple months ago about a former classmate of mine who passed away, but today I had another brush with thoughts of mortality stemming from something a little more close to home.

Around November of this year I found out my mother had developed a tumour on her liver. Our family had never had any major history of tumours of any kind, and the only death I could remember was my great-grandmother succumbing to breast cancer when I was 5. When I heard the news I was... shaken, to say the least. After a number of biopsies and scans we found out that while the tumour wasn't cancerous, it had spread to her stomach and other organs.

Today was the first major surgery to remove most of the tumour, and I can say without a doubt that I will never get used to this feeling. Because my mom has issues with her blood and the beating speed of her heart, there was a chance that she could bleed out on the operating table and die; this fact was revealed to me well prior to the operation, and as a result I got numerous talks starting with "If something were to happen..." and ending with tears. Being the oldest child, I would be responsible for keeping my siblings in touch with each other (my sister and I have a different father than my brother) in the event we got split up. I would have enough money to pay for the rest of my time in university, but ultimately, I would be losing someone very dear to me.

Needless to say I was a wreck today. I had horrible feelings of dread which kept creeping up on me, subsiding, then catching me unawares when I least expected it. Every vibration of my cell phone or ring of my work phone made me think that I was getting the dreaded "something has gone wrong" phone call that would shatter my world.

But thanks to some very good friends and some healthy distraction in the form of (gasp) productivity, the time passed and I was gratified to find out that my mom was out of the recovery room and in a ward. Upon visiting her, she looked as comfortable as any person who had gone through a five-hour surgery would look. It was a bit disheartening, and since we don't have any idea of how successful the surgery was (thank you, invisible doctors!), there's still an air of uncertainty floating around my head.

I want her to be alright. I want my mom to grow old and be able to meet my kid, if I ever have one. I don't want her to be in pain anymore, and this surgery was one of many steps she has to take in order to get to that point.

Hopefully the rest of the road goes as well as this portion.

NXNE08: Liquid Swords Edition

2009-07-08T00:09:00.005-04:00

It always figures that whenever I try to go somewhere it rains, literally and figuratively. My experience with the NXNE (North By Northeast) festival started when I heard about it earlier in the year from a few friends; I'm not an indie fan by any means, but I still like the chance to get out and explore some culture in the city.

I was a bit disappointed when I had checked the billing and found literally no one that I had recognized, but this was no fault of the promoters: I mean, why would they be blamed for my lack of insight into the independent music scene in this part of the country? My music tastes vary, and well, rest elsewhere.

However, NXNE is one of those events that bands seem to crawl out of the woodwork for, and really, it didn't disappoint in that respect. There was a HUGE number of people either performing or spectating, and if there's one thing I love, it's enthusiasm for a certain part of life. Getting to see fans lined up in the scattered showers that plagued the weekend to see their favourite bands was both a testament to their tenacity and frankly, a bit heartwarming. I mean, when do you see that kind of commitment anymore?

Contrasting the fans enthusiasm, I was prepared for a fairly apathetic attendance on my part, at least where the music is concerned; what I love about attending these events is the electricity you feel when you're just walking around and observing. You get to see so many different facets of this music community all in one place, meshing and conflicting with each other and producing some interesting conversation.

However, my apathy was to change when I got a certain e-mail. I would find myself suddenly hypocritically jumping with glee after constructing all these arguments in my head about why not being "THAT" into music wasn't a problem.

The Genius would be attending.

Gary Grice, GZA, The Genius; founding member of the Wu-Tang Clan. He would be interviewed in front of a roomful of eager fans, recounting legends of the Shaolin mythology and generally laying down some serious wisdom. I found it hard to contain myself.

Then I remembered that I should be professional.

GZA would be interview by Fab 5 Freddy, a well-respected figure in the hip-hop community and former graffiti artist; to be frank, I had no idea who he was before that festival. While both he and GZA sat in posh thrones upon a stage, he did what I was afraid he would do.

He asked questions that anyone could easily find the answer to.

While it's an unfair criticism to make because I'm a fan of the Wu-Tang Clan, I don't think it's that unreasonable; the purpose of asking a question is to find out information that is of use to you. I think Sean Connery said that in a movie once.

Anyways, softball questions aside, Freddy managed to get some lesser-known answers out of the Genius, like his acting experience with Bill Murray of Ghostbusters fame; this was good to hear, because not many people know about the more intelligent and methodical side of the 'Clan. GZA's a surprisingly good speaker, and he made some poignant points about the state of hip-hop and the lack of originality in today's artists - of course, you can take that with a grain of salt, depending on your tastes.

But to be realistic, I had some complaints. GZA was a full two hours late, and while I had nothing else to do that day, a guy sitting beside me by the name of Brian was on a tight schedule. He was a big fan and ended up sitting it out, but I don't think it was that fair to make people wait; Brian had met GZA at the hotel bar the night prior, so it wasn't like the rapper wasn't there already.

This tardiness was what kept me from checking out GZA's free show the following day at Yonge and Dundas Square; as a guy who needed to work on the Monday and therefore get a good night's sleep, risking waiting another two hours past GZA's starting time at 8pm wasn't something I wanted to risk.

All in all I think NXNE was a good experience, but to the uninitiated it can be a little daunting; I definitely need to plan out my route a little better next year to check out more of the films and keynote speeches; sadly this year I had to be a bit hasty. Check it out if you're in the GTA in the early summer months - nothing beats the sound of a funk guitar or a bass beat echoing off those busy streets.

Perez Hilton is a fucking dumbass

2009-06-22T23:38:00.002-04:00

This my friends, is the face of an idiot. After giving Miss California a tongue-lashing after she gave an honest answer about her stance on gay marriage (guess which side she was on?), Perez Hilton decided that he would call Will.i.am a -and I quote- "fucking faggot" at an afterparty for the Much Music Video Awards.

Oh the sweet irony.

What did he think was going to happen? That he'd get away with a slap on the wrist?

What amuses me most about this is John Mayer's Twitter account after the event had transpired. Perez, in his limitless wisdom, decided that he would get some publicity and use his phone to ask Twitter to call the cops.

Let that sink in.

Phone.
Call.
Instead!
Twitter.

This was John's page, which has inspired my respect in the man:

@perezhilton's video statement is so long that by the end of it his cut healed.
about 1 hour ago from TwitterBerry
Last year P!nk kneed me in the nuts outside Chateau Marmont. I was pissing blood for days. Did I make a scene?
about 8 hours ago from web
Can somebody please call Amex and get me a replacement card?
about 8 hours ago from web
FollowMonday @police @fire @ambulance
about 9 hours ago from web
I love that @perezhilton uses his cellphone to log on to twitter to post a tweet to ask his followers to call the police for him.
about 9 hours ago from web

I'd like to congratulate Perez Hilton, in all his publicity-whoring self, for being, as a Superficial writer so eloquently put, "nothing more than the same brand of media-obsessed celebutard he so vehemently draws semen on, which proves he never really was a scathing observer of pop culture. Just a guy who wants to be Britney."

Well, there's this year's share of celebrity gossip.

Al Roker, Hardcore Mode, ENGAGED

2009-06-17T01:54:00.003-04:00

Al Roker, when did you get so bad-ass? I really think more anchors should take the Jon Stewart approach and verbally bitch-slap celebrities who seem to deserve it (and boy, do Heidi and Spencer deserve the fuck out of it). I find it so much more interesting than the usual "blowjobs and shameless plug" route they seem to take.

People seeing this on Facebook should click "View Original Post" to see the video embedded. Do yourself a favour.

How Can Hip Hop Be Dead When Wu-Tang is Forever?

2009-06-12T00:37:00.007-04:00

Good day today; got my copy of the Wu Tang Manual.

I picked it up for a couple reasons, but mainly because I have an interview with the GZA next Saturday (hopefully) and because I think the RZA is a genuinely interesting man with a lot to say; I was quickly proven right on the latter point.

It's one of those books that you can read in any order; I tend to just flip to a random page and start on a little bit of a literary quest. Lot of history, some bios, and surprisingly poignant thoughts from the producer of the 'Clan, as he delves into the technology he uses to make music and the spiritual side therein. There's chapters on chess, comics, film, religion... it truly is a manual because you get facets of all aspects of the RZA's -and by extension- Wu-Tang's philosophy.

I say "surprisingly" poignant because really, the immediate public doesn't give rappers the benefit of the doubt; part of what attracts me to Wu-Tang's music is because, in some subtle way, it's different. It samples kung-fu movies and they rap about Voltron - each of the nine (now eight) members bring something completely different to the table, and even if you don't like the complete group package, it's easy to pick a favourite rapper whose verses catch your ears.

That's why I'm kind of nervous about interviewing GZA. He and RZA are my favourites from the group, and it's almost going to be intellectually intimidating to talk to him/them; I'm hoping it's going to be a sit-down as opposed to me trying to talk to them on the run, and I'm going over mentally all the questions I want to ask versus what I need to ask for the purposes of my article. I'm going to try to throw some left-field shit out there, like working with Bill Murray for Coffee and Cigarettes, or how working with John Frusciante was for their latest album, 8 Diagrams.

It's weird, but Wu don't seem to like that album too much already. On the poster for their newest (in the works) album, Chamber Music, a major advertising point is that the style is completely different from Diagrams.

Eh, sometimes you need to admit your mistakes, I guess.

Really, I just don't want them to dismiss me as a white boy who doesn't know hip hop; that's my greatest fear - to be shunned by a band I love.

Don't hurt em'

2009-06-07T23:00:00.000-04:00

Because everyone needs a bit more Hammer in their lives.

Beer, football, and nazis; perfect start to the summer

2009-06-07T21:39:00.005-04:00

So I've been messing around with Joomla these last couple days while trying to get a handle on a website I'm going to be taking part in; there's nothing more frustrating/enthralling then learning a new system that will ultimately benefit you in some way. I think that last point is the reason why I didn't do too well in high school math.

Nice day in the lonely city today; played some soccer with friends and the weather was just perfect for it. Went out last night to an event that's usually an underage drinking fest, but now that I'm old enough to actually go to bars it wasn't half bad. Met up with some people I hadn't seen in awhile, and a good time was had by all. And you know... beer's always good.

Not to hockey fans out there; does this Stanley Cup series feel especially magical to you? I know it's the second time in a row that these teams have met, but I feel like everyone's been buzzing about it, and I enjoy it heartily. The spirit of competition and "X player on your team is a bitch" is alive and well.

Also, in world news:

@warrenellis: The UK has elected (in record low turnout) a neofascist Shoah-denier & an actual no-hyperbole neo-Nazi to the Euro Parliament. So disgusted.

Crap.

Anyways, good night from the land of maple syrup and moose; this feels like a largely carthartic and unnecessary blog post, but meh, it was nice to get a few things off my chest.

More rants to follow, I promise.

Uplifting

2009-05-30T17:41:00.006-04:00

Been listening to 311 for a couple years now and they've kind of transcended to the echelon of my favourite bands. Man I love using fancy words.

They're coming out with a new album in June called Uplifter, and while I've listened to it online already, I'm definitely going to be picking it up; it's pretty much the standard 311 album in the sense that it's gloriously 90's. Their sound hasn't changed that much, and while you don't particularly listen to the band for their lyrics, the songs contain this... positive vibe that makes you nod your head and rock out. Yes, a very vague and unprofessional review, but I like what I like.

It's the type of album you put on and let it act as a background soundtrack for whatever you're doing at that current moment; it's a very ska-reggae-altrock type of sound that goes well with doing anything, and that's really what I've used it for. 311's got a lot of songs that are just plain rock-out songs, and they've got the talent in writing catchy hooks and riffs that kind of suck you in and give you a faux concert experience. What I mean by that is that you can both imagine yourself at a 311 concert, or, like I do, imagine yourself performing. It's an exhilirating experience.

Here's the video for the first single, "Hey You". I'd also recommend listening to "Daisy Cutter" and "Neverending Summer", which you can find on 311's Myspace; they've generously released the entire album for your listening please.

People reading this note on Facebook will have to click "View Original Post" to see this video.

Housing fail.

2009-05-25T23:33:00.000-04:00

1 bedroom + den basement apartment. 4 piece bathroom. Front and back entrance, close walk to Dufferin subway, mall, steps to coin laundry, street permit parking. Available September 1st. $575 per month (single person rate). Utilities a flat fee of $75 per month. Not recommended for those who are 6 feet or taller due to ceiling height. For more details and apartments please see blahblah@blah.com

God damnit, I hate looking for housing.

Not as chaotic as I thought...

2009-05-10T02:32:00.004-04:00

Alright universe, you proved me wrong; the pay what you want model can work with shows.

Turns out I vastly misunderestimated the amount of people that would show up to this K-OS show, and while we only had to wait maybe an hour outside, it was disappointing to wait almost 45 minutes between the opening band Flash Lightning and the main event. Can't say I minded Lightning; though they tended to make all their songs sound the same, their drummer's performance more than made up for it. I mean, the guy had energy, and was genuinely having fun up there behind the skins. Salute to him.

(People viewing this on Facebook'll need to click "View Original Page" to see this video)

K-OS was amazing, but I have some notes, as usual:

To the drunk guys behind us: what was your bright idea in bringing a giant Wolverine foam claw? Did you really have to creepily try to brush it against our heads and act like you weren't up to something?
To the wee Asian girl that kinda got smooshed: I tried to give you some room, but when K-OS jumps up on the barrier, people are gonna try to touch him.
To the guy throwing his CDs onstage (even during the opening band!): Hey man, it takes guts to do that... just... try to find a better time? Gotta be a better avenue of delivery.
To K-OS himself: Don't drink and freestyle. Also, mashing up "Heaven Only Knows" and "Stairway to Heaven" worked out surprisingly well.
To David Suzuki: If it's going to be advertised that you're going to be there, go on stage. People would've loved to see you. And what was with that "Samurai Suzuki" vignette they were playing? Did you really need to be wielding a katana in the name of the environment? Also, thank your desk staff for us, as I'm sure they were ready to kill Scaachi.
To Alex, Nick, Steph, Scaachi and Braga: Congratulations, you survived my first driving experience in Toronto and overall, my farthest road trip away from home. Had a blast guys, thanks for coming.

Had a great night overall; teaches me for being pessimistic. Now I'm ready to rest my weary head, as driving along the 403 at night it both tiring and therapeutic. At 2AM there's no one on there, so I can go as fast as I want while blaring some venting-type music. I'll spare the "need for speed" comment.

Shit, now I've ruined this post.

Going to bed now.
Turrah.

Chaotic Potential

2009-05-09T02:31:00.005-04:00

So I'm going to see K-OS tomorrow at the Kool Haus in Toronto, and I can't help but be a little pessimistic; he just released a new album and has decided to go on a tour of "pay what you want" shows.

This is a bad idea.

Pay what you want shows only really work when a small amount of people know about it because it ensures that the people who want to see the band will still be able to fit in the venue, while there won't be an overflow of people who are saying "Hey, it's essentially a free show. What's there to lose?"

