Current Mood: In the immortal words of Gumby (circa Saturday Night Live), "Merry Christmas, Dammit!" Club Ninja's taking the week off... enjoy the holiday season! See you cats next year! : D

Current Mood: It's the most wonderful time of the year, folks! Of course I'm feeling good! Well, I guess most of that is coming from the fact that I finished with Finals on yesterday, which means I'm home free until mid-January. What sucks though is the fact that the Intermediate Graphic Design class I'm looking to take is going to be at freaking 8AM! Here's to hoping that some of the later classes end up with some openings at some point... also, we at the Northlake Gingiss had our annual Christmas party this past Sunday, and as per custom, it was an affair to remember. Between music, food, drinks, and games of cards (I relearned how to play Spades!), there was much fun and trash talking to be had. Here's to next year's affair!

Mani = Gaming Whore: Let it be known that most of this was unplanned, and is not hindering in my holiday shopping any! A couple of days ago I had it brought to my attention that King of the Fighters 2000/2001 had been released, and I am currently reveling in its old-school 2D goodness. I'm just pleased to see that the franchise has been resurrected, considering all of the shakeups that have been going on at SNK as of late. Also, Neil gave me an early Christmas present, that being the latest Castlevania on the PS2. Oh man, that sucker's fun... there's just this ambience about the game, filled with all sorts of gothic-goodness. I've just taken out the Undead Parasite (hereby dubbed by me as Satan's Whack-a-Mole), and am currently trying to decided which area to tackle next. Strategy Guide be damned this time! I'm going through this solo!

Castlevania - An Update: Medusa has just gotten the beat-down. Booyah!! : D

Marathon Monopoly: As per custom on most Saturday evenings, I ended up at Aaron and Shelley's after work. Seeing as we were missing a few members of the gaming group for this week, we opted to mess around with the Star Wars edition of Monopoly for the evening. We started the game about 9:45PM or so... and didn't freaking finish until 4AM!! Mind you, the game could have gone longer, but I opted to forfeit for the sake of all of our sanities ("Darth Vader has committed suicide due to financial obligations," I stated, tipping my figurine). My goodness, that was just about insane... but for the record, I easily would have won that one, had Aaron (Storm Trooper), Shelley (Chewbacca), and little Kristina (R2-D2 )not teamed up to form this Triad of Land-Owning Doom. Even still, Justin (Boba Fett) and I held our own to the bitter end!

Belated Birthday Wishes: Happy Birthday to Donald, who turned 21 a few weeks back, and who was quick to point out that I didn't give him a shameless plug! Enjoy this year while you can, Donald, for it is all downhill from here! Mwahahahaha!

Dragon Ball Statistics: In honor of some theaters showing the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy this past Wednesday, Galen decided to compile the statistics for if someone were to sit down and try and watch the entire Dragon Ball saga, from Dragon Ball to Dragon Ball Z, all the way to Dragon Ball GT. Between the three, you've got a total of 508 episodes (153, 291, and 64 respectively), which, at 30 minutes an ep, equates to 15,240 minutes. That in turn simplifies to 254 hours, or just over 10.5 days. It's pretty scary, and we wonder if anyone has actually attempted such a heinous undertaking. Actually, we're sure that someone has, but we wonder as to the mental state of such an individual.

A Public Service Announcement: Ladies- if you have to bend your knees to walk with them, then perhaps you don't need to be wearing those high heels. Really. You look like a freaking satyr trying to walk like that.

Random Quote: "Where the hell are ya' going, ya' stanking-ass beyotch?!" -- This little gem came from George the night of the Gingiss Christmas party, and some woman cut him off as he was trying to merge lanes. It's all in his delivery... George can toss out insults and comments like that as easy as you or I breathe.

Current Mood: It's all coming to an end! Well, at least the semester is... I'm just about done for this go-round, which pleases me to no end. It seems as if I'm the only one among my friends that's not done with classes this semester just yet. Why the hell am I not finished until the week before Christmas is beyond me... at any rate, things are looking up! Now, if only I can finish up my shopping...

Act a Fool, Falcons' Style: Guess who was at the Falcons/Panthers game this past Sunday? Booyah! Man, that was a good time to be had... lots of shouting, cheering, several near-fights between drunken asses in the neighboring seats, and both Neil and I ended up on camera several times during the course of the game! Of course seeing Michael Vick back in action was the absolute bomb... I swear to goodness that man is not human...

First Annual Video Game Awards - Thoughts: I managed to catch a good portion of the VGA's this past Thursday, and I guess it was a hit/miss affair all around. Some of the awards were spot on; even with me not being a huge Sports game fan, I can dig Madden 2004 being Game of the Year, for example, for I have seen that game in action, and it is truly insane. Also, I'm glad that Def Jam Vendetta got Best Soundtrack as well. On the other hand, as Galen brought to my attention, how in the hell did Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain (which IS a good game, mind you) beat Soul Calibur II as Fighting Game of the Year? Though as several of the writers on 411Mania were quick to point out, they weren't too surprised that the company that brings Spike so much money week in and week out had a game that got an award... if nothing else, though, the VGA's were worth it to see DMX tear the crowd up at the end! True, they had to censor just about every other word that came out of his mouth, but that didn't stop him from kicking any less ass.

And For the Record: I had no idea that Dead Or Alive: Extreme Beach Volleyball was that shameless! Talk about your fan service!

Should I Feel Bad... : ... for not giving a panhandler wearing a leather coat anything? I didn't think so.

Random Quote: "Throw higher!" -- One of the many fans in our section at the Falcons' game this past Sunday, after one of Vick's passes got slapped down by a defender. This was his simple suggestion, which got a bit of a laugh from the rest of the section.

Current Mood: Feeling good! Classes are sane, work isn't TOO bad, and Thanksgiving was an absolute blast at the Zayas household. We had visits from my brother, his girlfriend, my sister, Heather, and a number of our friends from the church. Between gorging ourselves stupid at dinner, there were games aplenty, and not just of the PS2 variety, mind you. We had forced-family time (mainly at my sister's urging), which turned out to be a lot of fun. Between games of Taboo, Scattergories and Pictionary, it was a great time to be had by all. It seems the womenfolk (Mom, my sister, and Heather) were really itching to do some karaoke, but with the lack of alcohol in my system, I didn't see that as being a viable option. : ) And for the record, Mom drank an ENTIRE bottle of sparkling-grape juice... we're pretty sure it was the non-alcoholic stuff...

WWE - Random Observations: Return of Mick Foley + Solid Booking = BEST RAW IN MONTHS. Man, they pretty much hit the ground running this past Monday! Granted the Fired/Rehired bits kind of got done to death, I admit that I DID crack a smile every time someone else caught it. And Chris Jericho was ON FIRE in his match! I haven't seen him that buck-wild since he's been a heel! You could really believe that he was trying to impress Trish that night!

Restaurant Misspellings: I passed by a Checker's on the way to work today, and noticed that whoever put their signs up misspelled 'club'! You would think that someone would notice them advertising a 'Chicken Culb' sandwich. On a less-sad sidenote, my mom mentioned the sign at a Golden Coral that was missing a few letters, so instead of coming to enjoy their 'Fresh Salads', we were encouraged to check out their 'Fresh Lads'. Indeed.

Call Me Out of The Loop... : ...but who in the @#$% is Paris Hilton? I hadn't even heard of the tart until that whole sex tape business, and now I hear her name everywhere I go! I JUST found out that she's part of THE Hilton family not too long ago. I guess there are some things in the world that I truly give less than a crap about... though I hear that tape IS pretty out there... : D

Shameless Plugs: Having just gotten a phone call from my friend Chris, whom I haven't spoke with in quite some time, I now feel compelled to shamelessly whore out his website. He's just brought it to my attention that Total Experience will be putting out their first book of poetry in the very near future, and that you can get the 'Official Bootleg' (his words exactly) from the site. Their aiming to have that sucker released by the end of the month, so keep your eyes open!

?whatis irony: Irony is walking past a clothing store that literally just opened a few days before, and noticing that they have a Clearance section. Isn't that for stores that have been around for a while, and are trying to get rid of older merchandise?

Random Quote: "Mother Teresa had a habit? What was she addicted to?" -- Me this past Thanksgiving during a game of 'Taboo'. It was my sister who was attempting to describe Mother Teresa to her team, and mentioned that she had a habit. Me, being the dense jackass that only I can be, thought that everyone's favorite soon-to-be-saint nursed an addiction of some sort in her lifetime, rather that actually WEARING a habit. Who's to say that a nun can't love her marijuana, I reasoned. And thankfully I'm not Catholic, otherwise I'd probably be going to hell for making that joke.

Current Mood: Thanksgiving approaches! This mean two things for me... first off, they'll be lots of family and good-eating to be had on Thursday (with Heather joining us for the festivities). And second, that means the beginning of extended mall hours come Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year. I don't expect our humble tuxedo shop to be all that busy, but the fact is that we've still got to stay open for those insane hours!

And Speaking of Thursday... : Whatever happened to Thanksgiving? No, I'm not asking this to inspire some deep-and-drawn-out debate over the meaning of the holiday and whatnot, but I rarely see places decorated for it anymore! Take our own Northlake Mall, for example. The last decorations that were seen were for Halloween, and I swear to goodness that on November 1st, we started decorating for Christmas! What's up with that?

Gamer's Heaven/Hell: Now is not a good time to be a gamer on a budget. While things have been quiet on the gaming front for a few months now, things have absolutely exploded in these past few weeks. I can count at least a good five games that are staring me down, demanding that I add them to my collection. Final Fantasy X-2, Prince of Persia, Gladius, Castlevania, and Disgaea (which I could have gotten Used, had some evil bastard not gotten to it first this weekend!) all spring to mind. Admittedly, I DID indulge a bit yesterday, and picked up RPG Maker 2... now, as soon as I get my hands on a (fairly inexpensive) USB Keyboard, I'm good to go!

Would I be insane... : ... if, despite not owning the game, I brought the Special Edition Strategy Guide to Final Fantasy X-2, simply because it comes with a 96-page art book? I could possibly justify the purchase by saying that I might pick up the game down the line! To my credit, however, I didn't buy the Neverwinter Nights box set a few months back, even though that came with an Art Book AND soundtrack... of course since my system can't even dream of running that game, it's probably a good thing that I didn't snag that. That's not just insane, that's crack-head fanboy insane!

Random Quote: "We are The Generics! And WE are the Palette-Switch Generics!" -- This is what happens when a videogame geek like myself gets bored at work. I could not help but smirk as I saw the most GENERIC group of blonde-haired white-guys walk by the store this past Saturday. Not two minutes later, I swear to goodness the same sort of group walked by, but this time all of the guys had brown hair! Really, these guys could have been gangs in 'River City Ransom' or 'The Warriors' easily... and if anyone actually caught both of those references, you truly are one of my people. : D

Current Mood: Much better! The Week of Nasty Projects, Papers, and Tests has come to an end, and I'm still in one piece. We're entering the home stretch as far as the semester goes, and I can't be happier. Of course now the challenge is figuring out what classes I'm taking next semester... also, the showing of Henry IV this past Sunday was absolutely phenomenal! That was my first time visiting Shakespeare's Tavern, and I must say that I do anticipate a return visit at some point. Still, I wish that I could have caught MacBeth a few weeks back!

Favorite Line Gleaned from Henry IV: "Knight-Tripping Faeries." I don't know why that's stuck with me, but I just can't help but laugh at the visual that comes with that.

Smackdown: The Journeys of Cain Harlocke: It's been a while since I've been able to play, but at last check, Cain and Brock Lesnar were Tag Team Champions! The latest PPV was the Royal Rumble, in which our young hero didn't fare too well. Having been given #21 out of the 30, I swear I was in the ring for all of 15 seconds before Rikishi's punk ass kicked me out! In other news, Brock managed to beat The Rock for the Heavyweight Championship... this should prove interesting if I decided to pursue the very belt that my tag team partner is currently holding...

Smackdown: The Final Update: As of a few minutes ago, Cain ended his year in the WWE. While we were on the upswing, things took a turn for the nasty at the end of his tenure. First, we lost the Tag Team Championship after Brock got himself suspended, and I had to take on both Christian and Jericho at No Way Out. Things did not pick up after that, as I had no match at Wrestlemania, either... alas and alack, but it was a good run!

Tales of Interest From Public Transit: I was heading to campus a couple of weeks ago, and a guy gets on the train, takes a seat, and promptly begins pointing and waving at random people throughout the car. I thought nothing of, as I had donned my Helm of Indifference (read: my headset) that day. The clincher, however, was something that even I could not ignore. Why, in the name of all that is holy and sanitary, did this fool stand up and begin scratching his ass, complaining about his 'damned hemorrhoids'? Now I can understand how that can be a problem, but DUDE! You're on a train full of people! At least he kept his pants up...

Random Quote: "I'm Frosty, the Alcoholic Snowman!" -- Me to Heather this Sunday as we caught a bite to eat at Chili's after church. On the table was a picture of what I swear to be one of the scariest-looking snowmen to ever live. Not only did his eyes not match, but the inclusion of the big, red chili for his nose just didn't look right in the least. I rationalized that old Frosty had been tipping a few back, hence his big, red schnaz.

Current Mood: Hectically tired! It's going to be an interesting week, I can tell you that now. Besides working on my latest Graphic Design project, I've got a paper due this Wednesday (which I'm about at the halfway mark on now) and a test on Monday for Art History. Though Sunday should prove interesting, as I get to finally check out the famed Shakespeare Tavern here in town with Heather, her former roommate Alison, and her boyfriend Mike. This will be a highly caffinated week, I can see that now. 

Smackdown: The Journeys of Cain Harlocke: That poor boy's been seeing some major ups and downs as of late. For starters, I got a chance to create my own faction (RVD, Nash, and Trish as our manager!), but that prompted McMahon to reinstate The Corporation, and make my life hell. The absolute low was when Goldberg joined them, as he and Triple H beat the ever-loving stank out young Mr. Harlocke after his match. The highlight, however, came from when Brock Lesnar joined our side! But the biggest news is that Cain managed to survive the Elimination Chamber against the ENTIRE Corporation! Man, that felt good! : D

Odd Ways of Making Friends: If you'll recall from last week's update, I spent most of Halloween working at the mall, but made the most of it by scaring the crap out of random kids looking for candy. Well, it seems that one of the guys that I scared now pops by the store occasionally, just to make random conversation with me! It's an odd way to make a new friend, but hey, you can never have too many friends.

Bulletproof Monk: I finally got around to seeing that this past weekend, and I have to say that if you can effectively put your brain on pause, it's good butt-kicking fun. But I really have to ask- does EVERYONE in the world know kung-fu? I swear just about everybody in that movie could throw down at the drop of a hat!

?whatis irony: Irony is seeing a young lady wearing sneakers with peace symbols on them, while sporting an army fatigue jacket. Interesting juxtaposition of styles, I must say.

Random Quote: "He told on you." -- My five year old nephew Isaiah, to my brother (his dad) this past Saturday as the two of them popped by for a bit and spent the time playing Smackdown. This came from when Isaiah convinced my brother to take a punch at the referee, who promptly disqualified him for the transgression! We're 99.9% certain that he didn't plan that, but one can't be too certain...

Current Mood: Rushed! Update! This! Week! Actually, I blame the sudden and strange power outage I had when I was originally working on it originally. I've been going nonstop this weekend, so I haven't really had a chance to sit down and redo things until today. I blame school and work, personally... maybe I can make this my full-time job, but you know, having money is definitely a plus : )

Smackdown: The Journeys of Cain Harlocke: As to be expected, I picked up the latest version of Smackdown last week, and have been playing the hell out of it ever since. It took a while to get used to, but I love the new grappling system, and of course, the improved Season Mode. And having recreated Cain Harlocke, his life hasn't gotten much easier from the previous incarnation of the game. He's gone from accidentally picking a fight with Goldberg his first night on RAW, losing Stacy Keibler to Test, having a pose-down against Triple H (who proceeded to beat him stupid afterwards), and the highlight, taking down Eric Bischoff in a Cage Match at Bad Blood... more interesting things to come, I'm sure.

The Wrath of the "Craaaaaab People" : God bless Neil's TiVo, as I swear he records every episode of South Park that comes on, including the infamous Metro-Sexual season opener. Now, I was busy laughing my ass off from the get-go on this one ("We are SO much gayer than you!"), but then there was the inclusion of the Crab People... I swear, South Park is pretty much THE time capsule of pop culture for our generation. Highly recommended episode... you WILL laugh at some point!

And For The Record... : That monstrous 57 inch TV of Neil's is the scariest damn thing I've seen in my natural life. Seeing Halo on that bitch is enough to make a man weep like a little girl. Not that anyone did, mind you, but had it occurred, we'd have understood.

The Second Most Wonderful Time of the Year: I've always enjoyed Halloween, and this year was no exception. I ended up at a party after work, but the main highlights came while I was actually AT work, believe it or not. I had the duty of handing out candy, and I was dressed as none other than Death himself. I think I scared a good number of kids, and probably even more parents. I guess there's something unnerving about a figure in a black hooded robe and apparently no face giving out candy to our youth. Man, that was fun : )

Random Quote: "Hey, I think I've still got one of their old tapes!" "Heh, you don't have one of THEIR old tapes..." -- Portion of a conversation between Masumi and Kris after their Halloween party, where for whatever reason, the subject of Milli Vanilli came up. Masumi mentioned that she actually has some of their old stuff, and of course, Kris makes the obvious joke. Sometimes the obvious ones are the best ones...

Current Mood: F@$* you, Kinkos. That pretty much was the sentiment of everyone taking the Graphic Design course here at State, as it seems that EVERYONE ran into problems trying to get their stuff printed for this latest project (curse you, stupid 12x18 size requirements...). From overcharging to crappy copies, from inconsistent colors to ALL THREE LOCATIONS I WENT TO HAVING THEIR MAC'S DOWN, it's been a roller coaster of a week. But other than that, it's all good! Kinkos can still lick a Gila monster's ass though. 

WWE: Random Observation: This is just one simple thing, really. Is it just me, or is Shawn Michaels not the Liberace or wrestling? I swear that dude wears the most outlandish things to the ring... Rico's got nothing on him, man.

Damn You, Entertainment Industry: Now is not a good time to be Mani's wallet, for these next few weeks shall be brutal. It all comes to a head on Tuesday, when not only The Hulk (which I LIKED!) hits DVD, but the new Smackdown! comes out as well. I managed to dodge a bullet earlier this week, though... it had completely slipped my mind that the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game was coming out, and I went ahead and reserved it. However, I've read nothing but crappy reviews for it so far, which yes, does suck and disappoint me, but I saved some cash by not picking it up! Ha!

An Update: I found out not too long ago that RPG Maker II comes out Wednesday. Damn it all.

