| Jar Jar, you're a genius! |
[Jul. 4th, 2008|01:17 pm] |
David Morgan-Mar, creator of Irregular Webcomic, has been doing another webcomic made from screencaps of Star Wars. It's called Darths & Droids, and it's pretty funny. Basically, it assumes that "The Phantom Menace" or whatever it's called is someone's homebrew sci-fi D&D game, with the movie characters acting like typical PCs.
The strip for July 3 (#122) ended with the punchline "Jar Jar, you're a genius!" On a whim, the strip's creators googled the phrase and found zero, that's zero hits.
By the end of the day, enough readers had googled it that several fake blog spam sites started throwing it up, and it actually got to #40 on Google's Hot Trends.
40? We can do better than that, people! Google the phrase as much as you can! And, read "Darths & Droids*". It's worth it.
*Link connects to strip #1 in the archives. And, P.S., I know about DM of the Rings. Commentary for the first strip says that's where he got the idea. |
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| Let's put blame where it belongs. |
[Jun. 21st, 2008|08:22 pm] |
Pandora was set up.
Not many remember the backstory on that myth; the gods wanted to "get even" after Prometheus stole fire and gave it to mankind. As part of their plan, they created Pandora. That's right, she wasn't born, she was created. Handcrafted, her appearance and her personality designed from the ground up. So they knew exactly what buttons to press, and boy did they press them.
"Here's a box. You don't know what's in it. Mmmmaybe something good. Mmmmaybe something bad. I guess we'll never know, because we're telling you right now: don't open it."
Of course she opened it. They manipulated her from the start. Poor kid never had a chance. So now, you really can't blame her for releasing all the troubles into the world. The gods made her the fall guy so they could keep their hands clean.
That said, she managed to slam the box closed on one thing. And then, she was persuaded by (I think) Hermes to let out that one last thing. Knowing what had happened last time, she opened the box again and let Hope into the world.
For that, she should only spend eternity being stung by hornets. From the inside. |
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| Just saw the Hulk preview |
[Jun. 10th, 2008|11:27 pm] |
Very well done. CGI was good enough to give the Hulk real-looking emotion. Wouldn't be surprised to learn find out that they did some facial motion capture there.
But all the CGI in the world will fall flat if the story and acting tank...which they most emphatically did not.
Gets my full recommendation.
Neat little shout-outs, too. A few familiar faces in brief cameos. Others occur in background clips playing on TV, and in the musical score.
I won't describe the teaser finale, but it comes just before the credits, instead of after. I speculate that it was intended to come after, but they moved it after so many people complained about missing the one at the end of Iron Man. I sat through the credits anyway, in case there was another, but there wasn't.
(Edit on June 11th: I've just heard unconfirmed reports that there is a second, post-credit teaser that wasn't on the preview print. So if you leave during the credits you may miss something after all. Please don't be mad at me if you do.)
Personally, I think they should've kept it for after the credits anyway, like an easter egg.
Anyway. If you're the type who can get into this kind of thing at all, I think you'll like it a lot. |
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| Birthday greetings |
[May. 8th, 2008|12:01 am] |
I'd like to wish Johnprester a very happy birthday!
Hey, wait a minute... |
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| See, this is why I don't care for mysteries |
[Apr. 17th, 2008|12:32 pm] |
You know, we never established for certain that my neuropathy is a result of insulin resistance. If it's spreading to my hands already (which it may be), it probably isn't.
We know this: I just had a hemoglobin A1C test, which gives my average blood sugar level over the past three months or so. And since I only changed my diet a month ago, the fact that my test results were what my doctor called "perfect" is a bit of a puzzle. The glucose tolerance test clearly indicates insulin resistance, but either it isn't as bad as we thought, or my hemoglobin cycle is much shorter than most people's (which could indicate another problem that we haven't found yet).
