December 22, 2008

.Thought

Just as a quick aside...

I remember once living in Texas... a magical land of cowboys and... cowboys.  And during the winter, when we would get freezing rain and the roads would freeze and cars would go careening into each other and the oft-told story of an old woman slipping on her stairway would peter out through the school and workplaces...

And I remember thinking when I found out that my family was moving to Washington state that I would finally see snow and see an end to people too incompetent to handle snow and ice.

Well... I'm sure you can all see where this is going... so I'm not going to continue.

I'm just going to acknowledge that yes, I have a love-hate relationship with snow.

December 15, 2008

Spreadin' the Word

Due to random boredom at work - which I squarely lay the blame on the other centers affiliated with the Seattle center, as they never review things in a timely manner - I stumbled across this site called Photonovela, where people upload comics and pictures with captions.  And I looked through them and realized, hey, my comic should be featured here...

If nothing else, then to say that hey, I think my comic is just as good as yours... I mean, go look at the competition.  I think it inspires all of us to put up comics there that rule compared to their current meager offerings.

Here's the LINK: http://www.photonovela.com/index.php

Currently mine is the first on their home-page.  YES!  It is also the revised version of the first issue, in which I made some minor changes, including something James continuously bothered me about on page 9.

Too bad you can't rate comics.

If you know of other comic-hosting sites, please let me know.

December 12, 2008

For James, For Others

I was reading the paper and came across this bit of news that I figured at the least would affect James on some, possible sub-molecular level.

Betty Page, Queen of Pinups, Dies at 85

Given the historical and social-changes that were wrought as a result of Ms. Page, I can understand the relevance, even if I didn't follow her career with as much intent as James may have.

So there you go, news!  News on the board.

Boggling.

December 08, 2008

Time to Chase!

Months.  It has been months since the last comic, and some of you (i.e. James) have not let me forget that.  And I said that this is not the same as the "MEGApost," and it isn't.

So after months of diligent and hard work, and many, many distractions, I present to you all, a fun, super-sized edition of the James-2-James comics:

And there you have it.  Hopefully the next issue is a little quicker in coming, since I have more of the templates for the new characters built.  We shall see

December 07, 2008

PX.

While working on a Christmas gift for my mom, I ran across this picture from my archives.

A Little Bit of PX Eatin'


I believe it's James, pre-job, high-school (round one), at the PX. I'm not sure where the blue lab-coat-like thing he's wearing comes from, or what he's doing with the straws, but I'm sure it was from one of those times when I went to pick him and Andy up and play games at the PX arcade. Long fuckin' time ago.

December 02, 2008

A Post in the Fleeting Moment of Subsided-Pain

I thought I'd take a moment to post while I can functionally look at a computer screen and hit keys in a way that produces viable sentences.

It won't last long, sadly.  I can already feel it coming back.

In any event... was there ever any follow-up to the idea of camping in the winter months?  I wouldn't be able to do it this month, but I could certainly see kicking off a January or February camping event.  Slugs style.

(I don't really know what that means.)

As my pain comes back, I'm reminded of the fact that we really do take this whole information-at-my-fingertips internet-thing for granted.  Yes, I'm aware that probably 80% (statistic made up, though containing a fitting level of irony) of the information on the internet is at least 50% (another made up stat) unfactual, but it is still somewhat relieving and somewhat cathartic that we literally can 'google' just about anything we need to know about quickly in a few moments.

Considering that even ten years ago it wasn't as easy or accessible, and twelve years ago at the best maybe James Andy Collins could do so, and probably only get information from a website that he created about how people in First Aid don't know 'what the shit they are talking about' (rough estimate of his vernacular circa 1996.

But progress and progression is hard to measure when you're walking along with the measurer and his tape measure.  (Sorry ladies, no female historians in this particular whatever-this-is story.)

In any event, I am off to test a theory of clove oil for severe, debilitating tooth pain.  Then maybe I'll whimsically research the merits of purchasing/owning a PS3.  MGS4?  LittleBigPlanet?  We'll see.

November 27, 2008

And a Happy Thanksgiving to All Slugs... Everywhere.

Yup.  My Thanksgiving Day happiness to you all.  Sorry that I couldn't see any of you - James, I had actually thought of stopping by, but I didn't get the chance to - and I've got a fucking sore throat, so it's probably for the best that I didn't.

However, Saturday or Sunday I might be free and may stop by the apartment to say hello.  Rockband?

And lastly, since I have nothing else of particular interest to blog about today (other than that I saw a few accidents both to and from Tacoma over the past two days, one looking like it was BRUTAL)... I have not posted a recent issue in the last few months.  BUT that is not because I haven't thought of Loose Slugs Comics... I've actually used the comics as a launching point for this:

Yeah.  Suck on that Stephen King.
I considered saying "Michael Crichton" but then realized that it might be too soon.  I got that for writing 50,000 words for my story (which is still not complete, but I did get the 50,000 words) entitled:  "James-2-James:  jOe Origins!"
The fruits of my labor will eventually be placed into the comics.  So there.  Still hard at work.
Turkeys everywhere rejoice, for your day of death is almost over!

November 26, 2008

STT:3

Hey, guess what... they added a new level to Hell.

It's where you are forced to watch Starship Troopers III, on a HiDef system.  Over and over again.  And again.

Why did ANYBODY pour money into this movie?

November 08, 2008

I'm pretty sure my vote doesn't count if I don't cast it. Figure it this way Jeff:

There is a V-8 motortrends awesome car engine of the year. It needs to be upgraded to either Hydronic-plus oil, or Turbotransflow oil. You know absolutely nothing on either of these oils - but you have the option to "vote" to decide which one should be used. You, not knowing anything about either - may actually do more harm than good by voting willy-nilly.

The obvious response to this is: "WELL RESEARCH THE TWO OILS TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION" - to which my obvious response is: "I DONT GIVE A FUCK WHAT OIL WE USE, THE ENGINE WILL STILL RUN".

I'm still peeved that we're not working on a 100% republic system with the advent of the internet, but noooo movies like MAN OF THE YEAR ( link ) have to call into question a computer's ability to A L P H A B E T I C A L L Y sort candidate names. YEAH NOBODY TESTS SOFTWARE OF COURSE NOT.

I encourage people NOT to vote. I'd rather have someone who did research and made an informed decision cast a vote than some fucker who decides "ITS MY RIGHT TO VOTE I HAVE A VOICE" - honestly I don't think everyone should have a voice. YOU DO NOT DESERVE THE RIGHT TO THINK FOR YOURSELF.

Everyone gets pissy when I say that. Remember, I advocated totalitarianism in highschool. Dictatorships get shit done. The rights of the many should be sacrificed for the whims of the few. And everyone goes: " you just want to be in control of everything!" - which is poppycock. Look at my education and placement in society. I'd be at the bottom, honey. And. It. Wouldn't. Bother. Me.

And lastly: I hope 'iamcrystal531' is a fake name you made up.
As if it isn't - i'm glad she didn't vote based off screen-name alone.

November 04, 2008

"My Vote Doesn't Count" Nonsense.

Now I'm sure that I will get someone who doesn't agree with this, and that's fine... differing opinions are what strengthen communities...

Wait, let me qualify that statement:  INTELLIGENT differing opinions strengthen communities.

I was talking to someone not more than a moment ago, and asked them if they voted.  Her response was:
iamcrystal531:  no
no time
doesn't really matter anyway
its a democratic state
presidents have not wone
won because of the popular vote
we all knwo that
stupid electorial system
I'm not going to the argue for or against the electorial system, because I think it has its pros and cons and that's a debate for a different occasion.

What I more take exception to is one, that the idea that any vote won't count, and that the popular vote doesn't count.

So to the first.
Yes, in a stream of millions of votes, one vote will not likely sway any election.  But, as is typical of our independent-single-server focused society, when you look at one vote out of millions, of course it doesn't matter.  But when you look at it in terms of larger groups, larger group dynamics, and statistics, then every vote does count, because you don't get from one to many in a single bound.  It is a quantitative process.