The Quickest Way to Look Like a Lazy Jackass With Too Much Money... : ...is to not only buy a Segway, but to ride around in that thing. I saw not one, but two of them monkeys this past week... one was a dude just motoring through the mall, while I caught a glimpse of the other riding around one of the local train stations. I'm still trying to figure out the benefits/appeal of rolling around at a killer rate of -2 miles per hour, especially inside of a freaking mall! I could see it if we were massive, but Northlake really isn't all that impressive. I've got an invention for you that'll have you going at least twice, maybe THREE TIMES as fast... it's called WALKING, jackass! Man, if only I could get a patent on that, I'd SO have my own country, along with a multiracial harem...

Note to Heather: I'm only kidding... at least about the harem part. : D I'd still like to have my own country... or if nothing else, an island like Dr. Han's in Enter the Dragon...

A Lesson to the Mothers Out There: If your child is big enough to jump out of his or her carriage and run over to the kiddie rides at the mall... WHILE you're still pushing the carriage, mind you... then he or she is too damned big to be in there! I saw that crap happen twice last weekend! Even so, I have to admit that it was pretty funny, all in all...

Random Quote: "You just punched that little kid, you bastard!" -- Alex, friend of Heather's, last weekend. When Heather came into town last week, we ended up over a friend's house who not only had the old-school 8-bit Nintendo hooked up, but started playing 'Kung Fu' at one point! Of course everyone laughed at me for knowing the plot and all of the character's names (that was one of the first games we owned, dammit!), the line came from Alex when Thomas (our intrepid hero, if you didn't know) punches out a Tom-Tom running at him. If you're familiar with the game, you'll know that Tom-Tom's are vicious little acrobatic bastards, and not some lost little kids. That fool deserved what he got!

Current Mood: Tired, but good! I'll get to see Heather for a bit this weekend, which is a nice change of pace from the drudgery that is my day to day (work, school, sleep, repeat). I've got Test #2 in Art History hitting me on Monday, and my next project in Graphic Design is due on Wednesday... don't you love it how class stuff always hits you in the same week?

Reloaded! : The Matrix: Reloaded hit DVD this week, and of course I had to pick up a copy. Granted I haven't had a chance to sit down and reacquaint myself with it, I did manage to browse a number of the extras, and of course, a few of the fight scenes. Freeway chase all the way, baby! Anxiously awaiting #3 in a matter of weeks!

Even Paladins Get Angry Sometimes: Last Saturday's gaming session was a picture perfect example of how to get under the skin of a Paladin. We had a new guy in the group, that being Justin's friend Alex, who ended up playing a Dwarven female by the name of Angus (don't ask). Words of advice: Do not ask the Paladin to tend to your mules, and for the love of humanity, do not offer them money when she politely tells you no. And to complicate things firther, if you are given first watch for the night, do not whip out your enchanted and ever-full stein of beer and proceed to drink yourself stupid. Being awakened by loud, Dwarvish singing is enough to put anyone in a foul mood. Dena, our resident Paladin, had to fight to keep her character from killing poor Angus. The rest of us simply had to fight to keep from spitting out a lung from laughing, while Aaron (DM for this session) just had to fight to maintain control.

Neil = TV Whore: While Neil was already the owner of the largest TV of our immediate crew (which made his spot a natural choice for our Super Bowl parties in years past), that whore broke down and got a freaking 57" monster last Saturday. While I have yet to experience it, he tells me that spent a good portion of the week playing Madden, and just generally drooling over the graphics. While I did taunt him a bit for this sudden purchase of his, I have to admit that I'm quite anxious to play Halo on that monkey in the near future.

Am I Going to Hell for This? : This past Wednesday on campus, I needed to do a quick sketch for my project in Graphic Design, so I commandeered a table in the food court and went to work. I have a tendency to throw on the Rio while I'm working, and that day was no different. So I'm grooving, working, listening to my music, when I look up and see that the three ladies at the table next to me are conducting Bible study. I smile, but why was it that at that EXACT moment, Devil Man by White Zombie starts playing on my headset?

Random Quote: "Ralph Lauren? I don't care if it was made by Ralph Jesus!" -- George at work, as he flipped through the newspaper and came across an ad for the recently opened Bloomingdales. They were advertising a lovely sofa by Ralph Lauren, but at a price that would have required most of us to whore ourselves out on the side.

Current Mood: It's all good! Despite running around nonstop from the word go, I enjoyed the hell out of the trip to Vegas! To those of you that have never been, it's like a whole new world in and of itself... the Ultimate Monument to Overindulgence, I believe I called it at one point. Nevertheless, I had a wonderful time and met an ungodly amount of very nice people. I finally met the elusive Justin (good friend of Heather's), who proved to be one of the most random and funny people I've met in recent memory. Anyone that can quote the 'What is Good in Life' speech from Conan the Barbarian (unsolicited, mind you!) is cool peeps in my book. Also worthy of note is Heather's friend Jill, who's house is not only filled with role playing goodies and anime, but several swords as well. I was at peace this weekend : ) In honor of the Vegas trip, this week's Me At A Glance shall focus on the events of the weekend!

Why I Will Never Live in Arizona: Long story short is that our plane to Vegas was supposed to have a layover in Arizona, but it ended up leaving so late that they had to put us up for the night in Phoenix. And let me tell you, even at 11PM, it was over 100 freaking degrees out there! Now don't get me wrong, I prefer the heat to the cold any day, but DAMN, people! I'd burst into flames if I had to live there!

Truly Random: We took a moment to stop by Fado's (an Irish pub) at one point, to take in the atmosphere and of course, partake of some beer. There was an Irish band playing, and I nearly passed out when I heard them start playing a cover of The Whole World by Outkast! It took everything in my power not to jump on the table and dancing about in drunken revelry. It truly was one of the more random moments of the weekend. Added bonus: the band chiding the audience to sing along with them ("Sing, ya' bastards!" )... God bless the Irish!

Naughty Old Ladies: I think one of the things that shocked me most over the weekend were the guys in the streets handing out porn flyers and brochures to all that passed by. I guess it makes sense, with it being Vegas and all, but unless you're a local, I guess it still catches you off-guard. Favorite moment: The guys in the streets handing a flier to an older woman, who not only took it, but KEPT it! "Hey, whatever floats your boat," I joked to the others. "Everyone's gotta get their freak on." 

Dancing Fools: Through some strange twist of fate, I found myself at the Bachelorette party Friday evening, which, thank the good Lord, didn't involve naked men prancing about. It did, however, involve a trip to a local all-night arcade (God bless Vegas!), where the bride-to-be and several others discovered the joy of Dance Dance Revolution! I have to give them credit, after a few rounds of practice, they were getting pretty good at it! Even more shocking was when both Justin and I took to the machine (without much alcohol, mind you), and didn't do half bad! And then Jenna (the bride to be) kicked us up to 'Normal', and it was all downhill from there... either way, I can easily see myself getting into this!

Latest Mutilation of my Name: Damania. Actually it wasn't so much of a mutilation as it was the result of an interesting placement of letters on my airline ticket. They stuck my middle initial ('A') next to my name, which resulted in the current version. Though I have to admit, I kind of like that one...

Random Quote: "Nah, the aliens only come to get you like every 2 years or something... and even then, it's just a cursory probing!" -- Heather's response to me after I asked if there were any sort of undercurrents going on in Vegas that I should know about, since she may be looking at going to grad school out that way in the future. Apparently I need to worry more about the aliens sneaking out of Area 51 than anything else... they'll be no probing over this way, fools!

Current Mood: Feeling good! AWA was the bomb-diggity, and I got away without having to sell a kidney or a portion of my soul. Also, I'll be heading out to Vegas in a matter of hours, which should prove interesting, since I've never been out that far west. While there won't be gambling or drunken revelry (I AM attending a wedding, after all), I'm sure I'm going to have a good time. I mean, c'mon! It's Vegas!

WWE- More Observations: Two words- Ladder Match! Christian and RVD went buck-wild during that thing! Those two have been amongst my favorite wrestlers on the RAW roster for quite some time now, and I'm glad they got a chance to really shine in the main event spot. To cap it off, I'm glad that RVD picked up the win... I would have been happy either way, but it's good to see the strap back on one of the more underrated guys on the roster.

Mani- Manwhore? : As I was hanging up clothes from the past weekend, I couldn't help but notice that in the pockets of my leather pants (yes, I own a pair of leather pants) were two crumpled up and VERY sweaty dollar bills. "Whoa, what were YOU doing that weekend?" my mom joked when I told her about it. If I was dancing about, I think they'd have been shoved in the waist, personally. Also, and I don't mean to brag, but if I HAD been dancing for tips, I think I'd have had more than just a mere two dollars... =D

Shout-outs and Fans! :  I'd like to give a quick shout-out to my friend Donald, who called me out the blue a few days ago, and humbly requested that I get back to work on my commentary for Final Fantasy Origins. All in due time! Classes are pretty insane right about now!

?whatis irony: Irony is walking past the bathroom, and hearing your mother singing "Smooth" from Supernatural in the shower. I knew my mom was a Santana fan from long ago, but she's also an ordained pastor! You just don't expect things like that!

Random Quote: "Alright! Maybe I can get Monica to sign my panties! Aw, sh*t..." -- Ben on Sunday, prior to our lunch Monica Rial, lovely and talented voice actress (who even stopped by our room party for a bit on Saturday!). Though the name of her current project eludes me at this time, I do know that the box set came with, believe it or not, a pair of (unworn!) panties. Ben picked up said set, and was all set for getting Monica to sign his panties, up until the looks and laughs he got from the rest of the group.

Current Mood: Much better! It was an ugly week, with both my first test and project hitting within the span of two days. There was a certain lack of sleep this past weekend, but I'm pleased to say that I'm back up to speed. Of course that all changes in the next day or so, but hey, I'm a big boy! Who needs sleep, anyway? : D

One Down, Two to Go: Irony of all ironies, mere moments after I posted last week's update, I get an invitation to go see Once Upon a Time in Mexico with Kris (webmaster of Animation HQ) and company. And I have to say, it was pretty good! Of course Desperado's a tough act to follow, but Mexico is at least worthy of being in the same legacy. As to be expected, Johnny Depp was freaking hilarious! And was it just me, but towards the end of the movie (when he was totally clad in black), did he not look just like Michael Jackson? Next on the list, Underworld, followed by Kill Bill!

Cowboy Bebop- A Quick Observation: Something I meant to mention last week, but Heather made an interesting observation about everyone's favorite psychotic sword-swinging badass, Vicious. "He looks a lot like David Bowie," she noticed. And by golly, she's right! I'd never thought about it until she pointed it out, but you really can't deny the resemblance between the two! Art imitates life, it seems...

?whatis irony: Irony is watching the crazy, apocalyptic street-preacher woman get on the train the exact moment The End is Here begins playing on your CD player. I could not have planned that one better if I had tried.

Current Mood: Feeling good! I've been back in town for a couple of hours, having taken a family-and-friends trip up to Rome to see Heather give her Senior presentation. Of course there were some technical difficulties (see this week's Random Quote), but her presentation went off without a hitch. I'm often prone to teasing Heather for going to such a small school ("You can quite literally know everyone on campus!" she joked today), but I have to say that its really grown on me. I guess my city-boy mentality is used to the hustle and bustle of a large campus (I still don't think my Art History prof knows my name!), but having one of Heather's professors join us for lunch was quite nice. OK, so Shorter's not THAT bad... : )

Movies, Movies, Movies! : The big news- Underworld comes out tomorrow! I'd love to see that one opening night, as I'm sure all of the freaks will be out that night. Of course there's still Once Upon a Time in Mexico, which has been out for a couple of weeks now. I definitely need to check that one out, seeing as it's the sequel to one of my all-time favorite movies. And last but not least, I finally saw a preview to Kill Bill, Quentin Tarrentino's latest. I've been hearing bits and pieces about it for quite some time now, but seeing the preview just pushed it into that Must See category for me. I need to make some time for some good old cinematic goodness...

WWE: More Observations: Lita is back! And girl is looking GOOD! But really, I'm glad that she's recovered from her neck injury- things haven't been the same in the women's division since she's been gone. Also, since this update's going up a bit later than usual, I can actually comment on Smackdown! for a change. The Iron Man match between Brock and Angle did not disappoint! That was my first Iron Man match, and you can't beat the fact that it was on free TV. Despite the fact that it went for an hour, I was into it from the word go. Those two guys are mutants, I tell you. And this further solidified an observation I've made in the past- Kurt Angle has the best moonsault in the business, hands down!

Anime, Symbolism, and Wicked Gunfights [SPOILER FREE!]: Heather and I had the pleasure of witnessing a double-feature of anime goodness a few nights ago, as Adult Swim not only showed the last episode of Trigun, but Cowboy Bebop as well. Heather had been following Trigun more so on this go-round, so she had a much better understanding of what was going on. She even went as far as to point out a lot of Biblical imagery, from Cain and Abel, to the crucifixion. Bebop's observations weren't nearly as deep, but you can't deny the coolness of that last gunfight. If nothing else, it really hammered the point home that it does indeed have one of the coolest soundtracks in anime. Me and my friend Jake constantly debate which show has the best final gunfight, with him saying Bebop, and  me being of the Trigun camp. They both kicked their fair share of the booty!

Soul Calibur 2- A Quick Observation: Of course anyone that's played the game with any sort of frequency will notice that a random character will say the "SOUL CALIBUR 2!" intro from time to time. My most recent one was who I believe to be the English dub of Yoshimitsu, who I swear to goodness sounds just like the actor Mako! I was half-expecting to hear the intro voiceover from Conan the Barbarian after that!

And In Case You Forgot... : AWA is in two weeks! WHOOOOOOOOO!

Random Quote: "This is what happens when you have a school with no computer science department." -- Me to dad today during some of the technical difficulties experienced at Heather's Senior seminar. It seems that the connection from the computer to the projector was being a bit insane, which prompted some delays. Of course I joked that something like that wouldn't have happened at a tech school, since I'm sure you'd have all kinds of computer geeks in the audience willing to help out.

Me At A Glance - 09/11/03

Current Mood: Reflective, but all in all not bad. I'm finally adjusting to Graphic Design, which promises to have me running all over Atlanta trying to find all of these supplies! Also, it seems that I'm going to have a pretty full schedule in these coming weeks. We've got AWA at the end of the month, followed immediately by a trip with Heather to Las Vegas to ATTEND a wedding, and it seems that a few weeks after that will see us at the Highland Games at Stone Mountain. I am going to be one frantic mofo in these coming weeks!

Here Comes a New Challenger! : It has just come to my attention that apparently at this year's AWA, there will be a massive Soul Calibur 2 tournament on all systems! Am I entering? Despite the fact that I'm quite the passable bad-ass, I know that there are some people out there that are just SCARY when it comes to that game. Keeping this in mind, though,  I'm quite anxious to see where I rank amongst the pecking order. I'm signing up the moment I get there- let the practice begin!

WWE: More Observations: I'm sorry, but I just had to laugh at Lance Storm's attempts at gaining a personality! The man is very subtle, and the expressions on his face are just hilarious when something went his way. The highlight, however, came from when he won the match and began dancing BADLY to celebrate! Sidenote: Every time I see her, I swear to goodness that Ms. Jackie's outfits are made of nothing more than body paint and tassels... she's gotten into much better shape since Tough Enough, I'll give her credit for that!

Daughter of the Demoness: I have seen the successor to Anna Nicole Smith, and her name is Jessica Simpson. I meant to mention this last week, after Heather and I caught a couple of episodes of Newlyweds. A step above spore mold in intelligence, but not quite as high as head cheese, I had to fight from kicking the TV every time she said anything. This was a prime example of what I've come to call Train-Wreck Curiosity; despite how disturbing the images may be, you just can't seem to pull yourself away from it. Please, dear God, do not allow this woman to procreate.

On the subject of Evil Lineages: An interesting discussion broke out during our gaming session last weekend. I simply asked the question that if Satan is referred to as The Prince of Darkness, then who would be the King of Darkness? Does Satan have a daddy? "Screw his dad," Aaron then stated. "I'd be worried about his mother!" Quite the valid point as well...

Socialism at GSU: I swear to goodness that we've got a campus organization for everything at State. They've been fairly outspoken as of late, especially after a columnist in the school paper stated that, while well intentioned, the movement as a whole was flawed. Now, I'm not the most politically minded individual out there, but I happen to like our Capitalist system. Is there something wrong with being rewarded for working hard? It seems as if the Socialists want you to feel guilty for having money. Whatever happened to being able to keep what you earn? If everyone was given the same share of money regardless, where's the incentive to do anything and get ahead? Some jobs should pay more than others! I'll tell you one thing, my happy ass certainly wouldn't be in college if I knew I was going to make the same thing coming out as I would going in.

Quick Observation: When did the 80's Bitch-Boots come back into style? I've been seeing more and more of those ugly-assed things day in and day out, it seems...

Random Quote: "Oh, French-Fried Fruit Bats!" -- Dena this past weekend, recounting a tale of woe at Dragon*Con a few weekends ago. Dena tries to refrain from using flowery language from time to time, but sometimes, someone has to say something to get the point across. Typically it's not quite as random as THIS, but it works.

Current Mood: Well rested for a change! I'm not used to getting this much sleep when I have work and school to deal with. I guess accidentally falling asleep early does have its benefits. School's been sane so far... Art History's just been reading and note taking so far, while we just completed a mini-project in Graphic Design based on The Jabberwocky. I had forgotten how strange that poem truly is...

Labor Day Weekend: It was a full house over this way as Heather, my sister, and my nephew were all in town this weekend! It was a lovely affair involving some family gatherings (my parents were bowling... and they're GOOD!), and some nice quiet time with my sweet lady (culminating with a lovely lakeside picnic at a local park on Sunday). Definitely better than hanging around with the skanks at Dragon*Con!

The World According to Godzilla: Leave it to my brother to point out that they were showing Godzilla movies on Sci-Fi this past Sunday. And not only that, but these were some of the new ones! Regardless of the apparent cheese-factor that goes with it, I think everyone has a soft-spot for seeing a guy in a rubber suit destroy a scale-model of Tokyo. I have to admit that seeing Godzilla vs. Mothra vs. Ghidora was a bit of a shock, seeing as our boy Godzilla (who I've always classified as a misunderstood good guy) seemed to be the main problem in this one. And quite evil looking, to boot.

Random Godzilla Sidenote: Someone on that set's a wrestling fan. I swear to goodness in Godzilla vs. The-Large-Screeching-Winged-Insect-Who's-Name-Currently-Elludes-Me, after he planted that sucker into the ground, he took a step or two back, and nailed that sum' bitch with a Lou Thesz Press that'd make the Rattlesnake proud!

