“Got Milk?” via Pseudopod.org

Pseudopod #160: “Got Milk?”

The audio horror podcast, Pseduopod, posted episode 160 a couple of weeks ago.  I’m a little behind, so I’m just catching up.  But, the episode, “Got Milk?” by John Alfred Taylor, is a slightly humerous and disturbing take on how one man takes advantage of a “not as rare as you might think,” medical issue.

Another good episode I recommend, and I don’t recommend that often ;)

Brave Soul? I Think Not

There has been something bothering me for a couple of months now.  It isn’t a constant bother, but something that pops back into my mind from time to time.  I was discussing it with a co-worker the other night, and it slipped back into my thoughts again just a few minutes ago.  The topic was suicide. 

Before I go further, I’d like to point out that I’m not downplaying anyone who has lost a loved one to the act of suicide, nor am I trying to purposely disgrace their memory.  All I’m saying here is my personal opinion based upon a small conversation I had with a truck driver at my work. 

Basically, the driver in question had lost a cousin.  He wasn’t killed or maimed in any way, nor did he lose a struggle with any disease.  He had simply “had enough” of the hurdles live was throwing at him and hung himself.  I made a comment similar to the one I’m about to make below, and the driver became very defensive and said, “Why, I think anyone that commits suicide is a brave person.  To know that you are going to end your own life, to take it into your hands like that, that’s bravery … that’s having the balls to do something other than stand around and do nothing!”  I’m paraphrasing a bit, but that is the gist of what he said.

Now, it’s my turn. 

Life is hard, no one has ever claimed otherwise.  Even a multi-millionaire has to work for his/her money (in the beginning, anyways.)  People lose loved ones, jobs, money.  Live comes at you hard and fast, but it is how you view your situation and roll with it that determines your success in this physical world we live in.  You can either dodge and adjust your strategy when you get knocked down, or you can have the crap beat out of you.  It’s your choice.  But to simply give up and say, “Meh, I can’t take it anymore,” and kill yourself … well, my friend, you are a coward.  That’s taking the “easy” way out, not to mention the fact that, for our Christian friends, you are condemning yourself to damnation by taking your own life. 

“Oh, my wife left me.  Obama’s President.  I got laid off.  They are foreclosing on my house.  I think I’ll blow my brains out, that’ll show ‘em!”

I don’t understand it.  If you want to be brave, to live a good life and jump those hurdles, then, as another co-worker says, “it’s time to man-up,”  not curl up in a ball and take that “easy” way out by shirking your responsibilities, family and friends. 

Super Win Mode

If you want to breeze through World of Warcraft, then I’ve got a quick news flash for you. Level a hunter class. Doesn’t really matter what race, but once you get to level 10 and train your faithful pet, you’ll be a leveling fool!

My Orc hunter is level 12 already, with my little bit of play time, and if I could sit down for a whole day, uninterrupted, I would be probably be able to reach at least 22.

Other than a hunter, I’d say your next best bet to quickly zoom through the leveling process would be a death knight. Especially if you went with enough points to get you a full-time ghoul pet. Aside from the DK’s ability to generate health out of damage dealt and honor/experience kills, they’re pretty unstoppable. No down time on either a dk or a hunter, as your pet does most of your damage while you stand back and auto fire with a bow/gun for the most part.

If you want to get into WoW, or just give it a try, go for the easy Win. Of course, dk’s are only available once you get a character up to level 55, but if you level a hunter, it’ll still fly by.

It Was So Fun, I’m Doing It Again

I enjoyed playing a hunter-class so much, that I’ve decided to roll another.  There is a slight change, though.  My main character is a Draenei hunter, level 80 on the Stormrage server and in the guild Clockwork.  Look me up sometime, it’s cool.  This particular server has been dedicated to the Alliance. 

Another server, however, is what I refer to as my Horde server.  I’ve got a 32 warlock (which inspired me to create my Human warlock on the Alliance side that is now up to level 72), and of course a nice Troll death knight.  My hunter, this time around, though, is a nice rugged Orc male.  He’s rough and tumble, doesn’t get along with humanoids very well, but has a soft spot for animals, hence his career as a hunter.

So, we’ll see how this goes.  I’m actually enjoying leveling a hunter, yet again.  Maybe it just requires some time off to experience new again.  Anyways, I haven’t forgotten my Alliance toons, nor my plan to level the warlock to level 80.  But, while I am working on this it is building up some nice rested xp on my other toons. 

Stay tuned, true believers.

Clickity-clack

I have the urge to do a little writing, but my pen can’t keep up with my brain.  As such, I’m considering hi-jacking my wife’s netbook and taking it to work with me.  I can do a little work during my lunch break instead of stuffing my face with food.  Sounds like a plan, my friends!  I coulda just posted this to a twitter comment, but I needed an update for today anyways <wink,wink, nudge,nudge>

The Proposal (2009)

Allow me to start off by saying, I’m a Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds fan.  I enjoy the majority of the movies they star in and think they have a knack for comedy and can play some edgy dramatic roles when they are called to do so.  So, when The Proposal came out at the theaters, I wanted badly to go see it.  Of course, I was working two jobs and sleeping the remainder of my time, so that didn’t happen.  My wife, mom and one of their friends went to see it, however, and all I’ve heard for the past few months is how great the movie was!