Secondly, when you take the "my vote doesn't count" theory and expand it outward, you run into the dangerous realm of complacency... a death knell for any democracy.  Indifference and complacency are interesting because they can only really crop up in a democracy, and they are two of the biggest factors in the destruction of democracy.  People who live in a totalitarian state (qualifed:  an oppressive, punishment totalitarian state without at least symbolic rights for the masses), usually become interested and unsettled and take action (eventually).  Then they win their "freedoms" and the complacency sets in.  Cyclical.

It's probably inevitable that the US will move toward a less democratic state.  Certainly if trends in complacency continue.  The speed at which that happens... well that's sadly in the hands of individuals referenced above.

To the second premise, that the popular vote doesn't count.  Okay, so technically maybe it doesn't count.  In the strictist of terms, we elect our president based off of the electoral college.  But the one thing that the popular vote can give a president is a "mandate"... a sort of unofficial boost of enthusiasm for the president-elect, at least if the popular vote win has a decent margin.  In effect, is says, "hey, we as the populace give you our blessings to undertake your agenda for the government".

Whether it seems like it or not, that's kind of important.  So much so that our last president claimed a mandate despite a small margin of victory.

In even less obvious terms, the popular vote is great for statisticians and government officials to understand the true way in which the country swings

So yeah, this is a rant, with a basic premise.  Go Fuckin' Vote.  It doesn't matter to me who you vote for... but if you ever want to bitch and moan about something political, then go fuckin' vote.  Even if you don't like ANY of the candidates, you have the option of a fuckin' write in.  So do that.

(If you do the write in, I suggest candidate jOe Macauley - so that I can be the puppet pulling the strings behind that administration.)

November 01, 2008

CAMPING FOR A WHOLE YEAR EXTRAVAGANZA


So I've been wanting to setup a "BIG CAMPING" event for some time, ever since me-bradbury-jeff-dt-jimmoi went up to that PERFECT place in the mountains (which is nowhere near as far away as I had made out in any sense). I wanted to plot it out for Dec 22 - the first day of winter, however being so close to christmas I doubted anyone would be interested.

Then I got to thinkin' - What about NEW YEARS EVE/NEW YEARS? With most place, people have NEW YEARS EVE off - which is Wednesday. Here's the deal : If you can request the 1st and 2nd off as well, that gives 31st, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th - all for camping.

Problem with this is - because of the timeframe the long mountain road up to that place we went to last time won't be available, so I'm thinking of going to dash-point this time. Being that it is practically 2-3 months away, should be able to wade through whatever bullshit registration-reservation nonsense they can throw at me.

The only problem with this is that camping alone is boring. Is anyone else interested in such an excursion? I'll be sending out txt-notifications as well in an attempt at gauging if it would be successful or not - but its really something that could be fun because really - who goes camping for new years?

October 26, 2008

Long Road of No Posts

Yeah, it has been a little quiet.  Some of that is my fault, undoubtedly.  As it turns out, I've been a little busier than expected for the past few months.  Work, home stuff, and then having my wisdom teeth yanked out of my mouth while consciously sedated...

Here's an interesting revelation:  the sound of teeth being pulled from your face... it's probably very similar to the sound of ripping chicken meat off of the bone, only echoed in your head fifty times the normal sound.  It's at once terribly interesting and terribly scarring.  (At least, I bet it is if you are under the age of 12 - good thing most 12 year olds don't have that to do deal with.)

The nice thing is that the let me keep them.  I may have to post pictures of my teeth.  Then, if I ever disappear, a record can be used to identify my body against other John Doe's.

Otherly, I haven't had the time I wish I had to work on the comic... not that I haven't entirely worked on it (I've been working on many, many photoshop templates for it, just not the actual issues... but one SHOULD be coming by end of October, early November.  -  and fyi, Chris Farley is a bitch to find pictures of online.)

At least, throughout, I have managed to make more time to actually see some of you in person, if I haven't had the chance to post.  Jimmy, DT, Bonnie and James...  one of them, minus James since he wasn't there, should post their thoughts on Choke, since they have all read the book and seen the movie, and I have only read the first few chapters of Choke, but have seen the movie.  (I liked the movie, in short.)

jOe, you should come up and play games with us some time, or invite us down to your place.  You're always busy, and you bastard, you never sound excited to see us.  You and Dave could throw a party, a vast forest-centered bash.  We'd consider coming.  And we have a friend who loves the forests and the trees.  He has a spirit-like connection with them.

Well, that is all for now.  Congrats to jOe, for prompting me to post.

I think it might be dieing

with no new posts for over a month i think people lost interest
here is my xbox game tag macauleyjb

September 24, 2008

been a long time

Well here I am...I made a website.. http://www.digitaloutsider.com

September 04, 2008

2 Quick Ones and Another

First off:

  1. Happy Birthday James Andrew Collins.

      You're old now.  And yes, I may be older than you.  And I may always be older than you.  But that does not change the unmovable, unalterable truth that you are old.

  2. Secondly.  Yes, the comic has not come out yet.  Work has been a little hampered by some stuff this month, including a spotty, semi-unresponsive keyboard.  That should be fixed soon.  If I can, I will make it up with two issues in one month.  One can be dedicated to the aforementioned James and his aforementioned birthday.

  3. and Third.  All good things come in three.  Quickly put, I'm trying to do that whole betterment thing.  I've been hanging out with some of you more recently and as a result, remembering some of the dynamics of how our friendships (and associations) work.  The cynics and the fascists and the narcissistcs (who am I kidding... who in this group is a narcissist... well, except maybe...).  But I can't recall anyone being an optimist except me at the closest.  And I'm more a realistic optimist than a true optimist.  Anyway, that bit aside, to test whether I could actually retain that optimism (if it's still there) I need to push myself toward more optimist-sapping stimuly.  This is more of a request for James and Jimmy:  I need a suggestion of several books that I should read.  I have been bad about reading in the last few years, and I have a personal goal (yes, what a waste, blah blah blah) of reading twenty books before the end of the year.  If others have suggestions just for the hell of it, post them and I will pick and read.  Or not.  We all know how "personal goals" go.

September 03, 2008

The Decline and... Recline... of Internet Communication

Remember ICQ?  Remember that familiar faux-typewriter sound and "oh-oh" that accompanied a message from a friend?  And the knocking sound.

And remember the early days of email?  (Actually I don't... not entirely anyway... I think I came of internet-age around the time of mid-ICQ-ness, but I'm sure James knows what I'm referring to.)

Even the earlier Hotmails (pre-Microsoft ownership days) when all you could send was text... yeah... those times.

I've been trying to understand why a service like Twitter has become so ridiculously popular, and then it hit me.  Twitter is popular for the same reasons that ICQ, Email and now text messages are popular.

It's fuckin' simplicity, wrapped in simple carry-through.

Email was great back when you wanted to quickly send a thought or message to someone without breaking out the stamps and envelopes.  And then ICQ/im's were great when you wanted to send that thought or message without having to log into a client like Hotmail or Rocketmail and fire off a one-line reply.

And text messaging is popular because when you need to quickly say, "I'm at the Library" (yeah right, who in the youth arena goes there, or knows what one is), you don't have to call someone and waste a minute's worth of your month's allotment on a three-second conversation.

Every few years, another idea comes along and basically puts forth what we wanted and expected from each one of these things.  Email, then to ICQ, then to text messages, and now to Twitter.

Of course, like with every other product, someone will come along and fuck with it and make it complex.  HTML stationary in Email, Flash and Animated Emoticons (James, that should be on your list of TIFH) for ICQ/im, and picture SMS for textin'.  Even now, people are modding Twitter to add some of that functionality... though granted they are doing it via hacks to the process, as opposed to those at Twitter offering it themselves.