Soul Calibur 2- The Update: Most recent conquest has been the unlocking of my girl (and one of Heather's favorite characters) Seung Mina. She's just as mean as I remember her being. I'm also getting the hang of Talim, who is just insanely fast once you get her going. Ironically, I haven't used Taki much, who was more or less my favorite in the original Soul Blade.

Random Soul Calibur 2 Sidenote: While he was already in the running for my favorite character in the game, having just unlocked Raphael's Exhibition Movie just pushed him over the edge. Very stylish, very appropriate, and very nice! My favorite thus far, right behind Kilik's.

Random Quote: "I may be a flamer, but I'm not gay!" -- This came from Keith, as he, TC, and Galen were discussing his character from the game TC's running based on the anime Psychic Academy. As you can probably assume, the guy's a fire elemental, and I believe some jokes were tossed around about the guy being 'flaming'. This was Keith's response, which will now continue to bite him in the ass for the rest of his days.

Current Mood: Adjusting! School was back in session this week, and I have to say that GSU is CRAWLING with freshmen this year! The bookstore looked like they were giving away free crack, it had so many people in there! Anyway, classes are fairly sane thus far, and for the first time in I don't know how many semesters, I actually have friends in some of these classes! I can't wait to get unleashed on the G4's we'll be eventually using in Graphic Design. Fear my destructive path! 

Rise of the Machines: No, not the movie, but it seems that everyone's dealing with computer issues this week. Ironically enough, however, I'm not included with that lot! First off, it seems that the network up at Shorter's been acting crazy, which prohibits Heather's online access, and is generally driving her up the wall. And, at work today, not only did our system go down, but the entire Gingiss network... right in the middle of a rush! I guess it just goes to show how dependent we've become on computers as a whole. Technology, we are your bitch.

Geek Status- Redeemed: Guess who FINALLY saw Daredevil? And I have to say, Matt Murdock is one smooth mother when dealing with the ladies! Anywho, I have to say that I rather enjoyed it... much grittier than your standard super hero fair, which gets bonus points in my eyes. The life of a super hero (typically) is not one of glamour! Also, Bullseye was freaking INSANE! 

Soul Calibur 2: The Verdict: Like you have to ask. Kicks more ass than a militant centipede!

Another Reason to Love the XBox: I finally saw the full trailer for Ninja Gaiden a few days ago, and it took everything in my power not to start humping the console. You have to understand, I've been a Ninja Gaiden fan since the 8-bit era (#2 in particular!), and I was psyched when I heard they were finally doing a sequel. One thing I did notice, though... to those that have seen the trailer, am I insane, or did I catch a glimpse of Ayame from Dead or Alive in there? Oh, Microsoft... damn you and your wonderful drugs...

Latest Mutilation of my Name: "Don Damani". Apparently I stuttered briefly when giving someone my name a few days ago, and now I've got this whole mafia thing going now.

Retail Tales of Woe: A coworker's husband works security at a department store at one of the local malls, and shared this gem with us. A couple of young ladies tried on some lingerie, but decided not to get them, and put them back on the rack. Not a problem, until a gentleman came by, took the lingerie, and began rubbing them all over his head and face. But wait, it gets better... dude then apparently took a pair of women's pants, tossed them on the ground, leapt upon and began HUMPING them in the middle of the isle! He's grabbing the pants legs and wrapping them around his waist, and just going to town on them! Of course security's all over him by this point, but still... what goes on in the minds of some people?

Random Quote: "Well, shizzle my nizzle!" -- Heather to me earlier this week, as we were discussing the pros and cons of Macs, believe it or not. I made the comment that 'They be the bomb for graphics, yo!', to which she replied the following. I've heard the term countless times, but I've still got no clue as to what it means... regardless, hearing it come from Heather just cracked me up to no end.

Current Mood: Good, but a tad bit anxious. School starts back up on Monday, and I guess I'm as ready as I'm going to be. Fall semester at GSU's always interesting, as the place seems to be CRAWLING with incoming freshmen. I swear to goodness, our Quad looks like a freaking traffic jam between classes! Such is life on the campus of one of the busiest schools in the state, I suppose.

Looking Forward To: The Medallion, which as my memory serves, opens tomorrow. The more I see the commercials for it, the more and more I'm reminded of The Golden Child, for some odd reason. From what I've gathered thus far, we've got the mysterious child with powers, the evil mofo trying to capture him, the girl with mad martial arts skills, and of course, the police officer to save the day. Don't get me wrong, I love The Golden Child, and I'm sure The Medallion is going to kick the booty as well! It's just an observation, that's all!

More Demon-Spawned Computer Problems: More computer crap-ups! I managed to tweak things enough to get some stability in the system, but for how long? Taking an opportunity to speak with Galen, Master of all Things Computer, he seems to think it might be RAM-related. Looks like I'll be trying to upgrade this mother once I actually get some time. Don't crash on me just yet, you beast!

"A Tale of Soul and Sword, Eternally Told..." : Soul Calibur II comes out in less than a week! There's been a wide gap between decent game releases as of late, so I'm glad that this gem is going to take me out of the doldrums. And on the subject of upcoming games, I'm getting more and more psyched for Gladius... who doesn't want to control your own team of gladiators, and send them forth to smite their enemies in vicious combat? After all, according to Conan the Barbarian, is that not part of what is good in life? And in case you need a reminder...

What is Good in Life?: "To crush the enemy! To see them driven before you! And to hear the lamentations of the women!" -- Conan the Barbarian

Random Quote: "SPEAK UP! Speak up before I punch you in your ass!!" -- Me earlier this week in regards to a customer, who would mumble and not speak up AT ALL. Enunciate, people, ENUNCIATE! Keep in mind that this was said to a coworker AFTER the incident, and not TO the customer himself... what kind of freak do you take me for, anyway? 

Current Mood: Guess who didn't have to go in for Jury Duty today? HA! I usually end up getting released after I get there, but this time I didn't have to come in at all. This simply meant that I spent the day messing around on the computer and lounging around the house. I would have preferred to have gotten out of the house and done something, but I guess I can't complain. I got some stuff done today, so I'm not going to argue.

WWE: A Quick Observation: I'm watching Smackdown! as I update this, and I have to say that I'm getting more and more amused by The Basham Brothers and Shaniqua (AKA Linda Miles from Tough Enough 2) the more I see them in action. The whole bondage/S&M thing just cracks me up for whatever sick reason. Favorite line of the night so far comes from Tazz as Shaniqua power-bombs Nidia- "My goodness, she's like, ten feet tall!"

Dragon*Con a No-Go!: Looks like I won't be attending Dragon*Con this year, seeing as Heather will be coming into town that weekend, and with it being our two year anniversary and all, is probably time best not spent in the company of Atlanta's best selection of counter-culture. Exactly what we're going to end up doing is still up in the air, but we may end up ducking out of town for a bit during that weekend. Plans are still being solidified!

What This Means to AWA, However... : ...is simply that I'm going to have to be twice as buck-wild this year. Hide the goat! : D

Hair (Or Lack Thereof) Advice: I have a tendency to keep my hair very short, and I bought another pair of hair clippers recently, seeing as my normal pair had just up and died on me. Having been used to dealing with the semi-dullness with the others, I wasn't quite expecting these to cut like they did! For about two days I was so bald, you could have seen what I was thinking! It's grown back a bit now, so I no longer look like a beige egg. Of course, seeing as how well these things cut, maybe I can pass for Rude from Final Fantasy VII at AWA this year (if the FFVII cosplay group hasn't found one already, of course). We'll have to see about that one, as I tend to like having just a tad bit more hair than that.

Demon-Spawned Computer Problems: I'm used to the computer crapping on me on occasion, but earlier this week I thought I was going to have to throw this sucker out of the window and follow up with an elbow drop. Long story short is that I ran every virus scan, utility, and then some; it seems that everything's in working order. Then, I took a look at the temp directory, and noticed that sucker had about 3 gigs worth of CRAP in there! Part of me wants to blame the CD Burner for that one, but the bottom line is that things are on the up and up again. Or, so it seems. Awaiting future crap-ups.

Random Side Effect: I have never pulled a quicker backup of my stuff in my life, once the computer started acting up! I think the first thing that came to mind was the writing, but I made a backup of everything I could possibly think of saving. Hey, better safe than sorry!

Where the Dogs (of War) At? : Guess who should come sneaking into town this past weekend but the Don Tigrr himself, Galen? And there was much violence and trash talking thrown about as games of Capcom vs. Snk 2 take place, and the like. Sidenote: I really need to get my hands on Guilty Gear X2!

Random Quote: "If she bent over, I would have seen her uterus." -- Alicia from work's been racking up quotes here as of late, as this particular one came from her as well. Apparently a girl she knew was wearing a dress that must not have been very high, as she felt this would be the case if the lass bent over. Ladies: don't share all of your secrets with the world!

Current Mood: Classes start again on the 25th! No rest for the weary, eh? It looks like this time through I'll be taking Intro to Graphic Design, along with an Art History course focusing on Ancient Rome; I would have preferred Greece, but hey, the Romans were good people too. I've also got Jury Duty this Thursday; hopefully I'll keep my previous streak alive, and be released at a decent time so I can mess around for the rest of the day. However, it seems that every time I'm waiting to be called, I get some sort of writing done; that's another streak I'd like to keep alive as well : )

WWE- Some Observations: This was one of those rare occasions that I managed to catch Smackdown!, seeing as it was a rare Thursday where I didn't have to work. Very impressive show all around, but is it just me, or is Charlie Haas looking more and more like the devil every time I see him? It's got to be the goatee... RAW was entertaining as well, with their main event for Summerslam just getting downright insane with the inclusion of the Elimination Chamber. Also, it never ceases to amuse me whenever the WWE's in Canada, especially when the crowd counts the near-falls ("TWO!!"). I dunno, maybe I'm just silly like that.

Mistress of the Turtles: Heather's spending a few more days helping the baby turtles. Pretty soon they're going to make her their Queen, I tell you...

Still Full of Geek Shame: I still have yet to pick up Daredevil! However, I'm not fully to blame this time. I had some time off last week and made it a point to stop by the Sam Goody's at Underground Atlanta and pick it up. No one told me, however, that it was closed down! Denied, I settled for having lunch at Hooters and headed home. And from that comes another observation...

Back in the Day: I remember back in high school, when going to Hooters was a pretty big deal! Heck, it seemed like the high school equivalent of a strip club back then! We'd just sit around, eat, and stare at every large-breasted creature that walked by; nowadays (well for me, at least), it's just another place to have lunch. Sure, there's still the cleavage, but it just all sort of fades in the background. Am I getting old, or am I just whipped? You decide...

Jean-Claude Van Dam- An Observation: I happened to catch Timecop a few days ago, and I couldn't help but notice something. Why does Van Dam have so many fight scenes in his underwear? Was it something written into his contracts back then? It's a little disturbing to see a guy doing the high kicks and splits in a pair of boxers, I'll have you know.

ATL, yo: Dad and I happened to be switching channels a few nights ago, and came across Blind Date and noticed that they were in Atlanta! They were touring Underground Atlanta (right around the corner from GSU, by the way), and even went to a candle shop down there that Heather and I spent some time at once. It just seemed odd seeing places you've been to and recognize on TV like that.

Return of the Ninja I finally picked up a used copy of Tenchu 3: Wrath of Heaven earlier this week, and I have to say that I officially love the series again. I loved the original, but the second game left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth; the third one, however, is a return to the greatness of the original. Sure, there's the occasional camera issue, but nothing fans of the series aren't used to. Also, there's a soundtrack to this one! That was one of the things that pissed me off the most about the second one, the fact that there was NO FREAKING MUSIC during the missions! The series has always had an eclectic sound to it, and I'm glad they brought that back. And to really seal the deal, Onikage is BACK! Bring it on, you Crow-looking freak!

Random Quote: "I make everything better! I'm walking Valium!" -- A guy this past week getting fitted for a tuxedo for his friend's wedding. I've enjoyed working with this party since they registered their wedding, and it's just little things like this that crack me up. Also, the guy sort of reminded me of my friend Bart in Ohio, as that seemed like the sort of comment he'd have thrown out randomly.

Current Mood: Summer classes are done! Whooooo! I have to say that I rather enjoyed Life Drawing, and not just because I was drawing random naked people day in and day out. I really did learn a lot from that class about proportions, shadowing, and things of that nature. Now, I've got about a good month before Fall starts, which means that I can... well, there's not much I CAN do with the summer, seeing as I've been working crackhead hours at work again. But things are falling into place for AWA nicely, and perhaps even Dragon*Con as well. Plus, there's a trip I need to make up to Rome in September to see a presentation that Heather's giving. Oh, and I've got Jury Duty next month too. These next few weeks will be interesting.

The Wrath of Strong Bad: The influence of Strong Bad is spreading! This past week I exposed TC to the awesomeness that is Strong Bad, and he's been randomly shouting "TROGDOR!" ever since. Neil's familiar with the site, but had yet to see any of the episodes... I'm going to make it a point to show him a few next time I'm at his place.

Off Again!: She's only been back home for a few days, and Heather's off again to save the environment! Well, maybe not that extreme, but she's participating in a sea turtle rescue for the next few days; living in coastal Georgia gives her the chance to do things like that from time to time. Have fun!

Geek Shame and a Chance at Redemption: As painful as it is for me to admit, I've never gotten around to seeing Daredevil. HOWEVER, it came out on DVD yesterday, so I'm making it a point to pick it up. Neil went as far as to say that he liked parts of it more than Spiderman, equating it to the first Batman (which still stands as one of my all-time favorite movies). I'll be picking that mofo up really soon...

Anticipating: Soul Calibur 2 and Gladius. There haven't been too many games to catch my eye as of late (except for maybe Knights of the Old Republic, which is on the XBox... cruel fate...), but I'm looking forward to both releases. I'm still annoyed that PS2 owners get stuck with the lamest of the hidden characters in SC2; who in the hell thought Heihachi and his no-weapon carrying ass would be a good choice? Link and Medieval Spawn kick so much more booty!

WTF? : I took it upon myself to go see Dead or Alive Final, which was showing at Cinefest, our recently reopened theater on campus. I heard the first one was pretty wild, so I was pretty stoked about seeing this one. As expected, the action sequences were insane, but WHAT THE [insert string of murderous obscenities here] WAS UP WITH THAT ENDING?! Would it have made more sense if I'd seen the other movies? My head hurts just thinking about it...

CrossGen Comics: I picked up the trade paperback to Sojourn a while back, followed by one for Scion last week. I rather enjoyed both, but I can't help but notice a lot of Star Wars parallels with Scion. We've got visits from ghosts, little humped-back green guys acting as guides, and swords made of energy. Good stuff though... I'm making it a point to check out some of CrossGen's other stuff as well. Next on the list- Meridian!

Completely Out of the Blue: It appears that I'm a god-uncle now; for you laymen, that's means not-related-to-the-family-but-might-as-well-be friend of mine just had a child. Imagine my shock when I received a call Monday, and to hear the news from Raphael, who we haven't heard much anything from as of late! I guess that explains things a bit... either way, he and Michelle are the proud parents of a son, Devin! Congratulations, you sneaky bastard!

Pet Peeve: This one comes from work, as I've got a coworker that, without fail, will always call the child carrying the ring in a wedding the Ring Burier, as apposed to Ring Bearer. What, does this kid take the ring out back and bury it like a dog?

From the Archives! : Digging through some of the random files I have on the computer, I stumbled across my first attempt at a Club Ninja banner. Simplicity was the mantra, as I'd never designed a banner before. However, I'm still trying to figure out what I was thinking when I came up with the caption. 

And no, this is NOT an official Club Ninja banner!

Random Quote: "Hi! I'm a dyslexic pimp!" -- An observation from me earlier this week as Neil and I witnessed a massive pimp-mobile on the expressway that quite obviously wanted to turn left, yet had the right blinker on. Observations like this are just natural, I suppose.

And One More for the Road: "God protects idiots, drunks, and babies!" -- George's reaction during a conversation we were having at work last week in regards to the genius that is Anna Nicole Smith. The success of that airheaded skank is truly a sign that the end is upon us. Let's all go out and boink near-dead millionaires into the grave and claim their loot!

Me At A Glance - 07/17/03

Current Mood: Mellow... the semester's coming to a close in about a week and a half, which means that I can return to a semi-normal sleeping pattern in the near future. Now the question is, what to take this coming semester? More than likely I'm going to end up in Intro to Graphic Design, but I need to decide what else I'm going to take. I can still squeeze in some Drawing and Painting courses, or maybe I can try my hand at Photography. The good thing about the major is that I've got a lot of leeway as far as what classes I can take. 

On Panel?: It has come to my attention that Animation HQ (sponsors of this fine site) will be involved with a couple of panels over the course of Anime Weekend Atlanta, and there's a chance that I might get snagged to be a rep for one. Not that I have any idea what I'd say, but I think it could be fairly humorous to say the least. I'll keep you Ninja-Heads posted on what develops.

Safe and Sound: Heather's back home from her Avian stalking ordeal back in Texas! Welcome home, Heather, and I'm glad that a mad ostrich (or heaven forbid, an emu) didn't run off with you!

WWE: More Observations: Kane done lost his damned mind! The Big Red Machine's always been one of my favorite wrestlers, so I'm very curious as to how they're going to handle him since his unmasking. I have to say that I'm happy with what they're doing so far, making him seem much more disturbed than we originally thought. Favorite line of the night- "If you make fun of me, JR, I will SET YOU ON FIRE!"

Vampire's Kiss?: I noticed a few days ago that I've got what looks to be healed over fang marks on my neck. Odd thing is, I recall seeing something like that on my neck sometime last year as well. Heather's not in town, so that eliminates that theory. However, I can't help but notice that the marks seem to be pretty close together, like I got bitten by something fairly small. Am I being stalked by a petite vampire or something?

General Advice: Ladies- if your outfit is so short that you can see the bottom of your butt-cheeks (cuppage, as Chris likes to call it), and you're not a stripper... and if you are, you're NOT at work... then your shorts might be a little too short. I saw this girl at the mall wearing what amounted to black panties a few days ago; I know it was a nice day and all, but even still... don't you feel a draft?

What's In a Name? : Another name that we have on the books at work, that being Dijohn. Now, it's bad enough that you named your child after mustard, but why go the extra mile and jack up the spelling as well?

Random Quote: "Damn! Did you pass gas or shit?!" -- Another gem from my coworker Alicia, who swears more than a drunken sailor with Tourette's. This came about as a friend and her newborn daughter stopped by for a moment... apparently whatever the youngster had for lunch wasn't quite agreeing with her, which resulted in the aforementioned statement.

