Healthy choices

I pretty much only eat bread and peanut butter. In the interest of health, I have switched from white bread to whole wheat bread. In the interest of compromise, I have switched from margarine to real butter.

Conflicted about Dick

Dick Grayson that is! The CW is making a new DC Comics show, and it's about a character I think would make the best show evers! But they are making a show about Robin before his parents died. So, we'll have a young (or teenaged if I know the WB) Dick doing trapeze routines with his folks and probably having a love triangle with a bearded lady and the tattooed contortionist while solving Scoobie Doo-ish mysteries. Even saying that I'm excited for it, I mean it's DICK GRAYSON! Oh wait, it isn't. We can't have all the giggling that would cause, so they'll rename him "DJ".

I think they just went the wrong way with this. Instead of doing a Pre-Batman show, you do a Post-Batman show! After all, Dick Grayson, becomes a 20 something dude, gets all into fights with his "dad" and heads off on his own to start again in a new city with new villains and becomes a cop as an alter ego. That tv show already writes itself! Plus this way he's trained as a detective and knows how to fight. And you get a wide array of costumes to choose from.

All the Robin costumes:
Dick's Robin (pretty bad), Tim's First (awesome) and Current (still cool)

And all of the Nightwing costumes:
First (awful) Second (still bad) and Current (my personal choice)

Plus that way they could at least have Batman guest star in an episode for sweeps week, or at least have Alfred or one of the new Robin's show up.

Thank you Oni

I bought the Hardcover collection of Local that just came out today. When I saw the price on the Diamond shipping lists, I figured it was a softcover. This is a beautifully crafted book, and an amazing story. I know I've said to go out and buy comics before, but I am serious today. I don't know anyone who wouldn't enjoy this story. It will be your new favorite book

C-C-C-Call me on my cell phone

Got a cell phone yesterday

Just like Mama-san used to make

It seems that a lot of these posts are about me cooking something delicious. Either I am a fantastic cook, or I have poor taste in food. I'm betting on me being a fantastic cook, with a little help from a friend I call internet. Oh, and Danielle helped too.

The other day after a trip from Sobey's we couldn't get in the driveway because there was some sort of panic involving cops and firemen and a tow-truck. So we just kept driving down the hill and I decided that we should hit the little Korean convenience store and pick up some beans to make some red bean buns. I'd bought some frozen there a while ago and they never got anymore in, so I looked up recipes. Most said to go buy red bean paste but if you're gonna make something for the first time, go all the way.

Of course after we got the beans we had to go back up to Walmart (that being my 4th trip of the day) to pick up a steamer and some more baking ingredients.

I can see why all but one recipe called for the paste, since it took 2 days to make! Soak the beans in water for a day, then boil them for 2 hours, then drain and repeat, then chill with cool water, drain and repeat, then completely strain, then cook again in a pan with arse-loads of sugar. We made way more than we needed, so now that's frozen and jazz and will be easier for next times.

Then it was all kinda standard dough making stuff, mix, kneed, rise, cut, shape, fill with beans, fold it up, rise some more, then cook time. We had more dough than would fit in the steamer, so we baked two of them that finished quicker. They were a pretty good crispy pastry with a sweet innards of red been paste. But the steamed ones are fantastic! Instead of crisping, they sort of cook slower and more even and turn out as this weird spongy, chewy consistency that doesn't make sense unless you've had them.

They turned out like this:



They are fairly great, and super filling. One doesn't look like much but it's enough.

Shimmer

So, I've been getting into woman's wrestling now, ever since seeing that it can be really good on TNA when they're allowed to wrestle instead of be in bikini contests. I found out that all the good new female wrestlers came from an indie promotion called Shimmer, that is nothing but woman's wrestling and it is amazing! I found the latest 2 dvds of it and they do everything that the guys do, with some pretty cool looking new moves that I'd never seen before, and some moves that have been banned from WWE cause they're too dangerous, like the Kudo Driver.