Honestly, I don't know what exactly was my point on this.  And one could make the argument (possibly rightly so) that instant and hyper-quick communication is killing socialness and interpersonal skillsets of the future generation.  But there is something to be asked about why Twitter is popular.

Fuck, I have it.  And yes, I even like it.  It does remind me of ICQ and Email the way it used to be.  (In reference to ICQ, it even has that mildly amusing, mildly annoying sound that accompanies messages.)

September 02, 2008

Wait... Who Fits the Bill?

For some, this will jog memories.

For me... I find it a little depressing, and gives me one more reason to say: "Fuck You Myspace!"

Hi Everyone, This is the official site for Bethel High School's Class of 1999 10 year reunion.Use this as your reference for all of the latest info on the Reunion. September 08: UPDATE Jill Hill is in Africa and Jennifer Whalen will be heading up the Reunion committee. We are looking for people wanting to be on the committee. Please contact Jennifer through this page. Actions: -Currently forming the committee -Getting the word out -Researching Possible venues -Collecting Ideas If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to submit them. Please let everyone you know from our class know about this site. I look forward to hearing from you all soon!

Friday Loometh.

More as a reminder to myself (since most of you already probably know these things)...

SPORE on FRIDAY!

And if you didn't know that... wow, I just schooled you on something computer-game related.

August 27, 2008

Project: Time Capsule

I just came up with this idea while I was running...

Well, not running, actually at the end of running, when all of the oxygen starts rushing back to your brain and you get that momentary feeling of euphoria and clarity.  Yeah, that moment.

Anyway, in this moment, I was thinking on how our generation and from this point forward, much of what we archive and remember will be stored digitally.  Cyberspace... that kind of thing.  (I think cyberspace should be put up there with the words "moist" as oddly noxious to say and use.)

We don't really have those physical mementos that our previous ancestors have... no cave drawings, rock carvings, antiques... none of that.  We have stuff like the board.

But things that are stored digitally in this fashion can't really be antiques because they have a dynamic quality to it.  I could go back to a previous entry at any time and read it at any moment and comment on it or edit it or so forth and so on.  Ad infinitum.

So we can't really enjoy or appreciate the past because we have constant access to it.

Which got me to thinking about time capsules.  We should have one.  Seriously.  The lot of us, the ones that care anyway, should take a few things, put them in some sort of protected box or other such storage device, lock it up, and bury it for ten or more years.  Lock it away somewhere were none of us can access it.  Something truly archived.

Just on the surface I could think of a myriad of things to put in there: a jar with a small mint-bush twig, a pikachu, an old hat, an alf doll, a cane, an albert camus book, an old comic we made, bones from a dead goat... etc, etc, etc.

Of course, those are just random ideas, and it could also be a disc burnt with some stuff, the idea being that because it's locked away, it's still tamper-proof.

Anyway, it's just an idea... something we could all contribute to in some small way.  I have more thoughts on it, but I'm curious to see the reaction to the idea first.

TIFH ( epilogue )

Originally this was going to be "Things I Hate" - I even started a new blog to have them all nicely by themselves. Going over the idea I've come to the conclusion that such an act is selfish and self-centered. Why have my own blog when I have this perfectly fine one? What am I trying to do, combat some website like ( 1000awesomethings.com ) ?? of course not.

That and then I would have to setup a new layout and make it look all pretty. Fuck, even the slugs board isn't pretty. Why waste my time trying to make a second website all fancy when this one isn't. Hrmph.

So I've decided to post it here. And I changed the name, it isn't "Things I Hate" now it is "Things I Fuckin' Hate" - Like the total name change? Nobody could have guessed that the first title was actually ever in use because the use of the word "Fuck" makes things edgy and indie. Don't jump to conclusions, that isn't what this first episode of TIFH is about - oh not by a long shot. This is just introductory text.

See, I intend to this either bi-weekly or monthly. Whichever. Maybe around payday (which is bi-weekly) - but I got to thinking about how Jeff always had THE MEGAPOST - and now he has the J2J comics, I never really had a recurring thing to post about (Remember Jimmoi's hotties of the frozen tundra? even he had something serial) - I may have had one at some point, but hell if I could remember what it was. Just me ranting on. I'm good at ranting on, which is why I believe I will be prime for this job as head TIFH writer.

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo. What is it going to be about?

ill get to that.

August 24, 2008

The "Strategic" Vote

To answer Adam's query shortly:  Obama.

Now for the long, rambling answer and some interjected thoughts...

I was, briefly, discussing this with James... and he talked about "pretend" voting, which I took as voting for the lesser of "two evils"... what many people, independents and those affiliated with other "third" parties do.

(Man there are a lot of parentheses in this post...)

The way I view it, at least in this moment... voting in our democracy seems less an exercise in free will and freedom and exercising our rights as US citizens, and more like a type of strategic game.  Voting equals chess.

And really, it kind of does.  In a game of chess, you place certain pieces strategically, knowing that you will probably lose them to your opponent, but with the goal of ultimately coming out on top.

Politics, and the part that we play, voting, has a similar goal, but for all intents and purposes, dumbed down.  In the general election voting process (in America), you are basically given two choices... two choices that are supposed to represent opposing views (though often only do on superficial levels).  Sure, you could vote for a third party member (and probably should in some of the past elections we've had), but are you making a difference?

Probably not.  It's actually probably true that you are throwing your vote away, statistically.  Or, worse, you are playing into the hand of the party you probably least want to see in power.  Certainly that was the case for those that voted for Nader in 2000 and 2004.  Those that voted Nader in either year, but especially 2000, did not like Gore and they did not like Bush.  And probably for fairly good reasons.  (After all, those people that even knew who Nader was, were probably of the more educated and knowledgeable of the voting bloc - sad as that is - thus it's kind of stupid for other people to insult and call Nader-voters stupid... rather, those people chose not to play the game, probably to their detriment...)

Voting in America is about getting the best possible deal, not about voting who you really, actually like.  It's a sad reality, but it's also a true reality.  And oddly, this reality is self-propagating.  If it wasn't for this strategic voting pattern, we'd probably have another party, or a multi-party system.

This election cycle, many will vote for Obama, and many will vote for McCain, and few will vote for a third party candidate, though there may be many qualified that will run.  And many people may have a third party candidate that they like, but they won't vote for them this time around.  Why?  Because people see this election as an "important" one... one for the ages... and thus the whole "strategic" voting pattern will be in play.

And like I said before, strategic voting is statistically smart.

However, sadly, IF everyone actually voted according to more about who they really liked, and if third party candidates had access to the media the way the Dems and Repubs do... well... it would be a different game.

I will be voting for Obama, and a part of that is simple strategy.  Strategy on multiple fronts.  One, I think my vote will "count" more by voting for him.  Two, I think that though he doesn't have the foreign experience that others have, he knows how to surround himself will intelligent individuals.  Third, I think he might be the first candidate that by virtual of his lack of experience and his excellent oratory skills, may return the Presidency to its original intended goals as set forth by the Continental Congress... a figurehead and leader with lesser power than what is currently seen.  People forget this, but Congress was always intended to be the true power of the United States.

A leader is supposed to inspire and guide, at least in the United States... and after seeing Putin, I can only hope that we return to a more intelligent and measured form of leadership to the country.

August 18, 2008

Gas and the Veteran

I was on the phone today, just a few minutes ago, in fact, calling up some veterans to remind them of a support group that I help to run.

This particular vet that I was talking with has been to our support group quite a few times actually.  He's a very pleasant man who has come to our meetings in the past and usually participated and provided others with useful information.

He actually likes to come to our groups and claims to get a good deal out of them.  So it was sad for him to realize that gas prices are now too high for him to travel all the way from the Tacoma/Puyallup area to Seattle.  The VA actually offers travel reimbursement, but apparently, Tacoma/Puyallup is considered too close and he makes too much (which is NOT all that much), and cannot be reimbursed.

So... there you have it.