Current Mood: Good! And busy! Things are picking up at school, so my free time's been pretty sapped of late. It always seems that I'm most inspired when I've got the most crap to do. The big thing right now is that I'm trying to figure out if I can balance both Dragon*Con and Anime Weekend Atlanta this year like I was hoping to. I'm definitely hitting AWA as I have in years past, but Dragon*Con's weighing heavily on me. We shall see what develops!

WWE: More Observations: I meant to mention this last week, but I probably laughed at Rico and Maven's match more than anything I've seen on RAW of late. I dunno, something about seeing Rico prance about the ring like a psychotic faerie and not only pinch Maven's butt, but offer him a hotel room key just had me laughing my ass off. Also from last time, every time I see Stacy Kiebler in wrestling attire, I can't help but think that she looks like Samus Aran from Metroid, after she unmasks at the end of the game. 

Sneaky Congrats: I ran into a mutual friend of me and Raphael's a few days ago, who has informed me that Raph has apparently gotten into the Art Institute of Atlanta... and didn't tell anybody! Congratulations, you rat bastard! Call somebody sometime and tell them these things!

Tokyo Breakfast: TC, you jackmule. Why did you have to expose me to this? For the uninitiated, Tokyo Breakfast is a pilot to a Japanese show that, thank the good Lord, never got made. What's the catch? I... I just can't spoil it. Do yourself a favor and look it up. And be prepared to spit out a lung.

What's In a Name? : I was reminded today that we've got a groom on our books at work named Dianysis. Yes, somebody named their child after the Greek god of wine and orgies, and butchered the spelling in the process. Young mothers, please research a name before damning your child with it. He'll have to deal with it long after you're burning in hell for that travesty.

Some Anime Fans- A Gripe: An observation, if you will. I'm noticing more and more than when someone is introducing a newbie to the genre, they tend to pick the most raunchy, tentacle-filled-and-prodding title they can find! Within the span of about two weeks, I've heard two separate tales of anime fans engaging in Baptism by Hentai, so to speak. C'mon, people! Show them Princess Mononoke sometime!

Random Quote: "I'm the Hostess Twinkie of Conversation!" -- We're still trying to figure out the meaning behind this one, but Heather blurted out this gem during a recent talk. What exactly being the Hostess Twinkie of Conversation entails is beyond me. Anyone with any sort of insight, please email me.

Current Mood: Inspired! I've been feeling good and psyched after getting back from Ohio for Origins and Espercon 2K3 (the unofficial name our writer's gathering). I had a hell of a time up there; you know you're in the company of your people when not even an hour passes after your arrival, and you find yourself sword fighting on the front lawn with foam weapons. It was a hell of a weekend!

Currently Listening To: Land Down Under by Men at Work. I'd forgotten how catchy that damned song is... it's going to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day, I just know it. I partially blame Heather for this one. : )

Congratulations! : Congrats go out to my dear friend Chia, who apparently just scored a job in Germany! She'll be in town this weekend, so hopefully I can catch up to her at some point. Since she's been living in Virginia for the past couple of years, we haven't seen much of each other as of late. Here's to hoping for good timing this weekend!

WWE: More Observations: The big news is the fact that Kane, perhaps one of my favorite wrestlers of all time, finally unmasked. I really liked the mystique that surrounded the big dude, so I was against the idea at first. However, I think it could possibly work out in the long run. Though I can't help but notice, but with the shaved head, Kane now looks like a much more insane Nathan Jones. Which is pretty bad in its own right, seeing as Nathan Jones looks insane enough to punch Mike Tyson in the nuts... I'm curious to see what develops from here.

What's in a Name? : Now, I'm used to having my name butchered in unique and creative ways, but it gets to a point where you just want to hurt somebody. Take for example the obnoxious older man that we had in the store last week, who would constantly ask what my name was, and make the occasional crack. "Wow, your parents really must not have liked you!" "Zayas? That's even worse than your first name!" Now it may have been done in good humor, but that didn't make it any less annoying. I'm normally not an advocate for beating the ever-loving hell out of the elderly, but I'm prepared to make the occasional exception. Jackass.

Marvel Mangaverse, Volume 3: Legend of the Spider-Clan: I picked up this trade paperback earlier this week, and I have to say it's quite enjoyable. I was intrigued by the whole retelling of the Spider-Man universe that they touched on in volume one. I dig the whole neo-feudal-Japan aspect of things, especially Venom's kick-ass Ronin look. Random sidenote: I didn't even realize The Devil Hunter was supposed to be Daredevil until I caught a glimpse of the two D's on his outfit several pages after he showed up! Definitely worth picking up.

Random Sidenote: I just saw a commercial for NASCAR Technical Institute. What the hell?

Random Quote: "What the hell where you cooking, a human dog?! Aw, hell... " -- My manager George commenting to us on the horrendous stink carried by a couple of customers, that apparently smelled liked yak loins. Of course it took a split second before he realized the irony of what he said... 

Current Mood: Accomplished. Classes were pretty decent this week, and despite me sucking horribly at it, I'm starting to enjoy Jewelry and Metal Smithing. Life Drawing is cool as always, and I even got to model at some point (fully clothed, mind you...). I had my first Capoeira class this past Friday, and despite the fact that I have the coordination God gave a one-legged white man, I'm quite enjoying it. And in a matter of hours, I'll be in Ohio for not only Origins, but to meet several of the guys that I've been writing with over the years for the first time. I'm really looking forward to it all.

d=m/v : Take for a moment, an observation. A young lady gets on the train and takes a seat in front of me. A few minutes later, a guy boards, and noticing that she's quite a looker, decides to take the seat next to her and begin hitting on her. Apparently he didn't notice something that I picked up on; it seems that the lady is wearing several items depicting a very distinctive rainbow design... you're barking up the wrong tree, dude. I don't think she was digging his vibe. Density... it's not just for chemistry labs : )

Ridge Racer V- A Whole New Race: Despite the fact that it was one of the launch titles for the PS2, I only recently picked the game up ($7.99 used! Booyah!). I was a huge fan of R4, so I was curious to see how the sequel played. Once you get past the load times (forgivable, seeing as it IS a first generation title), I found it to be quite enjoyable. Not quite R4, but still fun. One thing I wasn't expecting, though. In the previous title, I was often prone to picking cars of the Drift variety, seeing as I could powerslide like a mother in those things; I could not STAND the cars with Grip! Well, after trying (and losing!) several races with a Drift, I decided to give Grip a try. Whereas before I had to struggle to even place before, my very first race saw me getting second... it probably would have been first if I hadn't accidentally bumped the guy in front of me on the final stretch. This shall take some adjusting to get used to...

Most Interesting Mutilation of my Name Yet: Damonico. This one came from an older lady from Life Drawing, who's been trying to get my name right since the second day of class. I have to give her credit, though. She's really trying to get it right! But also from a creativity standpoint, I don't think anyone's ever called me that before. I've been called many things in my time (some more favorable than others), but Damonico? That's a first.

Dark Ages: A Lesson Learned: No matter how buck-wild of a Warrior I may think Dunatos is at Sixth Insight, he is not ready to go toe-to-toe with spiders down on the third level of Mileth's crypt. I was standing toe to toe with that thing, but after taking a couple of hits, I felt it was time for a hasty retreat. Of course keep in mind that the spider had to bite me on the ass to take me out (yes, I was fleeing!), but because of it, I now have my first Scar of Sgrios, the god of death. This is not over, crypt spider. I WILL be back for you.

Random Quote: "I'm not slow, I just don't get things as quickly as some people!" -- Summer classes at college reveal many interesting things, including this gem. There are several summer programs going on at GSU for some younger kids as well, and I picked up this fragment of a conversation from a young lady being teased by her friends for being a little slow-witted. Indeed.

Current Mood: TIRED! And heading to bed! But life is good! 

The Time is at Hand: Origins is next weekend. Booyah, baby! More than likely, there won't be an update next week.

Wrestling Observations: First off, let's start with that collapsing ring stunt they pulled with Brock Lesnar and The Big Show last Thursday... I think the crowd put it best with their chants of "Holy Sh*t!" Even if it was rigged to fall like that, that was probably one of the coolest things I had ever seen before. And for the record, this is probably one of the only feuds the Big Show's been a part of in recent memory that I actually care about! Those two seem like they've taken their game to the next level in all of this. Anxiously Awaiting: The debut of Ultimo Dragon!

Worthy of Note: Happy Birthday to Heather on this Saturday! She'll be turning 21, so to all of my fans (yes, both of you), we shall all tip back a drink in her honor! Happy Birthday to you, love! May you have many, many more!

More Worthiness to Note: Congratulations to TC on the birth of his second daughter, Ms. Yasmin Angelique this past week! Now with two daughters, we're kinda curious to see what's going to happen to the remainder of his hair over these next few years.

More Reasons to Fear the Japanese: Several months back I made the comment that watching Godzilla reaffirmed my belief that the Japanese are the most buck-wild people on the planet. This past Sunday, I caught an episode of Most Extreme Elimination Challenge, and that pretty much solidified that whole belief. Some of the abuse they take on that show is INSANE! And the dubbing is too funny for words... I nearly spit out a kidney several times during the course of it!

Dark Ages: The Tale of Dunatos the Warrior: Yes, I elected to take the path of the Warrior. I'm still not what I'd call a badass by any stretch of the word, but I'm learning, and I'm quite capable of dishing out the hurt to crypt spiders and centipedes (I hate those malicious prick creatures!). Evil, beware! There's another hunter in your midst!

Random Quote: "Ape Nuts." -- This came from Galen, as he used to term to describe a bout of insanity recently. I don't think we can ignore other implications behind this...

Current Mood: Hectic, but good! Busy as hell, but I'm coping. This update may seem a bit rushed, but I wanted to get this up ASAP. I'll probably sneak in another ninja-update sometime this weekend!

The Animatrix: See it. Final Flight of the Osiris is insanely cool. That is all.

The Convention Circuit: An Update: Origins in Ohio in two weeks and counting! I'm anxiously looking forward to the opportunity to hang out with a few friends, make some new ones, and to taunt some LARP'ers : )

Also on the Convention Front... : The room for AWA has been secured! I'll be rooming a different crew this year, but I still hope to run into the dudes from years past at some point.

Still Pondering: Dragon*Con... hopefully I can still work that one in, and retain some cash and sanity.

Women's Magazine's: An Observation: I've determined that I couldn't be a Q&A guy for a woman's magazine, especially a wedding guide. I was bored at work a few days ago, and decided to flip through one of the many wedding magazines we have in the store, and was shocked and appalled as to how they touchy they were about not trying to offend somebody. If I get bored enough, I might throw some of those questions up here, followed by responses from me and my friends!

A Return to the Dark Ages: I used to play a very anime-esque online RPG by the name of Dark Ages several years ago, and it seems that recently my  friend Jeremy has discovered the mind-numbing joy of it all. After a quick post of his on the AHQ message board last week inviting us to join him, I took it upon myself to pop back by (10 Day Free Trial! Whoo!). And I fear that I may be sliding into the addiction once again! We'll see what happens at the end of these 10 days. I couldn't get any of the names I wanted (somebody's using both Kagemusha AND Mani!), but I was pleased to note that no one had taken Dunatos, which was my character's name last time. So now he's back, but with a different hairdo, and more than likely won't be a Rogue this time... I'm thinking of making him a Warrior, a protector of the innocent, and stuff like that!

Dark Ages: An Observation: No matter how buck-wild of a peasant I may be currently, at Insight (Level) 4, I'm in no shape to go toe-to-toe with a goblin. Or anything more powerful than a crypt spider, currently. Man, I suck.

Random Quote: "If you love the cake so much, why don't you marry it?!" "I dunno, does it have a ring?" -- Heather finally got a chance to see 'The Matrix: Reloaded' last week, and while she was indeed blown away by it all, the one thing that really seemed to intrigue her was the infamous 'orgasm cake' (if you've seen the movie, you know the cake...). This was a portion from a joking discussion that we had afterwards, whereas she contends that she'd still keep me around if she had that cake, and I've determined that I'd use my skills for evil if I could bake it.

Current Mood: Feeling productive! Why does that always seem to happen right before I head back to school? Classes start back up next week, so I'm still dreading the evil 8AM Life Drawing course. But, it's looking like I'll finally be able to take a Capoeria class this semester! That kicks more ass than I thought was humanly possible!

It Came From the 80's! : It's been a weird, 80's sort of week around here. At trivia this past Wednesday, the answer to one of the music questions was Don't You Want Me Baby by Human League (Holly and I actually did a quick rendition at the table to refresh Masumi's memory). TC popped by the house today, and not only did he bring over a VCD with all of the episodes of Visionaries (which also happens to be the subject of his next RPG campaign), he also brought over something Miriam got on eBay... the freaking GARBAGE PAIL KIDS MOVIE!! You can't get much more vintage 80's than that!

Currently Listening To... : She Blinded me with Science by Thomas Dolby. It continues!

EWR 3.0: I downloaded the latest version a few weeks ago, and the addiction is slowly being rekindled. As per custom I recreated The Asylum as I have with past versions of the game, but decided to have a bit of fun and throw myself in as a heel this time. We're currently the #4 ranked federation, but I'm hoping to change that. WWE, you're going down!

And Speaking of Wrestling... : Kurt Angle's back! Whoooooo! It's good to see the man back in action. I loved the vignettes that they were playing to hype his return to Clocks by Cold. Also, it was sad to hear about the passing of 'Classy' Freddie Blassie earlier this week. Another legend, gone to that big ring in the sky. He'll be missed.

Current Favorite Insult: Crotch-Pheasant, as said by Stewie on The Family Guy earlier this week. God bless that show.

Random Quote: "My uncle Mani? He's white!" -- My nephew Isaiah this past weekend. He just happened to be in town for the weekend, so it was good to get to see the little bugger again. Even still, it doesn't pay to be the palest person in the Zayas household, seeing as that's how he describes me to the rest of his family. I've got a Chocobo's butt with that boy's name on it!

Current Mood: Sane! Days off rock. I'll be back in school in about two weeks, so I'm going to enjoy this last bit of freedom before then. With prom season being over, we're going back to normal hours at the store, which means that paydays won't be nearly the event they were these past few weeks; but on the plus side, it means that I actually will have some free time to do things. And free time is a good thing, yes?

Of Avians and Coral Snakes: Heather is safe and sound in Texas, this time doing a project with birds. She's only been there for about a week, and already she's seen a highly venomous snake lurking around! She'll actually have internet access this time, so we can actually keep up with each other. Yay for nature and technology!

Reloaded! : Good heavens... The Matrix: Reloaded be the bomb, yo! That was just wild... of course there's still lots of questions floating around, but hey, that's what the third one's for. The infamous burly brawl (Neo vs. about 100 Agent Smiths) was ungodly cool, and the freeway chase was INSANE! It seems to have more introspective dialogues than most Anime, so be prepared for that. Also, a word to the wise; that sucker clocks in at a near bladder-busting three hours, so be careful what you drink beforehand.

Near-Random Quote for This Week: "Dude... I swear I'm going to piss in this cup!" -- Neil, as we watched Reloaded, and he began to regret drinking that gut-busting Coke.

WWE and Triple H: An Observation: Now, I've noticed that Triple H has been changing his trunks up a bit lately, and I know I've made several cracks on the purple ones he wears on occasion. But I noticed something on RAW last Monday... since when did he complete the ensemble with the matching boots? And on a random sidenote, I have to say that I like Christian's new look, and this feud he's got going with Booker T currently; I'd like to see those two go at it at the next PPV.

Happy Belated Birthday! : Another birthday wish this week, this being for the lovely Ms. Kelly, harpist extraordinaire and all around good friend. Sorry I didn't catch you earlier this week! I hope the day treated you well!

DMob: Taken Down! : I finally beat Def Jam Vendetta! It was a vicious bout with Proof and DMob, but I learned a very valuable lesson that seems so obvious, but is yet so profound; it's all about the momentum. Despite the fact that you may be getting pounded like a porn star into the canvas, if you can land that big move at the right time, you came end the match in a hurry. I'm going back through with Tank currently- if you improve his abysmal speed and charisma early on, he's a pretty decent character. Just beat Nore senseless, and I've got my first tag match coming up. Here we go again!

Weddings, Babies, and Black-Hearted Vengeance: Everyone working at our store went out to dinner this past Sunday to ESPN Zone, celebrating our dear friend Anny (former member of our staff, now working at the Perimeter Mall location) upcoming wedding and baby. We had a very good time, and after dinner even spent some time in the arcade. Things got a bit vicious when Chris, Donald and I went at it in Daytona; Donald is by far the most malicious person I've ever raced against in that game. Very few people actually make it a point to run into you as you try and pass, and take it upon themselves to yell "This is MY house!" as they run you off the road. This is not over, Donald. Not by a longshot.

Random Quote: "Man, your cel phone's so old, it's got a rotary dialer!" -- Chris to Emmanuel earlier this week, joking about the retro-styled wood paneling face he currently has on his phone. And speaking of those two, they're two of the main forces behind Total Experience; if you dig artwork, poetry, and things of that nature, check them out. And join their message board too, while you're at it!

Current Mood: Brain capacity is pretty much back to normal! Work is sane, and I'm all paid up for classes. Granted this means that my finances are screaming at me currently, but at least yesterday was a payday. All is well in the Zayas camp!

X2: Ringing Endorcement: I meant to mention this last week, but if you haven't seen X2 yet, I highly recommend that you do so! Better than the original, if you're a fan, you'll be in geek heaven. Even if you're not a fan, you can't go wrong with this. Not only was I psyched that they did Nightcrawler justice (that opening scene was UNREAL!), but I really got a kick out of the occasional cameo they threw in (Colossus! COLOSSUS!). With what they eluded to at the end (don't worry, I won't spoil it for you like some JACKMULE did for me), I can't wait to see the next movie. Next on the list- The Matrix: Reloaded!

And Speaking of The Matrix... : I got to play see the XBox version of the game in action a few days ago (promo copy sent to Software, Etc), and my goodness... that sucker is beyond bad-assed. That'll be added to the collection soon enough.

A Day of Lords and Ladies: Heather and I got to attend the Georgia Renaissance Festival this past Sunday, and had a wonderful time! And yes, we were even in garb! It's been a while since I've been out there, so I'm glad that we got a chance to check it out this year. Although we did get caught in the rain at one point, we still managed to have a blast. But the biggest shock of all was that we didn't get too crazy with money spending! We did pick up a couple of things though... nothing says loving like a matching set of Osiris and Isis daggers... I didn't snag any swords, but I ALMOST bought a pair of some really nice boots... damn, those things were nice... but since I didn't spend too much money...

Origins- The Verdict: I'm in! Booyah! : D This will be only my second out-of-state con since Katsucon several years ago. I'm looking forward to attending, and finally getting a chance to meet several of my online friends that I've been speaking to since about '96 or so. This will also be my best chance to beat the hell out of Prometheus with a kendo stick, so of course I can't let that pass by!