From what I understand this show's been spreading pretty quickly by word of mouth within my group of friends, and there's a good chance it's been doing the same with everyone else with access to the Internet in Toronto; this does not bode well for the capacity limits of the Kool Haus. I hate to be pessimistic about this, but I'm having trouble believing that we're going to get in when everyone and their mother is shrugging their shoulders and saying "Hey, why not?"

"Pay what you want" has worked well for some bands while selling their CDs, as well as indy bands who either don't care enough about the money or are running their shows out of their own homes. The model is dependant on word of mouth, but the problem is that it only works if there's a manageable amount of publicity; say Led Zeppelin or U2 was holding one of these: would you even consider going? Hell, I bet people would be camping outside of the place a year in advance.

I had the opportunity to see K-OS at the Manifesto festival in November, but due to some delays I couldn't stay until when he was going to go on; that set-up would've worked much better, because it was goddamn Nathan Phillips Square: open, capacity-less, and ultimately a lot more "free".

Just because I can

2009-05-03T17:25:00.002-04:00

MOVITS! Fel del av gården from Axel Söderlund on Vimeo.

Loving this, even though I don't understand a word of it. Very good tunes.

I Think I'm Incapable of Liking Movies

2009-05-03T14:57:00.006-04:00

So I went and saw X-Men Origins: Wolverine last night.

Shit, I might as well just copy and paste my Watchmen post over into this one. Well, instead of that (and because the ol' blog needs a good update) I think I'll summarize my complaints from the movie in one sentence:

If you're going to make a movie based on a previously-established work, follow the goddamned source material.

Elements of the plot were so far-removed from the comics, and in ways that were really unnecessary in the first place: I mean, Sabretooth (played by a suprisingly good Liev Shreiber) and Wolverine didn't have to be brothers (unlike the comic) because the fact that they lived in the same household would be explanation enough for their connection. Unless Marvel studios thought that the audience would need that little extra kick to make the connection (even then, do they think we're that dense?) I don't see why they needed to change something that has already been proven to work.

I found myself laughing out loud more often than being amazed by the "action" because I just couldn't take most of the moments seriously; there was way too much CGI in this movie to be comfortable, and in some of the more over-the-top parts I couldn't suspend my disbelief anymore.

You'd figure in a movie about Wolverine there would be less... side fat. Blob pun aside, the supporting characters were numerous and often horribly done. I mean, what the hell, Merry! You should have better work than this! Good ol' Dom has like 5 minutes of screentime then gets killed off by Sabretooth. Will.i.am plays a buddy cop to Wolverine for about the same amount of time before he gets killed in the exactly same way. Gambit, who shouldn't even be in this movie, was largely useless and his again, five minutes of screentime could have been easily replaced by one line of dialog by any of the other Weapon X side characters in the movie: "I know where the island is."

I shall, again, give praise to Liev Shreiber and the guy who played Blob. I also let out a little "Fuck YES!" when Patrick Stewart showed up for about 30 seconds at the end. That's pretty much all I have to say that's good about this movie.

Oh shit, I forgot to rant about Deadpool.

Ryan Reynolds, as a huge Deadpool fan, you should have known this wasn't going to turn out well for Wade. You should have known they would butcher his character and reduce him to a mutated monstronsity at the end of the movie. You should have known that when his death was pretty much him being thrown into the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant that you should have said something. I place the gross misuse of Wade on your head.

I am now uneasily waiting to see how they're going to screw up the Iron Fist movie. God helps us all.

Rage Rant: Swine Flu, Susan Boyle, and m00t

2009-04-28T23:50:00.006-04:00

Finally started full-time work again, and it's not that grating so far; surprise surprise, right?

I guess it's just working a regular nine-to-five, five-day-a-week job has taught me a little bit of responsibility and humility; next year I've got to be a little bit smarter with the money I throw out and what I save, lest I beg off the street for pennies for Timmy's.

Fuck, it's another one of those nights where I'm staring at this blog screen trying to find something interesting to talk about; I mean, what's going on in the world today that I could comment on?

Oh wait, I know.

What the hell is up with this Swine Flu bullshit? I don't understand what people are doing working themselves up into a frenzy for: if you've been exposed to any number of chemicals/diseases/environments within metro USA or Canada, your immune system should be tempered enough to withstand this "pandemic."

My main gripe with this global panic, as usual, is the news. Because Barack Obama hasn't been doing anything interesting lately, the media's been in an uproar about Swine Flu because it's apparently killed a few people in Mexico. Let that sink in for a second; Mexico. A place where not everyone has access to pharmacies or universal health care. Get this: people aren't even sure the recent deaths in the country can be attributed to the flu, but they're still reporting it anyway!

I mean, come on. That's just sloppy.

Pull up your goddamn socks, news; I know you're dying, but that doesn't give you excuses to post lame-ass stories like this, that Susan Boyle woman (no offense to her; I'm no fan, but I think it's hilarious that all the assholes in the audience got shut up in an instant), or Anonymous' latest online conquest: the Time 100.

Seriously, if you're reduced to reporting poorly-guarded online poll results, you've got some priorities to re-organized.

I wish "Anonymous" would give it a rest; they're not scaring anyone. They're power structure is too messed up to be any difference; because they have the idiots who just want to fuck around and protest running around beside the people who actually want to accomplish something, they're just doomed to mediocrity and, ultimately, fail. The rules of the internet decree it so:

15. The harder you try, the harder you will fail
16. If you fail hard enough, you might be a winning failure
17. Every win fails eventually

First year reflections

2009-04-26T01:39:00.003-04:00

Alright. It's been about a month since I've posted here last, and I think that needed to be changed. And because my reason for not writing has mainly been because of school, I think this returning post should be about that as well.

I moved out of my residence room yesterday and I couldn't help but feel sad. I lived in that room, 1005, for eight months of my life; that's eight months away from family, friends and the city I grew up in. It was a great room: I met new people, had good times and did a lot of good thinking in there. I'm going to say that taking the opportunity to move out of my room at home and have the chance to grow and find myself was a good one... I feel I did a lot of growing and subtly evolved from the person I was to the person I am today.

I realized when I was packing that I would be leaving university with a lot more crap than what I arrived with; this was kind of cool, because I doubled my comics collection, added some funky clothes to my wardrobe, and had a lot of just plain memories etched into that junk. I still have two plastic swords from orientation week, when our school broke the world record for biggest swordfight and I found labels from my label-maker that had been stuck on my drawers and shelf from the first week of school. I couldn't help but get a warm feeling... I left them stuck where they were, fines be damned.

I came into residence scared out of my mind, nervous and partly excited. I met a lot of nice people and had a lot of good times; I subsequently learned how to balance an educational and social life decently. Next year will be a bit depressing, as the lack of ability to just go to another floor and find someone who's still awake will be present, and that's just not cool.

So yes; to everyone who made this first year awesome, I'd like to say thanks. Thanks for the good times, and thanks for the memories.

Cheers.

Mega Man Rap - Air Man, Bitch

2009-04-02T13:29:00.001-04:00

I promise to do a more substantial blog update this week, but the essays have all but sapped my writing ability. Here's an awesome video, instead.

Articles, videos, and essays, oh my!

2009-03-27T03:12:00.002-04:00

New post up on the Independent Comics Site. I write a column there every Thursday, now. Check it out, true believers!

Essay season is upon me and I've discovered I need to be cut off from the Internet in order to get any work done. This shit is getting ridiculous.

Here, have some Patrick Stewart on Sesame Street.

Shoryuken!

2009-03-22T23:21:00.004-04:00

Alright. Onto the next thing making me rage lately.

Like any young man, I enjoy video games. However, I rarely play them online unless there's some kind of team element involved, and Street Fighter IV is the reason why.

Playing fighting games online is something I've been trying to avoid for as long as possible because well, to be honest, I'm just not that good. Playing against a computer affords you errors that its artificial intelligence makes: predictability. In certain situations you can predict the computer's moves and then counter accordingly. With a human opponent it's considerably harder.

Street Fighter IV decided to hurt me on both fronts.

I swear to god, I have never met a more annoying AI than in fighting games. In a five-difficulty scale (Very Easy, Easy, Medium, Hard, Very Hard) I was ready to rip my fucking hair out with "Easy". I honestly have no idea how any sane human being could possibly delve into the harder side of the spectrum without rupturing a vein in their forehead. The computer has microsecond-quick reflexes, is capable of rifling off commands without being limited to the things that humans call muscles and pull victories out of their ass.

This shouldn't surprise me. Fighting game AI is notoriously hard. Case in point with the game's final boss, Seth.

Anyways, what's really getting me pissed off is playing online. While it boasts that its matchmaking will set me up with people my own skill level, SFIV's really seemed to drop the ball with that one. Users are ranked with "Battle Points", or BP; win, your BP goes up, and lose, your BP goes down. At the moment I'm facing people in the thousands of BP when I'm barely cracking a hundred. What's annoying is facing the same characters over and over while trying to learn different ones yourself; some are so easy to pick up as Ryu, Ken and Sagat.

Yes yes, this rant can most likely be attributed to frustration more than unfairness. More practice is needed.

51 Jokes in four minutes

2009-03-16T22:26:00.000-04:00

Heh.

Insomniac rant ahoy!

2009-03-16T05:41:00.003-04:00

Dear readers of Crave Thought: you are now being subjected to the thoughts and whims of a man who will not sleep tonight.

Yes, yes. I've decided that against my better judgment I will pull an all-nighter tonight even though nothing is due tomorrow. In fact, I have the day off. However, I cannot sleep, so I will be productive in my insomnia.

I resolve to watch the sunrise from my residence window and then, and only then, go to sleep. Maybe a part of me thinks I can somehow keep control over my life if I can just stay up and get work done, something that never seems to happen. I either seem to stay up until 6 in the morning, aimlessly refreshing imageboards and downloading nonsensical things until my body physically shuts down, or... well, I guess that's all I do.

But not tonight.

Tonight shall be productive.

And it has been. Thesis for my essay? Done. Worksheets, complete with snarky answers? Done.

I bet my TA loves getting assignments back from me.

Fuck you Toronto. You think you can tell me when to sleep?

On Death and Dying; just a midnight ramble

2009-03-12T02:25:00.002-04:00

Today I found out that a classmate of mine had died; I'm lead to believe that the death was a suicide, and even though I had talked to this girl only maybe twice or three times in the entire time I had known her, it still struck a chord with me.

I've pretty much spent today debating my own mortality.

She was one of the quiet types; very diligent in her work, humble, thankless, and just... dedicated, I guess. She was bright, yet had the remarkable ability to blend into the background. It kind of disturbed me to see her go because she seemed like she had so much potential.

Three people from my high school have died in the span of three years; one during my last year there, one the year after, and one this year. Even though I knew this girl the least, her death seems to have affected me the most. It seems weird, but I guess when I realize she's gone, the fact that someone who seemed to have their entire life ahead of them, and had the potential to do so much with that life, it disturbs me somewhat. I suddenly feel he need to almost work harder to make up for the space that she would have eventually filled in her later life; it makes me want to redouble my efforts.

I never knew her that well at all, so I apologize to those who knew her better if I misunderstood the circumstances. For what it's worth, I'll always remember her in a good way.

Rest in Peace.

Happy Third Birthday, Crave Thought

2009-03-09T01:03:00.003-04:00

Well ladies and gentlemen, another March 9th is upon us and that means this blog is another year older. Happy 3rd birthday, Crave Thought.

You can probably go back to last year's post to hear me give my arduous speech about the origins of this blog, so I'll cut the crap. This year it's nice to reflect on how much my writing style's changed because I'm in University now.

I look back on my first couple posts and I laugh at how serious I was trying to be. Back then this blog was to prove I was good enough; back then I didn't think I needed any improving, and we all know how much that cockyness bites us in our asses. I've evolved and learned to consider how a reader reads my writing, instead of just how I read it. I think I might have actually gotten angrier due to my time writing here, and while I'd like to blame that on the Internet, I think it's just me getting more cynical.

That's something I might have to work on.

So here I am, sitting at 1 in the morning debating what I've actually learned from this blog, and I can't help but feel I'm still not that far off from where I've started. This blog still, after three years, hasn't found a niche. I don't claim to be an expert or an authority on what I'm blogging about, and even now I'm debating the title of the blog is a little too "deep" for my often-mindless ramblings.

It'll have to do, for now.

To another year, guys.

Insert Watchmen pun here.

2009-03-07T16:20:00.001-05:00

So in honour of the last half of the Watchmen movie sucking the big one, I present to you an interview with the author himself, Alan Moore. He's a pretty kickass guy, and his beard has been confirmed to be a cosmic entity. I knew it was weeping yesterday; I'm sure of it.

Dan Iaboni: Traceur, teacher, role model

2009-03-02T03:20:00.005-05:00

In a flutter of footsteps and with a great leap, his arms grab hold of a ledge and legs compress against a wall. Using the stored momentum in his muscular limbs, he springs backwards into a flip, sailing into an upwards arc just feet from onlookers. However, something goes awry: he hesitates for a moment before he lifts off from the wall and ends up sprawled sideways in mid-air, hurtling towards the ground.

In the back of his mind, he might have patted himself on the back for digging a pit and filling it with safety foam. Climbing out of the pit unscathed, he discusses his mistake with his peers and decides that he would have to commit to the jump fully in the future. He would have to stop thinking, and just do it.

If there was a way for a man to fly under his own power, Dan Iaboni would have found it by now. Iaboni is a practitioner of parkour, a term which originates from the French term parcours du combattant, a method of training the military with an obstacle course. Parkour is a discipline that involves treating everyday objects like low walls, rails, and ledges as obstacles in a quest to get from point A to point B as efficiently as possible.

Due to reports of individuals injuring themselves while taking part of parkour, some mainstream media outlets regard parkour as dangerous. Iaboni believes this is due to a lack of proper training and wants to change people’s perception. Today he stands before roughly 30 fellow parkour practitioners, or traceurs, each with varying levels of experience. They come from areas such as Hamilton, Scarborough and Pickering as part of a pre-planned meet-up between those areas’ parkour clubs and Iaboni. He pushes them to work hard and complete the gruelling workout in order to waive five dollars off their usually-$15 gym fees: working hard bears rewards.

Iaboni’s eager charges will learn parkour from an expert. Iaboni was born and raised in Toronto, where as a youth he participated in basketball, soccer and weight-lifting; his life-long athleticism has resulted in a muscular body hidden under training clothes. It wasn’t until 2003 that Iaboni would view a video of traceurs on the internet, and his interest in parkour began.

“I basically said, ‘I want to copy that guy in the video,’ and then, ta-da, six years later, here we are."

At that time parkour in Canada was virtually non-existent, and Iaboni, as well as other interested Canadians, were registered on a British site called Urban Freeflow. During his early years of parkour, Iaboni spent much of his time experimenting due to a lack of guidance.