Still, the new diet has enabled me to shed like twenty pounds, so I'm gonna keep doing it. Meanwhile, we're going to do a nerve conduction study on my hands, and I've stopped taking the Lipitor, which is also on the suspect list. We'll see what happens. |
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| Your attention please |
[Apr. 15th, 2008|06:33 am] |
We found out about my insulin resistance because we were looking for an explanation of the neuropathy. Now we're starting a diet and exercise program to try to bring the insulin resistance under control.
This morning, I woke up with numb and tingly hands.
Apparently, lying on my side cuts off the circulation or something. It never did that before. And I have a tendency to roll over onto my side in my sleep.
Can I just say that I feel a little bit scared and a big bit hopeless? |
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| .......... |
[Apr. 13th, 2008|06:36 pm] |
I quit...I'm done
'Cause I don't think it's gonna turn out okay
(It's) No fair, it's...no fun
If every time it's gonna end the same way
Me Zero, Big Bad World One
--"Big Bad World One," by Jonathan Coulton |
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| Goodvibes & prayers welcome |
[Apr. 10th, 2008|08:06 pm] |
My brother's custody hearing enters its final phase tomorrow -- the summations.
At this point, it all depends on the eloquence of two people and the wisdom of a third.
Please spare a thought for the three children caught in the middle of this, and if you feel like praying for the best outcome for them, you are welcome to do so (I have opinions on what "the best" outcome would be, but I don't want to jinx it). |
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| Well, Hell! |
[Mar. 21st, 2008|10:44 am] |
It's called "insulin resistance." Basically, my cells have become less responsive to insulin than they should be. As a result, I metabolize glucose at a slowed rate.
This is a "gateway" condition, which will lead to diabetes unless halted. My doctor says diet, exercise and weight loss are pretty much the only things that will do that. So basically, I have to eat like a diabetic to avoid becoming one (didn't White Wolf do a roleplaying game about that sort of thing once?)
That means no more casual eating. I'll have to monitor everything, at least at first. In some cases, careful management has restored at least some insulin sensitivity. But it's a massive pain in the ass, right when I wanted my life to get simpler. |
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| ...and boy, are my arms tired! |
[Mar. 10th, 2008|02:02 pm] |
Just got back from the neurologist. There's mildly good news, and utterly terrifying news.
It seems my tingling feet aren't caused by the herniated lumbar disk. So it looks like, foraminal narrowing notwithstanding, that-all ain't even causing any symptoms at all.
What is causing the symptoms is a huge mouthful that goes "distal sensimotor axonal peripheral polyneuropathy." Which is doctor-speak for a general nerve degeneration causing both sensory and motor impulses to slow down. The reason the symptoms are only in my feet -- at least so far -- is that only my feet are far enough from my brain for the lag to produce symptoms -- at least so far.
And as yet, we don't have a clue what's causing it. Could be diabetes, though preliminary tests indicated not (still need the two-hour glucose tolerance test before we can really rule it out though). Could be environmental, and come to think of it the symptoms started about two months after I moved into my new home, on which I have a thirty-year non-assumable mortgage.
Right now, we don't even know whether, and if so how fast, it's progressing.
So that means more tests. Many, many more tests.
I want to hit something. |
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| The new further information. |
[Mar. 3rd, 2008|05:19 pm] |
Okay. I've talked to my GP and a couple of others, and here's what we've got.
First, yes, my life is permanently altered. That's not in question. What is in question is, by how much is it altered? Possibly not much at all. Possibly a lot.
You know the classic reflexes test, with the rubber hammer? My "deep tendon reflex" is diminished on the left side. Don't really know what that means, but it doesn't sound good. Doctor says it's almost certainly nerve damage, which are two words you don't want to hear on a Monday morning. It also mean permanent effects.
I have an appointment with a neurodiagnostic clinic on the 10th, and a followup with the orthopedic clinic on the 18th once they get the report. We'll know more then. Meantime, the decompression treatments continue, and my chiropractor has graduated me to the second tier of lumbar exercises (I'm to continue the first set at home).