Without sounding preachy or political or whatever the fuck you want to call it, this is one of those fucked-up-beyond-all-common-sense situations that boggles me and should infuriate anyone with half a brain.  It certainly should infuriate anyone who actually votes.

I'm not going to go off about my political views, but I don't consider this much of a political matter as it is a matter of pure intelligence.  And there are so many reasons why this situation, and I'm sure there are others just like it and worse, should be apalling.

From a "Support-the-Troops" point-of-view... I mean... really?!  Really?!  We send our troops off to war, they come back, get questionable services as a result, and now we don't even give them the money to get to those questionable services?

I'm still in the midst of the shock of this all, after spending ten minutes on the phone with him and discussing his case, that I can't really form a coherent argument.  It's like throwing water in a frying pan full of oil.  Everything's just bouncing around...

It does make me wonder how we can be so jaded, and taught to be so jaded in school... and how any of us, or our country, survives.  That we haven't had some sort of collapse of infrastructure yet is appalling.  It makes you want to punch idiots in the face.  I'm serious.  I'm about one more event away from punching the first person who lacks common sense intelligence and reasoning skills right in the face.

I'm about a half-second away from punching someone in the face for saying, "Oh I'm voting for this person because they are in my party," or "I like them because my parents do..."  or "I'm not voting for him/her because of their age, gender, religion, sex, lifestyle..."

I think the only thing that keeps me from punching these people in the face is because my level of pity for them is still higher than my level of disdain.  Pity that a school system that we all pay for is giving them such hideously horrid returns.  And then depression takes over when I realize that the people that that system is failing is being boosted  back up by the people it failed.

I agree with Jimmy, to an extent.  Our democracy is failing... but I don't think fascism is the answer.  Yet.  If only people were smart enough to invest in education, and the ones getting it would actually take it in.

Fuck all.

August 09, 2008

new toy

Well I finally got a Xbox 360 witch means I have a Wii, Playstation3, and Xbox 360. What do you guys have?

August 07, 2008

Screen Time

After our camping trip, I got to thinking about how we should do more event-like things. (yes, it also did occur to me that you all do that already...)

So two more ideas for things we should do:

Idea 1: Bad-Movie Night
Since James has his giant HDTV, I think we should select a night to screen some really bad movies. I'm talking about your Plan 9's and Gymkata's. Thoughts? I suppose it's also up to James and if he wants to allow the use of his TV. I'm thinking of sometime around the end of the month or in September...?

Idea 2: Paintball 2008
It has been a long time since we did paintball, but it would be fun. It always has been fun, even on days when it wasn't as fun as other days. It's sometiing we could schedule for maybe end of September or October... Or sooner.

Anyway, those were just some ideas I had floating around in my head. If you have any thoughts as well, post them.

Geolocate this post

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Plane Out



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August 05, 2008

SuperHeliotrope

Wow, so it took me awhile but I finally finished Ultraviolet. Wow. I'm sad that I wasn't there to see/mock this movie with you all. I imagine it was one of those epic slugs events.

Prior to this movie I would have assumed that The Core was the worst movie I had seen. No, wait, that honor goes to Undefeatable. But after this... I mean, I can only imagine the budget this movie burned its soft focus through.

I can't wait to see how well Gymkata performs.

Geolocate this post

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HyperLavender

22 Minutes 11 Seconds in...

Did you guys watch this in a theater?  Please... please... please tell me you watched this in a theater.  I'm watching it on an iPhone's screen and it's... words can't quite... I...

I can only imagine what it would have been like to watch it in a) a large, theater screen, and b) amongst people who were there watching it as well.

And if you did watch it in a theater, did you actually hear anyone excited or cheering?

I think I'll try to rent Gymkata today from Scarecrow... maybe watch it on the plane... and then bring it over for a massive screening on James' HDTV.

I'm also going to HAVE to listen to the Director's Commentary on this movie because... because I just need to know what they thought of it.

MegaPurple

So... after much talk of Ultraviolet, and the crapfest that it is, and the realization that I should see it because it is such a crapfest...

I have begun watching it.

And, 4 minutes 4 seconds into it and I'm already laughing.  Oh... space ninjas (I think), how you do amuse me so.

Request Approved

Jimmy requested that I post up the old "Bethel Slayer" (Target Edition) movie that I made (and re-edited) a few years back... I think he wanted to show it to someone.

Man... eight years ago... what the fuck was I thinking.  Still, I'm glad I did'nt go with The Parr's decision to make a stupid music video or whatever the fuck he wanted us to make.  I remember he had some lame ideas.  So, yeah.  Suck on that Parr.

Oh, right... the linkage:  BETHEL SLAYER, starring the ever-elusive, jOe Macauley.

FYI... apparently I accidently sent a post out with nothing on it a few minutes ago.  Sorry about that.  Must have hit "Publish Post" by mistake.

Picture of the Day

Oh Internets... I love you.  How you bring joy to my life, and how you bring people together.  You and The Myspace.

I can't believe for years I cursed Myspace.  No longer.
!!!MORGAN FREEMAN ALERT AND UPDATE!!!

News, broken by TMZ.com (the premiere website for everything important in the world) reveals that MORGAN FREEMAN is in CRITICAL CONDITION. ( link )

This is important to all you would-be voice actors out there, maybe you'll be able to actually get a job.

Naturally, friends and family are concerned about his condition and there are plenty of reporters sitting quietly next to his bed ready in waiting to capture/photo/record/document Morgan Freeman's last gasp of air and the words accompanying it.

Director Mimi Leder, pioneer of such great films as Deep Impact (imdb) and Pay It Forward
(imdb)(Aaron's favorite movie of all time) - is quoted saying, "Thank goodness it didn't happen sooner."

Apparently all Morgan Freeman's voice-acting for her new movie The Code (imdb) has already been recorded.

The Code is about a master thief who recruits a notorious thief to help him steal two famous Faberge eggs from an impenetrable vault in an effort to repay his debt to the Russian mob. Morgan Freeman plays the notorious thief, whom narrates throughout the story and it is only but revealed at the ending where it is shown that he survived the climatic ending.

"If he dies it should cause a "Ledger-Effect" and hype my movie up for the big money." Mimi was ecstatic at the thought

While The Code is still in post-production, Mimi was not too concerned about not being able to re-record sound-bytes and had this to say, "Since we haven't wrapped up we can even record Denzel Washington's voice and digitally alter it to sound like Mr. Freeman's."

As the interview came to a close Mimi had her fingers crossed, "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. We'll be rolling in the dough if this goes well. Hello Downies, good bye television!"

Of course she was referring both to Robert Downey Jr's revitalized career popularized by IRON MAN, and her own lack of a major blockbuster - hiding in the folds of directing television episodes for no-name shows like "Johnny Zero", "Related" and "The West Wing".

August 04, 2008

A Glimpse into Creative Decisions

Talking of movies got me to thinking of the creation of a Loose Slugs - James-2-James comic...

Now, most of you who've seen them, have probably noticed that they are not drawn, but rather, use a combination of photography and Photoshop work (notably, Photoshop filters).  Early on, I thought about drawing all of the characters and such, but realized that it would simply take too long to get through one issue.  And my skills with drawing are not as good as my skills with photography.

One day I do plan on trying my hand at drawing some of the comic, or employing (not for money) others to do some of the artwork.  Because, as you can see from the examples below, I might not be the best for the job:

Here is James, as he normally appears:
 
Now here's how he appears in a typical James-2-James comic:

 
(note:  it is a little harder to tell the difference from this size, sadly, but there is a difference)
And finally, if I tried to draw all of the comic with my current skill level, here would be the Animated James:

 
It definitely would be fun to draw the comic, and like I said, down the road, I think I might.  But damn if things don't look fuckin' scary with my skills right now.
Oh well, skills grow, creativity flourishes... SMURSH SMURSHES!
I know my way around video editing.

Jimmoi use to do light-work for the stage in school.

I'm good with writing. And good with camera shots.