"At first we didn't know what we were doing, and we really sucked. A lot of the stuff we were doing was probably really dangerous, but there was no one else around at that time, so it was hard to get started. "

Though Iaboni’s home in Canada hampered his initial development, it was his location and bilingualism that helped him gain a chance to train with David Belle, parkour’s French creator.

“[In] 2005 I lucked out, because they needed some translators for a movie promotional tour they were doing in the States,” he said. “I spoke French and was doing Parkour in North America, so I got to tag along. There [Belle] thought I was a cool guy, so he [said] ‘You should come back to France to train.’”

Iaboni trained with Belle twice more, in parkour’s birthplace of Lisses, France, and again the next year during another American tour. Iaboni brought the knowledge he gained from Belle back to Canada in order to start teaching others what he had learned.

“He [Belle] showed me that everything I had done up to 2005 was basically goofing around, that I wasn't training hard enough and that he takes it a lot more seriously than people are taking it here [in Canada]."

Iaboni takes parkour seriously now, leading the Canadian parkour community with lessons learned from Belle and his own practice. Though he went to university for web design, Iaboni now does parkour full-time, earning his living through gym fees and holding seminars for outsiders, like corporate teams and children’s birthday parties.

In 2005 Iaboni started PKTO.ca, an informational website and forum for traceurs in the GTA. The web site was created in order to foster the growing parkour population, which the website’s current user count puts at over 2000 members.

“[In] 2004, all these other kids started coming [online] and we were like 'Hey, we should really try to make a local site so they don't go kill themselves starting off the way we did,'” said Iaboni.

PKTO.ca holds weekly meet-ups in various areas of the Toronto area, accepting all comers who are willing to learn. Winter, however, has hampered a traceur’s movement; wet concrete, ice-laden rails and slippery surfaces can spell instant doom in a sport where grip, precision, and spacial awareness are everything.

Instead of hibernating for the winter, Iaboni has taken refuge inside The Monkey Vault, his specialized training gym. Opening this past year, The Monkey Vault was a former carpet factory that was transformed with a little elbow grease into the Canadian embassy for parkour. Iaboni constructed much of the gym equipment and funded the renovations himself: blocks to vault over were assembled from wood, 2X4 beams were fastened to the wall for climbing and a safety pit was hand-dug and filled with foam cubes. The floor gives its passengers a bit of spring in their step due to 1500 polyethylene blocks under a layer of gymnastics carpeting, designed to cushion falls and give that little bit of extra boost in a jump. There are areas for weight training and relaxation, but privileges to the latter area must be earned. The Monkey Vault’s website states that “In order to go up [to the lounge] and play/watch a movie, you MUST complete a workout. If you come to the training centre just to play video games, you will be blacklisted.”

“I like doing parkour in here right now because there’s so many crash mats; the safety part of it’s amazing,” said Curtiss Randolph, 15. But when the summer comes, you’re going to have to face your fears and try it [outside].”

For Iaboni, training others has its own rewards. Parkour’s focus is one of non-competitiveness and personal growth, and after taking part in numerous sports as a child, this new activity brought a change to his competitive mindset.

"[Teaching] ended up doing a lot of good because it taught me a lot about why I do this and instead of finding some motivation for me to beat everyone -like how I felt in basketball, I had to beat everyone- this is more like 'Man I just want to get along with everyone and I want to see everyone grow,’” said Iaboni. "Seeing someone else learn something was just as good as seeing myself learn something.”

Iaboni’s motivational personality and passion for parkour emanate to his students, who enjoy learning from someone who treats them as equals.

“I think he done a great job. He’s very positive when you’re learning, and also he can do what he teaches you; it’s not like having a teacher that can’t do anything, or someone who’s washed up. He influences you because he’s so good at what he does,” said Randolph. Ionatan Waisgluss, 18, a cognitive science major at University of Toronto, agrees with him. A traceur for four years, Waisgluss recalled his first meeting with Iaboni during a parkour meet-up in Mississauga. Waisgluss did not know of Iaboni’s status within the parkour community, but recognized his helpfulness and patience with students. “We don't treat him like a superstar, but he is really helpful,” said Waisgluss.

Being treated like a celebrity is not on Iaboni’s agenda. He stresses that The Monkey Vault accepts people of all skill levels if they are willing to be taught.

"I don't want to see it to the point where it's like, 'Sorry, you're not allowed in here because we're the better people,’” he said. "When you see a guy do something he's never done before, well, I think back to when I first started and we couldn't vault over a rail. Seeing that [success] in them now is an awesome feeling. It's like, 'Wow, I'm actually helping these people not screw up like I [did] at the beginning.'”

Iaboni steadies himself for a second attempt at the back flip. The determination is evident on his face, his concentration filtering out the distractions around him. He sprints forward and plants himself on the wall as before, only this time there is no hesitation. He jumps, and hits the landing perfectly. As he comes out of the pit, the onlookers look on with smiles on their faces, inspired to follow his lead. Iaboni doesn’t hesitate to instruct others on their own flips, his own satisfaction brimming on his face.

Tentatively Watching the Watchmen

2009-02-28T15:06:00.002-05:00

So I thought I might make the big ol' 500 post anniversary on the three-year anniversary of the site on March 9th, but I found out that I only have something than 440 posts on the site; sorry guys, I don't think I could make 60 quality posts in a week-and-a-couple-days.

Three years...

In other news, I've got my ticket for Watchmen this Friday. I'll let you guys know how it goes, and frankly, I'll try to give it a chance. I really seem to have my opinion of a movie set in stone before I actually go see it, and this is a problem. I'm actually going to try to be objective on this one, people.

I've been kind of frustrated because the Blue Beetle was said to be delivered yesterday by both Amazon AND Canada Post, but alas, it has not shown up at Ryerson. The front desk keeps saying it isn't there, but like, where else could it be? It didn't require a signature, so I hope the driver didn't just drop it off somewhere and leave it. This is $50 I don't want to have to pursue.

Methinks I'll actually make a post later today about something news related; stay tuned, sinners.

Breaking the Mirror

2009-02-25T13:36:00.005-05:00

So instead of paying attention to my professor discussing Jamaica Kincaid's "A Small Place", I've decided I'm going to write a blog post.

About fun things.

Like Mirror's Edge 2D. I love free flash games, and if they happen to be well-made and entertaining to play I'll usually brave the ad-filled sites they're hosted on to kill some time in class or otherwise. However, this title's unique because not only is it a more simplified version of an actual console game, it's been endorsed by the original publisher and picked up for distribution from larger titles.

Really, as a game about freerunning (or parkour) it needs to be smooth, and he developer did that quite well. The controls are a bit daunting at first because there's simply so many of them, but there's a rewarding aspect when you finally pull off that move or get up to that area you've fallen short from before. If you're bored at work/class, give it a whirl. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Not-so-stimulating thoughts at 1am

2009-02-24T00:46:00.003-05:00

Normally, as I rule, I try to keep as much of my personal life out of this blog because frankly, I don't find myself that interesting (That's what Twitter's for, amirite?). However, today I achieved something I've been jonesing after for awhile: I did my first legitimate, no-assistance chin-up. Yes, I know, I know, I can hear the cries of "we don't care!" echoing off the white brick walls of my dorm room, but let me having my fucking moment of glory. I've been slowly working up to a hundred pushups for the past couple weeks and today at the gym something finally paid off for it.

This should help with parkour.

Anyways, in other news, I'm going to be starting court reporting for class tomorrow; should be both nerve wracking and interesting.

Have I ever told you guys how easily jealous I get at other people's successes?
Ugh.

Anyways, good night. I'm starting to ramble.

Wassup 2008: Exactly how it sounds

2009-02-19T04:09:00.001-05:00

Seriously?

SERIOUSLY!?

You pick probably one of the best/worst ads ever, then decide to make it politically charged?!

WHO'S IDEA WAS THIS!?

Do Over Day: Guilt with a purpose

2009-02-17T18:51:00.004-05:00

It's interesting to think about the amount of things we want to "do over" and to be honest, it's something that plagues me every day. Yes, I know it's unhealthy, but sometimes personal reflection can do the soul some good. Now someone's actually created a marked "holiday" for it, called "Do Over Day", a time of the year when Canadians can, as the website puts it, "revisit and/or repair the significant moments of their lives.”

The origins of this are hilarious, in both the good and bad sense. Turns out a bunch of scientists working for CERN (yes, THAT CERN) decided to ponder the possibilities of going back in time to right the past wrongs of their lives. Sure, this fancy was particularly flighty, but really, who hasn’t thought about going back in time to avoid sending that text message, dumping that girl, not going to that event, or choosing that hideously bad shirt to wear?

From there, a man named Reggie decided to take it a step further and introduce the concept of the holiday to Canadians, who he thought needed it the most. In essence, the holiday’s point is for a reflection of both the good and horribly bad moments in our lives that deserve that extra go-over.

“On the one hand we think of ourselves as an easy-going, polite, even mild, people. But there’s also a passive-aggressiveness in Canadians that is tempered, thankfully, with a collective deep sense of embarrassment about our many flaws. That’s why we decided Canada needed Do Over Day, a notion resoundingly confirmed by the over four thousand focus groups we convened for this very purpose.”

Canada: leading the world in insecurity.

Do Over Day can be observed on the 26th of this month. I think I’ll participate.

Reading Week Rantings

2009-02-16T23:59:00.000-05:00

Couple interesting things happened to me today; I was at a LAN part in the morning, drove back with partially-broken glasses around noon, cashed cheques and did work in the afternoon, then caught up with a good friend in the evening. Really, I'd say that's a well-rounded day, but let's go into some specifics, shall we?

Warren Ellis twittered me today. Instant smile on my face, and made me appreciate Twitter for what it is; a way for people to get responses to questions and quippings with little time investment from their favourite creators. I've got a lot of comics writers on my Twitter and it's fun to see what makes them tick. Warren's pretty much one of the funniest guys on the site, too.

I find it kind of funny that I'm studying Obama speeches (specifically his November President Elect one) at school after three months. Three months. That seems a little odd, doesn't it? I know teachers love to be "relevant," but I have a hard time believing that our professor has studied all facets of this (according to my course reader) four-page speech by now.

Ugh. Whatever. I've been listening to the same song for the past two days because it's mildly inspirational and right now I'm having a bit of self-soubt issues due to a shitload of confidence being placed on me to succeed. But I have to, right? I can't just give up. I can't have let all this work go to waste just because of my feeble mind.

I need booze.

Night sinners.

How could I forget?

2009-02-14T17:55:00.002-05:00

Single or with someone, I maintain my stance that Valentine's Day is... how you say... balls.
Yes. Balls. Click on the comic to embiggen.

Facepalm

2009-02-14T17:16:00.002-05:00

I hope I get so famous one day that Sympatico MSN reports on my Facebook profile.

/sigh.

Paradise

2009-02-08T20:37:00.002-05:00

Dear Burnout Paradise:

Have my babies.

That is all,
-A Happy Customer.

Bob gets put down.

2009-02-07T12:26:00.003-05:00

There's been a strange and terrible saga surrounding game developer Robert Pelloni and his hope to get his independent game, appropriately titled Bob's Game, published to the Nintendo DS. The game's been in production for approximately five years, by Bob's estimation, and he's mad as hell that Nintendo won't send him a SDK (Software Development Kit). He then proceeded to lock himself in a room for 100 days (which has since been broken) in protest over Nintendo's supposed evil nature.

Basically, Rob's a crock of shit.

Bob's Game does not deserve to be published simply because of Bob's unprofessionalism. I'm sure if he actually was patient, persistent, and didn't attack Nintendo by going to news outlets over a supposed injustice I'm sure the company would be a little bit more inclined to help him out. I mean, LOOK AT HIS WEB PAGE; I think the 100 days have turned Bob's head into a mush.

My problem with Bob is that while other (legitimate, office-and-payroll) developers can work for years before they get lucky with a title, Bob's Game seems to think it's a pretty little snowflake because it's been developed by one person (under the RPG Maker art style, no less!) that he deserves a special pass into the land of Wal-mart electronics department Valhalla. But when he didn't, he decided to be a little bitch about it and attack Nintendo of America President Reggie Fills-Aime, claiming a vendetta. Then all the major gaming news outlets go a hold of it, because everyone likes to see an insane underdog get put down, and now it's a circus.

Until today.

Thank you for your interest for Authorized Developer status for Nintendo DS.

We have completed our evaluation of your application and are unable to offer your company Authorized Developer status at the present time.

In evaluating developers, Nintendo looks for relevant game development experience.
In addition, Nintendo looks for secure business facilities, sufficient equipment and staffing, financial stability and other attributes that would distinguish the developer.

Nintendo provides Authorized Developers with highly confidential information and many of Nintendo's Licensees rely on recommendations and referrals by Nintendo to Authorized Developers.
For these reasons, Nintendo exercises a very high level of discretion in approving only a select number of applicants.

In accordance with our policies, we are not able to re-evaluate requests for developer status for at least six months.
Again, we appreciate your interest, and welcome any questions or concerns you might have regarding this decision.

Best regards,

Software Development Support Group & Licensing Department Nintendo of America & Nintendo of Europe

Thank you Nintendo, for having some sense.

"No FUCK No."

2009-02-05T22:05:00.000-05:00

Oh Bale, your rage-filled antics make me smile. This is way too catchy.

Sledding on the Uncanny Valley would be awesome

2009-02-04T15:46:00.004-05:00

The Uncanny Valley is a theory which is really interesting because it's becoming more and more relevant the further technology advances. The basic principle behind the theory is that the closer something artificial comes to being realistic, the closer it comes to a dropoff in the realism/familiary correlation.

In simpler terms: once something artificial gets a certain amount of realistic, humans will find it completely repulsive.

Examples of this theory includes the films The Polar Express and Beowulf, along with frighteningly realistic robots; things look so real that it's creepy. I once knew a girl who had an aversion to mannequins for this reason: they resembled humans so much (well, to her at least) that she was utterly discomforted by them.

So now, in the age where CG characters can "act" alongside humans, does it mean that humans will have to get over this aversion? Is there any way to conquer it? Is it a simple matter of repeating "It's not real!" over and over in your brain?

Guess we'll have to see.

Six-string in Hock

2009-02-03T11:55:00.003-05:00

I like success stories because they give us insight into the human psyche; sometimes it isn't about how a person got rich, but why, or what kind of circumstances brought them into that situation. I enjoy reading about the underdog, that guy who had nothing and made himself into something more.

And that's just what Adam Sheppard did. This is an excerpt from his book "Scratch Beginnings", which chronicles a year in his life where he wanted to go from homelessness to something better. Tired of the materialism and the laziness of his generation, Adam set out to change that:

I am going to start – almost literally from scratch - with one 8' x 10' tarp, a sleeping bag, an empty gym bag, $25, and the clothes on my back. Via train, I will be dropped at a random place somewhere in the southeastern United States that is not in my home state of North Carolina. I have 365 days to become free of the realities of homelessness and become a “regular” member of society. After one year, for my project to be considered successful, I have to possess an operable automobile, live in a furnished apartment (alone or with a roommate), have $2500 in cash, and, most importantly, I have to be in a position in which I can continue to improve my circumstances by either going to school or starting my own business.
There are a few ground rules that I need to establish in an effort to keep some critics at bay. On paper, my previous life doesn’t exist for this one year. I cannot use any of my previous contacts, my college education, or my credit history. For the sake of this project, I have a high school diploma and I will have recently moved to my new town. Additionally, I cannot beg for money or use services that others are not at liberty to use.