Strong Bad's Wii

So the Brothers Chap have a game out for the Wii now. Strong Bad's Cool Game For Attractive People! My game was complimentary of course since I am ever so attractive. Got it yesterday and played for a bit, it's exactly what you'd expect it to be since telltale games made it. Point and click adventure with more jokes than you could think possible. And you can make some teen girl squad cartoons!

Tim Hunter's Yo-Yo

So I picked up Neil Gaiman's old Book's of Magic today at the comic book store and it's a pretty good tour of the DC universe's magic characters, even if it is quite old now. Plus it's Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess for one of the issues, so you can't go wrong. Or at least I couldn't go wrong.

I was watching Last Comic Standing, but I'm very upset with you America since you voted on stupid British guy with the Bass instead of Canadian National Treasure Sean Cullen. Bad America! Bad!

MST3 K 00

So, yesterday, me and Danielle watched the Riff Trax for 300. If you don't know what Riff Trax is, its the dudes (or at least one dude) from Mystery Science Theatre 3000 doing their mocking commentaries for new movies. You pay a few bucks, play the audio file in sync with the movie, and laugh til you die or the credits roll.
We still have one to watch for the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory done by Michael J Nelson and Neil Patrick Harris, but we don't actually own the movie. It just looked to good to pass up!

Sloppy Josephs

So Danielle is on the Simply For Life now, which might lead you faithful viewers to believe that I am also on the healthy town train. And that is just untrue. When confronted with a half a pot of brown rice to feed myself with, I added ground beef, molé sauce, cheez whiz and then served it all served on a toasted hamburger bun. My friends is quite delightful. They are Sloppy Joes ++! Indeed they are Sloppy Josephs, because the full Joseph makes me think of Stalin. A hearty man who restricts freedoms. And this is a hearty sandwich that restricts freedoms... of arteries

101 Word Stories

I found this page through Penny Arcade months ago, but everybody should check it out cause it's fairly awesome.

This modern day version of a bible story is pretty great: @JOB

From Hank

So yesterday I get off of work and walk out to the car to find something under the windshield wiper. I figured it was a flyer or something, then I saw that it was a little Walmart Photo envelope. So I assumed that it was some discount thingy that some poor sap had to go around and put on all the cars, in the rain no less. So I grab it and written on it is "please open and call". This is where the question marks started sprouting from my head. Geoff works in the photo lab so I figure he's left me a note or a prank or something. Or maybe one of the cute boys left me his number! So I open it up and inside is a little slip of paper saying:
(HANK)
I have the same car as you, same kind and color. I was wondering if you need any parts for it.

and then he left his number.
This is the weirdest thing that has ever been left on my car! I mean, think about it a little. This guy has the same car as me, but it can't be working if he is offering it as parts to me. So is he just wandering around town looking for '99 Saturns? But I don't even think it's that since he didn't have an envelope prepared, he had to go into the store and get the one from the photo center. So he earnestly believes that my working car out in the parking lot is worth his time to go inside and write this note. That is just bizzare...

... Always

So, I work at the Walmart now. I work 4 departments at once because I am all man. Or even 4 all men maybe...
Walmart is pretty good because I get breaks and days off, which is the opposite of what I got at Quiznos, so I think I can probably cut it there. And I hate looking for work so I'm not leaving til something horrible happens or something else awesome comes along. Anyone want to pay me to read comic books?

Me and Danielle braved the bugs out in Harvey today to go canoing. Getting that thing tied to the car was horrible, and I'm not doing it again. It can travel by truck. But the canoing itself was fun, and I think we'll head out again on the next sunny day.

We got Wii Fit too and it is destroying me! It really is a workout

A new look for our robot overlords

So, while trying to get the musician meeting pic too fit, I picked a different template and colours for this whole shebang. It feels more like an outside background now.

This morning I had to get up and drive Danielle down to McAdams to fill out some paper work, and while she was there, I wandered King's Place. The line for coffee of McDonald's breakfast was long, so I bought myself a drumstick, then ate it. Then went to shoppers for deodorant, pop, and a magazine to kill the time. I almost walked out with a ROBOT magazine, but switched at the last moment to Scientific American's special edition on Robotics. I figure it was a good choice, as this has all kinds of sweet stuff that is almost practical, while the ROBOT magazine would have taught me to build a mobile flamethrower. Not the cooler choice, but probably the better one.