Cowboy Bebop- Another Verdict: Despite the fact that I've owned the complete collection for the better part of a year, I FINALLY finished watching the series. The last few episodes were some of the best ones in the series (Cowboy Funk is almost as funny as the classic Mushroom Samba). I won't spoil the ending, but it's... whoa. Highly recommended. Can't wait to see the movie!

Another Anime Sidenote: Heather's a Trigun fan! She's been following it on Cartoon Network as of late. And do you want to know the cool part? I had nothing to do with it! Whoooo!

?whatis irony: Irony is opening a fortune cookie, and finding no fortune. What the hell are they implying?

Random Quote: "Good heavens! I forbid you to hang around women from Africa!" -- A joke I made to Heather after she told me about a conversation she had with two of her African friends on campus last week. The subject of children came up, and while Heather and I seem to be content with the idea of two at most, her friends mentioned that in Africa, one to two children is a sign of problems in a marriage, such as infertility. They suggested, and I quote, "five to six"! That's a whole lot of genetic manpower!

Current Mood: Brain capacity is up to about 70% now! Feeling good all around, enjoying this time off between classes. Of course I've still got to deal with work, but it's not nearly as jacked as it could be, now that prom season is entering its final weeks. Even still, I'm continuously astonished by the density and moronic tendencies of some of these people that come into the store... if you need a tuxedo in less than an hour, there's no way we can magically crap one out for you! : D

Uresia: The Grave of Heaven: I picked up the latest supplement to Big Eyes, Small Mouth earlier this week. I'm still going through it all, but man, that sucker's pretty detailed! There's definitely some stuff in there I can use for my own campaign, whenever I get a chance to run again. Also, the new Attribute is awesome- God of Cookery!!

WWE- A Step in the Right Direction?: I have to say that I was very entertained with RAW this past Monday. If nothing else, though, I'm psyched that they're bringing back the Intercontinental Championship! I've always liked the idea of having it as an intermediate belt, for those guys that are on the rise, but aren't quite main eventers just yet. At least it gives the midcarders something to do, other than being fed to The Beast Known as HHH nightly.

Origins- Update: It's about a 90% confirmation that I will be making it at this point. I dropped my bud Bart (the gentleman kind enough to be hosting our wretched hides at his place) a line, and he gave me the word that he's got room for another dreg such as myself. I still need to order my plane tickets, the reason I have not yet being the following...

Renaissance Festival a Go! : Heather and I shall be making an appearance at the Georgia Renaissance Festival this Sunday! It's still up in the air if we'll be in garb or not though, since I still need to get my hands on some boots. At this point I'm very deathly afraid of being turned loose at the festival, since whenever I went in the past I was much younger and didn't have much of a budget. Now, however, not only do I have a budget, but I have a credit card as well... please hide the swords from me...

Even More Jacked-Up Atlanta Weather: Tornado warning for most of Tuesday, followed by intense bouts of monsoon-quantity rains for a good portion of yesterday. And today, it's about 85 degrees currently, but still with a chance of rain this afternoon. I've stopped trying to figure these things out.

Random Quote: "Yes... there is much chaff amongst that wheat..." -- A random guy that we were talking to at Oxford Comics this past Monday, advising Bobby, the newbie in all things geeks, to stay away from the Hentai crowds. I guess I can't argue, because I personally know some guys that are entirely too serious when it comes to all things tentacle...

Me At A Glance - 05/01/03

Current Mood: Tired, but happy. I'm done with the semester, prom season is winding down, and all in all it was a pretty good day. But still, I am quite tired, and the brain is only functioning at about 30% capacity currently. Sleeeeep...

The Tale of a Perverted Tick: Our 3D Design class made a trip to the Cascade Nature Preserve, a local (and quite hidden) little area in order to work on a project recently. Several of us were carpooling on the way back to campus, when suddenly the young lady next to me freaks out, as she's discovered a tick crawling on her shirt. I guess my Damsel in Distress genes kicked in, and I grab a piece of paper and prepare to snatch it. I stopped short as one simple realization dawned on me... that sucker was crawling on her right breast! "Um... I think maybe you should get that one...", I casually suggested, handing her the paper. That tick knew what he was doing when he crawled there...

Random Observation: I might be mistaken, but it looked like the lesbian girl in my 3D Design class had a hickie on her neck this past Tuesday. Somebody got lucky : D

Origins- Update: It's about a 50/50 shot now, seeing as Summer classes at Georgia State suck, and I couldn't land that Tuesday/Thursday schedule I was aiming for. It's looking like it'll be a MWF currently. I also made the random observation that if I attend this, AWA, AND Dragon*Con this year, my freaking  Geek Cred is going to skyrocket! Fear the uber-geek!

Jacked-Up Atlanta Weather: I've always joked that Atlanta is probably the only place in the country where you can sometimes get away with wearing shorts in the winter, and be forced to wear a coat in the summer on occasion. With that being said, I guess I shouldn't be surprised that we had a damned freak HAILSTORM last weekend! Include with that a rainstorm of near Biblical proportions, and you'll see why you have to expect anything if you live in this city. After that weekend, I thought that I had seen it all... oh, how wrong I was...

Earthquake! : It seems that the area was hit with a 4.9 earthquake at about 5am this past Tuesday! That seemed to be the talk of the day with everyone, who seemed somewhat shaken (if you'll pardon the pun), but not entirely disturbed. I, on the other hand, apparently slept through the whole thing! It was pretty odd getting a phone call from Neil about the quake, seeing as this is the same guy that slept through a much more powerful one when he was in LA for E3 several years ago.

More Birthday Wishes: Happy Birthday to Heather's roommate Alison, who I believe turned 21 today. Now you can drink legally! Well, at least you can in theory, since Shorter is supposedly a 'dry' campus... bwahaha! : D

Random Quote: "Hey, who set the thermostat to 'Hell'?" -- Donald this week at work, as he and I idly wondered why in the heck it was so freaking warm in the store. Granted, Northlake Mall is pretty backwards about that sort of thing, as the AC only seems to work in the winter, and the heater goes full blast in the summer. Complicating matters is the fact that our store is right near the entrance to the mall, which means that we get a lot of the outside heat. Curse you, Atlanta Weather. We shall continue to have issues.

Current Mood: Productive and busy! Prom season is at full kick currently, and I've got final portfolio reviews coming up soon too... as to be expected, I have less that zero free time currently. We're pretty much at the halfway point with prom season, so if we can survive this weekend, we should be good to go. Whooo!

The Transporter: Aftermath: Pretty good movie! All I have to say is this- dude was very buck-wild! Highly recommended to all of you action junkies out there.

New Whoredom: Conventions! : Well, it's pretty much a given that I'll be going to Anime Weekend Atlanta again, and also making the valiant effort to make Dragon*Con this year as well. However, I've learned that several of my online writing buddies are getting together to attend Origins, an RPG convention up in Ohio in June. Word has it that even Prometheus will be there, giving that much more reason to try and sneak a Singapore cane onto the plane. I'll have to see how I can manipulate my schedule for this.

Renaissance Festival, Ho!: It's been a number of years since I've been to the Georgia Renaissance Festival, despite the fact that I've got several friends that work there. However, that all will change this year, as Heather has just brought it to my attention that she's bought us advance tickets! Now, we HAVE to go! And we might even be going in costume! This should be interesting...

Belated Birthday Wishes: Happy Belated Birthday to my boy Raphael, whom I haven't spoken to in a while, but who apparently called me earlier this week when I was at school! On the odd chance that you're reading this, Raph, give me a call, dude! I may have need of your mad artistic skills for a project I'm working on!

Random Quote: "Now, into the shower with your stankin' ass!" -- Heather to me this weekend as I made my way to the shower before work on Friday. I wasn't that funky, honest! What really got me about this was the fact that she said "stankin"', as apposed to just "stinking"... actually, that's pretty cool... 

Current Mood: Contemplative of late. Much has been on my mind these past few days, I must say. Heather is coming into town this weekend, and though I still do have to work a couple of days, we should still be able to spend some time with each other. We've got some things to talk about, so these next few days should be pretty interesting. Nonetheless, I'm really looking forward to seeing her again.

Prom Season at Gingiss: An Observation: I guess I have to constantly remind myself of this fact, but for the most part, the prom kids that come into the store are very cool, this year more so than usual;  however, it's just their MOTHERS that I have a problem with! Let your son pick out his tuxedo in peace, and don't bitch about the way we run the store! Just hand your son your credit card when he needs to pay, step back, and SHATTAP! : D

Whoredom: Passed: Wherehouse Music has finally closed. My wallet thanks you.

Def Jam Vendetta: Update and Observation: Haven't had much of a chance to play this lately, so I still have yet to beat it. Spent some time going through survival mode in order to earn some cash for Proof, and raise a couple of stats before trying to take it to D-Mob again. And my brother (who popped by for a weekend and BEAT the game with Spider!) made an interesting observation about Club Luda in the game... according to him, it looks just like The Bounce, one of our local clubs! I guess it would make sense, with Ludacris being from Atlanta and all.

Saturday Mornings Revived: I had some time before work last Saturday morning, and caught myself flipping through the cartoons, which I haven't been able to do for a while now. It was a quick stop by ABC Kids that led me to a little gem called Filmore; it's about a group of safety patrols in a high school, with the lead character (and show title namesake) being a reformed thug trying to redeem himself. As Galen described it to me, 'mix any 70's cop show with Recess, and you get Filmore'. Added bonus: they make use of the cool guitar riffs that you hear in the Lethal Weapon movies from time to time. Yes!

The Frog- Redeemed: I accidentally stumbled across WB's latest series Black Sash last Sunday, and I really found myself getting into it! I guess I can handle a certain amount of teenaged angst, as long as it's coupled with the occasional bout of ass-kicking. Hey, that was the principle that I based the entire Junior Force series on back in high school! Added Bonus: Sifu at the academy is played by Russell Wong, and his father? None other than Mako himself! That's right, the voice of Aku in Samurai Jack, and the sorcerer from the Conan movies! I might actually start watching TV again.

And Speaking of Samurai Jack...: I finally got a chance to watch the movie not too long ago, and I must say that I really love the art style and direction of the series. If nothing else, the alien rave looks damned cool!

?whatis irony: From TC- We have DSL from Bellsouth and underneath the address bar is a link to AT&T.  How's that for corporate takeovers for you?

Random Quote: "You Sexy African-American Piece of Man-Candy!"-- Galen, relaying a quote from one of the morning shows in South Carolina, as told by 'Coach', a character that has a rather unhealthy interest in the male anatomy. Galen took it upon himself to not only record the segment, but to call me just so I could hear it! It's been stuck in my head ever since! Curse you, Galen, curse you!!

Me At A Glance - 04/10/03

Current Mood: Much better! It seems that the sickness is pretty much out of my system, which means that I have to give up the bottle of Nyquil now. Even so, it's good to be well again. In other news, it looks as if Heather will be making her way into town next weekend; unfortunately I have to work for some of those days, but the hours aren't too terrible, so it looks like we'll be able to spend some time together. Prom season is about to hit full scale in the next coming weeks, which means lots and lots of stress and stupidity! Yeah! : D

Whoredom Winding Down: My woes may soon be coming to an end, since Wherehouse Music will be closed come next week. However, EVERYTHING in the store is now 80% off. I mean freaking EVERYTHING! Thank goodness we've already picked that store clean... nonetheless, I did manage to locate a used copy of the soundtrack to 8MM, which is indeed one of the most freakishly disturbing movies I've seen in a while, but also had an interesting assortment of music. Good stuff!

Anticipating: I've been hearing for quite some time now that House of 1000 Corpses is one of the most legitimately scary movies ever made, so I'm glad it's finally coming to theaters. I'm definitely snagging that one when it comes out on DVD, if nothing else to see all of the stuff they had to cut out to get it an R rating. Also, The Transporter will be out this Tuesday... I missed it in the theaters, but I've heard that it's definitely worthwhile. I'll be picking that one up at some point.

Def Jam Vendetta: The Update: Finally beat Ludacris, and eventually made my way to the infamous Dark Man X. DMX proceeds to pummel me several time and totally demoralize me with his victory speech ("Stop acting like a BITCH, DOG!") before I eventually take him out. Blazed my way through the rest of the tournament, and eventually face D-Mob. Have yet to beat D-Mob. D-Mob now reminds me of Michael Clarke Duncan as Kingpin in Daredevil.

New and Exciting Ways to Deal With a Rust Monster: A few weeks ago in our D&D session, we had the displeasure of running across one of the dreaded Rust Monsters of the world; seeing as the two heavy hitters of the group (Dena's Paladin and my self-proclaimed Big Dumb Fighter) were clad in highly metallic armor, we were a bit hesitant to go toe to toe with the creature. It was at that point when Shelley joked about beating it with the corpse of one of the slain lizards in the room; no one actually expected me to actually do it, though! And I'll tell you one thing... using the corpse of a large, dead animal as a bludgeoning device, while perhaps not the most effective method to deal with it, shocks the hell out of the target, and leads to the group itself exploding into uproarious laughter. Strength of 18 certainly does come in handy : )

?whatis irony: Irony is being handed a copy of the flier Awake, whose cover story asks if we're getting enough sleep.

Quickie Thought: You know, I think I might try and make it to Dragon*Con this year. I've been meaning to go since the better part of forever... I think I might actually do it this year. We had a quick cameo there last year, but I think this time I'll actually get a room and stay the weekend.

One Last Quickie: Three way deathmatches in Halo are insanely fun. Neil, Jimmy and I went at it something fierce this weekend with much bloodshed, explosions, and vehicular assaults. Jimmy is now forbidden from using grenades of any sort, Neil may never touch another Warthog, and I am not allowed within several hundred feet of a sniper rifle.

Random Quote: "Every time you shoot my wife, I beat Heather!!" -- Neil this past Sunday as he, Laura, and I engaged in a three-way of violence playing a deathmatch in Halo. I ended up getting my hands on a rocket launcher at one point, which definitely turned the tide in my favor... sorry Heather, but I think Neil's looking for you now...

Me At A Glance - 04/03/03

Current Mood: I am one sick bastard! Er, as in, I am physically ill! I've been recovering nicely over these past few days, but everyone around me was afraid that I had contracted the infamous hell-spawned flu that's been making rounds in Europe and Asia of late. I'm pleased to say that I'm doing better, and in fact have yet to hack up any organs. In other news, I, alas, was not one of the individuals picked for the student art show on campus for this year... if nothing else though, I know a few of the people that made it on the list, so that counts for something at least!

Wrestlemania: The Aftermath: My goodness, I thought Brock Lesnar killed himself... and here we were worried about Kurt Angle and his possibly career-ending neck injury. Matches like this further prove why I think Kurt Angle is the man... I was hoping that Booker T ended up beating HHH (who looked to be swiping wrestling shorts from Val Venis's old closet that evening), but I guess you can't win them all... The Rock is probably the most talented guy on the RAW roster currently, and it's going to be a shame when he has to leave and film movies again... Chris Jericho should have beaten Shawn Michaels, but again, I guess you can't win them all... and finally, Vince McMahon vs. Hulk Hogan? Sweet leg drop (which ended up looking more like a butt-bump) from the ladder, but waaaaaay too long...

Favorite Line From the Group During the McMahon/Hogan Match: "Geriatric Punch! Geriatric Punch of Doom!" -- Me : )

Whoredom Excelsior: DVD's still at 50% off... The Protector (Jackie Chan!), The Goonies, a collection of four old-school martial arts flicks ($5 for all four! Awooooo!), and I forgot to mention from last week, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, parts one and two... three was there, but I wasn't too fond of it.

X Gonna Give It To Ya': Def Jam Vendetta is out, as is evidenced by the throbbing pain in my entire freaking arm! Much more technical than say, Smackdown! but I'm learning and loving it... I'm still advancing in the ranks with Proof, my girl has apparently just ran off to have thinly veiled lesbianistic rituals with one of the other managers there ("Let's find a REAL G Spot!"), and Ludacris is currently beating my monkey ass like I stole something from him. Deathly afraid of the prospect of facing DMX down the line.

?whatis irony: "Your Cashier Today Was Simple"... a modest observation of a cashier's tag by TC and Galen (who happened to be in town briefly this past weekend). Just HOW simple she truly was, I cannot comment, since I was not there, alas.

Random Quote: Me: "Yeah, it was a cool, testosterone filled evening of watching grown men in tights holding each other, along with some videogame playing... all in all, not bad."
Heather: "The mental images are flying." -- Segment from an online conversation with Heather, as I described to her the events that took place at the Zayas abode this past Sunday for the PPV. Unfortunately, that's pretty much an exact description on what went down over here on Sunday!

Me At A Glance - 03/26/03

Current Mood: Optimistic! I've had several opportunities placed before me these past few days, and I fully intend on taking advantage of things. The main thing currently is the Student Art Show that's coming up soon on campus, where I'll be turning in some artwork with the hopes of being selected and being put on display. That would rock like no man's business! I'll keep you posted on developments.

Whoredom: Infinity: The House on Haunted Hill, Sleepy Hollow and the Jet Li classic, My Father is a Hero. Close, Wherehouse Music. Close, damn you, close!

Theme Songs: A Correction: Last week I stated that nothing was cooler than walking around with the theme from James Bond playing in the headset. I would like to correct that statement; nothing is cooler than walking around with the soundtrack to Desperado playing. At the time I even had a tube slung over my shoulder filled with drawing paper; granted it's not nearly as cool as a guitar case full of guns, but hey, we have to start somewhere!

?whatis irony: Irony is walking into the Arts and Humanities building, seeing a young red-haired woman at the elevator, nothing that she's a bit of a looker, continuing on to get some water, heading upstairs to your Drawing II class, and seeing said woman up there in a bathrobe, the subject of today's figure drawing lesson. Whoa.

More Random Flashing! : In addition to my random flashings last week, we've got another one to add to the list! It appears that one of the girls in my 3D Design class wears a thong, as was quite apparent when she leaned forward while we were watching slides a few days ago. You know, those thong wearers are the last ones you'd expect... I swear to goodness, I wasn't trying to look! I'm cursed, I tell you! Cursed!

Random Quote: "The other girl's tits were much easier!" -- Another gem from Andrew, the gay guy in our Drawing II class. We were comparing the ease of drawing the models from our previous two life drawing sessions, and noted that our latest was a bit skinnier, which made rendering a bit different. Our teacher was right... after a certain point, you'll see so many naked people in that class that they become props, like a bowl of fruit...

Me At A Glance - 03/18/03

Current Mood: Feeling good! Aside from getting lightly slashed by a thin piece of metal in 3D Design (I'm pretty sure that copper was fairly clean...), all is well in the world. I've had a couple of things on my mind of late, so you might notice that there's a more political slant to Glance this week. Heads up, Ninja-Heads- here come enough rants to make Dennis Miller proud.