Aside from illegally sleeping in a park or under a bridge, I am free to do whatever I need to do within the confines of the law in order to accomplish my goal.

Obviously, Adam achieved this goal, but his website is kind of lax in explaining the exact terms of his success; I'll have to read the book and get back to you guys.

In the meantime, I'm kind of interested in thinking about Adam's views on the my generation. Yeah, I've never gone without in my life, but I'd like to think that's because I've never been one to actively want all the time. This story's kind of inspiring in the sense that I want to do something similar; release myself from my material constraints, y'know?

Sadly, as a nerd that loves the internet and all things electronic (and expensive... yeesh) it's kind of hard to do so. All good things happen in due time, I suppose.

Flips. Lots of flips

2009-02-02T00:00:00.003-05:00

So I had to go interview my profile subject today for my in-class assignment, and I've been supremely humbled and motivated in the process. Not necessarily by the interview process, or the fact that I could've done better (obviously, I could've), it was that the parkour workout I did in order to get said interview.

My point is, I need to start going to the gym more. I was easily (well, except for one guy) the most out-of-shape guy there and some team activities revealed me to be pretty much dead weight. Ugh. Twas frustrating.

Anyways, my article about said person shall be up here eventually. Thanks again, Dan.

A Real American Hero

2009-02-01T00:18:00.004-05:00

Well ladies and gentlemen, the first GI Joe trailer is out. Now, do we prepare for the fail, or for
something that will delight us, similar to Iron Man?

I'm guessing the former. I found this little gem on Wikipedia, though:

Channing Tatum as Conrad Hauser / Duke: The highly decorated field commander of the G.I. Joes.[10] Lorenzo di Bonaventura wanted to cast Mark Wahlberg in the role,[11] while the studio met with Sam Worthington.[12] Tatum had played a soldier in Stop-Loss, an anti-war film, and originally wanted no part in G.I. Joe, which he felt glorified war. Once he read the script though, he realized the franchise was a fantasy akin to X-Men, Mission: Impossible and Star Wars rather than a war film.

Tatum: Man, you suck, agent! I thought you could get me better than another serious war flick! Fight the power, man! Down with Bush!
Agent: Er. GI Joe? Real American Hero? Made millions in the 80's, and influenced a generation?
Tatum: Who?

-sigh-

Actors.

Work, work, work.

2009-01-30T14:49:00.003-05:00

I'm at home now, taking a mini-vacation for a day in order to attend my friend's 20th birthday party and to stock up on some much needed supplies: laundry soap and food, primarily. I also forgot my camera here during the Christmas break, and now that my work's stepped up a little bit, it was more hobbling than I thought.

Things to do in the next little while:

Interviews for a profile. It's kind of weird when my teacher insists this assignment is for "possible publication" and we have to treat it seriously. I don't mind it, but it's different. Interview ETA is Sundayish.
Watch the Super Bowl? Nah, the Super Bowl is for suckers.
Apply for an internship so I can make mad cheddar over the summer. Debt and student loans can suck a big one.
Find time to study CSS so this dump won't look so dump-ish anymore. Unlikely to happen.

Anyways, good afternoon/evening sinners. I'm out.

Emptying the recycle bin... into a volcano

2009-01-28T14:15:00.003-05:00

I just subscribed to Lifehacker just now; I love the site, but I hadn't added it to RSS just out of procrastination, I guess. I love geek news and I like modifying stuff; what's not to love, right?

Anyways, I found an interesting article for all you privacy freaks out there. The DP Shredder effectively wipes chosen files off the face of the earth, then makes sure they're gone by re-writing the space they occupied with different files, then deleting them, then repeating the process as many times as you want.

You can specify how many "rounds" of re-write/deletes you want, but after while it gets a little overkill: one round makes sure that the space is rewritten and deleted 49 times. Forget shredding a document, I'd like to think this is the tactical nuclear strike of personal privacy.

The Shredder, which can be downloaded here, is actually endorsed by the Department of Defense; can't get any better than that, I suppose. Enjoy, me hearties.

Metallica is the new KISS

2009-01-26T01:51:00.004-05:00

It's been years since they've been relevant, so why not just try to cash in on their "legend" status while they can, break up -or better yet, go on a "farewell tour"- then live comofortably for the rest of their lives on the merchandise sales?

Not like that hasn't worked before.

Hunting for homes

2009-01-21T15:30:00.002-05:00

Well, it's house-hunting time of year, and as a first-year university student, I'm a nervous wreck about it; what's a good price? Where's a good place that has included internet? Will I be able to get to the public transit and, in turn, to school, in a reasonable time? What's the neighborhood like?

Guh.

I really enjoy residence, but I believe it's served its purpose: I've made the friends, and I've learned how to live by myself. I'm ready to move into my own place and kind of carve out a little niche where I can spend the rest of my three years and beyond. I remember going to a house of a group of film students, and there was no doubt who lived there; the personalities of the tenants gave the house a certain flair, and it made it a home, not just a house.

So Friday I'm going on a house-hunt and scoping out a potential place. Wish me luck.

Oh, and PS: congrats Obama.

Dear God, so many references to bad 90's wrestlers could be made here...

2009-01-16T00:57:00.003-05:00

So one film I've kind of wanted to see for the last little while is the Mickey Rourke-starring The Wrestler. I always get Rourke and Ron Perlman confused, for some reason, but not this time; from what I've been hearing, this film, despite its hokey subject, is actually good. That's something I'll have to see for myself, but you know, everything's subjective.

A general synopsis of the movie is that Rourke's character is a down-and-out wrestler who has one shot at glory again; however, due to a medical illness, he might die if he does. It's basically an internal struggle as the character realizes he isn't anyone outside of the ring, and that if he dies, he might as well do it where he's loved. There's also some subplots including Randy "The Ram" Robinson (Rourke's character) trying to reforge his relationship with his daughter and date a stripper; you can only see how this is going to turn out.

It's kind of impressive that Rourke got trained professionally for his role, and does all his own stunts; I really enjoy when actors go that extra mile for authenticity. I suppose with the close-up shots in the ring, it would be a little unwieldy to keep switching stunt doubles in and out.

Apparently Nicholas Cage was going to star in this movie, but he was replaced with Rourke at the director's request. Thank god. I can only imagine what Cage would be like if he had to play someone who in turn was an actor; maybe that would cancel out something and actually result in a good performance.

Oh, I kid Nicholas Cage.

Aqueous Transmission

2009-01-11T20:26:00.003-05:00

As you can tell by the title, I'm on a bit of Incubus kick lately. But that isn't the point of this post.

That Saudi tanker that got held up by Somali pirates? It's free now after the company decided to bow to the pirates' wishes and deliver a $3 million dollar ransom for the tanker and its $100 million dollar cargo. Smart move, I guess, considering the pirates had a bit of a fight over how the ransom should be divided, and five pirates drowned after their boar was engulfed with water during their escape.

I love pirates because they're basically a big "fuck you" to not just the government, but everyone. They're men who live their lives by their own terms, and really can't be caged. They have a type of freedom I really envy. Obviously their lives are constantly plagued by violence and crime, so I guess I wouldn't be down with that; if only we could travel back in time to the good old days where the world was undiscovered and sailing the open seas in search of adventure was a viable career choice.

Ugh. Now I have the urge to break out Sid Meier's Pirates! again and resume my high seas career. While listening to "He's a Pirate." Yeah. That sounds good.

Here's looking at you, squid

2009-01-04T14:29:00.003-05:00

So when I said that my last post was my 500th, I suppose I lied. Blogger shows me now that I'm only up to 460. What the hell, Internet? Are you trying to make me look stupid?

Madonna wants to remake Casablanca. And star in it.

Let's take in these sentences for a little while, no?

Just sit there, re-read it, breathe in, then breathe out. Go to a happy place.

Ready? Now what if I told you other stars were to be Ashton Kutcher and Paris Hilton? Oh dear, we've descended into the ocean of shit.

I had a conversation with a friend about this, and we decided that the only way could be remade is if the entire crew was made up of Oscar winners. It would be a requirement. Sure, not everyone would be acting, but I'm sure they could find something for Denzel Washington to do, like hold a boom mic, or something. Best Boy? Key Grip? Halle Berry and the guy who did the makeup for Lord of the Rings. This is the only way it could be done!

Maybe we should exclude people who've ever been nominated/won "Teen Choice" awards.

Hmm.

Short but sweet.

2009-01-01T11:35:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year's, all. While I didn't have the good start to the year as I usually do, I hope your night was filled with drunken revelry and regrettable mistakes, as it should be.

Anyways, apparently Blogger tells me that this is the 500th post of Crave Thought, and I found it ironic that it was on the first day of the 2009. Well, I guess it could be better if it was on May 9th (the site's birthday), but I'll take what I can get.

Some resolutions for the site:
- At least 10 posts a month
- New header
- New design in general. Maybe learn CSS to help with that?
- Better, and more original content
- Guest bloggers, maybe? Who knows. Sky's the limit

Have a good year, everyone. I'll still be here in 2010.

Didn't Make Me Rage Award #1: Speed Racer

2008-12-27T19:34:00.003-05:00

The "Didn't Make Me Rage" award is given to an intellectual property of any kind that upon viewing, did not make me want to kill someone. While this might encompass a lot of the things I watch, what makes a DMMR winner special is that they could have made me rage, but surprised me with how good it was. The first recipient of a DMMR is the movie Speed Racer, which was directed by the Wachowski Brothers and came out earlier this year. Sadly, it came out around the time when Iron Man did, so the box-office numbers weren't great.

However, that doesn't mean the "Fuck YEAH" numbers weren't abysmal. The graphics in this movie are insane, and the race sequences (thankfully plentiful in number) have numerous moments that make the nerd in me happy with glee. Little shout-outs to the fans, like having Speed's original voice actor as one of the race announcers, evokes a little bit of nostalgia for those who grew up watching the original cartoon's reruns.

People expecting substance to this movie can kind of throw that out the window. You've got a lot of the cliche movie tropes, but they're outweighed by sheer amount of smile-inducing, spine-tingling moments that will entertain them if you go into the movie with an open mind. John Goodman fights a fucking (horrible) ninja, for god's sake.

Thank you, Wachowski Brothers, for not turning this into a "buy all our playsets and toys!" extravaganza, and actually thinking of the fans.

Hopefully more DMMR's to come.

Tick tock, grandfather clock

2008-12-24T16:29:00.002-05:00

So can anyone explain to me why I love this album so much? Pendulum's new In Silico's one of the few albums that I can listen to from start to finish and be satisfied all the way through.

Pendulum's earlier Hold Your Colour was on my iPod for a good long while because their blaring Drum 'n Bass gave me an occasional adrenaline shot. However, there's a bit of style change with In Silico; Pendulum, in a nutshell, is really, really, fast electronica, but with this new album they've introduced a lot of rock elements, as well.

I don't usually pick up new music, but Silico's one of those albums I have a genuinely good feeling about; if you've got some time and need somethign to lift up your mood, give it a look. At least check out "Propane Dreams" below.

Also, Happy Holidays, all.

Incoming!

2008-12-19T03:21:00.002-05:00

This is a bit late coming to the site, but on Sunday President Bush was giving a press conference in Baghdad, and had to dodge two shoes thrown at him by a Iraqi television producer, Muntazer al-Zaidi. At first, all I could think of, was "hell yes, good work, you crazy motherfucker," but now, it's a sad realization that al-Zaidi's going to be rotting, beaten, in some prison cell. Apparently, he's even too beaten to appear in court, with injuries to his arm, leg, and ribs.

al-Zaidi faces seven to 15 years in prison under a section of the Iraqi penal code that has sanctions for "agression against a president."

I'd say it was worth it, calling perhaps one of the most hated men in the world a "dog."

Half done....

2008-12-12T01:01:00.002-05:00

My name is Matt Demers and I've just finished my first semester of university. I feel really liberated, and the knowledge that I won't have a large project due at the end of the semester is refreshing.

Anyways, onto bigger and better things.

Well, not really. Just more ranting. I'm kind of confused lately over where I'm going with my writing. At the moment on this blog, I write about things that I can admit I look back on and think "who cares? Bacon turkeys!? Ffffff...."

And then I write posts like this, and while I enjoy writing them more, they don't provide any service to you. You get an insight into my life, but you can only take so much of that, right? No one wants to hear ranting 24/7, and I'm not too sure I can write a ton while still feeling comfortable about my privacy.

Dear god I bored myself just writing that last sentence.

Well, time for bed. Let me know if you have any suggestions for my dilemma. :)

Baconator, eat your heart out

2008-12-07T16:30:00.003-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with bacon.

Though it tastes like the nectar of the gods, its burning, burning grease and detriments to my health keep me from consuming it on a daily basis. I happened to find Bacon Today, so sadly, I think my heart's going to get a little more stressed in the coming months.

I've also decided what I'm going to be making for Thanksgiving next year, provided I have a surplus of cash and an appetite that could rival Jughead's: the Turbaconducken. Yes, you heard me right: a bacon-wrapped chicken inside a bacon-wrapped duck inside a bacon-wrapped turkey.

Dear god, be still my narrowing arteries.

Bustin' makes me feel good

2008-12-05T13:00:00.003-05:00

I would like to point how how deliciously awesome this is.

Not only did Atari take Ghostbusters: The Video Game out of development limbo and set a June 2009 release date, they managed to get all the original actors from the movie (well, except for Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver) to do the voice acting. Yes, that means Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson being Ghostbusters again. And you, yes, you, get to be the fifth Ghostbuster as the first of new recruits; how fun is this going to be?

Yes, I could be just submitting to the hype machine, but with a plot written by Ramis and Akroyd (who wrote both the movies), and the statement that this is going to be essentially Ghostbusters III, I can't freakin' wait.

The Return!

2008-12-03T21:24:00.002-05:00

Since I've gotten home from University I've had this weird urge to get back into the work-filled furor that was my time before Ryerson. I was up to my balls in different projects and jobs, and at the time, I was stressed. However, I think I'm figuring out that while at home, I actually get to rediscover some of the creativity that was beat out of me my first semester....

I mean, I wrote a The Office Season 1 retrospect, for god's sake; episode-by-episode reviews, and all!

Anyways, what this means for you, the person reading my blog, is that you can expect a little bit more frequency in the posting department, or at least a little bit more activity from me in my month off.

Cheers for now.