Anyways, there's an article on artificial muscles, and how they are basically electric motors without moving parts and it is super cool stuff. Within 10 years it'll be used for everything, it's already being used in a Japanese toy aquarium to make little plastic fish swim around. Plus, NASA will even teach you how to make it. I love living in the future!

Where are the dogs humping?

Where Are The Dogs Humping.com


So Awesome! Drew and Natalie Dee would be my internet heroes except that I already have so many of them already.

Bubble Tea

So you can totally buy Bubble Tea down at the Tangerine juice place at the King's Place mall. I bought a strawberry with pineapple jelly, and it is grand. I think I might try orange next time, because there will certainly be a next time.

YHTBTR

Best videogame you'll play in the next 5 minutes: You Have To Burn The Rope

Neat lock

This is the sort of thing that is cooler to see on a webpage then it would be in practice. I mean who wants to solve a maze anytime they want to leave the house? Also, I am totally blanking on what those locks are called. Throw chain? I can't think of it, so I should probably just eat some mini pizzas

I believe in Bigfoot but I don't believe in you

Me and Danielle went out to see Cuff the Duke last night. It was awesome! I was worried that it would be intensely crowded cause it was at the Capital but it was actually really good. Decent crowd, not too dense with a minimum of drunken fools. The opening band was The Stables and they were really fun too. Danielle took one look at the dude playing the washbin / string stick thingy bass and realized that she could totally play the bass. I mean if Geoff can play four strings, she can play 1 easy!
Anyways, Cuff the Duke put on an amazing show. Country bands are great live acts. They didn't play of their super long slow pretty songs that I love (Ballad of the Lonely Construction Worker, or Parkdale Basement) but I was happy with the set list cause really, I love all their songs. After the show I went to buy a shirt and Wayne Petti laughed at my super corny joke which makes me happy. It's been a while since I've been out to see a band since the Corner Brook scene isn't exactly my cup of tea. But last night was good times and I'm looking forward to getting out more

Fuckin Squirtle!

So I've had SSBB for a bit now and I have all the characters if not all the stages and songs unlocked. I totally want to hold a tournament, there's even a tournament set-up in the game, but only my roomies and Geoff have played. I still want to hold a tournament. I'll have to make a facebook event and see if people will come for funs. My dad lent us the Crokinole board too cause Danielle had never played it, so I figure it can be a double tourney. But if memory serves, there's Cuff the Duke this weekend, AND my brother is out of town, so it can't be this week. Which is fine cause I'd have destroyed everybody anyways

cold as ice

So, chocolate milk.
I bought 2 litres today and it's almost gone cause well hey, it's chocolate milk. Now I'm not quite as finicky about chocolate milk as I am about peanut butter, but I think that it should be as cold as possible. I put a glass of it in the freezer for about half an hour before I drink it so it's all ice crystallized and thick and just plain awesome. It's like a mini milkshake and that can't be a bad thing. If I had one of those slushy machines to put chocolate milk in it would be the best day ever. Now I'm gonna put another glass in the freezer and watch some wrestling

Super Smash Bros Brawl

So I picked this up yesterday, anyone want to come play? I don't have all the characters unlocked yet, but that's half the fun

American Gods

Neil Gaiman and Harper Colins are giving away American Gods online for free for a little bit. It's a great modern mythology tale, kind of Steven King-ish.