I'm down for anything but as of late I have to take care of some things.
(debt, car, learning work, lease, directv, possibility of school)

Once those are settled down, I have a pretty open schedule.
At the current moment I have no movie suggestions.

But I'll go through my old box of writings.
See if there is anything salvageable.

Quick Bites

Initially this was going to be a comment, but I started typing a bunch so... here we go:

Two quick questions then...

1) What movie ideas did you have in mind (make a post with one or two of them to give the others a sense of what you're going for).  This might help "spur" the creative juices of others here...

and

2) How "serious" does it have to be?  I do think we should have a script (especially if it is required for gear).  I'm wondering if we should start "small", with something simple like a documentary or "horror" film  or "commercial".  I know that probably sounds ridiculous... but most of everyone here how would be interested in such things has had little to no experience with actually "making" a movie.

That isn't to knock anyone... Jimmy, James, etc... all have creative ideas, and have performed in some capacity or another, but as far as I can remember, only Aaron (and myself to a MUCH lesser degree) has been involved or had some exposure to other aspects of movie making (i.e. sound, editing, cropping, blah blah blah).  So going from no-experience to making a full blown movie might be a bit overwhelming (especially factoring in work schedules).

We could, however, do a short film or commercial, get everyone familiar with the process and flow, then jump into something more daunting.

Just thoughts I had, mind you... but something to consider.

August 03, 2008

Another Season of Movie-Makin' Talk

Jimmy and I hung out yesterday, after I was tapped to retrieve Bonnie's car.  (It's a stick shift, and Jimmy can't drive stick.)

Anyway, we came up with the idea of driving down to Tacoma/Puyallup to visit jOe and get some pictures for the comic, as well as to catch up with someone we haven't seen in a long time.

Of course, then jOe had to not be around at all.  Thanks jOe!  We had to visit two Walmarts just to figure that out.  And I had "jOe Macauley"paged at the second Walmart.  That was kinda funny.

Anyway, while we were driving around lookin' for jOe's and lookin' for Gamecubes, we started talking about makin' a movie.

It's something that usually gets talked about every year or couple of years or so... so we are in that mood again, to make a movie.  We had one on the boiler plate, which Jimmy and I were talking about now... but does any one else have any idea or motivation for making a movie, crappy or otherwise?

The other reason, aside from randomly talking about movie-making with Jimmy, is that I realized something else.  Those of you who live in or around Seattle, might know of Scarecrow Video, a great little video store that holds almost every movie out there (including Gymkata... who knew)... well, one of the things they do is accept movies from anybody and put them on a shelf.  I know because I've seen that shelf before... movies in DVD-R format... amateurly made...

In other words, we could make a movie, put it in Scarecrow, and people might watch it... the type of people that have nothing better to do then rent crappy or amateur movies for the hell of it.  Meanwhile, we could also put our movies into contests, like SIFF or whatnot.  That would guarantee that someone would have to watch it... since SOMEONE has to screen all those movies.

Think of it, a guaranteed audience.

Oh yeah.

August 01, 2008

Explosion of Light and Dark


Explosion of Light and Dark
Originally uploaded by NONfinis
A brief from your good friend... me! I know some of you have been asking for these... well they are up. PICTURES OF CAMPING.

You know you want to click that link. Just think of how happy it would make you to click on that yummy, delicious, photo-stuffed link.

Do it, or your future children will have goiters. GOITERS!?

July 29, 2008

Emergency!!?

jOe... where did your family go...?

Murder, and cannibalism, is illegal in Washington state.

Of course, saving the lives of others by heroically destroying evil is a good thing...
And I've met your brothers.

Seriously though, where did they go?  I'm imaging some sort of Macauley Mystery Machine, with one of the feral dogs in the back as Scooby.

I'm an unintentional ass, and I apologize for that.

The house to my self

well with the family gone i have the house to my self. what to do on my days off

Glass and the Third Law

Have I ever met Anthony?  I'm assuming that he wasn't a poster on Slugs.

Bradbury, I thought you might find this interesting.  Hell, I found it interesting and anybody even remotely scientifically-leaning would find it interesting:

Glass Me.

I loves knowledge.  Interesting too, the parallels that one could form between order of out of chaos.  Order, and beauty, I suppose.

July 28, 2008

Anthony's Baby

Just because a few of you know Anthony pretty well, I thought I'd let you all know he had his baby today.

A girl, her name is Payton.

Cinema Sadness

So it makes me incredibly sad that I may have seen maybe ONE of those movies... which does not bode well for my intellectual and cultural growth.  But Aaron has prompted a desire in me to see those movies.  After I've seen them, and maybe gone through and seen all of AFI's top 100, then I'll definitely post up some debate stuff.

Next.  Camping.  Amazing.  Fun.  Relaxing.  River.  Sorrows to all those that missed it by sheer circumstance or choice.  I/James videotapped a good deal of some things, so I will eventually put that on the board so you can all enjoy a sample of what we enjoyed.

Bradbury, was that you who I cut off when Jimmy and I pulled out of the camp site?  If so, that was purposeful (though for the life of me I have no idea why I thought it would be funny to do so... and I did think you were slowing down a little for me to go...)  If that wasn't Bradbury, then oops to whoever the hell that was that I nearly caused to crash into me.

That would have sucked.

Oh, and to make it public.  While we were camping, I for some reason completely forgot that Michael (of the Collins variety) was in the truck that crashed.  I'm not sure why I forgot about him, but I forgot completely.  Oops.  He was there.  I checked the footage of the infamous tree crash and he was most certainly there.  (Though I was right that he was not wearing a blue shirt - that was James.  Small victory.  Bleh.)  I forgot how funny the rest of that footage is... especially watching James try to move a truck.  Oh hilarious.  When I am able to get more miniDV tapes, I will transcode and then mp4-ify those videoes and put them up on the board as well.

Either way, DT and I were wrong.  Man that sucks.

Next, this will probably be considered a "lame" request... but apparently Michael is (or maybe) sad that he has not received mails from peoples.  At least, that was the initial impression that I got.  So I am going to write him a letter, maybe print and mail the Loose Slugs Comics already made, and send it off.  If anyone wants to leave a blurb to him, post it hear or mail it to me, and I will attach to said letter.  Isn't that touching and sentimental.  Then maybe I won't get emails from James' mom that make me feel guilty and like I don't support the troops.  I do!  I do!  I would send them all Slugs comics if I could.

You can tell that I felt like writing... I'm just sad that none of it could go toward Aaron's post.

But, toward Aaron:  I have the lab coats.  I will call you sometime after 9p tonight.  Sorry, but my minutes are low and such.  I can call anytime tomorrow though, and I will if I don't reach you tonight.

Lab coats.  Tasty.

And that is all for rant.  Yay.

July 25, 2008

James said I should post the top 10 movies of each decade (according to me), so I will start with a decade he brought up, the 1940's. If asked for justification, I will be happy to justify, but for now, I'll keep it simple.

10. The Stranger
9. The Philadelphia Story
8. Going My Way
7. Hamlet
6. Citizen Kane
5. The Maltese Falcon
4. The Best Years of Our Lives
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
2. The Bicycle Thief
1. Casablanca

According to James, this will inspire debate, though I'm not sure how many people that read this have even seen all the movies on that list, or movies from the decade that they think belong on there. I am aware that Citizen Kane is "the greatest of all time" and therefore should be number 1, however, I think it's really fucking boring, and if you own it, I doubt you watch it all that often. Casablanca on the other hand, is interesting each and everytime you watch it, and is still a very very well crafted film.

July 24, 2008

Because I Care...

Hello all you Slugs you...

It's been a few days since I've posted, but it isn't because I don't care about all of you.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I have been working on things for your Slug-gish enjoyment.  And I've also been preparing myself for camping goodness.

So first, let's cover the camping things.  It sounds like all of us will meet at James'/Jimmy's place.  It is official, we will be camping up by the Soda Springs/Bumping Lake area.