Incentives against the High Seas - Beating Pirates on the Internet

2008-12-02T00:35:00.003-05:00

Since a Boston University student created a program called Napster close to a decade ago, the world has been enveloped in a new age of digital piracy. Shawn Fanning’s program enabled people with minimal technical knowledge to download MP3s for free, and ever since, collections have been growing and the musicians themselves have been reeling from the profit losses. However, artists have been quick to find other ways of making money; some have even attempted to woo their fans back into paying for their music with some success.

Alan Cross has been chronicling the history and trends of alternative rock for almost a decade through The Ongoing History of New Music, a radio program broadcast from a numerous amount of radio stations, such as Toronto’s 102.1 The Edge. From band bios to top ten lists, New Music covers an immense amount of material, producing over 600 episodes since the show’s first broadcast in 1993.

“To be a fan of a band is to be a member of a specific community,” said Cross, “and it used to be that the price of entering this community was as simple as purchasing an album or going to a show. That’s no longer there. You can get the music anywhere you want, any time you want, anywhere you happen to be.”

Since the rise of internet file piracy in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, musicians looking to stand out from the crowd have been looking for other ways to gain notoriety and make money.

“Some established acts, with a fan base, Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails as a greatest example, they were able to use the fact that they own all the new music that they create and they have enough money to set up the infrastructure for something like a Year Zero release, or giving away [The Slip] for free,” said Cross. Year Zero was Nine Inch Nails’ last release under contract with a record label, Interscope Records, while The Slip is their newest album. Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor encouraged fans to pirate Year Zero after becoming dissatisfied with Interscope’s pricing plan, and The Slip was given away entirely for free over the Internet.

On Oct. 10, 2007, Radiohead released their album, In Rainbows, which had been a work-in-progress since 2004. However, there was something different about this release; it was not a conventional distribution of physical CDs.

Radiohead had finished their six-album contract with record label EMI after 2003’s Hail to the Thief, and released In Rainbows through their own website under a “pay what you want” business model. Fans of the band were prompted to type in the price they desired to pay for the album, and were charged a 45 pence (the equivalent of 85 Canadian cents) credit card transaction fee if they desired to spend money at all. The customer could then download the ten track album, which was compressed into a .zip file.

Also released was the “disc-box”, which contained the CD, two 12’’ vinyl records with artwork and lyric books, and an enhanced second CD with digital photos and artwork. This second, larger package was encased in a hardcover book with a slipcover, and was sold through Radiohead’s site, inrainbows.com, for £80 (the equivalent of $150 Canadian). Both these releases were produced and distributed by Radiohead themselves, which allowed them to cut out the costs of promoting and issuing In Rainbows through a major label.

The licensing arrangements for the songs on the album continued to be maintained by the band’s publisher, Warner Chappell Music Publishing. This allowed Radiohead to release In Rainbows using different record labels in other countries; the band, however, maintained the rights to their music and was allowed more freedom towards the company they chose for production.

The results of this experiment in music were released on Oct. 15, 2008 by Warner Chappell, revealing that the In Rainbows trial was a success: The album had been sold over 1.1 million times through Radiohead’s own site and various other music vendor websites, and the physical CD has sold over 1.75 million copies. The disc-box set was sold through Radiohead’s fan club, W.A.S.T.E, and was reported to have sold over 100,000 copies.

Nine Inch Nails adopted a similar method of removing the record label from the publishing process when releasing their album Ghosts I-IV. However, instead of Radiohead’s choice to allow the fans to pay what they desired, the band decided to issue their album in a tiered format.

Paying nothing for the album would include the first set of nine songs, Ghosts I. Paying for a $5 direct download would include all four sets of songs at a high-quality format. A $10 CD release would include all the songs on two disks, a 16 page booklet, along with immediate access to the digital release. A four-LP vinyl was the next available tier, and could be purchased for $39. The two final editions were labelled “deluxe” and “ultra-deluxe limited edition”, and sold for $75 and $300, respectively. These versions included the CD release, an enhanced DVD with multi-track files for use with audio editing software, a Blu-Ray disc, which contained a high-definition slideshow with the album as background music, and a 48 page hardcover book containing photographs. Both deluxe versions contain access to the online recordings. The ultra-deluxe edition, however, added 4 vinyl records and two fine art prints. Autographed and signed by Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor, the ultra-deluxe edition was limited to 2,500 copies and sold out within three days, generating $750,000.

While there are similarities to Radiohead’s strategy, there was an omission of the ability to get the entire album for free. Instead, the first tier of pricing was similar to a free sample, as only the first disc of Ghosts was available. This pricing plan has been praised for allowing newer Nine Inch Nails fans access to the band’s music without the risk of a monetary investment, while letting more serious fans pay more for the features they wanted.

“You used to need a record label to [promote your music]. Now you don’t,” said Cross. “With [services like] Myspace and Youtube, the distribution costs are zero. You don’t have to manufacture anything anymore once the music’s been made.”

“We’re going to see an interesting bit of musical Darwinism,” said Cross. “What sort of ‘survival of the fittest’ are we going to see amongst artists and businessmen? The appetite for music is not going to go away, the variety of music available is not going to go away; it’s just going to get greater, and the number of people making music is not going to decrease. It’s going to increase, if anything.”

As a result of the increase in musical piracy, bands who could sell millions of copies of an album in the past are suffering as well; newer albums are simply not comparing to older releases in sales.

“Access to music, the amount of music that made it to the mainstream, the general public, was quite small, because there was a bottleneck. You had radio stations, you had video channels, and you had record stores,” said Cross, remarking on music’s vast online availability. “That’s the only place where you could actually hear about or access music. Now you can access music anywhere you want with a handheld device. So that bottleneck has disappeared. Now all these bands, and the wannabe bands [that] were behind that bottleneck are now gushing through,” said Cross. “What that has done has deluded the ecosystem. So now everyone is free to go and sample whatever they want.”

“The investment is different. The investment of the valued proposition is different. I don’t have to save up money to buy a CD; I can just go on Bittorrent [a popular method of downloading] and get what I want now, at 3 o’clock in the morning, in my pyjamas. What’s happened is that the consumer is completely in control and this has completely reversed the business model. And nobody’s actually figured out how to make it work,” Cross said. “We’re in a really weird time right now, for everybody.”

One of the newer growing trends in music isn’t new at all; the vinyl record, long-thought dead by the development of the CD, has been making a comeback with those looking for the highest possible quality in their albums. For independent artists, the choice to publish their work on vinyl lends credibility to their commitment to music, but is limited by the availability of resources to do so.

Gregg Eberhard is a native of Hamilton, Ont., and produces vinyl-based recordings under the name Slow Hand Motëm. His mix of funk and electronica has earned him considerable success in Hamilton’s music scene, with his vinyl album Nature’s Beast being sold in buy-sell-trade record stores in the city. Although he does sell his records online and use a Myspace account, Eberhard stresses the importance of live shows to reach a band’s audience.

The Vinyl Release of Slow Hand Motëm’s album Nature’s Beast. “It’s the main way for the band to meet the people feeling their music,” said Eberhard, who sells his music at shows, as well. Since pressing 100 vinyl copies of Nature’s Beast through Toronto company Sano Media, the sales of his album have eclipsed that of his CDs.

“Just to have Motëm music on vinyl is the ultimate medium,” Eberhard said, extolling the superior sound quality. “[when selling your record], the greatest incentive is to have it on vinyl.”

“Vinyl’s making a comeback because it’s one of those situations where people will embrace the sheer inconvenience of vinyl as a way to display their devotion to a particular band or sound,” Cross said. He cites the communal experience of vinyl and the seeking of credibility amongst the independent music scene by today’s youth as driving factors of the resurrection of this medium.

“I grew up in a small town. It was the mid-to-late 70’s KISS era, [the band] was huge. So I would go out into the big city and I would spend eight dollars, 99 cents, whatever it was, on an album. I would bring it home and at lunch the next day everyone would come over to my house from school and we would carefully unwrap the record and go through the ritual of opening it up, looking at the sleeves, looking at the liner notes, putting the record on, and letting it run through,” said Cross. “Nobody skipped songs. It was a commitment. Whoever got it first invited everyone to that person’s house and there was a communal consumption of that record.”

With vinyl, an owner could share his music with others through the group experience, make a vastly inferior in quality tape recording, or give the record away, forgoing ownership.

“It doesn’t work that way anymore,” Cross said. “You download something and within seconds you’re sharing it with the planet.”

According to Cross, the increased availability of music to a music lover has developed less of a sentimental attachment to their music because they never truly invest in it. “Your loyalty is spread thinner, and because you spend less on [your music], there is less investment: emotional and otherwise.”

The increase in size of music collections can partly be attributed to the development of media players with higher capacity, such as the Apple 160-gigabyte iPod Classic. Approximately 240 songs can fit on a gigabyte of storage; mathematically speaking, Apple’s largest iPod could hold over 35,000 songs. Assuming each song in those 35,000 averages out to four minutes in length, one could put over 2,500 hours of music in one hand-held device.

Lidia Vile is the president and founder of TorontoIndie.com, a website that reviews independent Toronto shows and CD releases. The writers of the site also interview the bands and concert organizers, giving a closer look into the personalities of these individuals. The types of bands written about on the site are usually independent artists, unsigned to a music label. But as Vile noted, that doesn’t denote a lack of success.

“Technically, [Radiohead, with their lack of a major label] are an indie band.” Vile said.

Vile said that in order to get noticed, bands have to “basically pimp themselves out [to the fans] as much as they can.” Bands that have gimmicks, rivalries with other bands and good music tend to do well; bands that have an opposition to one another will sometimes tour together in order to take advantage of the controversy. She also said that merchandise sales and live performances have a lot to do with a band’s success.

She recounted a particular performance by an industrial band which set up a perimeter of elastic, plastic film around the band’s performing area. The lead singer would press his face through the membrane while singing.

“It was a very visual performance,” Vile said.

“’Buy our t-shirts, buy this hand-sewn thing we made,’” Vile said, “[The concentration on merchandise sales] almost channels away from the music.”

Brodie Schwendiman has been involved in the booking of bands for a decade, currently managing talent for one of Hamilton’s leading indie rock clubs, the Casbah. In his time spent working with bands from across North America he has noticed a growing trend in response to the decline of CD sales.

“In the 10 years I’ve been doing this, I’ve seen an increase by [the bands] and those who promote them to provide such material such as posters, digital photos and merchandise material,” said Schwendiman.

He also mentioned the increase in the amount of merchandise available for sale, noting that for traditional indie rockers, the standard fare seems to be the classic t-shirt. However, for pop-oriented acts, items such as women’s underwear and hoodies can also be seen for sale. All the items for sale are available in multiple designs, increasing the likelihood that die-hard fans will complete their collection of band merchandise.

He also noted the rising role of the Internet in the role of promotion. Schwendiman said that time spent posting physical posters and on the phone promoting shows has been “replaced by the time I’ve spent on Facebook, message boards, and e-mailing people. It’s not nearly as glamourous or romantic a way of promoting it. But it’s what we need to do to promote our shows.” Creating an event on Facebook, the popular social networking site, takes minutes and allows Schwendiman to gauge reaction from potential attendees instantly using the message board feature included with the website.

Bands are slowly adapting to their new surroundings, and going through more and more to get noticed.

“Just the actual music is not enough,” said Cross. “You have to package the music in such a way that people will be willing to accept the valued proposition that it poses. In other words, I have to physically get out of my house and get it, or I have to shell out a lot of money to have this limited edition thing, because both those [options] show how far I’m willing to demonstrate my devotion to the band.” Cross then mentioned something that the Internet will never be able to replace:

“You can’t download a t-shirt.”

Crave Thought: Twilight Rage Edition

2008-11-23T04:44:00.003-05:00

Gather round boys and girls. This week Matt’s going to go off on a bit of a rant.

But first, he’s going to tell you a story.Back when Harry Potter 6 came out, naturally, I was excited. “Wow,” I thought, “this is going to be AWESOME! The next book’s out!”

How disappointed I was.

Ms. Rowling had taken everything I loved about the series and decided

, “Well, rabid fangirls who write fanfiction about my series will gobble up anything I throw at them, so that’s what I’ll do!” The next thing I knew, Dumbledore was dead, Harry dated Ginny for a random couple chapters, started brooding, and the desire to finish this series drained out of me.

Deathly Hallows wasn’t any better, and I didn’t even bother opening that book. Thanks to the wonders of the internet I managed to get a hold of spoilers a good two weeks before the series’ conclusion was ripped from the shelf by the throngs of people, some eager to see how it ended, and some just wanting to get the damned thing over with. My suspicions were confirmed with said spoilers: it wasn’t Harry Potter anymore. It was just bad fanfiction.

Now let’s veer from that small detour of reminiscence and get back on the highway of rage.

In 2005, an author named Stephenie Meyer decided to publish her novel, called Twilight. It is a tale of a girl moving to live with her father, a girl adjusting to a new lifestyle, and a girl falling in love.It also has the distinction of being the worst thing I have ever read.

Okay, that was a bit of a lie. I haven’t exactly read Twilight; just excerpts. This fact will probably kill any shred of validity this rant has, but goddamn, I’m going to write it anyways. As an individual whose career is bent on people writing well, I really feel the need to tell people that by any means necessary, you should avoid reading Twilight.

For the uneducated, the term “fanfiction” refers to a story written based on pre-existing characters and settings. Usually written by fans of a series, fanfiction is of varying quality and has the potential for fuffilling authors wishes – don’t like what happened in your favourite TV show or book? Write your own version!That’s what Twilight reeks of to me: a fanfiction author gone too far. It’s got all the hallmarks: an all-too-perfect main character, vampires, and more importantly, flawless vampires - these babies don’t burn in sunlight, they sparkle.

As many other reviewers mention, the main vampire character in the novel, Edward Cullen, is perfect in nearly all aspects: besides the whole “immortal, undying vampire” thing, he poses no threat to Bella (his vampire clan doesn’t feed on humans) and is a more perfect physical

specimen than Adonis. Edward and his clan also emerge from a fight scene at the end of the novel unscathed: why am I not surprised? As Livejournal user “Otahyoni” noticed in her reading of the book, the number of exaltations Meyer includes borders on ludicrous. Taken from Otahyoni’s review is a catalogue; a “by the numbers,” if you will:

References to Edward's Beauty: 165

Broken Down into the following categories -

• Face: 24 (Favourite adjectives: glorious, heavenly, seraphic)
• Voice: 20 (The voice of an archangel, donchaknow.)• Eyes: 17
• Movement: 11
• Smile: 10
• Teeth: 8
• Muscles: 7
• Skin: 7 (Note: This only contains accounts of Edward's skin being beautiful. I didn't count references to it as "pale," "cold," or "white." If I had, this number would be about ten times larger.)
• Iron Strength or Limbs: 5
• Breath: 4 (EVEN HIS BREATH IS AMAZING.)• Scent: 4
• Laughter: 3• Handwriting: 2
• Chest: 2
• Driving Skills: 1

Dear God.