Check it out here:
http://browseinside.harpercollins.com/index.aspx?isbn13=9780060558123&WT.mc_id=author_AmerGods_FullAccess_022208

Kurosawa

So, I finally saw Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon. It's the first of the "multiple points of view" movies, filmed way back in 1950. I was a little disappointed if just from my expectations. I thought the points of view would be complimentary and add up to the final truth of the situation, where it was actually all conflicting views and you have to sort out for yourself who's telling the truth. Still quite good, I'd have to watch it again but I might prefer it to The Seven Samurai. Anyways, watching the Medium scene I had a feeling I'd seen it before then remembered seeing it on Neil Gaiman's blog in a far more creepy form


seriously, you shouldn't watch this before trying to go to sleep

Cover song

So I picked up Raising Sand, the country album by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. It's that old school folky country, so it's simple, catchy and I like it. I really like their version or Trampled Rose, cause the original Tom Waits version would frequently get skipped over. Anyways, it's a pretty sweet album so far and goes well with my recent Cuff The Duke kick.

Oh, and I found out today that Richard Dawkins came up with the word Meme, and that I've been pronouncing it wrong for years, but that it follows the nature of memes that I would...

afternoon musings

So, I now have an apartment in Fredericton. Well, I'm not in it yet but we're going in Monday to sign stuff and hand over money. It's a fairly spacious place, I think it will fit the ridiculously booked lifestyles that we lead.

I know that if I wanted to be environmentally friendly and give that Al Gore his wings I could buy e-books, or maybe even go big and shell out for a Kindle but I enjoy the texture of books, and I enjoy owning things so I just keep buying them. I'm in Chapters right now considering picking up Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, it's absence from my collection a serious black mark against my geek credibility.

I'm also thinking about picking up a book from the other side of the fence. If you enter Chapters from the parking lot instead of the mall, you pass buy a table filled with books debating spirituality. The new paperback edition of the God Delusion is there (which is suggested reading for anyone and I'll happily lend my copy to you folks) along with Letter to a Christian Nation and other atheist points of view, but I'm already on that side. So, I was thinking about picking up one of the books that defends Christianity and creationism from these arguments. You know, just to see how the other side thinks. And you can take that as a reaching out in understanding way or a Sun Tzu's know your enemy kind of way, though in truth it falls between the two.

I was thinking about books and printing things as I left the Super Store earlier today. I had deposited some money in to the bank machine and when you do that you don't get the option of not taking a receipt. So I threw it in the garbage and Al Gore cried and then I thought about killing trees and removing them as homes for little animals and then pulping them which pollutes water and the air and all that jazz, and I still think that books are worth it. At least it's a renewable resource, it could be worse if wrote stuff down on plastic. But mostly I was just thinking that being able to give untarnished information to others is worth pretty much anything to me. By untarnished I guess I meant to say immutable, as verbal discussions are bound to change the info in some way. And while I don't think anyone would argue that having life saving non-fiction like a list of poison symptoms and antidotes is a bad thing, I say that fiction, and even outright blatant lies pretending to be non-fiction are important enough to write down. Like Mein Kampf, one of the most dangerous volatile books ever written, is important to keep around so we understand just how easy it is subvert frightened or uneducated people with bigotry. The only problem I have with printed lies is that a lot of the time you can only sort them from truth looking back at them years later.

Of course these days that argument doesn't work for the justification of environmental damage and "but I like it" isn't an argument at all, so maybe I will save up for a kindle

Dave's a junkie

So, it had been about a year, but now I'm the wagon. I'd been clean since last February but I couldn't help it, I caved and got a fix. Yup, I'm buying comics again.
But I'm limiting myself! No superhero stuff! They are huge on their crossovers and before you know it you're suckered into reading all the stuff they print just to find out what's happening. So, I'm sticking to Vertigo and indy titles. When I went I picked up stuff only from two authors, Mike Carey and Brian Wood who are both fantastic, but I need to go through my old books and find out where I left off and see if Derick can find them for me. And I don't even know if books like Sam Noir: Samurai Detective, or Rex Libris are even being published anymore. Oh! Even though it had been a year, Jason still remembered my name. Yeah, I don't know if this self imposed limit can hold, but I'll give it a try.