Now I was looking over the maps and stuff that James provided, and checked a few different sites, and I realized that the information that is provided when you search for "Soda Springs", you get Naches, which is actually a little incorrect.  (That explains why Bradbury and everyone else believed it was basically in Yakima.)  If you do a google search for "Bumping River Road" - which is where the Soda Springs campsite is, you get a much more accurate location:


View Larger Map



Suffice it to say, all you have to do is go on 410 and you're there (turning onto Bumping River Road when necessary.) Either way, don't worry folks, I've got this info thing covered.


I have a cooler: 36 quarts of space. Orange creme soda galore bitches! It sounds like between James and I, we have everything covered. (Just have to remember to pack away the can opener.)


So that's Slugs Camping 2008.


And now, I present you with two fun new things: the THIRD chapter of James-2-James, the comic AND a new mini-documentary filmed years ago. Click on each respective picture to receive your prizes:

So there you have it.  I look forward to camping with some of you who are going to be able to make it.  And if there's interest afterward, maybe we'll do another trip.  This may be my last post until after camping.

July 21, 2008

No dice on my camping spot - the gates to that forest are closed Memorial day to Labor day - so I guess that means the campground is no longer what it once was.

There ya have it.

Arid?

I don't know if there is some sort of crazy juice being passed out there, but Soda Springs, and that whole area, is definitely not arid.  I'm not as familiar with the mileage distance to get there, but I do know that from Seattle, it took about 2 hours to get there, might be that or less from Renton.

It's DEFINITELY not arid though.  When I went, the temperatures were, I think, in the 80's.  But there was plenty of trees, mixed with the higher altitude, which made for a surprisingly cool day.  And of course there are glacial river run-offs which are not too cold, but would definitely feel good to jump in.

That isn't to knock Bradbury's location at all, just to clarify that Soda Springs and the Wenatchee National Foreest area is far from arid.  (Hence the "National Forest" moniker.)
I spoketyped too soon, without looking closer to see where exactly soda springs is located. I thought it was just past Morton, not ninety plus miles from Morton.

My spot is way the fuck closer, and not in Eastern Wa at all.

Again, still posting from a phone, so no Google fancyness, but the campground of which I speak is within [shitty] walking distance of Elbe, WA. It's more or less on the back side of Alder lake. Pleasant Valley Road, off SR 7, near Mineral Road.

Woods.

Mountains.

Cool.

Not the high desertarid plane of Eastern Wa.


I submit a comparison between weather reports:

Naches, Wa: 91-95f Fri-Sun

Elbe, Wa: 75-85 Fri-Sun

...

I'm leaving Vancouver now, I'll reconnoiter the site on my way home tonight.
Being that Bradbury and Jeff's locations are pretty much in the same spot
(bumfuck nowhere eastern washington) I guess the real question is this:

route A:

View Larger Map
Quick. A pass. Freeway.

or route B:

View Larger Map
Scenic. Long. No Pass. A drain on my gas money.
On the subject of camping:

I've not yet made it up to the spot I mentioned to jEFF, Pleasant Valley. It is, however, about the same distance as soda springs from civilisation. It's been a few years (six or seven) since I was last there, but at that time it was a very nice, almost unheard-of campground. That isn't to say hard-to-find, but you have to know that it's there. Another advantage is the campgrounds are off the road that leads UP into the Snowqualmie National Forest, where there are plenty of alternate camping sites of the "pull off and camp" type (i.e. bring a shovel).

I'll post more info when I'm next at a computer; at the moment, I'm in Portland typing this on a damn phone keypad. I'll also make a scouting run up there if anyone is interested. My plan is to be back in Western WA this evening (thus making it tough to see WTF is there), but I should be able to cruise that way tomorrow.

Should soda springs or any other Rainier-area campground be chosen, the Bradbury compound (my North American headquarters) is where I'll be departing from, and would serve as a decent rendezvous point, with easy parking for three or four vehicles if need be.

Oh, and I have acquired a [soon-to-be]Maui Cruiser, "Schmancy":



I'll be wanting to do some light 4-wheeling before I ship her to Maui next week (nothing like the last time we went off-road in one of my jalopies), and this seems like a good opportunity for exactly that.


Chime in on what you think of my idea, and I'll make a run to either spot to do a little recon tomorrow/Wednesday.

Draaaat.

James beat me to posting up the information about the two major choices in our camping... bully for you sir.  I, personally, lean toward the Soda Springs area because if for whatever reason the campsites are full, we can also just pitch our tents anywhere nearby.  And they have water we can sit by (though as James has said, it isn't the ocean... however, Saltwater is also not technically the ocean, as it is the Puget Sound).

And Jimmy is leaning toward the Soda Springs type of camping as well.

Either way, I'm bringing some Orange Creme, you-betcha!

And I think we should definitely know by the end of today/tomorrow so that we can definitively tell other people - go here!  Go here now!

Yeeupers.
It has come down to two candidates:

Saltwater State Park < click for link to park website

View Larger Map

-------
or Jeff's spot Soda Springs < click for link to park website

View Larger Map
-------

You'll note that between the two of them, one is easily accessible. The other is well passed the mountain. The pros and cons involved:

Saltwater is close. The advantages of being close:

  • less money spent on gas
  • closer to places in case of emergency
  • forgot something? just go down to a store and buy it
  • ocean-side camping, get to watch the sun set on the beach

The disadvantages of Saltwater being close, however:

  • closer, easier accessible means closer and easier accessible for EVERYONE
  • we've never really gone camping "way the fuck out there"
  • less chance of bear attacks
    (this should be an advantage but really it isn't)
  • nobody has ever been there
    (Jeff has at least been to Soda Springs)


Further information will be updated on this post.
I hope to have come to a definitive decision by tomorrow morning/noon/evening/night.

July 20, 2008

Knight.

Saw The Dark Knight.

Will see it again.

May have to see it next weekend after/before camping if possible.

Will see it again.

July 19, 2008

X-ample

You bet your ass i'm e-XXXXXXtreme.  Everything I do is e-XXXXXtreme.  

Makes for painful restroom breaks though.......
Jeff's hydration system includes an eXtreme water bottle:

T-minus However Many Days till Friday

Yeah.  I think as far as camping is concerned, we should do the puget sound area that I mentioned in a previous post.  We could start at trying to get to Saltlake, then Kopachuck, then Joemma.  I think, if you are heading south, those are the order in which you would go.  Each is first come, first serve, so if you (James) are thinking of going Friday, you could scout out a spot for us.

As it stands, Jimmy and I were talking and if he can get Friday off, or get enough of Friday free, we may try to join you (in a separate car) to get a second spot.  We all have cell phones so we can keep in touch until one of us finds a spot, then congregate.

Keep in mind that many of these spots have designated "check-in" times, which is around 3p I think.  But that doesn't mean we can't arrive at a spot and try to check in early, or hover until someone leaves.  (I will look more into this.)

Bradbury may be coming as well now.  He was going to look up information about a place south of the Tacoma/Roy area, but as James has mentioned, it might kill the motivation for others to go.  So for now, unless Bradbury's spot is amazing, I'm settling on the S-K-J option.

As far as my supplies, I have the following:


  1. Tent (sleeps two comfortable - four if pushed)
  2. Sleeping Bag (plus extra if needed)
  3. Small backpacker's camping stove (literally quite small)
  4. Cooler (buying this weekend or before trip)
  5. Extra clothes/Backpacker's backpack
  6. Hydration System (fuck you guys, I'm not going without water)
  7. Laptop and Camcorder and Camera (not really camping gear, but as I'd like to think I've shown, someone needs to document these things and no one ever does except me.
I too will add more to this list as I realize what else I need to bring.

Also, Jimmy and I talked about possibly heading to Graham/Spanaway briefly to get some pictures of jOe for the comic.  Maybe some footage of the whole area too.  I found some interesting video footage from the past that includes our trips to Sharis, Jimmy and I interviewing jOe, jOe and the gOat, Chrissie's meeting with jOe (survived the first round, we'll see about another bout).