Characters that have little-to-no flaws suffer from what I like to call “River Tam” syndrome: the character might have something about them that is made out to be a big weakness (such as Bella’s clumsiness or River’s mental instability) but gosh darn it, it’s so damned cute that everyone can’t help but love them anyways. They are perfect in every way that actually matters in their respective universes: killing aliens, being the most popular girl in school, or convincing a 100-year-old-plus vampire that they are really the one for him. Good characters are not defined by their good traits, but by their flaws: Hamlet means well but is short-sighted in the repercussions of his false madness, Spider-Man is a super-hero but everyone he gets close to seems to have tragedy befall them, and Pam Beesly is cute as a button while not having the stones to actually pursue her dreams. However, characters that don’t seem to have any flaws become unrelateable; people with no flaws are not people.

Naturally, Twilight’s female following is immense and fanatical. A large number of the fans are “in love” with Edward, and by extension, actor Robert Pattison. Is it wrong to think that there’s a problem with such devotion to a fictional character? I get the feeling like these girls might be forming unrealistic expectations for the men they hope to meet in their lives – they’re in for a bit of a let-down. With lines like "I couldn't imagine how an angel could be any more glorious," and "The meadow, so spectacular to me at first, paled next to his magnificence," Meyer seems to be delving a liiiiiittle too much into the romance.

My major problem with Twilight is that a novel with such bad writing can somehow worm its way into the mainstream consciousness and influence so many people into unrealistic views of the world. Many people have noted that Bella seems to be a self-insert of Meyer herself, and I would not be surprised by this fact; fanfiction authors tend to implant themselves into their work as a means of wish fulfillment. Sure, this could be over-analysis on my part, but even actor Robert Pattison, who plays Edward in the movie, can’t help but agree. Robby’s been slowly earning my respect as a guy who isn’t afraid to call what’s earning him truckloads of money and fangirls bullshit; in an interview with At The Movies’ Ben Lyons, he remarked:

“When I read it, I was convinced Stephenie was convinced that she was Bella, and it was like a book that wasn’t supposed to be published. It was like reading her sexual fantasy, especially when she said it was based on a dream and it was like, ‘Oh I’ve had this dream about this really sexy guy,’ and she just writes this book about it. Like some things about Edward are so specific, I was just convinced, like, ‘This woman is mad. She’s completely mad and she’s in love with her own fictional creation.’ And sometimes you would feel uncomfortable reading this thing. It’s kind of a sick pleasure in a lot of ways.”

When your leading man can't even believe your character, you've got a problem.

Anyways, so concludes my rant. Feel free to leave comments, as you're entitled to them.

To sleep, perchance to dream....

2008-11-16T18:18:00.003-05:00

It's a quiet night in Toronto. It's been raining and snowing on-and-off for most of the day and it's kind of cast a pall over everyone; why go and do anything if there's a chance you might get wet?

Through my best efforts today I attempted to start work on my Hamlet-centric English essay. However, I'm just working my way through the 2000 film right now, and hoping to get through the superior version tomorrow. Ugh; too much work, and not enough ethic to get it done.

Oh God, Ethan Hawke is horrible.

Anyways, I'm just rambling now.

There's really nothing else to say, because at the moment, there's nothing to do. I'll talk to you guys later.

Thoughts from 2AM; useless crap edition.

2008-11-12T01:52:00.003-05:00

Dear God I love The Onion.

Chocolate Reign: Barack Wins, Bitches

2008-11-05T00:57:00.004-05:00

Triumph.

Congratulations, United States of America. You haven't disappointed me, for once.

In what some people called the perfect campaign, Barack Obama won the Presidency of the United States last night. Congratulations, you big galoot; you've finally broken my streak of never picking the right winner.

Anyways, I'm off. Good evening.

Ecomist endorses Obama: Probably the most sense they'll make to me for the next year.

2008-10-30T13:56:00.003-04:00

Big ups to The Economist with their endorsement of Barack Obama. I'm reading the article and I feeling like someone just said to themselves, "Okay, that's enough. Time to actually tell it like it is."

I can't help but feel like my people, as Canadians, care more about the American election than our own. This topic has been debated to death in our news media and between each other, and it's now descended into one of those topics that brings up a collective groan and "We know!"

However, it still needs to be discussed.

Is it the charisma? Is it the mudslinging? Is it the fact that there's a clear and present division between the parties in the United States instead of the feeling that all the political parties up here are the same? They might have names like Liberal and Conservative, but the differences simply don't seem drastic enough to matter.

On another note, we have a Sex Party? There's a party I could get behind.

(hint:) Click the image!

Thoughts from the Sex Convention

2008-10-27T01:33:00.002-04:00

The weekend of October 24th to 26th was a weird one for me: aside from the usual escapades I had chosen to attend the Everything To Do With Sex Show, a convention that takes place yearly at the Canadian National Exhibition. Along with my forays into conventions of the nerdier type, my decision to go was influenced more by curiosity than interest in the subject matter. I decided “Hey, what the hell, right? How often do I get a chance to go?”

So off I went.

I decided to bring along a friend, as it’s my experience that it’s better to bring a companion to bounce opinions and emotions off of, lest one be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of weirdness that can occupy these adventures. We grabbed a subway and streetcar to the Exhibition grounds, and found ourselves at the entrance to the hall for the sexpo, which was somewhat ironically booked beside the “Healthy Infants and Toddlers” convention. I suppose it’s good that the kids didn’t know what the heck was going on, since more than one parent would probably hear “Mommy, why is that man wearing no pants?”

Upon entering the hall one is immediately offered multiple “Wet Sex Kits,” which include both condoms and lubricant. I threw a couple into my bag because Christmas presents can be difficult to shop for. A few steps father a girl in short shorts and a low top informs us that their company is giving away “free vibrating cock rings” at that booth over yonder.

How can we lose, right?

After working our way through the immense crowd and inputting obviously fake e-mails into the computers that were set up, me and my comrade were given a packet which included a sealed penis ring. One slider on the side got this thing vibrating, and a butterfly-stamped plastic piece was there for “clitoral stimulation.” Again, good Christmas gifts. Later in the convention we would go back and get more, to the delight of our group of friends back home.

What surprised me about this convention was that there really isn’t a lot to do; irony, right? The hall was a decent size, but it just seemed to be taken up by rows and rows of porn DVDs or racks of vibrators. This was more of a consumer show than an educational one, with every apparatus under the sun available for your orgasmic bliss. Some highlights my friend and I saw were: a motorbike outfitted with a bondage rack, candles labelled with a “Monkey Fart” scent, penis-shaped bongs, an exercise ball with a removable dildo attachment (for the “ultimate in discrete pleasure”) and various homemade BDSM items. There was a “Dungeon Area” where photography was prohibited for good reason: stepping inside my friend and I were greeted to topless women being trussed up and teased in various methods. It was quite... unsettling.

There were exhibitions on three different stages and seminars being held every half hour, which provided festival goers with a lot of potential things to learn, such as “Eco-Friendly Sex Toys,” “G-Spots and P-Spots:Doubl[ing] Their Pleasure,” “Sensational Oral Sex,” and “Kink 101.” When we walked by, we heard a middle aged lady talking about the errors that some people make while using anal beads; onomatopoeic noises were included about how the beads should sound while they’re making an exit from your lover’s rectum. Other features of note were pole dancing and fake orgasm competitions, as well as a “Got Ass” (think like the “Got Milk” slogan) show and “Firefighters of the Caribbean.”

Really, I’d like to say there’s something for everyone at this type of convention, and that might be true; however, to the casual observer like me, the experience is a little bit daunting. Obviously you wouldn’t approach this even with a closed mind, but there are still things that make you cringe. If you aren’t there for something specific, like buying the latest “gear” or looking for a rare (or cheap) DVD, there isn’t a whole lot to do; it only took my friend and I about an hour and a half to see the entire convention’s sights.

Besides this caveat, I can’t that that I didn’t enjoy myself; really, it opened my eyes to a lot of new things and along with the nerd convention, it exposed me to an environment where everyone has the same common interests. Really, I’d recommend it to anyone looking to broaden their horizons or just get a really good laugh at some of the weirder stuff: I was definitely tempted to buy that “Sexercise” ball just to see the look on a friend’s face. If you’ve been to a sex convention, good on you; if you haven’t, add it to your list of things to do before you die. Your libido will thank you for it.

Kevin Smith makes a hilarious movie

2008-10-23T23:28:00.003-04:00

If there's one director who's won my respect, it's Kevin Smith. I've loved Clerks and its sequel, but haven't gotten around to see his other films of note: Chasing Amy, Mallrats, and Dogma.

He's got a new film coming out called Zack and Miri Make a Porno, which star the somewhat unconventional duo of Seth Rogan and Elizabeth Banks. I'm actually don't have much bad to say about Rogan; I'm glad he's moved away from the Judd Apatow movies that have typecast him as a bumbler, and really, that're losing their comedic appeal. You can only make so many "sex, beer, and weed" movies before you start to get old. Elizabeth Banks is a fox. That's the only statement I really have to make about her.

So the story’s set up that Zack and Miri (I’m digging that name...) are two friends living together who need to scrape together rent money, fast. They decide “Okay, let’s make a porno,” which really, is flawless logic. As Wikipedia synopsises tell me, they eventually realize that their platonic friendship might not be so platonic. This makes me happy, as it encourages people like me that beautiful women will fall in love with big goofs with good intentions; who says Hollywood has to be so superficial anyways, right?

Haven’t seen the flick yet, but I should soon. Kevin Smith’s one of those guys that manages to impress me with both his nerd-ery and down-to-earth nature. If you guys can get a copy of An Evening With Kevin Smith, or An Evening with Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder, please, by all means, watch them.

Thoughts from the 5-Star rating

2008-10-22T01:38:00.004-04:00

I fear I might be starting to roll down the slope to being a media whore.

Really, I think it's just because of the excitement I had when I bought Rock Band 2 this past Sunday. I've been playing like a fiend since, and I'm happy to say I'm prograssing quite nicely. However, is this socially acceptable in a hipster-filled universe? Is liking a game based on "popular" music "cool"?

I've always wondered when playing a Guitar Hero or Rock Band-style game: are these games ruining these songs forever? Will a Beastie Boys or Jet cover band be instantly dismissed as "Rock Band Wannabes" if they play "Sabotage" or "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" Will anyone who hears Rage Against the Machine's "Bulls of Parade" instantly that time they aced it on Expert difficulty while ignoring the political nature of the song? Is the meaning of the song at risk of being lost?

I guess what I'm trying to ask is: is there an unforseen risk to putting your music on Rock Band, in another video game's soundtrack, or a commercial? Do you lose credibility? And I'm not just saying from the kiffeyeh-wearing hipsters, either; I mean from the people who've bought your records and expect more from you?

Maybe I should get into those stupid scarves another time... or maybe I won't, fearing the wrath of female friends I'd prefer to keep.

Anyways, just some thoughts at 1:50 AM.

Thoughts on a deadline high

2008-10-15T00:01:00.005-04:00

Now I know what it's like to have a deadline high.

For the past couple weeks my Culture of News class has been covering the Canadian Election and it's been hell on Earth for a number of people. We basically have to pick an electoral riding, and if you live in a riding, you basically get first dibs.

So begins my adventure in the boring riding that is Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale.
So ended my adventure in the boring riding: tonight I went to my candidate's victory party and laughed my ass off at the legions of neckbeards there hooting and hollering for every Conservative that won a riding, and booing every Liberal/NDP/Whoever that won a riding. It might just be the bitter NDP supporter in me but I couldn't help but think I was in the wrong meeting: did I stumble into a dual politics/D'n'D game?

Anyways, I speed home at 11:45 pm, ready to add that imperative first paragraph and make any literal last minute changes to my assignment, and fire it off at 11:55.

Jesus christ, I'm still shaking.

I guess it's just the thrill of producing with 5 minutes left on the clock, but I got an extreme buzz from it.

I think I was meant to be a journalist.

I swear I've got the "itis"

2008-10-11T15:39:00.004-04:00

Ah, the Thanksgiving weekend; a time to sit back, relax, and stuff your face full of food to the point of immobility. I kind of needed this break for the craziness of University, so after going through the laundry list of things my family needed fixed since I left, here I am, enjoying my lack of things to do - or so I think.

I'm a big fan of wasting time through supposed organizational tools. Whether it be putting my schedule on my phone and then dismissing the alarms when they go off, or organizing my life on Google Calendar then forgetting all about it, I'm all for it; it kills time and leaves me with a feeling of accomplishment. At the moment I'm giving Todoist.com a spin because really, I get a lot more done when I have the satisfaction of ticking a task off a list.

Yeesh, I feel like I'm forcing this, but what else can I do on a Sunday night besides sleep and appease my loyal readers? Anyways, I have work to do, so I'll be back later in the week!

Cheers

Battle in Seattle: movie, or boxing event title?

2008-10-04T14:00:00.002-04:00

I figure it's been a while since I reviewed any upcoming movies (or at least their trailers), so here we go.

If there's one thing I love, it's politically charged movies. If there's one thing I love even more, it's a politically charged riot movie. Sadly, I haven't seen much of the latter lately, or really... ever.

Battle in Seatle is going to change that. It's actor Stuart Townsend's first directing job, and surprise surprise, it's got his "wife" Charlize Theron in a leading role. It's depicting the events of the 1999 WTO protests in Seattle which started peacefully,but descended into rioting and an eventual State of Emergency. From what I've read Townsend depicts all sides of the "argument", showing the portesters, police, and the anarchists who eventually turned it all to shit.

Really, I've got to commend the trailer; it looks like a kick-ass movie. I either don't remember the events that it depicts, or I was just never informed: does this present a vulnerability in tthe audience the film wants to reach? Obviously this film is targetted to Americans who might remember what happened, but what about people who don't? Are they going to allow themselves to be potentially influenced in their opinion of the protesters and the police by a film?

I guess the trick is to go into this with an open mind and possibly with some research; but really, that wouldn't be fun, would it? I guess it would ruin the movie, too, but... meh.

Obligatory post of the week

2008-09-28T20:14:00.002-04:00

It's a warm night in Toronto.

Today was a supreme catch-up day; had a lot of work to do and stuff to get caught up on. I'm working on a lot of projects nowadays and Sometimes it just seems like it's overwhelming. On the other hand it's not like I can drop some of these things... they're way too interesting! I mean, they're regular work and the people I get to work with are kick ass.

I'm going to be covering the election in my home riding for the next little while, so that should be both exciting and time-consuming.

Anyways, more parkour videos!

"A Short Love Story In Stop Motion"

2008-09-21T23:33:00.000-04:00

A SHORT LOVE STORY IN STOP MOTION from Carlos Lascano on Vimeo.

I came across this video on Vimeo yesterday and I thought it deserved some attention. Carlos Lascano is an artist from Madrid who really seemed to capture a lot of facets of animation in this piece; I mean, you've got the hand-made figures, computer generated scenes, and good old-fashioned hand-drawn cartooning. More (including production pictures!) after the jump.