State of Society: I spent a good part of yesterday flipping through USA Today, and getting a better grip on the state of things in the world today. It's all pretty scary when you really think about it, with all of the economic uncertainty we face, and the ever-present threat of war and nuclear weapons. Lots of people are getting worried and seemingly afraid to live their lives now, worrying about what may come. People, live your lives; there's no use worrying about what might happen. And after reading up on the way things are shaping up in North Korea and Iraq, I've come to another realization- we need James Bond, dammit! He'd be able to stop all of this foolishness in a hurry!

War, Common Sense, and the Lack Thereof: With the impending war on Iraq, there are those that support it, and those that don't. My issue here is with some of the opposition; not the fact that they appose it, mind you, but how some choose to do so. Take for example, a simple observation in irony; why is it that just about every peace protest you see has at least one person getting arrested? An article I read even mentioned that some protesters are actually planning on getting arrested in a display of "civil disobedience"! It's almost as if in order to be a true protester, you've got to have some jail time on your resume ("See John there? Yeah, he's hardcore... he's marched in DC, and he's been arrested three times!"). Observation #2 comes from a series of fliers I've seen hanging around campus, requesting that at 10AM the day after we go to war, students walk out of class and assemble in front of the library. My question is simply this; what in the hell do you plan on proving with this? Call me a bit jaded, but classes at GSU cost a bit too much for me to just want to walk out and stand around talking to a couple of Me Too's. There are more productive ways to spend your time (and money), ladies and gentlemen. Personally, I'm a bit curious as to how many people will be standing out there that aren't on scholarship, and have to pay for classes themselves.

Utah, and all that Jazz: Are strange, bearded white men passing out apocalyptic literature with two veiled women a common sight in Utah? I don't know about this whole Smart case... personally, I tend to think that seeing something like that would set off a red flag or eight with the populous. At any rate, I'm glad to see that she's home safe and sound.

Whoredom: The Sequel: The Best of Bond soundtrack, Batman and History of the World, Part 1 for movies. Wherehouse Music, I'm going to hate to see you go, but you need to close and fast! This whoredom is getting out of hand!

Those Wonderful Toys: I recently got my hand on a Rio Volt at a very nice price (God bless Sam Goody and Replay Bonus Certificates), and I'm loving it very much. Ironically, though, it seems to have a much easier time playing CD's as apposed to MP3's. I've been in the market for a good portable for quite some time now; I'd forgotten how cool it is to walk around with your own personal soundtrack playing in the background. Nothing beats hearing the theme from James Bond as you walk to your next class : )

Art and Nudity: Nothing prepares a man for walking into his art class and seeing a grown woman disrobing in front of everyone. We started figure drawing today, which was pretty interesting all in all. The class settled in nicely once we got started, but I'm still fairly certain that I was blushing for half of the class. Damn this modesty.

And Speaking of Nudity... : I keep getting accidentally flashed, and it's not even Mardi Gras any more! First was at work, as a girl (who was so young that this now seems criminal) was returning a tuxedo for either her brother or boyfriend, and didn't notice that half of her nipple was hanging out. And second was a young lady sleeping on the bus, who was showing off her white thong in a non-fashioned-influenced sort of way. Is it luck, or is it a curse?

Random Quote: "Great, now where am *I* going to find a naked woman?" -- One of my classmates (who happens to be quite gay) upon hearing our latest assignment, which is to make several figure drawings before next week. Thankfully they don't have to be nudes, which makes things a bit easier, but not nearly as fun.

Me At A Glance - 03/12/03

Current Mood: Positive, but tired! I should actually be in bed right about now, but I've got to go ahead and get things taken care of over here... Spring Break was a calm affair, but enjoyable nonetheless. It's good to just get some time to kick back and relax a bit.

Everything I Know About Parenting I Learned from The Sims: I decided to try something a little different in The Sims... I recently started a new game and imported my character (who looks so much like me it's pretty scary) into a nice little pad I built, but with one interesting twist; I now have a daughter! And little Alexis is pretty cool to have around. She's an A student, an absolute cutie, and smarter that most of my neighbors! And speaking of the neighbors, Bob Newbie is going to get his ass kicked if he comes back to my house... he popped by the day me and Alexis moved in, and spent the whole time insulting everyone! If there was an option to TP a man's house, he'd be hyper-screwed right now! That guy's a tool! I'm glad that Neil was probably boinking his wife in the last game! 

Whoredom, Revisited: I'll be so much safer when Wherehouse Music finally closes down, but I did manage to snag some gems this past week. On the music front, I stopped by the world music section and came across a little something titled Asian Massive- if you've never heard techno-mixed music with a very Indian flair to it, it's definitely something that you should check out sometime. And though I wasn't planning on getting it, I just happened upon a used copy of Godzilla 2000. After watching it last night, I have a few observations...

The Philosophy of Godzilla: Of course one is going to have to draw some comparisons with the American Godzilla movie that prompted the making of this particular flick in the first place. Well, this was definitely the Godzilla that I know and loved from my youth, in all of his man-in-a-rubber-suit city-stomping glory. With that being said, man, those were some cheesy special effects! Friends of mine have joked about how bad the live-action La Blue Girl looked; if a big-budget movie like Godzilla can end up looking like this, then I can only imagine in abject horror as to how bad the tentacle-prodding freak-fest Blue must be. Anywho, I had forgotten how preachy the Godzilla movies could be; I'm not sure if I should blame the dubbing or the actual script, but something about the last line in the movie just seemed odd. "We created Godzilla, then we try to destroy him... and yet, whenever we need him, he's there to defend us. Maybe it's because he's inside each of us!"- I thought that was a pretty interesting assessment, seeing as Godzilla had just whupped some mad alien creature ass, and was currently torching whatever was left standing in the city when that observation was made. Perhaps we're all angry people in rubber suits, ready to kick the crap out of whatever unfortunate louse happens to be making a mess of things. Hell, I could write a paper on all of this, and I just might : )

And One Last Godzilla-Related Observation: Is it just me, but do these movies make the Japanese look like the most buck-wild people on the planet? If I see some big-assed reptile tearing through Atlanta, I'll be good and damned if I'm going to try and get a close up look at him. Sure, I'll be intrigued, but I'll be safely watching on TV from a distance of several hundred miles away, if at all possible. I'm probably one of the calmest and understanding people out there, but some things just freak a man out...

?whatis irony: Irony is seeing a guy with an afro and a receding hairline. Just let it go, dude.

Random Quote: "This would be much easier if you were naked." -- My Drawing II teacher to me earlier today. We started talking about figure drawing, and I ended up being the defacto model for a moment. My baggy attire for the day was making things a bit difficult, I imagine.

Me At A Glance - 03/04/03

Current Mood: Good! It's Spring Break for us at GSU, which means that I don't have school at all this week. The good/bad news about this is that at work, our manager went ahead and made this week's schedule  before I could tell him that I was actually available to work everyday this time. Sure, I'm not working as much as I could be (which equals less finances, alas), but it does mean that I get a lot of time to do whatever the heck I wanna do this week. I guess you have to take the good with the bad, alas. 

Beatdowns and Boxing: I stopped by Neil's this past weekend to check out the Roy Jones Jr./John Ruiz PPV beatdown this past weekend, and after gorging ourselves senseless on pizza, hot wings, and just about everything else in the fridge, we ended up with us playing Hunter: The Reckoning until about 3 in the morning. Keep in mind that I had to be at work at noon the next day, and that Neil and Laura were driving to Oklahoma sometime that day as well. I've come to expect some pretty nasty-weird things in that game, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING could have prepared me for the fact that we'd be doing battle with some little girl's ten-foot tall  possessed teddy bear! That scene freaked us out something fierce, but it also led us to what I feel has been the best line in the game so far...

Best Line in Hunter: The Reckoning Thus Far:  Carpenter: "That's right... you're not gonna take no shit from any stuffed animal!"

Whoredom, Phase II: With both of us having being off from work today, me and my bud Chris decided to hang out a bit and hit a couple of spots around town. First stop was little place called Audio Soul at Perimeter Mall, which is like a haven of independent music, and all sorts of eclectic sounds. To complicate things further, we also stopped by the local Wherehouse Music (also going out of business), and after that, we hit Kudzu, a massive used-book store. As can be expected, my whoredom for music and books pretty much hit critical mass, and I'm surprised that I got out as sanely as I did. Aside from a couple of CD's (Xperience Drum and Bass and Nude Dimensions, Vol. 2), I also snagged a handy guide for FrontPage 2000, which should yield some interesting things around the site in the next couple of weeks or so. All in all, though, I didn't go too buck-wild, so I'm pleased with myself.

Why in the Hell... : ...did I have another ninja dream last night?! I don't think Heather was in this one, but I do recall walking past a mirror at one point and noticing that I was actually pretty cut! I guess that was kind of cool, but I'm still trying to figure out the why on this. I guess I've just had ninjas on the brain of late.

?whatis irony: Irony is buying a Spanish Hip-Hop collection, and discovering that the whole thing is in English. What the heck? It's like putting Prometheus in a room full of young and beautiful women; it only leads to frustration and confusion. : )

Random Quote: "At this rate, he'd be one kick-ass amoeba!" -- Me to TC this past Sunday as we were discussing the de-evolution of Reptile from Mortal Kombat over the years. It seems the less human he gets, the more dangerous he becomes, therefore I rationalized that if he ever got to his most basic evolutionary form, he'd become one mean, nasty and dangerous mofo.

Me At A Glance - 02/25/03

Current Mood: Productive! Time is being sucked away by the evil Hoover that is midterms, but I'm managing to keep up with stuff. I've made good progress on my paper, and my portfolio is complete for all intents and purposes. Next week- Spring Break! Whooooo! Not that I'm going anywhere as of yet, but it's nice to have some time off from school.

Addictions Rekindled: I made the mistake of picking up my copy of Final Fantasy Anthology a few days ago, and popped in Final Fantasy V. Within the span of playing for about an hour before bed one night, I'm now a full-fledged junkie, having been dragged kicking and screaming back into its wicked grip of doom. Lucky for me that I pretty much knew what was going on with my saved game, so I'm back into the fray. I just handed that sneaky lightning-tossing bastard Ramuh his ass (of course after he unleashed an unholy-wicked beating on our party), so I'm feeling good! Next stop, Jachol!

Good Idea/Bad Idea, D&D Edition: Good Idea- Not looking directly at the Umber Hulk that comes crashing into the room as you loot a treasure chest. While everyone else was pretty much driven mad and beating the crap out of each other, Shelley and I (thief and big, dumb fighter respectively) managed to take it out, culminating with me lopping off its evil freaking head. Bad Idea- Giving a Wand of Wonder to the guy in the group with the shortest temper. Keith (our resident mage) got a little upset about our constant jokes for him not to cast fireball in an enclosed space, so in a fit of out-of-game anger, he decides to use the Wand instead. And guess what it summoned? That's right, a massive fireball, which nearly toasted the entire party! Beautiful, beautiful irony, and in my case, beautiful, beautiful massive amount of HP...

In the World of Wrestling: Several observations on the state of things in the WWE here... for one thing, RAW this past Monday was probably the most entertaining it's been in quite some time due to The Rock's tactics. Since he's been back, he's easily been the most entertaining heel the company's had in quite some time. His little segment with The Hurricane was probably the funniest moment I've seen anywhere in quite some time ("Any superhero can beat The Hurricane! Superman, Batman, heck, even Aquaman! That's right, the guy that can talk to the fish!"). And another thing... is it just me, or do people just absolutely HATE Scott Steiner? Not that I'm arguing (that steroided freak can't wrestle worth a damn anymore), but it's odd that the WWE keeps pushing him as a face, despite the fact that the crowd detests him. "The Toronto crowd's booing Scott Steiner because he's got that USA flag patch on his tights..." Sorry JR, the crowds booing him because he sucks!

Your Fortune for the Evening: "You will be successful in everything... in bed."

Random Quote: "Would you wear socks if you didn't have feet? Then why are you wearing a bodysuit?" -- TC, recalling a tale of a cut-down hurled at a classmate back in high school. This ranks high as one of the wrongest things I've heard him say. It seems to be a growing list, now that I'm thinking about it...

Me At A Glance - 02/19/03

Current Mood: Much better... I was actually at a bit of a low earlier this week (to quote a random thought of mine, "It felt like my psyche had been kicked in the nads."), but I'm on the up and up again. Critique went without a hitch yesterday, and we've got our midpoint portfolio review coming up in a couple of weeks. I'm pretty sure that I'll have things in order by then (I just have to write a paper, and I'm pretty much good to go), but I'm sure that it's going to cut into the free time and sanity a bit. Bah... nothing I can't handle!

Self-Imposed Restrictions, Broken! : Remember last week when I said that I'd be doing everything in my power to avoid going to Wherehouse Music? Well, the day after I posted that update, I passed by the store and made a terrible discovery. The Wherehouse Music at the mall is going out of business! Even worse still was the fact that everything in the store was between 10-30% off... $40.41 later, I realized that I am, and will probably always be, a music whore. But wait, there's more...

Grounds for Lynching: I picked up a couple of used DVD's as well from Wherehouse this past week (ok, so I'm a music AND a movie whore), one of which happens to be the much- reviled Dungeons and Dragons. And guess what? Despite what everyone has told me, I actually enjoyed it! I know geeks everywhere are up in arms over that last statement, and I'm only going to add fuel to that fire. The next movie I plan on picking up is another something hated by the fans, but the non-diehards have actually found it to be quite enjoyable. That's right people, my next target is none other than Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within! HA!

Things we Take for Granted: Am I the only one that think it's odd that there are grown people in this world that don't know what a square-root is? This past week, there was a man, his wife, and their young son in the store buying a shirt, and while the man was trying it on, his son was messing around with one of the calculators we keep out front. When the man returns from the back, his wife proudly proclaims that their son was showing her what a square root was, and that she really didn't have a clue as to how he came up with the answers. And guess what? Neither did the guy! "Heck, I never had to take any math classes in college," he declared (he did make a joke, however, about his wife having gone to UGA, which got him back some points in my book). Me, being the helpful smart-ass that I am, take it upon myself to explain what a square root is, and, upon noticing the dumbfounded expressions upon their collective faces, I mentioned that I used to be in Computer Science, and consequently, had taken a lot of math classes in the past. Maybe that helped them save a bit of face, but egad, people... your SON knew what it was!

Random Quote: "Hey Sigfried, where's Roy and the tiger?" -- Keith this past week as he and I observed a young man walking around the mall wearing a purple shirt with a white-tiger skin collar around it. Worst part about it is that I actually recognized said shirt, and it was part of the pimp COSTUME that Spencer's carries around Halloween! Clothes don't make the man, kid... a real pimp probably would have slapped and shanked you twice for that travesty...

Current Mood: Not too shabby! Being 25 isn't so bad, and this past weekend was the bomb-diggity with Heather being in town. And, to top things off, school's been pretty sane as of late. We ended up getting an extension on a rather naughty and massive project we have to tackle in Drawing II, which means that I've got more time to procrastinate! But in all seriousness, we've been going nonstop with perspective these past few weeks, and I'm ready to move on to the next topic. Figure drawing! That's a bit more up my alley!

Self-Imposed Restrictions: I have officially forbidden myself from stepping foot near anyplace that has used CD's for the next week or so. This past weekend Heather and I stumbled across a little shop that had a boat-load of them, and we pretty much had to drag each other out of there. These guys even had some anime AND videogame soundtracks! I ended up snagging Traveling Without Moving by Jamiroquai, along with Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, and Final Fantasy: Dear Friends, which I've been trying to find for the better part of forever now. I think that I'll be staying far away from Wherehouse Music for the time being...

Listen Up, Dream Analysts: I've been known to have some pretty random dreams here and there, but the one I had last night pretty much took the cake, as far as the recent crop goes. At one point, me and Heather are running around, anime-ninja-style, and suddenly we get into a fight with a couple of large and nasty freaks... at this point it seems to turn into an RPG campaign from hell, as I'm mentally calculating stats as I'm fighting one of these things ("Alright, Acrobatics and Jumping at Level 1 each, plus my ACV... HIT!" *WHACK!*). To make things even weirder, I swear to goodness that I hear one of the creatures lament about his lack of Combat Mastery... later in the dream, Heather and I are lounging at some sort of island resort/casino, and I have to leave the room for a moment. Along the way I get caught in a massive arcade, and almost end up getting into a fist-fight with FREAKING FRED DURST FROM LIMP BIZKIT! I swear I wasn't drinking this weekend! What's up with that?

Random Quote: "Vile, booty-tasting crustacean! There has to be some edible meat here somewhere!" -- Neil this past weekend as he and Laura, along with Heather and myself double-dated and went to a local Thai restaurant. Dear Mr. Neil ended up ordering soft-shelled crabs, and spent most of the evening trying to figure out what he could and could not eat on said crustacean, and uttered this cry of despair during a fit of madness.

Me At A Glance - 02/04/03

Current Mood: Feeling fine! My birthday happens to be tomorrow, so I'm feeling pretty good about that. I've got a project due this week for Drawing II, which shall be taking up most of my time, but the weekend is looking up! Heather shall be in town, so that is a good thing! However, this leads directly into the next topic...

A Cry for Help! : Heather's coming into town this weekend! No, that's not why I'm asking for help, but we wanted to try and do something unique this weekend, since we won't be able to see each other for Valentine's Day. This pretty much eliminates our normal routine of dinner and/or lounging around watching DVD's, so I'm trying to come up with ideas. I live in Atlanta, for the love of humanity! There has to be SOMETHING going on around town! : D

On His Way: Galen is now safe and sound in South Carolina! Take care dude, and hurry back... we have unfinished business!

Be Careful What You Wish For: Aaron decided to run a D&D campaign this past weekend (which, surprisingly enough, I've never played), and decided to give my bastard sword-swinging fighter a Luck Blade, which more or less grants the user any wish he asks for (Keith's infamous comment of "Alright! So that means you've got a Lucky Bastard sword!" came VERY close to being the random quote for this week...). Well, with Aaron, you have to be VERY specific with what you ask for, so when I made the mistake of wishing for a means to get into the iron gate before us, a battering ram suddenly fell from the sky and landed on top of Dena's paladin... Keith and I have already determined that it won't be a creature in the dungeon that does us in, but rather something that I accidentally unleash.

Random Quote: "That boy couldn't get lei'd (laid) in Hawaii..." -- Perhaps one of the wrongest things to come out of TC's mouth in recent memory, this little gem came about as we were discussing the social skills (or lack thereof) of a friend of ours. The only thing that anyone could say after hearing this was simply "Damn...".