Stay Away

Oh man, so I've been out of Corner Brook for over a month and it just feels so good. There are a few things there I'm gonna miss. Mostly the park. I heart that little spot, all shaded by the waterfall. Sit down with my discman and a book or an old TPB of Preacher and waste away a day. Or sitting next to the dammed up stream swimming pool and playing go with Dan. Those were fun times. And I miss Brewed Awakening, a cozy little coffee shop that played good music. But oh man there are way more things I'll be happy to never ever see or hear again.

Let's make a list!

- the streets: You have never ever seen streets as messed up as in Corner Brook. Ignoring the fact that structurally they were in shambles, the way they were laid out boggles the mind. In all the places worth going to, like the theatres or the downtown area there are more one way streets than two-way ones. And one of the malls has a one way parking lot where you have to circle the whole building to leave again, unless you are trying to turn left onto the main drag, then you have to leave on the other side of the mall on an access road to the mill and take two extra streets to get back on track. And that's not even the worst situation I've come across, just the easiest to explain. Hate the streets. And good luck trying to find a map of the place

- the streetlights: The only thing that made the streets worse is the streetlights. They last about a minute and a half and aren't traffic actuated. So if you get a red light, you might as well put the car in park. Even if there's nothing coming the other way you'll be there a while. And for some unknown reason, they put them all in 4-way stop / flashing red mode at 11 pm. I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't want your street lights working, but I guess someone did.

- the crosswalks: You know they only way you can screw up a crosswalk? Instead of putting up a crosswalk, you put up traffic lights that also last about a minute and half. And you put 3 of them on the biggest road. I've stopped for a kid at one of them, had him cross and go into a store and was on his way out by the time I got to go again. It's insane! Crosswalks don't need traffic lights, just those flashing lights at most to grab your attention

- the crazy people: Corner Brook is home the craziest of the crazy people. One time, this guy came into the Ultramar at 3AM. He looked at the magazines and picked out a national geographic and started reading it, talking about some park in BC that his daughter went to one time and how he was gonna buy it for her but he'd have to come back with the money. This guy looked pretty homeless. He was wearing a touque with ratty holes in it, three grandpa sweaters and sweat pants that were tucked into his socks and rubber boots. And he was wearing those plastic sports glasses frames with the elastic band in the back, except these were broken and taped back together. He left then came back later with enough change to buy it, and no coins bigger than a quarter. When I told this story to a co-worker another time when he was in the store, I was informed he was the town's surgeon. I was surprised he wasn't the mayor

- the language: Yes I know that it's Newfoundland, and everyone makes fun of the accent, but if I never hear "can a drink" ever again it'll be too soon. Plus some weird usage of the word after that I just can't reproduce... it doesn't make sense anyway. And that's just when I could understand what people were asking me.

- the snow: If it's somewhere between the months of September and May you can safely bet on it snowing. And not just snowing, on it snowing all day, just like the last two weeks. I'd never had to brush off my car 5 times in one day before, but it soon became habit. Anywhere you stopped and went inside, you'd have to clean it of when you got back out, no matter how quick you were. And it turned out that our little tucked away street got the most snow in the city.

- the stores: There is not a whole lot of places to go shop in Corner Brook, unless you're looking for Christian literature. No comic book store and the malls shut down at 6pm. It's a consumer paradise! Also, they had no Wendy's or Burger King, which is just horrible. And we bought a pizza that was so bad that we threw it away. I've never thrown away pizza before, not even when I worked a pizza place for years, I always took it and ate it.


I'm sure there's more things I disliked, like gas prices or just how far away it is from here, but that's enough to get across my warnings. Don't move to Corner Brook.

Back in the saddle at the keyboard

So, what with me being on the dial-up and how horrible that is, I've basically ignored this blog. But it's been over a month so I should have something down here. So, I'm in Harvey and looking for a place in Fredericton and a job and so forth.

Going in tomorrow to have a look around at places with Liz and try to find a decent 2 bedroom in a decent place for a decent price. Yeah, Liz is gonna be moving in with me and Danielle, presumably because she wants to hear us doing it thinks we're nice people. It'll be good to live in town again and have the internets, I'm running out of anime to watch and I'm dangerously close to actually emptying my 'To Read' book pile.