Oh, and Zach-0... how could I forget about you.  I found something pretty interesting involving you and "Sexy Brice".  That will also be going up when I can get the time to put it up.  (There's currently some other projects in my queue, including the comic and such.

And that, is all for now.
FYI - (G.I.) Joe's is having a camping sale.

http://www.joessports.com/home/index.jsp

I suggest you check it out if you're not prepped for camping.
Even though we still haven't settled on -WHERE- it will be.

(Jeff, any final thoughts? While I'm up for it, I think Wenatchee may be ... way out of the way for a lot of the people who are considering making the trip. I'm thinking Saltwater, while not as cool sounding as Dash Point, is our best bet.)

Some further information :
I have 26th, 27th (sat/sun) off - I intend to camp (stay out in the woods) friday night and Saturday night - then probably pack up, get everything ready to go - and leave late Sunday night instead of staying/sleeping out in the woods.

My list (as it stands now) is as follows:

1. Sleeping Bag
2. Tent
3. Light (gas lantern w/ cool noise)
4. Knife. Fork. Spoon.
5. (emergency) Change of Clothes.
6. Bag to carry shit in.
7. Cans of stuff to put in fire and eat (corn, beans, whole chicken)
8. One of those cool folding shovels to dig meaningless holes.
9. A. CAMPING. CHAIR. (WITH. CUP. HOLDER.)
10. Jeff is bringing a cooler. Get something to put in it.


...

(post will be updated as list developes)

July 18, 2008

Sinking Feelin'

So...

http://www.therepublicansong.com/watch.html

Yeah.

It's a video.

Sure makes me think stuff is getting better... stuff is getting better all the time.  Our education system and ability to master logic, reasoning, and moderation however...

July 17, 2008

Camping Details in Spades

Hello Slugs.

So some details and information points about all things outdoors.  Camping is still on, of course.  And while all are still invited, I need to now really get an idea of how many want or intend to come, or may come at all.

Right now I have six to seven people who have expressed interest:  James, Jimmy, DT, Mr.R, Adam, guy named "Cat", and myself.

I have tried to call jOe twice today, but nobody at his house picks up.  My guess is it is because I'm calling from my office line, and that might be coming up on his caller-ID as "Government Man", and the Macauley's think it's the Humane Society and thus are not willing to pick up.  Relax jOe, it's just me.  PICK UP YOUR DAMN PHONE MAN!  PICK UP!

So Dash Point's a wash at the moment  Apparently they now only do reservations, despite James' initial insistence that it is 1) walk-on and 2) free.  (It's neither.  Eight years does change things, doesn't it.)  And when I checked in on getting reservations, well, apparently Dash Point has become just that much more popular.  Go figure.

So 'nix to that one.  But fret not, for we have the following three "urban-camping" (i.e. like Dash Point) options:  Saltwater, Kopachuck, and Joemma.  All state parks, all first-come, first-served.  Those are our "close" options.  (They are all in the lower Puget-Sound to middle Puget-Sound area - near Tacoma-FederalWay-Seattle.)

For slightly further options, we have a place I checked out over the weekend, a place in the Wenatchee National Forest, just past Mt. Ranier National Forest.  Good place, though you'd better bring your own shovel and toilet paper, if you get my drift.

Either way, at least we don't have to worry about reserving.  And it's looking like James and I (possibly in separate cars) will get there first to hold spots.

Supplies:  I can, and will, bring a cooler for stuff, but people should start letting me know what foodstuffs they want.  I have a tent, it sleeps four cramped, two comfortably.  Yeeup.

And that's all I feel like writing for the moment.  I think James is having James the Elder check on Ft. Lewis to make sure that it's not available.

Ah yes, and one thing before I go.  Click on THIS LINK RIGHT HERE for some fun video nostalgia.  Better yet, download that file and drop it in iTunes and you'll see more fun stuff.  Oh, and THIS LINK get's you the same video, but formatted for your older iPods.  (The first one works on new iPods (classic and nano 3g, and iPhones/iPod touches).)

I loves me some videoage.

July 16, 2008

Effortless

Thank you James, for that wonderful example of a retort.

Though it's not that I suck at retorts (maybe I do... meh), I just didn't really feel like engaging someone so completely inept that it would waste my time and patience.  However, you did do a wonderful job on your own of highlighting practically all of the points I would have, save for maybe one or two.

Ah, but then today, I sat in on a support group for liver transplant patients and I was reminded again why Michael-Baxter and people like him irritate me like the STD's that they probably help spread.  As such, a mini-retort, built upon my associate, is in order.

  1. The overarcing tone of your "comment" really does little to illustrate your own abilities at "romance" or "love" and does nothing to show that you have any concept of them, either by your definition or by my own.  You start off with an insult.  And you don't even bring up any of my points in your laughable rebuttal.  What is that?
  2. You obviously have a limited communication skill-set, or you were taught communications by a helper monkey.  You state:

    do you REALLY want to go wipe an ass right now?? you're a liar if you say yes.
    But that isn't really what I said, now is it?:

    Tell you what you fuckers... when you are willing to wipe the ass of the one that you love because their body and mental functions are breaking down all around them, then I'll take your "romance" at face value.
    I've bolded the word "willing" for a reason.  Willing does not equal wanting.  If a giant boulder fell on my leg while I was out hiking and the only want to free myself was to amputate my leg or die, you'd better damn well bet that I'd be willing to amputate.  Would I want to?  No.  Tell you what, post your address in the comments and I'll mail you a dictionary.

    Further, it is pretty weak of you ask such an obvious straw-man question.  Honestly.  Are you educated?  And I don't necessarily mean in the public/private school system.  I mean, do you have some sort of intelligence sitting in that space on your shoulders?  That offer of the dictionary is still open.
  3. Where to start on that whole run-on thought.  Unlike James, I think I will break it down:

    you have to go through the early; retarded; seeing the world in rose colored, heart shaped glasses stage;
    Actually, no, you don't.  You don't have to do anything.  People do.  It happens.  It comes with being young.  You even manage to hint that you know that being young comes with having a "retarded" viewpoint on life.  So you're telling me that you have to be retarded.  No, thank you.  Granted, I have definitely had that "what I that stupid?" moments when thinking of my own past, but if I had had the wisdom close at hand to know better, I would have tried to learn that.

    so that when you do open your own eyes the world stays a little brighter than its supposed to for a longer than it should
    (Please keep in mind that with every response I am typing, I'm trying my damn hardest not to just outright mock and laugh at you, precisely because I think you are young, naive, and inexperienced.)  It's funny, you're little "theory" here makes me think of all those people that I met in college/out-of-high school who were so poorly adapted to the real world precisely because they had a jaded view of the world and relationships.  I think of the girls that are constantly raped in dorm houses, frat houses, and on dates because they don't realize that the "dreamy" guy with the "dreamy" eyes is feeding her lines and flunitrazepam and she doesn't know better because of her rosey, heart-shaped view of the world.  Tell me, do you think that the world stays brighter for her longer after she has to drop out of school to raise a bastard-child?  Isn't it just slightly possible that if she had a more moderate view of the world at a younger age, she could have... oh... I don't know... realized a few things before hand?

    It amazes me to no end how when people start out at either extreme (the world sucks OR the world is a brightly color swirl of happy-fun-rainbows), they always are in for shocks in their lives, and provided they survive that, they end up much more moderate than before.  At least, the adaptable ones do.
    and by the time your eyes acclimate and see the world as it is; you don't notice so much anymore,
    If you want to live in your hazy world, be my guest.  But be warned, it's people like you, people who don't "notice so much anymore" that are in denial until reality really hits you.  Then, when it does, you're simply not prepared for the sometimes harshness that reality has to provide and you find yourself dead, in a gutter, the result of a quickie suicide via sleeping pills or a razorblade.  That or you be4come a meth or heroin junkie.  Still bright enough for you laddie?
    but you can realize that the two of you made it through everything together and will do forever.
    If you've managed to make it to this stage, I'm pretty sure you'll be wishing that you could hop into a time machine and kick your hipster-doofus, wide-eyed, younger self's ass for not having been more open-eyed to the pros and cons of life and reality.  Read a fuckin' book.  And not one from the latest MTV top 10 bestsellers list of the month.
At the start of this post, I mentioned how I really didn't care to give you the time of day to respond to such an idiotic, poorly thought out comment, and it wasn't until I sat with some veterans that I changed my mind.  I want to quickly elaborate on that so that maybe some of your doucheyness will fade away.