Last week, the movie finally came out on dvd.  Sunday, we bought it (for my wife).  I have to say, while it isn’t the funniest movie I’ve seen in awhile, it is a decent one.  Bullock and Reynolds prove they can straight-face a comedy with the best of them.  A note of interest, though: while Sandra Bullock is still in great shape (which you’ll see in the movie) she is starting to show a little age. 

My only complaints are 1) the pacing seemed rushed from beginning all the way up to the end.  And 2) it wasn’t as funny as I was led to believe.  The story was great and had potential and could even lead to a hilarious, drawn out sitcom concerning their trials and tribulations in pretending to be in love.  But as a movie, they had to rush the plot into the alotted time and, as a result, it was lacking in some storytelling elements.

All-in-all, though, it was a good movie and I would watch it again.  In fact, I’d probably gain more from it the second time around, as I usually do with movies I enjoy, because upon first viewing, I’m usually going in with higher/lower expectations and do not have as much fun enjoying the story or actions taking place on screen.

The Proposal (Official Movie Myspace Page)

A Little Humor for This Quiet Sunday

Veronica Belmont’s “The Best of Us Challenge” Entry

Veronica Belmont entered her video into “The Best of Us Challenge” contest.  You can read about her endeavor and the event at her blog/site: Veronica Belmont.  In the meantime, here is the YouTube video her completely innocent hula-hoop entry :)

Boomer & Six, At It Again …

To support my blog post about “My Two Favorite Cylons,” and in honor of the upcoming Battlestar Galactica movie, “The Plan,” Tricia Helfer and Grace Park are ready to hit the news stands in the November issue of Maxim.  They have nothing to hide, including photoshopped art that looks darn good to me :)

Stargate Universe – “Air,” Parts 1 & 2 (Series Premiere)

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology and Comcast’s OnDemand, I was able to watch the two-part series permiere of the latest “Stargate” incarnation, “Stargate Universe.”  And yes, I realize I’m a week or two late, but I’m not a professional that can sit around and blog all day :P

Stargate Universe: Syfy Channel

I’m not sure how they originally aired, as either a 2-hour premiere or 2 one-hour episodes, but “Stargate Universe” came in with a bang.  The opening scene was of a spaceship flying through space.  The camera slowly moving from deck to deck and through corridors, showing it slowly coming to life.  Then we move in on a Stargate.  Suddenly it comes to life, too, exploding and settling into a rippling puddle.  And that’s where the action begins.  People and objects come hurling through the gate in rapid procession, so fast, in fact, that injuries are stacking up.

How did this all come to be and who are these main characters we’re quickly introduced to?  That is told over the course of the two hours via flashbacks.  Mostly it is a military crew, but, a’la “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” you’ve got some civilian and scientific folk thrown in there, too, due to an emergency evacuation of a base on an alien world.

The purpose of the base is to use the planets natural energy to try and unlock the mystery of the Stargate’s 9th chevron.  The chevrons are used to “dial” addresses into the gate.  The movie used 7 I believe to dial a planet and the series “SG-1” expanded the 8th chevron to dial different galaxies.  “Stargate Universe” unlocks the mystery of the 9th in the nth hour before the base is destroyed by mysterious invaders.  Using the help of a “contest winner” who solved an energy problem via a hidden puzzle in a video game, the main scientist, Dr. Rush, defies orders and activates the gate using the new address.  Seconds before the entire planet is destroyed, all possible personnel is evacuated through the gate into …

A mysterious unknown vessel.  We come to find out the vessel is one of the first Ancient ships launched with no crew.  Its purpose is currently unknown to us, but Dr. Rush seems to know more about it than he is volunteering to the rest of the crew. 

As is par for a show like this, tensions are tight and there are problems abound.  One thing I found interesting is that the ship takes them to places they may need to go, as witnessed in the second part.  They were in need of something to clean the air buffers because life support was failing.  So the ship came to a planet … conveniently with a Stargate.  It dialed the address and gave them a total of 12 hours to accomplish their mission of finding something to clean the buffers.  Very “Sliders-“ish in the time limit given before the ship closed the gate and went back into warp.

“Universe” did a decent job of setting up future issues and romances in the first two hours.  I just hope it can continue on a forward momentum and succeed like its predecessors.  The “Stargate” universe is a fun and exciting one, but poor writing can bring anything down in a matter of time.  I’m also looking forward to questions being answered.  As much as I love a good story, I sometimes hate mysteries that aren’t answered in good time.  “Universe” could have some good mysteries, we’ll just have to wait and see.  The good thing about Syfy is that they do provide good backing for their shows, unlike other networks, giving them a chance to grow and develope an audience.

Highly recommend checking this series out.