Me At A Glance - 01/28/03

Current Mood: On the up and up, I must say. Sanity is returning to my daily routine, which is always a welcome thing. Also worthy of note is that I've got a birthday coming up next week! Yes indeedy, as of Wednesday, February 5th, your favorite webmaster (no, not him... me, actually) will be 25 years old. Which, once you sit back and look at it, is pretty old! I'm young at heart, dang it, and that's what counts! But in all seriousness, I'm looking forward to it... birthdays are always wonderful occasions in my eyes, and I hope to have many more as the years go on. Here's to another year!

Grunting, Sweating, and Swearing: Get your minds out of the gutter, I'm talking about moving, people! This past Saturday was spent helping Aaron and Shelley move to their new apartment, which ended up going a bit longer than we had anticipated. This meant that we didn't get a chance to run our campaign, alas, but it also means that I have another week to work out any sort of kinks I have. It's all a balancing act right now... I'm at the brink of introducing a major plot point to the group, but it's a matter of not giving away too much too soon. Patience, young Mani... this will all work out...

Super Bowl Sunday: Well, I was pretty sure that Tampa Bay was going to win, but not that badly! Neil, being the supreme football-whore that is his, threw a bit of a party at his house, which is where I ended up at. One of the things I love doing at the Super Bowl is to watch the commercials, and there were some good ones this year- I'm pretty psyched for Matrix: Reloaded and Daredevil currently, and T3 looks pretty wicked too. After the game we spent some time smiting evil's candy ass in Hunter: The Reckoning, which I imagine is insanely fun with four people wading through the carnage. I've taken to using the crossbow and sword swinging priest (who I simply refer to as Padre); at first I figured that I'd be using the raver chick, but I like the holy brand of smiting that only Padre can deliver : )

Random Quote: "If Shelley decides to move within the next two years, I'm gonna shoot her." -- Aaron's comment in regards to the insane amount of crap he had to move to the new apartment. After spending several hours assisting with said move, both Galen and I have agreed to help hide the body.

Me At A Glance - 01/21/03

Current Mood: Ups and downs... the big thing this past week was the passing of a friend of mine, Adriane, from an asthma attack. I may not have known him as well as some, but I still considered him a friend. I met him through Kris at AWA a few years ago, and he's always been a cool guy in my view. Rest in peace, Adriane. You're in a better place now.

Glenshire Abbey, Session #2: I GM'd my second session this past Saturday, and last week's was nothing compared to the randomness of this one! Swearing Kobolds, Dwarves and Orcs engaged in acrobatics, and even a goat-jacking were all in order last weekend. And after we help Aaron and Shelley move this Saturday, guess who gets to run again! : D This should be interesting, since we're going to have Shelley's 15 year old brother with us this time, and he's never RPG'd before. God, I hope we don't traumatize the poor lad...

"In Bed." : Watching the Royal Rumble this past Sunday (and taking the advice of one of the guys over at 411 Wrestling), we decided to add the phrase 'In Bed' to certain parts of the commentary during the Triple H/Scott Steiner match... it was as wrong as you are probably imagining it being ("Steiner and Triple H lock up again!" "IN BED!"). It even carried over to some of the other matches as well (who can forget "Angle's the first one up!" "IN BED!"). We need serious psychological help, all of us.

A Sign That You've Been Watching Too Much Wrestling: We're going over perspective in Drawing II, and I can't help but snicker whenever our teacher mentions the interactions between Edges and Angles. : )

Random Quote: "Cow cock and bull tits!" -- One of Galen's many statements depicting despair, this particular one unleashed this past Sunday at his abode. Granted we've all heard this one before, but it was all in the timing and delivery!

Me At A Glance - 01/13/03

Current Mood: Positive! My school woes worked out, so I'm no longer a brimming mass of seething malice... 3D Design should be interesting, since I've pretty much solely worked 2D in the past. Drawing II should be fun as well; it's my same teacher from last semester, so I'm already familiar with her style of teaching. All in all, things are looking to be on the up and up! Yeah, baby!

Further Descent into Geekdom: If I ever hoped to recover from my geek-ways, that all went out of the window this past weekend, because I, Damani Zayas, actually DM'd my first RPG session last Saturday! I've gotten lots of positive feedback from the group, and it looks like I'll be running next Saturday as well! Whoooo! It's a light-hearted and silly campaign we're running for BESM centering around incoming students at what amounts to a fantasy college called Glenshire Abbey. Amongst this incoming class we have a disturbingly strong and acrobatic Dwarf (Galen), a Dark Elf that needs to be depressed to use his powers (TC), a Gnome with the potential to make narcotics (Dena), an Orcish battle-mage seeking to reform (Keith), and God help us, a jester-in-training with a thing for explosives (Aaron). Once we get a bit further into the campaign, I'll post the write-up for everything, and the stats for a few of the NPCs as well.

Addiction Rising: I got my hands on a demo to Dance Dance Revolution Max from Ian a few weeks ago, and I've caught myself playing the hell out of it. I wouldn't be surprised if I snagged the actual game somewhere down the line, and heaven forbid, the dance pad as well. Hey, if nothing else, I hear that it's good exercise... of course my main problem is going to be finding a spot where I can set up the dance pad. If I put it in my room now, I'm going to end up knocking crap all over the place, I just know it...

Sadness at the Mall: One of my favorite stores at Northlake was shut down this week, that being Suncoast. I had a number of friends that worked there, who are now pretty much screwed and out of a job. What really sucks hard is the fact that they got next to no warning; from my understanding, an emergency meeting was called Wednesday afternoon; when I came back to work on Saturday, they were completely shut down. It probably stemmed from them having a less-than-stellar holiday season, but that still doesn't change the fact that it sucks, alas.

?whatis irony: Irony is going to a website and getting a Popup ad for a Popup-Eliminator. What the hell?

Random Quote: "Nah, he's never been to Pin-Ups! Look at him! He's a Republican!" -- A couple of guys that came by store this past weekend to pick up their tuxedos, and who were still reeling from the effects of the bachelor party the night before. Pin-Ups is a fairly skanky establishment as far as the local strip clubs go; apparently I looked too sophisticated that day to be found in a place of that caliber*sigh* ... you wear one turtleneck to work...

Me At A Glance - 01/06/03

Current Mood: Good and pissed off! The good: it's a new year, all is well in the world, and Heather is actually over here right now watching me work (poor girl...). However, my registration for next semester looks to be slightly jacked for the time being. Apparently they took me out of all of the classes I signed up for back in December... tomorrow shall be spent running around trying to figure things out, and smiting those that incite my wrath. Fear me, or something!

Shockers of all Shockers: Ladies and gentlemen, it's true. On December 28th, 2002, the unthinkable occurred... Neil Vitro, my best friend and, several months ago, dedicated bachelor, got married. It was a lovely ceremony that I'm pleased to have been a part of, and I wish them the very best. Laura's a wonderful (and brave!) young woman, and I'm sure that they'll continue to make each other happy for years to come. The two of them are currently enjoying a lovely cruise to the Bahamas as we speak, and I can't wait for them to get back- sure, I miss them, but I also realized a few days ago that I left my jacket at his house during the wedding festivities, and dammit, it's cold!!

Weddings Galore: I did a count earlier today, and realized that I attended a whopping SIX WEDDINGS this past year! And to top that off, I was actually IN two of them! That's just obscene!

The Word of the Day: "Tool." Long story here, but here goes. During Neil's wedding rehearsal, Laura and her mother were setting up some lacy stuff on the walls, and informed us that it was called tulle, which is pronounced the same as tool. Well, when we heard her mother ask for some scissors so she could cut her tool, we immediately left the sanctuary and went into the hallway to laugh like 13-year old school boys. It became a running joke that entire weekend- whenever there was a bout of silence, you'd better believe that one of us jackasses would randomly say 'tool', which always resulted in more laughter. And for the record, the average age of the group is about 23 or so. : )

Random Quote: "Ever since Vlad told me that it lowered sperm count, I've been a fan of Mello-Yellow!" -- Neil, a few hours before his wedding as we grabbed lunch. He's made it known that he doesn't plan on having kids until he's 30, so I guess this is a good thing.

Me At A Glance - 12/24/02

Current Mood: Worn the heck out!! I pulled a ten-hour shift at Gingiss today, which has taken its toll on my fragile psyche. Unlike the Christmas Eve's of my youth, I imagine that I should have no problem falling asleep tonight. Work wasn't all bad though; Chris brought in his new laptop, which happens to have a DVD player on it. We spent most of the day watching Atlantis, Princess Mononoke, and season one of The Simpsons between cursing the presence of so many people being at the mall. Go home and be with your families! It's Christmas eve, heathens!

One Down, One to Go: Gina and Ben's wedding last weekend was absolutely wonderful. It was a beautiful ceremony, and the reception afterwards was quite the affair. Heather even managed to drag me out onto the dance floor a couple of times, which is no small feat with me! Who says you need alcohol at a wedding to have a good time? With Neil's wedding being this weekend, I've had a good dose of the marriage stuff for the time being... if anyone asks when I plan on getting hitched, they might get hit with a chair! Twice!

And on That Tangent... : Heather went with us to church this past Sunday, and Mom (being the Associate Pastor and all) was in charge of doing the benediction. Before she got to that however, she thanked Heather for joining us for service, and made the random comment that she might be joining our family down the line... I have never seen Heather so red in all of my life! It was a happy blush, true, but we both turned a few shades and smiled from that : )

The Two Towers: Friends, Romans, countrymen, and the rest of you as well... if you have not done so already, GO SEE THE TWO TOWERS! Right now! It is SO worth it. Gollum is disturbingly freaky-cool, the Worgs are disturbing as crap, and Helm's Deep = Best Battle Scene EVER. Move over, Braveheart, you just got ousted like a mutha!

Random Quote: "Last time I was at Grant Park, I was running after a Frisbee barefoot, and stepped in a pile of dog mess." -- Mom recalling a random tale of woe for me and Galen's benefit earlier this week. It's one of those things that you don't want to laugh at, but just can't help but to. 

Me At A Glance - 12/16/02

Current Mood: Contemplative... these next couple of weeks before Christmas will be... interesting. I've begun my shopping, but I've still got much left to finish. I'm still stuck with the skanky hours at work for the next couple of weeks; on the plus side, it means that I'll probably get a lot of reading and drawing done. On the negative, I really don't feel like doing much of anything once I get in. It's a vicious cycle of sucking! : D

Weddings Gone Wild: It seems that I've been going to a lot of weddings lately... I'll be attending one this coming weekend with Heather for her friend Gina (who I met briefly last year, but seems like a very nice young lady), and next weekend is Neil's big affair. Things are slowly-but-surely falling into place for that one... it should be interesting, to say the very least. I've got to make some hotel arrangements for a couple of our friends coming in from out of town, and I've still really have no clue about what to do for the Bachelor Party. Whatever it is, it'll be rather sane by our standards... we want Neil to actually be able to walk down the aisle...

Anime Fantasies: I recently snagged a copy of BESM's Fantasy Bestiary a few days ago... nice assortment of stuff, especially if you're planning on running a fantasy campaign, like I've been pondering for a while now. Nice artwork too... I hear that they actually have a calendar out featuring the artwork from the book, so that's probably going to be my next purchase.

Christmas at Gingiss: We had our store Christmas party at George's last night, which turned out to be a very fun affair. Between games of Taboo and $25,000 Pyramid we have assorted tales including, but not limited to, Donald being a lush in the making, Anny grabbing a massive handful of boob, and me thinking I lost my watch (long story, that one...). All in all, it was a very fun time... can't wait for next year's shindig!

Random Quote: "Dude, you must be some kind of closet-Goth..." -- Galen to me last week, after I had described a woman as being 'cute and slightly evil-looking'. It was an observation, that's all! I don't think evil is cute!

Me At A Glance - 12/10/02

Current Mood: Accomplished! I managed to turn in each of my Art projects on time, which means that I've actually been able to sleep here and there! My only gripe currently is that due to the holidays, the mall will have some pretty funky hours for the next few weeks. This means me working some odd shifts, which I'm sure will effect my sanity (or lack thereof) in the long run. 'Tis the most wonderful time of the year... UNLESS YOU WORK AT A MALL! : D

Current Reading: Thanks to the super-jacked hours at the mall I've been able to get some more reading done, which is a good thing. Currently I'm checking out The Blood Countess by Andrei Codrescu, which, while terribly freaky in parts, is a pretty interesting read. The story is based on the life of Elizabeth Bathory, the infamous crazed Hungarian noblewoman that apparently bathed in the blood of 650 virgin girls in order to preserve her beauty forever. Not exactly a shining example of humanity. Interesting book so far, but definitely not for the squeamish.

Did You Know..? : ...that Countess Bathory was actually one of the main villains in the game Castlevania: Bloodlines? In the game, she was pretty much responsible for the current resurrection of Vlad Tepes Dracul, known to most laymen as Dracula. Cool Genesis game, if you can track it down. Highly recommended!

Crimson: In order to counter the nasty hours at work, Donald's brought in a few trade paperbacks to read. I've found myself checking out the series Crimson, which seems to be further testament to this vampire kick I've been on of late. Good series thus far... I finished the first paperback, and I'm borrowing the second currently. Donald seems to have the whole series, so I imagine I'll be going through those in the next few days.

Too Sexy For This Tux: Donald and I got to be mannequins at the store this past Saturday! I think we did a pretty good job at it, too... the ultimate compliment I got was from a woman with an English accent telling me that I reminded her of the guards back home! Highlights of the evening include the woman asking if she could kiss the mannequin, the little girl that would slap our hand and run, and Donald scaring the crap out of a large group of young girls ("Donald, you'll not get a better chance to traumatize youth!"). We might do something like this again once prom season rolls around.

Random Quote: "You haven't had any in so long, you'd have to roll to remember what it was like!" -- Random remark from Dena during last week's RPG session, which resulted in instantaneous silence, followed by a massive bout of laughter. Geek humor is a wonderful thing!

Me At A Glance - 12/02/02

Current Mood: Feeling manly! I just got finished helping my dad rake a bit of the yard, which I recall detesting madly back in the day, though it doesn't seem quite so bad now. Even so, I like getting outside every once in a while; being a computer/art/videogame/anime geek usually means staying inside, so it feels good to do something physical every once in a while. I've always joked with friends that we're a step above most fan-boys; we can survive in a social situation that involves speaking to people (and even women, well, to a degree), and we understand the concept of hygiene. This includes, but is not limited to, the brushing of teeth, and the bathing of flesh. You'd be surprised how many people neglect that hygiene thing... hang out at enough anime cons, and you will have your eyes opened in a most heinous of fashions. Fan-Boy Funk is not just a myth...

Turkey Day, the Aftermath: Thanksgiving was pretty quiet around these parts, with only the immediate family present. Nonetheless, we had an enjoyable time with lots of consuming, and discussing all manner of things around the table. Once I got the chance to lie down, I slept for a good long time... that's the universal compliment to the cook, when you fall into a coma-like sleep after dinner : )

Devil May Cry Some More: As a Christmas present to myself, I do believe that I will be ordering this soundtrack from the fine people over at The House of Anime in the near future. I'm really getting into this game! Although it pains me to admit that I spent the better part of two hours trying to figure out that I needed to attack the lion statue, I've nonetheless have been making steady progress through the game. I recently got my hands on the Gauntlets and that ungodly cool Grenade Launcher, and have been steadily carving a path of destruction in my wake. I'm using Dante as an influence for my character in Wandering Word, which kinda brings me to the next topic...

And on the Subject of Heroes That Don't Shut Up... : Why is it that most of my characters have had a tendency to be some of the biggest smart-asses around? I'm talking across the board here, from table-top RPG's to stories I've written. I guess Natalie was fairly sane as far as the wise-cracking went, and Anthony (my guy from the Vampire campaign we're running) hasn't said too much (though he has only been in one session so far). But just about everyone else, with Cain Harlocke and Mani probably being the prime examples, has had a tendency to shoot off his mouth here and there. I dunno... I'm not (much) of a smart-ass in real life, but I guess I can be here and there *smirk*

It's Still On! : There was a moment where we thought that Neil and Laura's wedding would have to be delayed until next year, but it still looks like December 28th will be the big day! True to Neil-form, I can tell you right now that this is probably going to be one laid-back affair. And yes, I've still got the best man duties! That means I plan the bachelor party, AND handle the first toast! The fools, the fools! BWAHAHAHA!

Random Quote: "Nah, he just heard that black people were free in Georgia." -- Chris's quick response to Donald, who had  asked George why had he moved to Atlanta from Alabama years ago. One of the pleasures of work is hearing George and Chris going back and forth on states of birth, seeing as they're from Alabama and Mississippi respectively, and always have a joke or two at each other's expense.

The Response:  In response to last week's challenge, Galen has opted to write an editorial in regards to what went down last weekend. You can check it out by clicking on the flying sumo below.

Me At A Glance - 11/25/02

Current Mood:  Pondering... it really doesn't seem like Thanksgiving is this week, but it really is. I'll be staying local here at the homestead, and things will more than likely be a fairly quiet affair this year. The week shall be interesting as well, seeing as I'll be spending the majority of it finishing off final projects in both classes. It was a pretty cool weekend all in all; we went to Dave and Buster's to celebrate Galen's birthday, and ended up going to our friend Dave's place afterwards and gaming until about 4 in the morning. It feels good to be able to do that every once in a while!

Go See It:  Neil, Laura and I got a chance to go check out Die Another Day yesterday. As a die-hard Bond fan I don't say this lightly, but this is probably the best Bond movie ever. Definitely better than his last outing, in my humble opinion. Highly recommended, but this comes with a price- this is also probably my least favorite opening theme song as well. Even still, go see it! Warning: You will fall in love with Halle Berry, if you have not done so already.

Added Bonus: If you go see Die Another Day, then more than likely you will see the previews to Daredevil! And it looks niiiiiiiiiice!! : D

More Mouth-Shutting: Defying the powers that be, Cain Harlocke is now the Undisputed Champion, beating The Rock for the strap at the Royal Rumble. It's been a rocky affair, mainly dealing with the likes of the NWO, but it's been a whole lot of fun as well. Brock Lesnar (who's pretty much hated me since day one) actually teamed up with Cain to take on Nash and Hogan at Wrestlemania, and proceeded to nearly take my head off after we had won. Ah well... such is life in the WWE.

Dante's Inferno: Guess who finally got his hands on Devil May Cry! Neil finally got around to letting me borrow it, and I must say that Dante is one severely bad mofo. What's there not to like about a demon-hunter with mad gun skills and a huge-assed sword?

Random Quote: "He might as well have been sitting there naked, eating a steak and drinking a beer, just asserting his male dominance!" -- Dave's roommate in regards to how Galen's friend Sneed pretty much manhandled him in a series of fighting games recently.

