Oops. That makes one.

Meant to update last night, but I got into a long conversation about Immortality how-to stuff. I'll just update twice today to make up for it.

The topic was a little odd, but I think I'll summarize the IM log (at least the answers I had) and post it. I made some good points and explained some of my views quite eloquently (for a change).

Not just filler

Really. Good entertainment. Of a sort. OK, to name the topic: Webcomics. If you don't read them, you really should. There are a ton of great, free comics out there that you can spend DAYS reading.

How, what, huh, you say? Because many of them have been running for years, their entire collection is archived and readable (in most cases), and many of the comics update as many as 3 or 4 times a week there can be hundreds of 3-8 panel strips for each good new comic for you find.

Some to get you started (if you haven't already):

• MegaTokyo is a fun gaming oriented comic. Gamers get trapped in Japan, hilarity ensues. LONG plot line.
• Penny Arcade avoids "continuity" like the plague. Game related jokes. No plot. You might not "get it," as they say, because it might not be "for you."
• Shlock Mercenary has the mother of all plots. Just start at the start and dig in. Sci-fi madness, campy at times. Did I mention it has a lot of plot? Yeah. It does.
• Bob, The Angry Flower is a little more like typical comics. Heh, OK. Not really. But it has the same kind of format. Very edgy and vaguely adult in content (language and topic).
• Dominic Deegan is going to be the last one. It is a recent find of mine, a little edgy (people die "on camera"), and is based in a fantasy swords-and-magic kind of world.

I've tried to cover a large(ish) cross section of styles and formats, but there really are just too many to make a truly complete list. Look for links sections in each comic you find. Most of these people will provide links to comics they like and read or other comics from the same free service group. I'll get all of the comics I read into a sidebar linked list one of these days. Enjoy.

Too much trouble

I give up (for now) trying to get the Blog title and description to actually STAY CHANGED! GRRR! Didn't mean for this to be the only post of the day, but I was extra special busy and didn't want to have to wrestle with this problem again. So I will not. Yet.

Yeah. That was lame (even for my low standards). Umm...look! A llama!

Targeting...

Yes, it might be some of the same people complaining about this that as complain about Doom3 or Half-Life 2, but what I find funny is the number of normally unconcerned people (and by people, I mean journalists) who are suddenly outraged about this.

Is it in poor taste, yes. Is it done that way to sell more copies of the game, big yes. Is it exactly the same gamepaly as in Doom3 and Half-Life 2, in that you are shooting people with a gun, a lot? Yes, yes it is.

But the target in this case makes it different. Someone who was famous, who really died, and who was known and "loved" by millions is, it seems, more important than the mindless zombies or humans acting as hired guns mowed down by the truckload in other videogames. But isn't this the same act? Shooting someone? Killing another sentient creature, however abstract the presentation and actions? Does it even matter if it isn't "real"?

Standing Still

A friend of mine is going though an unfortunate situation: she wants to move out of her parent’s house to be closer to the college she is attending, but they want her to stay. No reasons given, so far as I have heard. Just a no. They must have their motives, but I’m not sure that there are any reasons. There appears to be nothing well thought out that produced this edict. From what I can gather, this seems a simple misunderstanding of the situation and of her needs and feelings.

But I can do nothing other than listen. Yes, the classic line that that is exactly what I should do and that that is what she needs the most. Nonsense. It would help immensely if I could only talk directly to her parents and help explain how she feels and what she needs. But that isn’t on option. Why? Because the prevailing standards of social conduct say that it is not “my place” to get involved. This rule says that anything I might say or do is irrelevant, even if what I might say is correct and helpful.

Of course I could break this “rule” and try it anyway. But the chance of success, as I estimate it, is very, very low – the chance of making things a hell of a lot worse, very, very high. In the balance, it is not worth the risk to her wellbeing. Also, I’m relatively sure that she will be able to work it out, eventually, one way or another.

Am I being overly dramatic? Perhaps some would think so. But this is only an example and there are larger and more difficult to solve problems people have that contain the same structure. I think I know how to help, but I can not do so because of customs and mores that people hold and support that trump my best efforts.

Why can't it...

...keep the profile settings for my blog. That should be such an easy thing. Apologies to anyone who is actually subscribed to this thing. And argh.

No longer totally in the dark

A few websites (especially some webcomics I read) were using a term I had never heard before.
Emo might be a west-coast thing, because I was (for once) totally clueless.

This isn't as strange as it might seem. I have no idea how to even start categorizing the music I like. I've got both classical and Punk (by dictionary definitions) in my CD wallet. I've also got blues, Jam band, and a ton more. I'm not even very comfortable classifying this broadly. So why, I ask, do these labels, especially the more specific ones, even matter, when they almost always end up as meaningless marketing tags for more mainstream pop bands? What is really the point?

My (cynical) guess is that the music is almost irrelevant, and it is really the cultural trend that people care about. I don't think I like that very much. Give me good music, music that I like at least one day out of the month. Screw both the big music market executives and these here-today-so-yesterday-tomorrow cultural trend setters. If you happen to be in either of these groups, think about it. You may very well be an idiot.

Yeah, that didn't take long

Did not take long for me to put my foot in my mouth, eh? The blog template that I was complaining that "everyone and their dog is using", well my brother is using it at his blog (midnighterrant.blogspot.com). No apologies, it really is over-used, but at least he has some sort of thematic reason for using it. And I linked to him. Not that that means much right now.

Old but Weird news

Yes, I know. The entire Internet should have seen this one by now. I do not care.

Cool, weird news at www.newsoftheweird.com

Had enough!

I'm chaning the template again. It looks like everyone and their dog is using that simple black thing. Bah!

I'm back. Redesign of the site, check. Smarmy opinions, check. Intent to update daily, checkish. No, really. OK. Fine. Daily updates unless I can't reach a computer. 365 posts a year. That extra one on the leap-year-thingie-why-don't-we-use-a-decimal-year. Too many words used to explain a simple concept, check. Ready to go.