I really liked the music in this video because it seemed to capture the flighty, whirlygig mood of love with the vastness of the time period that it covers. I almost missed the point of the whole video at the end, but really, I think it fits together quite well in the grand scheme of things.

I'm a fan of traditional 2D animation as well as rotoscoping, and I think Lascano did both extremely well. After doing some searching I found his site, and through there I found these production photos. I find it awesome he actually hand-made the dolls; they're both eery and heartwearming at the same time.

I haven't really been paying much attention to the potential of Vimeo in the last little while. All I really noticed about it was that it's good for posting high-quality videos, but really it's emerging as the "Flickr for videos". I'd recommend it to people who actually want to see a quality standard to their videos.

Manifesto the Second; free concert alert

2008-09-17T20:14:00.005-04:00

Hey, Torontonians; want to see K-os for free?

I was walking home today and I saw a poster advertising the second annual Manifesto festival that's going to be held in various places downtown in the following week. Looks like your standard run-of-the-mill urban culture festival, with documentary screenings, dance competitions, and art exhibitions. The centrepiece of this event is the main concert, which takes place at Nathan Phillips Square from Noon-10pm. Some of the acts that're going to be present are k-OS and the Rascalz, and there will be free workshops being hosted as well; one can learn to rumba, b-boy/b-girl, draw graffiti, or perform Muay Thai (for those of us who enjoy inflicting pain).

Anyways, I figure I'll at least be going to see k-Os, so comment if you think you'll be heading there, too!

Time to break out the glowsticks...

2008-09-15T18:14:00.000-04:00

Dear god I love the Internet.

Informing ourselves to death

2008-09-11T13:17:00.004-04:00

One of my mandatory classes this year is called "Information and Visual Resources," which basically translates into "how to get better information than anyone else." The lectures that have taken place so far have been very interesting, but what's really made me perk up and look was this speech by Neil Postman called "Informing Ourselves to Death." In its essence, it explains how computers, like the printing press before it, are bringing down society through a simple overload of information. Through all the information that the computer brings us, it still fails to help us find the answers to basic human problems. Here's an exerpt:

The message is that through more and more information, more conveniently packaged, more swiftly delivered, we will find solutions to our problems. And so all the brilliant young men and women, believing this, create ingenious things for the computer to do, hoping that in this way, we will become wiser and more decent and more noble. And who can blame them? By becoming masters of this wondrous technology, they will acquire prestige and power and some will even become famous. In a world populated by people who believe that through more and more information, paradise is attainable, the computer scientist is king. But I maintain that all of this is a monumental and dangerous waste of human talent and energy. Imagine what might be accomplished if this talent and energy were turned to philosophy, to theology, to the arts, to imaginative literature or to education? Who knows what we could learn from such people -- perhaps why there are wars, and hunger, and homelessness and mental illness and anger.

Anyways, give it a look. It's a bit of a read, but I enjoyed it heartily.

Le Parkour

2008-09-06T11:14:00.004-04:00

So now that I'm in Toronto with a ridiculous amount of free time, I've decided to do something productive with it. Besides my writing ventures, I've decided to take up Parkour. Most people who've seen Casino Royale remember the opening sequences with a traceur Sebastian Foucan; what he does in the movie is a more stylized and theatrical version of the art.

Through some googling, I found Toronto Parkour, or PKTO.ca, and through their forums I became familiar with the techniques and schedule of meetups that were available. Having attended one of these meetups this past week, I can say this: I had the time of my life. Coming into it thinking that I wouldn't be able to keep up was completely unfounded, as the guys were amazingly nice in teaching me anything I needed to learn. The site (and community) were featured on CBC's The National; I'm going to post the videos for your enjoyment.

Fan Expo Article - Fear and Loathing in Toronto

2008-09-01T10:38:00.002-04:00

I’m a nerd.

I’d like to think I’m confident about this facet of my life; I will openly state that I enjoy comic books, video games, and the internet. These are hobbies of mine, something that I enjoy to do. However, there is one threshold I’ve never crossed during my time as a nerd: the convention.

The convention can be described as both an amazing gathering and the worst hive of scum and villainy anywhere on this planet. The convention features artists, writers, panels, vendors and events that will make even the most jaded fan drool. The convention features people dressed up in all manner of costume, portraying their favourite characters. The convention also takes over a hall/hotel with revellers, leaving an unsuspecting citizen wondering what the hell is going on.

I decided that I would attend my first convention, Fan Expo ’08, at the end of August. I also decided that I would try to express the chaos on paper for you, the so-called “normal” people.

Fan Expo began as the Canadian National Comic Book Expo in 1995, being held in Roy Thompson Hall and accommodating approximately 1,500 guests. Two years later, the venue would change to the Metro Toronto Convention Center, and the name would evolve into Fan Expo Canada. In 1999 Canadian National Anime Expo merged with the comic portion, and in 2004 and 2005, Horror Expo and Gaming Expo were added, respectively. This gave the con an air of “THE con” to go to, because really, there was something for everyone. Now in its 14th year, Fan Expo will take up 220,000 square feet in the MTCC’s massive south building, housing over 600 exhibits. In 2007, the attendee count was recorded as over 43,000. Previous guests of note to the convention include Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Alice Cooper, Clive Barker, Adam West, and Elijah Wood.

This being my first convention, I thought I would set two goals for myself:

1) Talk to Henry Winkler (a.k.a The Fonz from Happy Days) about the new Arrested Development movie. I would not talk to him about Happy Days whatsoever; I think he’d get a kick out of it.
2) Attend the masquerade, a huge gathering of all the costumed goers, as Hunter S. Thompson from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Document findings.

Yes, two would be enough.

Friday

After the fever of packing my stuff up, I met both my travelling comrades at a Wal-mart, where one, Jen, worked. She was just getting off work, and I needed to stop there anyways for food and provisions. We got into her white mini-SUV and got on the road; there was travelling to be done. After roughly an hour and a half of driving that consisted of making fun of the bumper stickers and cars of our fellow travellers, we arrived in the wondrous city. Toronto was a bustling metropolis this evening.

We dropped off our stuff at the Holiday Inn, which to our not-so-surprise had reneged their previous promise of a room with two beds. Adding further frustration was the revelation that they didn’t even have a rollaway bed or cot for us to use. Perfect. This was only one of the many problems we had in our room, but really, they were manageable. No fridge? Fine! Just put ice in the sink. Sliding bathroom door that would not open from the inside? Fine! Get the roommates to help. No extra comforters to make a makeshift floor bed? Fine! Extra pillows it is, then.

We decided to go out and get our tickets for the event. I picked up my press pass and silently gloated that I didn’t have to wait in the dizzying line that road-blocked eager convention goers. The Metro Toronto Convention Centre is just huge, and the amount of stairs and escalators ferrying people from place to place is just insane. Coming from a smaller city, just seeing this amount of people all at once, all gathered because of the same hobbies was bewildering at first.

Ultimately, that’s what conventions are all about: the people. Like any other “scene”, nerds have their own labels and taboos, drama and social cliques. There are certain parallels to music elitism and a whole lot more function of drawing as much attention to you as possible. People who wear costumes, or cosplay, dress up as their favourite characters from anime, video games, or comic books; God help you if you can’t identify who they are, because you’re just not plain in the know. Sound familiar, hipsters?

Cosplayers take it one step further, however; these people put hours upon hours and mountains of money into their costumes. I figure if it’s only going to be worn once or twice, you’d might as well put some work into it, right? Sadly there are legions of people still wearing costumes thrown together at the last minute; people like me.

As a first time convention attendant and someone who rarely even dressed up for Halloween, I decided to throw caution into the wind and attempt the unthinkable (at least for me): dress up in a costume in public.

I decided to go as Raoul Duke from Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, a role I found ironic because that character is also a journalist. I thought this would generate some laughs, but I guessed wrong: stepping into the convention I realized that most of the patrons weren’t old enough to even see the movie. The convention seems to draw in younger crowds than the previous years’, now seemingly being made up 13-16 year olds. Sure, there are the bitter old timers, but as anime, manga, and comics become more accessible and “mainstream”, the younger (in age) the scene becomes.

After going to a restaurant and ordering a large pizza, we dragged our weary bodies back to the hotel; the convention was over at 9pm tonight, and would resume tomorrow. I decided to attend the “Anime All Night” Dance/Kareoke that was conveniently being help in one of the halls at our hotel; this proved to be a big mistake.

As soon as I entered the room I noticed three things: the music (which was loud, annoying, and primarily video game remixes), the stench (which reeked of sweat, poor hygiene, and another odour I couldn’t quite put my nose on) and an aura of awkward that would put a hundred Michael Cera’s to shame. This, I realized, was it: the epicentre of nerdiness. There were costumed nerds, there were plainclothes nerds. There were wallflower nerds, and there were horny nerds dancing with girls that just seemed to enjoy the attention. There were nerds waving glowsticks and nerds that had no idea how to dance whatsoever. I know this seems like a type of situation that one would want to exit out of quickly, but bear with me here, this gets better.

I sat down on one of the chairs across from the “DJ Booth” (which was really a couple of guys with a laptop and a mixer board) and strike up a conversation with a couple of people that were working as vendors at the convention. We seemed to be close to the oldest people there, aside from kids’ parents, and honestly, I felt a little creepy. We took our turns mocking the people spastically jumping, kicking, and doing the old “one step left, one step right” dance move that cemented nerds’ loneliness at every social gathering until he/she just said “screw it, I don’t care what people think.” The karaoke was laughable, but some people genuinely seemed to both put aside their shyness to sing, or had prepared extensively and actually had a set of pipes on them. Laura, a girl I met, was in the latter category, and after some ineptitude from the DJs, decided “Ah, what the hell” and sung her song without lyrics or music. Kid had some balls.
I had been there for close to an hour and I eventually couldn’t take anymore. I sauntered back up to my room to find my room-mates sleeping already, enjoying the comfort of the bed. After many attempts at sleeping myself, I woke up and wrote this “Friday” portion. We’ll have to see what tomorrow brings.

Saturday

Today had an odd beginning; waking up out of a dream too weird to describe to see my room-mates already dressed and ready. I hate being the last one up because I feel like I’m holding people back. The trek to the convention was fraught with more people than the previous evening; Toronto was in full swing on a Saturday morning. There was an increased American presence in the city due to a Blue Jays/Red Sox double-header the previous night and today, which crowded the sidewalks surrounding the CN Tower, Roger’s Centre, and Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

We followed the same series of escalators down into the building and then across skyways to the enormous southern hall. We noticed that the attendee population has significantly exploded since the last time we were there; people had come out in droves. There was good reason for this: Saturday was the day to go to the convention. It had the most events happening, the most guests present, and most electricity in the air.

We got through the line and had our press passes stamped; there was a huge rush stepping through the doors and onto the convention floor. The first thing I noticed was that there were booths everywhere as far as the eye could see; comics, DVDs, shirts, action figures: it was all there. No human could possibly say “there’s nothing here I want”; it was the perfect money sink. I ended up buying a “The Flash” belt buckle for $20, which I think was a decent deal.

Included in the convention areas were the different studios hawking their wares: video games, costumes, business books (proclaiming “With great power, comes great profitability”), books, and entire rows of tables with indie comics artists and companies all trying to make an honest buck.

The guests were diverse in both personality and profession: you had out of work TV actors, comic book artists, writers, and sex symbols all eager to get $35 for a single photograph. Fans are tested by extremely long lines, people getting ten issues of the same comic book signed (you can almost SEE them flying to ebay), and asshole guests. It wasn’t a pleasant combination, but for the more weathered, it was worth it to have that elusive signature you were looking for.

I swear by the end of the day my legs were about to fall off; during the whole ordeal I had a few ideas as to who I wanted to talk to, and once I finished, I couldn’t wait to get out of there. I received an amazing print in the artist’s alley from a friend of mine who I had become acquainted with through an online community; you can find his amazing paintings at chromachine.com.

This was the point in the convention where I started to get ornery. I was tired and pissed off at both guests who didn’t seem to enjoy my presence and a press office that looked at me with bewilderment when I asked for interviews with guests that I wouldn’t be able to see at their scheduled times. I decided that my second goal would have to wait for my next convention; the mental fatigue of getting little to no sleep coupled with the massive amounts of walking I did was no easy burden to bear, so I called it a night and headed to my room at approximately 6 P.M. My day was ended; I could rest for now.

Reflection

My first convention was a whirlwind of weirdness, excitement and overall satisfaction. Most of the quirks that annoyed me were based around ineffective staff and lame guests, but for a normal goer it isn’t a bad experience. Sadly, the convention scene is dwindling; when I asked industry legend Keith Giffen about the status of conventions’ importance to the comic community, he answered “I think they’re not as essential as they used to be, because of the internet.” He then lamented over the days of when conventions used to be the only source of exchange, person to person, and how fanzines like the one you are reading now were essential to the comic world’s survival. “They’re maybe not as important now as they were five, ten years ago before the access to the internet.”

If you’re looking to see a whole different style of scene gather, or just want to reminisce about the cartoons/comics you used to enjoy when you were young, go to a convention; you won’t regret it. If you’re a nerd and looking for a place to mingle with people that actually share your passion to the same crazy extent that you do, it’s time to get out of your parent’s basement and go meet them; no internet cables attached.

Apologies

2008-08-31T14:03:00.003-04:00

Apologies for the lack of posts in the last little while; moving into Residence is a bitch.

I promise I'll post my convention article later this evening. Peace for now.

"I'll call the brute squad on you!"

2008-08-21T04:09:00.003-04:00

So it's approximately 4 in the morning and I'm in the middle of a packing frenzy; I leave for Toronto tomorrow (at this time, anyways) and I'll be actually moving in to my dorm room on Sunday. In between that will be smatterings of nerdiness as I attempt to cover FanExpo '08 without blowing my brains over the side of the hotel room. For some reason I have a deep feeling of dread: like so many Star Wars lines have explained before me, "I have a bad feeling about this."

More on that later, if I survive the weekend.

And now for a totally unrelated image.

"What would sexy Jesus do?"

2008-08-16T16:04:00.003-04:00

So I’ve got another movie trailer up here for your enjoyment; this time for Hamlet 2. I couldn’t help but be wary of this movie after I saw the trailer, because it easily presents itself as a “______ Movie”-esque type parody movie, which is usually a bad thing. The Wayans and “# of the # writers of Scary Movie” have all but ruined those types of films with countless pop culture references and general tastelessness all around. I mean, what happened to the greatness that was “Spaceballs” and “Airplane!”? Those movies knew how to parody.

Anyways, basic premise is a when a high school threatens to shut down the theatre department, failed actor-turned-drama teacher Dana Marschz decides to write a musical sequel to Hamlet (thanks, Wikipedia!). I’m also told it’s supposed to be politically incorrect, but I’m wondering exactly: how incorrect can you get in ancient Denmark? I mean, it’s not like Merchant of Venice where Jews are portrayed as greedy moneylenders who trick people into ridiculous contracts and shit like that. The New York Times said that “"It made sure to take shots at Christians, gays, Latinos, Jews, the American Civil Liberties Union and Elisabeth Shue, one of its lead actresses."