Having a liver transplant requires you to have a caregiver with you at all times.  All times.  Translate that as, if you don't have someone that "loves" you, you aren't getting a new liver.  Translate that as, you die.  Simple.  That person is in charge of keeping you alive.  They don't get paid for it.  They lose freedom and flexibility.  The invest in a person that might die before they get a liver.  And if, after liver waiting lists, heart complications, memory loss, encephalopathy, loss of bowel control, liver transplant complications, and a life-time of being on rejection drug medications... if after all that, they get a liver... well guess what, they may die anyway.  They do all that, and yes, they wipe ass if they have to.  Not because they want to, but because they are willing to.

It's funny and enlightening that you consider "this idea of love... far to grown up".  To think of all those "grown ups" that lived a loveless, meaningless life until you and yours showed up to show them the way.

You're pathetic attempts at "knowing" what love is, and "knowing" what romance is are, for the lack of a better descriptor, insulting.  You pretend to have some grasp at how it works... get a fuckin' clue.  I'm not saying you aren't experiencing some kind of love, but it's people like you who think you've worked out the philosophy of love at this stage of life make me want to punch you in the face.  Twice.  Go home, and grow up.  And the next time you decide on polluting our board with your nonsensical comments and self-righteous and self-justified positions you might want to stop and let that brain work.

James, you're right. My retorts do suck.  Can't wait for camping.  I'll post details on things we need to know later tonight or so.

July 15, 2008

No offense Jeff, but you suck at retorts. And whats with superimposing mud for my name, I mean I remember when I strove to remove any trace of my name from internets - but now that internets have become so large and my name being so common - it is impossible to find me. Since you suck so badly at retorts, I shall do my own:

"don't be bitter because you can't get your D touched as much as you would like."

Cock. Penis. Shaft. Dong. Willie. Shlong. One-Eyed Monster. There were tons upon tons of different words you could've used here, but you used "D". "D".

What. The fuck.

"there IS a difference between romance and love, but you're fixated on this idea of love that is far too grown up."

I'm not even sure what sort of point you're trying to make here. He was ranting about people in their twenties go on and on about how they are so love-stricken, about how they have so much to deal with when it comes to love and living life - but the sad fact of the matter is that most in their early-twenties haven't the slightest idea of what really is - but they certainly like to think they do.

So much changes in the span of 20-25 that it is sometimes laughable to look back and say, holy shit. Was I that stupid? This coming from someone who utilizes "D" in reference to their genitalia you're either IN or PRE your early-twenties, or just fucking retarded.


"do you REALLY want to go wipe an ass right now?? you're a liar if you say yes."

And just how do you know he doesn't have a scat-fetish? His point he was making with the section you were commenting on about here was that love and romance takes effort. It takes work. It isn't something picked up easily.

This next part I'd break up but I really, really really; really, really; really want to show you something; really i do; really a lot, really.

"you have to go through the early; retarded; seeing the world in rose colored, heart shaped glasses stage; so that when you do open your own eyes the world stays a little brighter than its supposed to for a longer than it should and by the time your eyes acclimate and see the world as it is; you don't notice so much anymore, but you can realize that the two of you made it through everything together and will do forever.."

Its called a run on sentence.

I doubt ANY slug looks, or has looked, at the world through rose-colored, heart shaped glasses. Misanthropic. Cynical. Asinine. Sure, but you seem to think that any slug would've been gullible or insipid enough to assume the world was ever bright to start with.

And nothing lasts forever.

Sassafras.

Well then, that didn't work.  James, fix that for me if you could?  I forgot how to do QT embeds.

Of course, that might be slowing up the page loading - meh, whatever you can do James, if it's too much, I'll just delete the embed and set up up like the following:

Click Me

Click Me Too

Those links better damn well work.

What is the WHA?

Remember the days when the board was populated with fun images and videos of the things we did/were doing/or could imagine? (see post with links)

... Gone For a Few Days and...

So... where to start.

Camping was good (the separate camping trip I made) and gives me hope for the Slugtitude that will come. I hear Adam might be comin', so also good stuff.

I've been going back and forth about where to have our little shindig but an impassioned plea from Mr. Mud has put me back into considering Dash Point as our Destination of Choice:
I dont know where you are off to - but i dont want to have to pioneer and explore new areas.

I want to relax on the sandy beaches of dash point and watch the sun go down like we did so long ago.

I want to see how things have changed, and reminisce how it was in the old days.

I wanna see that damn big hill that we struggled up and the gas station we parked your trooper at, indefinitely.
You do make some excellent points McMud so I think I will give Dash Point National Park a call later today or tomorrow and reserve ourselves a spot, unless I hear an equally passionate response from someone else.  Right now, I too want to see where my old Trooper died, and then died again.  And who knows, we may run across some Superhero Christians like last time.

Mudtastic: "I dig this Jesus-shit!"
Yes, I bet you do MudMan.

Next up, the July issue of James-2-James may be delayed.  I'm not sure yet.  That's due to my own stupidity, running for a bus and likely having my pen-tablet pen slide out of my bag and find itself lost and alone under the bridge or on the street somewhere.  It's probably servicing some hipster doofus who's lost his/her/transgendered will to live because the cold hard reality that they are a) not unique and b) not trendy has finally kicked in.

I'm not abandoning hope for the July issue though, as most of the templates I need are already made, and if I have to use a mouse to do photoshopping, I will.  It just takes fuckin' longer.

Three (yes, a three), look for an addition or two to the blog later tonight (hopefully) or early tomorrow.  No, this isn't one of those "look for the MEGApost" kinda things.  (And I hate how I will always have to justify that now...)  The addition is practically done (in processing stage) and it's more a matter of getting enough time to allow the computer to upload said changes - which I can't do at work, so I have to wait 'till I get home.  I think some of you will like it, since some of you have been clamoring for it for awhile.

And finally, because people are apparently still emo, and because they come on OUR/MY board and can't stand opposing opinions...
This is Michael's response:

don't be bitter because you can't get your D touched as much as you would like. there IS a difference between romance and love, but you're fixated on this idea of love that is far too grown up. do you REALLY want to go wipe an ass right now?? you're a liar if you say yes. you have to go through the early; retarded; seeing the world in rose colored, heart shaped glasses stage; so that when you do open your own eyes the world stays a little brighter than its supposed to for a longer than it should and by the time your eyes acclimate and see the world as it is; you don't notice so much anymore, but you can realize that the two of you made it through everything together and will do forever.
First:  Mwahahahahaha....

Second:  Ahh, man oh man... I don't really know where to start or if it's worth my time to start...

No.  It isn't.  So I won't bother.  There are too many intelligent people who occasionally read this, or did at one time, that I'm sure they could figure out all that I want to say to this.  And if not, well then maybe I'll respond.  But I probably won't.

I will quickly say though that something must be done regarding a "new" Michael.  We have two of them already.  So that won't do.  We can't have people getting confused and thinking that this "new" Michael is one of our previous two.  It would irrevocably harm their respective reputations.  Hereby, this "new" Michael will be referred to as "Baxter".

And to complete the change, because I wouldn't want Baxter's image mixed with our M.Collins or Rigney, I have provided what my MacBook and my own impressions have calculated is this person's image:

Good job Baxter.

And good morning/afternoon to my fellow Slugs.