And One Final Subnote... :  

Galen Henderson... you have mad E. Honda skills, true, but your dominance has come to an end. The beating that my Cammy suffered at your hands this past weekend shall be avenged with violent fury. The clock is ticking, Mr. Henderson... the time for retribution is at hand. Prepare to be purified with pain.

That is all : )

Me At A Glance - 11/18/02

Current Mood:  Feeling good! Another random Monday in which I don't have work or school to deal with... God bless having a new girl covering shifts at work! This weekend was a blast, especially with having Heather come into town. She was only in town for a limited amount of time, but we still managed to attend a concert (Altan, a traditional Celtic band that kicks the booty), and watch Brotherhood of the Wolf! Of course this meant getting to bed about 4AM, but hey, it was worth it!

More Football! : I missed the game this Sunday due to being at work, but Atlanta toppled The Saints once again! Boooya! Not bad all in all, considering that our start this season was a bit iffy. Go Falcons!

Phantasy Star Online, the Update:  Shortly after posting last week's update of the page, I decided to go after the boss in the caves. I had actually fought the creature before in a four player  split-screen duel on Jeremy's GameCube, but this was the first time I was taking on De Rol Le one-on-one. And oh my goodness, I swear it felt like we brawled for a good hour! It was a particularly nasty affair, but in the long run I came out on top. I declare this to be the coolest boss fight in the game!

Shut Your Mouth! : If any of you are shocked by the fact that I now have the latest Smackdown! game, then you probably don't know me very well. Easily the best version in the series, I'm quite enjoying playing the crap out of it. I was making some pretty decent progress with The Hurricane, until my freaking brother accidentally erased my Season data! At any rate, I've been exploiting the Create-a-Wrestler feature like no man's business... I haven't recreated any of of my previous CAWs yet, but as promised I've already made Cain Harlocke (last week's CotW), along with Tifa from Final Fantasy VII, and a damn near perfect Selphie from Final Fantasy VIII. Experimenting with some of the tag team intros, I accidentally gave the two ladies Shawn Michael's and Triple H's old DX intro... I'll have you know that witnessing those two posing, flexing, and crotch-chopping has got to be the funniest thing I've seen in quite some time!

Music: My whoredom for used CD's has returned! Not only did I pick up a CD of Gregorian chants, but I also snagged The Best of Kodo, which is some more traditional Japanese taiko drum stuff. Good choices, both of them; I was listening to Kodo as I worked on a few projects today, and I popped in the chants when I decided to take a nap earlier. I fell right out, so I guess that means it's pretty relaxing stuff : )

Random Quote: "Um... the traffic was raining, and then an accident fell from the sky." -- Me explaining to George, much to his amusement, why I was three minutes late coming into work  last Saturday.

Me At A Glance - 11/11/02

Current Mood:  Positive! All around I'm feeling pretty good. I actually have an unrequested day off today, which is always fun. I've got another critique tomorrow, and another piece to finish by then, so I need to take care of that either tonight, or early tomorrow. I also need to do some cleaning, because Heather is actually stopping by this weekend! Whoohooo!

Football! : Contrary to all of the geek-stuff you see on the site, I actually try to keep up with football from time to time, believe it or not. That being said, the Atlanta Falcons played one hellified game this past Sunday against Pittsburgh. I can accept a tied score after a game like that. Simply awesome! Fear Michael Vick!

Phantasy Star Online, the Update:  Grass Assassins are now feeble little annoyances to my awesome power. I fear them not, nor do I fear the dreaded Nano Dragons! Now, being in a trapped and darkened room with THREE of them freaks still sucks harder than Prometheus between paydays, but it's nothing my boy Drake can't handle. He's just reached Level 16, and having completed every quest available at this point, I'm thinking that it's time that I tracked down the second boss and kicked its punk ass!

In More Gaming News: The new Smackdown! hits the PS2 this week! With an enhanced Create-a-Wrestler and season mode, I imagine that I'll be sorely lacking in free time in these coming weeks.

Random Saturday Night: Not feeling up to gaming last Saturday night, we opted to lounge and watch The Holy Grail, followed immediately by Rocky Horror, since half of the group hadn't seen it yet. Shocking the heck out of me was the fact that I was actually able to keep up with a lot of the lines! While we may have warped a few minds (well, more so), we laughed very hard that whole night.

Bombshells Away! : From the files of Things I Really Wasn't Expecting to Hear Just Yet, Neil has informed me that he's planning on getting married to the lovely Ms. Laura soon. That in itself wasn't the shock, but what caught me off-guard is the fact that they want to do it before the year is done, February at the latest! In addition to my expected duties as the Tuxedo Hook-Up Guy, I have also been bestowed the honor of Best Man. The target date is December 28th of this year, which doesn't give me much time to organize the bachelor party... at any rate, reactions have ranged from the traditional "Congratulations!", to the even more traditional cries from my brother of "Don't do it! Stay engaged forever!". Ah yes... these shall be interesting times!

Random Quote: "Is it safe to look?!" "NO! It's Rocky Horror!" -- TC and Galen, shortly after screaming and burying their heads under a pile of coats and arms as Dr. Frank N. Furter makes his debut in the RHPS.

Me At A Glance - 11/04/02

Current Mood:  Thumbs up, soldier! The vast majority of my art stuff is done, so I should be set when we do our critiques tomorrow. I recently also got a minor raise at work, which combined with the hours I worked last week due to George being out of town, should equal something nice this week. We'll also be beginning Flash animation in 2D Design this week, which I'm really looking forward to.

More Addictive than Crack, but with Swords:  Jeremy picked up Phantasy Star Online for the GameCube not too long ago, and I spent a good chunk of Monday evening playing it 4-player split screen style with him, Kris and Masumi. Even if you didn't go online, I heard that it's still fun as crap, so I picked up Version 2 for the Dreamcast earlier this week. Lots of fun, and I've learned a valuable lesson; no matter how big of a bad-ass I think my hunter Drake is, at 4th level, he is not capable of going toe-to-toe with the dragon at the end of the forest. I took that freak show out when I hit 10th level and had a gun, so I could cap that sucker from the distance... I'm currently in the caves, and now have a serious hatred for Grass Assassins... stupid mantis thingie...

Random Links: Proving that the websites that she visits are even more random than mine, Heather sent me the link to this site last week. It's a Flash comic detailing the random adventures of a gentleman by the name of Strong Bad. Do yourself a favor and check it out (especially the Techno one!). Funny crap, and mucho geek points to you if you can figure out where the name Strong Bad came from. 

Random Quote: "I have the leg muscles God gave a Mormon!" -- Me to Heather earlier this week, describing the state of my legs from walking around so much. This is what happens when one is 'vehiculary-impaired', as I like to put it.

Me At A Glance - 10/29/02

Current Mood: Worn out! It's only Tuesday, and it's already been a long week! I've been out and about here and there, and it feels pretty good to be able to sit down and relax for a change. I have a few sketches and projects that I need to knock out for both 2D Design and Drawing I, but I've got a pretty decent handle on things, so I imagine that I should be ok. Nevertheless, I've been invited to a Halloween party at Aaron's this Thursday (costume required!), so I'm still trying to figure if I can work it out.

Must See: If you haven't seen it, go see Barbershop. I was actually in the mood to check out The Transporter that night, but I have to say that Barbershop did not disappoint in the least. Very funny movie!

Customer Service of the Year Award: This goes to my fellow coworker Alicia, who, after spilling tea on the desk in the back, utters the phrase "SH*T!!!" to the top of her lungs, not realizing that we had a customer in the dressing room at the time! Believe it or not, I don't think said customer noticed... thank goodness for thick walls...

Dance, Sucker! : I ordered SQUAREDANCE a few days ago, brought to you by the same team responsible for Project: Majestic Mix. Excellent dance remix CD, highly recommended to any fan of the music from Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and just about every other RPG series that Square has put out. Good stuff!

Random Quote: "Dude, you're going to hell on a scholarship!" -- Carl, one of the guys in my 2D Design class, spouting out more randomness than even I. Granted we were spray painting stuff that day, so perhaps the fumes had something to do with that one.

Me At A Glance - 10/22/02

Current Mood:  Pretty danged good! It was an awesome weekend as always with Heather, as we paid visits to the Highland Games at Stone Mountain and had a good old time. Lots of music, food, dancing, and large men in kilts. On my list of things to never do is to pick a fight with a Scotsman! It was a wonderful and much-needed weekend of relaxing and spending time with the lovely Ms. Heather. And I have some pics from the last time she was here as well! Those shall be up here very soon!

Back in Action: I've finally located my Memory Card! It had been MIA since a few days after AWA, which really sucked, seeing as I haven't really been able to play much of anything without it. You can blame my brother for its untimely departure, as he borrowed it and my Smackdown! not too long ago... the game came back, but the card was AWOL until about a week ago, when it was located downstairs for some ungodly reason. If I had to start Final Fantasy X over again, someone was gonna get maimed...

You Must Watch This Movie: Galen introduced me to Shaolin Soccer this past Sunday, and I have to tell you... see this movie. It's the closest I've seen to live-action anime, and it is absolutely hilarious. Go see it! Now! NOW!

Getting Back Into the Groove: I'm getting my writer's mojo back, as I've been brainstorming a bit for my character in Wandering Word, the new RPG that the NuRPG and FFRPG alumni are putting together. I need to talk to Prometheus and see what he's planning with his guy, since we were talking about doing a co-write in the future. In the meantime, here's a quick sketch of Dexter Kincaid, my gun/sword-for-hire. He's supposed to have a glass in his other hand, but I guess the scanner is feeling a bit selective today.

Random Quote: "I've never been so insulted by a big balled, butt-fungused freak before." -- One of the more random things Alison (AKA Heather's room mate) said to me during an IM convo last night, in which we were hurling the oddest of good-natured insults at each other. And for the record, I do NOT have butt-fungus!

Me At A Glance - 10/14/02

Current Mood:  Accomplished! I've been working on the art projects here and there, and am almost done! There's a half-done picture upstairs of one of my mom's angel figurines that I'm hoping to finish up tonight. I've still got a paper to write, but I'm sure that I can knock that out fairly easily. Man, I'm really looking forward to the weekend... and why is that? Read on!

This Weekend! : Heather's coming down so we can check out the Highland Games at Stone Mountain! Witness the power of large, drunken men in kilts tossing very heavy objects for fun and sport! Not only that, but my friend Kelly will be there as well, kicking some major ass in the harp competition.  She's quite the accomplished harpist, and in fact has her own website to boot!

The Addiction: Curse Wherehouse Music for stocking used CD's!! I've been buying stuff nonstop! It sure beats what they normally charge for stuff there... within the past few days, I've purchased Europop by Eiffel 65, the soundtrack to The Mask of Zorro, and a few classical CD's here and there. There's also a nice reggae compilation there that I've been eyeballing... I've been looking to expand my horizons a bit, so I anticipate that's going to be my next victim. Somebody stop me!!

Random Quote: "No, because most of your male friends are gay ;D " -- My response to Heather earlier this week when she asked if I had a problem with her having so many male friends. I've met most of them, and they all seem to be quite gay; I don't foresee any of them experiencing a sudden bout of heterosexuality and hitting on her.

Me At A Glance - 10/07/02

Current Mood: Optimistic! Life is good of late, so I really can't complain about much of anything. I guess the main thing that has me so psyched is that a bunch of my old buds from the NuRPG (plus several faces from the FFRPG) are putting another writing group together, and it looks like things might even work out! The chat session was just like in the old days, complete with me and Prometheus smacking each other silly with steel chairs, tables, and various other flaming objects. I might actually be on-board to be the group's Archivist! I'll keep you posted on what goes down. 

The Judgment: Was Brotherhood of the Wolf worth the hype? You're damned right it is! Even though it clocks in at better than two-and-a-half hours, I almost ended up watching it again the same night I picked it up. Very cool stuff. Mani (the character, not yours truly) is a complete and utter bad mamma-jamma, and I'm certain that the man has a wallet that says Bad Mofo somewhere.

I Never Noticed it Before: I happen to be watching Tom and Jerry as I'm updating, and I've determined that Jerry is one malicious prick!! Sure, everyone figures him to the the victim because he's small and cute, but he's to blame for half the crap Tom puts him through! I'm also noticing that they've cut a bunch of the scenes from these old cartoons, mainly the stuff that might offend some people. Ah well, such is life.

Random Quote: "Are you sure you haven't been drinking?" -- Heather's next IM after I informed her that I thought she was cuter than a ladybug on a button's butt. And strangely enough, no, I wasn't drinking at the time.

Me At A Glance - 09/30/02

Current Mood: Worn out! Despite the fact that AWA is over, I'm still feeling the effects. We had a good time this weekend, and unlike last year, I can actually remember what happened. I managed to accomplish just about everything I wanted to (not knowing his size, I didn't get that Got Yaoi? shirt for Prometheus, however), and was quite happy with this year's Con. I was taking notes all weekend, so I imagine that the review will be up a lot sooner than in previous years!

Finally! : Brotherhood of the Wolf comes out on DVD TODAY! I, however, won't be able to snag it until tomorrow, but I shall have it! Also worthy of being noted is the fact that The Scorpion King came out today as well, and I have both of them reserved. Be still, my dwindling finances...

Why Samuel Jackson is The Man (TM) : After seeing the previews to Formula 51, I've determined that he's an even bigger bad-ass for one simple reason... the dude's being his bad mofo self, all  while pimping out a kilt! Sure, you can do that if you're a big burly Scotsman, but ol' Sam just proved that it's not just for the Celts. Of course Heather (she of proud Scottish descent, and who has been trying to get me in a kilt for quite some time now) got a kick out of that, and is using that as an argument in her favor. I told her that I'm up for it, but she's got to wear a Chinese dress for me sometime... preferably, a short one. Sure, I'm not Chinese, but dammit, those dresses are sexy!

Random Quote: "Chris was all about some penis!" -- Heather, describing her friend's performance at an Improv show recently. Apparently, the phallus came up several times during the course of the evening.

Me At A Glance - 09/23/02

Current Mood: Hyper! Blame my liberal chugging of Pepsi's over these past few days. I've been cutting back on the carbonated bevs of late, so they seem to have a greater effect on my when I do drink them. At any rate, I've got a couple of projects due this week, which have been cutting into my free time drawing and writing activities. At any rate, I'm learning new techniques and skills to apply to my artwork, so I think it's a fair trade. 

Showtime! : Put the women and children to bed, for AWA is THIS weekend! Preparations are currently underway... I'm responsible for bringing the PS2 again this year, along with an assortment of Dreamcast games, suitable for the wild beat-down fests that we've been known to have at conventions past. My finances are looking fairly respectable this year, but I'm trying not to get too buck-wild... at any rate, I'm pretty psyched for this weekend! Which of my alternate personas will make appearances this weekend? Well, the Black Mage shall definitely return, and I'm still pondering the whole leather-pants wearing Psycho Mantis idea as well... man, it was fun walking around with that gas mask : )

Kingdom Hearts: As expected, this game is the bomb! Of course I haven't been able to put nearly as much time in it as I wanted to (I'm still in Wonderland, if that's any indication), but I'm really enjoying it. I'm currently out of supplies and have to make a quick run back to Traverse Town to pick up a few goodies, but I'll be back and ready to kick some booty soon enough. Oh, and is it just me, or is Aeris a bit hotter than she was in FFVII? I dunno, maybe it's the sleeveless thing...

Guilty Pleasure: I almost feel bad for admitting this, but I actually kind of dig Like I Love You by Justin Timberlake...

Random Quote: "Dude, I was so naked, I wasn't even wearing socks!" -- A random quote from a friend of mine, relaying a tale of almost getting caught in the act by the young lady's parents. I'm not going to mention his name (more out of respect for his girlfriend than that sorry mofo), but for those of you that know me and my tribe, I'm pretty sure you can figure out who said it : )

Me At A Glance - 09/16/02

Current Mood: Productive! I've been on a roll for these past couple of days, mainly knocking out the various Art projects that I have due this week. Despite this, I've found a bit of time to do a couple of side projects here and there. These include, but are not limited to, my first AHQ column (to be posted soon!), a random little list that you'll find below, and even a Photoshop project involving a soon-to-be CoTW, Kai (whom you might recall me mentioning last week).

A Horseman Shy: Well, it's official...Neil won't be able to make AWA this year due to a scheduling conflict at work, alas. It won't quite be the same without him, but taking his place in our room and activities will be our bud Jason, who has made guest appearances in my convention reviews here and there. He's a bad mamma-jamma, so his presence is a more than welcomed addition to our horde.

It's Coming: Kingdom Hearts comes out this week! Who'd have ever thought that they'd see a collaboration between Squaresoft and Disney? This promises to be a very unique game... let's hope I can find a balance between playing it and doing school stuff.

Generic Soundtracks: I recently picked up A Trilogy of Fantasy, a nice Celtic CD that takes some cues from The Lord of the Rings on the packaging, but obviously has nothing to do with the movie. Even so, it's very nice, and I anticipate Heather looting this one from me in the near future. It's like a soundtrack to a fantasy movie that doesn't exist, so it's good for getting the imagination going.

Random Quote: "A harem full of elf women!" -- My knee-jerk reaction to a question posed by my friend Keith, when asked what would I do if I had the powers to draw something, and have it come to life. I really don't need nor desire a harem (I'm dating a red-head, for the love of humanity!), but I thought it was a funny idea. And for the record, if I had said powers, I wouldn't be evil, per say, but I bet no one would mess with me... I'd so own a mech-suit.

Me At A Glance - 09/09/02

Current Mood: Pretty good. I was up a bit late, but since I don't have to go in to work until 5, I should be ok. I managed to turn in my art projects on time last Thursday, and critiquing went pretty well. Not much going on this week, so things seems like they'll be fairly low-key for these next few days.

Should I be Disturbed... : ...by the fact that Heather, who's not really an anime fan, understood my Hello Kitty Hentai comment directed at Prometheus last week? Sad thing is, I'm actually pretty impressed. And on that same note, she actually came to my aid in his Livejournal, speaking in defense of... well, maybe I should just let you check it out. *smirk*

American Idol: Did they finally pick a winner for this? I've been trying my best to avoid anything American Idol related, seeing as I'm sure the winner will be crammed down our collective throats once he/she/it is announced. Just about everyone I know is an Idol whore, especially Prometheus, who follows it with crack-head devotion.

It's Coming: Anime Weekend Atlanta is less than a month away! Whoohoooo!

Things You NEVER Want to Hear a Dragon Say, #201 : "Oops." -- Phrase uttered several weeks ago during an RPG session as Shelly, playing a dragon, botched an attack roll. Had Drake, my thieving little bastard, been a few inches to the left, he'd be triplets.

Random Quote: "WE'RE SEXY BITCHS!!!" -- Direct quote from my cousin Ian during an AIM conversation at about 3am. It's nice to see that I'm not the only one that gets goofy when he hasn't slept.