Sounds like a rousing good time. Please note the sarcasm in the previous sentence.

Warning: not for the faint of heart.

2008-08-13T23:55:00.000-04:00

OH GOD.

My arms are scared now.

"The Goggles, They Do Nuhsing!"

2008-08-10T01:03:00.005-04:00

Couple good trailers for movies coming out in the next little while. I was sent these from a friend and even though the trailer for Blindness looks like another Julianne Moore vehicle, it actually looks semi-decent. It’s based around a mysterious disease that spreads a ”white blindness” from person to person, and eventually in quarantine all the afflicted have to form a sort of community while the government figures out what the hell’s going on.

“Those first afflicted are quarantined by the authorities in an abandoned mental hospital where the newly created “society of the blind” quickly breaks down. Criminals and the physically powerful prey upon the weak, hording the meager food rations and committing horrific acts.”

However, in this community there are dissenters (like any) and eventually someone gets their blind hands on a gun and all hell breaks loose. For some reason I think this movie will be a bit different from any other “quarantined peoples” movie because all the survivors can’t see. Well, I spoke too soon: Julianne Moore’s character has her sight as a result of some immunity, but she follows her blind husband to the quarantine anyways. She has to sort of be the eyes of the entire community and lead the weak and helpless to safety. Apparently "Moore dyed her red hair blond for the role, believing that it would emulate the "leisure, money, [and] maintenance" of a doctor's wife."

Method acting must be so hard.

Apparently Blindness is supposed to “remind us of the shocking fragility of our social institutions, the thin veneer of our “civilized” world, and the responsibility for every individual to protect their dignity at all costs.” Frankly, I think it will either force-feed us this message, or fall short of it; there wasn’t enough in the trailer to make me think these thoughts, or want to see the movie, period.

Bored. Bored bored. Bored bored bored.

2008-08-07T18:59:00.002-04:00

At the moment I'm faced with the reality that I've done absolutely nothing productive all day. I woke up at roughly 2P.M, and by the time I had taken a shower and unpacked my new laptop bag from the cardboard confines it had been mailed in, it was already 5:30 and I couldn't escape the crushing feeling that I had effectively wasted a day.

Usually I'm a pretty easy-going guy, and I enjoy being lazy as much as the next person, but during the summer it comes to a head. I go to bed really late (or early, however you look at it), and wake up so late in the day that I rarely am fatigued enough in the actual evening hours to break the cycle. Sure, I'm up in time for work and everything, but those days are getting fewer and fewer, in what I suspect is an attempt by my boss to cut down my hours before I quit.

At least I got something accomplished by updating the denizens of the Internet on the goings-on of my life. I'm sure it's real need-to-know information.

Financial issues...

2008-08-05T19:47:00.003-04:00

I've come to the conclusion that applying for financial assistance from the Ontario government is the most annoying thing I've come to experience. I don't know how they expect teenagers to keep records of their entire financial history from the last little bit.

Well, it isn't that much to ask, but it's annoying nonetheless.

I have roughly three weeks until I move out, and the money I've saved doesn't seem nearly enough for what I need next year. I think I'll be able to cope, or at least get an extremely part time job. Kids who aren't in university, start saving now.

Large Hadron Rap

2008-08-03T13:14:00.002-04:00

CERN Rap from Will Barras on Vimeo.

Well, you might have heard of the Large Hadron Collider that's been built near the Franco-Switzerland border by CERN. It's a massive particle accelerator that might either help is how matter works, or create black holes and destroy our fucking world. I've tried to learn exactly what the damn thing's does, but this rap explains it way better than I could.

Rhymes be mad tight, yo. Seriously.

SOC: Giving the companies your remote

2008-08-01T03:03:00.003-04:00

The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to engage in “selective output control” (SOC). If the FCC agrees, the MPAA and the movie studios it represents (Paramount, Sony, Fox, Universal, Disney, and Warner Brothers) would be able to “turn off” any output plug they choose, like those on the back of consumer electronics devices of an entertainment system, during special video-on-demand movies on cable television. Public Knowledge opposes SOC and along with Consumer Federation of America, Digital Freedom Campaign, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Media Access Project, New America Foundation, and U.S. PIRG, has filed comments urging the FCC to deny the MPAA’s request.

I'm getting a little pissed off at how corporations are slowly infiltrating mediums that are supposed to promote freedom in order to make a buck from people they know will just roll over and let them. It's like taking your car to a mechanic and getting the feeling they're stiffing you over repairs that aren't really needed: sure, you could call them on it, but really, do you know that much about cars to question them?

Unlike the people who are actually getting up in arms about this Selective Output Control business, the average home electronics user knows jack shit about home electronics; if the instruction book doesn't cover it, they don't know it. Few people actually take the time to learn about how their electronic wonders work, and fewer even take the time to try to fix them if something goes wrong. I mean, why have the satisfaction of knowing you can take apart a computer and put it back together when Wal-Mart can take it and give you a brand new one (so you can do the same thing to it)?

On a separate tangent: I know that those Mac ads have spewed their bullshit into your minds that they "get less [or no!] viruses." That's just plain not true. Anyone stupid enough with a computer can screw it up; that's why the best anti-virus software is a little thing called common sense. See a shifty site? DON'T GO TO IT!

Best part? It's free, with a little effort; I'd hurry though, supplies seem to be limited.

Musings at twenty to three AM.

2008-07-28T01:56:00.004-04:00

I've been looking over the numerous video posts that I've gotten into the habit of putting up lately and I keep thinking "I can do better than that."

So lets, shall we?

It's now 2:37a.m, regardless of what the posting time says. I'm not even tired, and this seems to be the result of the vicious cycle I get into every summer: stay up late, sleep in later, and slowly inch myself into becoming completely nocturnal. I'm in a complete writing mood this late at night, and for some reason I just can't stop my fingers from typing; I can't decide whether this is a good or bad thing.

I've going to be covering FanExpo '08, a convention in Toronto at the end of August. I'm pretty nervous, because a) this is my first time attending an event of this sort, b) there is going to be a lot of people I respect attending as guests, and c) I'm going to be moving into residence on the Sunday. This is going to be my first time living on my own, and I'm pretty damn excited. I've already met some people that'll be in the same residence due to the magic of Facebook so I won't be totally on my own; it doesn't hurt that it's freakin' Toronto, either. Lot of Universities, lots of people, lots of opportunity.

Can't wait.

Tortoise hates cats.

2008-07-24T09:00:00.000-04:00

http://view.break.com/293055

Always good to see another animal hates cats as much as I do.

Who watches the Watchmen?

2008-07-23T14:39:00.003-04:00

I've been getting somewhat addicted to E.R lately, and I'm just getting started on the fourth season. Ah George Clooney, is there anything you can't do? Oh wait....

So I saw The Dark Knight and wasn't too impressed, but this post isn't about that. If you've seen the movie, you've had a chance to see the Watchmen trailer (high quality version here) that preceded it. If you haven't, look below.

I just thought I'd take the time to point out that while the trailer doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, this will be one of the best (if not the best) comic book movies ever made. Watchmen is, as the trailer points out, the most lauded graphic novel of all time, and tops many Top 10 lists because of its literary quality. Even if you don't read comics regularly, I would recommend picking up Watchmen as any book store (they'll usually have it for 20ish dollars). It was a bit different viewing the trailer for me because I had actually read the book prior; I could see scenes from the pages that have been transferred 1:1 to film, and really, that made me very, very excited.

Kicking ass and taking names

2008-07-18T18:27:00.001-04:00

As you can tell, I'm a little bit lacking in the posts department lately. Forgive me, for I have been busy. In the meantime, Dwight Schrute.

John McClane = BAMF.

2008-07-14T22:12:00.002-04:00

Wow, I love this. Props to Guyznite.net

Get Sulky: seduction of the downtrodden

2008-07-11T09:50:00.003-04:00

I’m not a big fan of gambling. Part of me just doesn’t see the merit in risking large sums of money on the odds that the planet will suddenly align and you’ll win multiples of the money you invested. I laugh at how some people delude themselves into believing that “this time will be the winner” time after time and still manage to maintain that optimism through their (numerous) losses.

I found a link to Get Sulky, an initiative to introduce people into the world of horse racing. Goofy name aside, this site features a horse racing game that besides sending you spam when you sign up, offers you the chance to win “A VIP night of betting up to 10,000 dollars!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the “night of betting” part, because really, even if you’re using their money, you could win jack shit. What’s even more of a crock is that the game is obviously just a tool to get people out to the physical track and give people that feeling that they have nothing to lose by not requiring any monetary involvement to play the game. I found this quote on the site:
“We’ve got videos, stories, and a pretty sweet racing game that could win you 10,000 DOLLARS…and hey, you might even learn something new.”

That last part is the thing that bothers me the most. It’s almost like they’re going to seduce you in with promises of grandeur without explaining any of the risks involved. It’s kind of deplorable, but if you have no hope in the first place (who wants to lose money for fun) why would you believe you have anything less than a shot?

"No no! Let him do it! He'll never do it again after this..."

2008-07-09T23:02:00.003-04:00

"Vilcus dactyloadapter was developed specially for people who enjoy closing electrical circuits with their own fingers.

Many people get a kick out of direct contact with AC power supply. To that end, people normally use U-shaped fragments of bare wire, paper clips or even usual metal forks. All these gimmicks are unreliable, short-lived and, most importantly, tend to cause short-circuit failure or even inflammation."

I really can't tell if this was created to be an elaborate way to weed out the stupid in the world, or someone actually decided to create something that allows people to stick their fingers in sockets without a risk to their lives. However, the good people at Thinkgeek are selling this for $12.99 and offer this disclaimer:

While we at ThinkGeek are completely convinced of the health benefits of finger contact with high-voltage electricity... not all of our living test subjects for the Vilcus felt the same way. Playing with electrical sockets is damn dangerous and our attorneys don't recommend it. In any case ThinkGeek, Inc. and all of it's myriad subsidiaries are in no way responsible for your stupidity if you stick your fingers in a high-voltage wall socket and harm yourself in any way.

Shock at your own risk, people.

S.C.E.N.Efest '08 Article

2008-07-05T20:08:00.004-04:00

Music festivals can be described as hectic, stressful, chaotic, and one of the most adrenaline-filled performances for the bands involved. On more than one occasion I was told by various bands that large festivals like the S.C.E.N.E festival in St. Catharine’s herald the best performances of their careers. Scott Middleton from the Cancerbats, a Toronto band, agreed with this fact, stating “As a band and talking to our friends who are also in bands, there’s this thing that goes around that after S.C.E.N.E fest everyone talks about that the show that they played... most bands that I talk to are like ‘that was the best show we’ve ever had’ and it’s always such a good, positive vibe and these kids are always so excited.”

Festival goers fit that description almost exactly; there was no way I could estimate how many people accompanied me in partaking in all the festival had to offer. The S.C.E.N.E Festival has been a yearly event in St. Catharine’s since 1995, where 20 local acts performed on 3 local stages. This contrasts heavily with the festival present-day, as 150 bands turned out on 15 stages, making this an event of incredible magnitude. The festival was held on June 29^th and innumerable people showed up, some with tickets pre-paid (25 dollars at Ticketmaster or local record shops) or they paid at the door (30 dollars). Numerous bars that housed these acts opened their front windows so that the bands could play to people on the street; the sounds overlapped into a sort of surreal harmony that plagued downtown St. Catharine’s for a greater part of the day. Bands were primarily from the Southern Ontario area, but there were some American acts as well as one band flying from British Columbia, ironically, in between interviews with bands, this band (Daniel Wesley) was the only one I ended up seeing. The town was simply overrun with teens and young adults, whose clothing ranged from “normal” to outlandish, depending on their devotion to the “scene” or their desire for attention. The male population seemed dwarfed by the female fans and their rabid fangirl-ism for the bands wearing all-too-tight jeans and scultped hairdos. While interviewing Alex from illScarlett these girls had no qualms about interrupting my interview for pictures and autographs, and Alex didn't seem to mind it either. He was a bit pompous, wearing dark sunglasses that were detrimental to my attempts at conversation and he didn't seem all too enthusiastic about being interviewed in the first place; being famous must be difficult.

I talked to Liam Cormier (also of the Cancerbats) about the sheer masses of fans involved in the day, and he agreed that it exposes people to bands that they normally wouldn’t listen to. “It gets people to come to town, spend the day in your town, see a million bands... Where else can you do that all in one day?” “You’re walking down the street, see the band that you know you liked, then you hear something else that you might like, so you just hop in there for a song or two and ‘Who’re these guys’, you know?” Liam continued, “It’s such a good feeling and it can just grow and continue.”

Hamilton was represented at the S.C.E.N.E festival for a number of acts such as Circuit for the Blackout, Ginger St. James, Dean Lickyer, Teenage Head, The Reason and Threat Signal. Each of these acts put on amazing shows at their respective venues. The bands I got to talk to agreed that festivals such as these were essential to getting exposure. I had a chance to talk to Circuit for the Blackout, and their guitarist Darren Marranca had this to say: “I think it’s great actually, because there’s tons of kids everywhere.” He continued, “Kids walking by, they hear something outside and they’re just like ‘Oh, I like this.’ It’s totally good exposure.”

Sadly the day was overshadowed by dark clouds that hovered around our heads ominously, opening up a number of times and smiting the festival revellers with rain and thunder. A building adjacent to the main “D-Tox Market Square Stage” was hit by lighting, prompting the fire department’s involvement. However, the only delay came due to the rain, with most of the headlining bands performing an hour later than they usually would. The majority of the fans took refuge in the merchandize area, which surprisingly fit most of them quite well. Performances started about 2:30 in the afternoon (after the rain delay), and carried on until approximately 2:30 in the morning. This was bit befuddling to me and the bands I talked to alike, because there was no holiday the next day; people with jobs would be missing work when the organizers could have just planned the festival one day earlier, on the Saturday.

As most of these Hamiltonian bands in attendance performed (or still perform) at the Casbah and The Underground, it’s interesting to see them performing outside of the city and for a much larger audience. As festivals like S.C.E.N.E Festival continue to be held across the country, they will continue to provide exposure for local music that might not otherwise. They’re events for people to experience music that they might not see otherwise, and a generally positive experience. As S.C.E.N.E Fest was this writer’s first festival, he would heavily recommend fans of the genre to check it out next year; maybe one of Hamilton acts will be headlining in that time. The atmosphere was interesting to be witness to, as for a scene that gets a lot of flak for being callous and uninviting to newcomers, the people present on Sunday were nice, kind, and accommodating to people of all musical tastes and talents. While talking to Gord Lewis of Teenage Head, he told me that this wasn’t an unusual phenomenon. “Everybody treated us okay. Kids are pretty open minded. They’re kind of intimidating at times, but when you get in there [to their minds] they’re usually okay.”