The critical question is, whether we can get the pressure off my root nerve. That may not stop the tingling (it's possible nothing will) or restore the reflex, but it would stop it from getting worse.
Let's keep a good thought, okay peeps? |
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| Oh hell, not this again... |
[Feb. 27th, 2008|12:03 am] |
God damn it. I am really getting fucking tired of being depressed, you know?
Worst part is, the only thing that seems to help is inflicting it on others.
( Warning! Whiny emo crap ahead! )
If this is the result, I really, really hate being depressed. |
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| Progress Report: A Medical Mystery |
[Feb. 21st, 2008|11:03 pm] |
Okay, so I've now seen a mainstream medical professional about my herniated disks. First reassuring thing she said was that surgery was not indicated -- in such a dismissive manner that it seemed final.
Ultimately, however, she admitted to being puzzled. See, my disk protrusion is causing "severe narrowing" of the left foramen (the opening through which the root nerve connects the spinal cord with the nervous system). But the right foramen looks wide open. So why, she wondered, was I getting tingling and numbness in both feet?
So she wrote a prescription for a neural diagnosis and gave me a referral. And the neurology clinic in Towson couldn't see me until March 11th. But the one in Bel Air can see me on the 10th, when the school will be closed and I'll have the day off anyway. So until then, I'll continue the treatments I'm getting and the lumbar exercises and try not to sit too long and spend as much time flat on my back as I can stand, and eventually we'll know more.
In the meantime, I've realized something. Wallowing in self-pity and sobbing in despair is exhausting! Pretty soon you just don't have the strength for it any more. Then what? You've got no choice but to cheer up.
I've decided to try to raise my spirits by finding the humor in my situation. No luck so far, but GOD DAMN IT there's something funny about all this, and I'll find it if it kills me!
I mean, fuck it -- I've got something better to do? |
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| And on a lighter note: Madness, death and horror |
[Feb. 15th, 2008|09:10 pm] |
Several years ago, a LARP group called "The H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society" decided to branch out and make a film version of "The Call of Cthulhu." In the opinion of many, theirs is the only Lovecraft movie in the world that doesn't suck.
Their decision to do it as a silent-era black-and-white period piece was brilliant. It solved a lot of the cinematography problems, and was a lot cheaper as well. As I watched my DVD copy, I tried to imagine what it would have been like to see it in a theater in 1926, with no experience of more modern techniques (and forget about CGI), and...wow.
They've also done an early-30s talkie version of "The Whisperer In Darkness" which I haven't seen, but the trailer is really spooky. There are two CDs of Radio Dramas: "At the Mountains of Madness" and "The Dunwich Horror." As soon as I can afford it, I'll be ordering all three of these as well.
Check 'em out!
http://www.cthulhulives.org/toc.html |
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| Further information |
[Feb. 15th, 2008|07:37 pm] |
Okay, it's not all about Valentine's Day (we hates it, we hates it forever). I've just learned that I have two, not one, but two herniated lumbar disks. For those who know what this means, my L4/L5 disk is bulging, while my L5/S1 disk is protruding.
The latter injury probably happened when I was a teenager, and was producing no noticeable symptoms. But the former almost certainly happened over the summer, and has caused the gradual onset of a now-constant tingling and partial numbness in my feet, which shows every sign of getting worse unless something is done.
"Something," in this case, will hopefully not involve surgery (which in cases like mine has only a 47% success rate anyway), since a new treatment, recently approved by the FDA, has just become available. The treatment, called Non-Surgical Spinal Decompression, showed an approximate 75% success rate in clinical trials.
But even if it works, disk damage of this type simply never heals. There's a whole raft of activities I'm going to have to avoid from now on; I won't be able to luxuriate on that wonderful sofa I bought when I moved in here, I'll have to watch my posture all the time, I can no longer pick up stuff off the floor without carefully lowering myself to a kneeling position first, and I can't lift stuff I'm easily strong enough to carry because of the spinal stress.
I never really had much of a life, but damn it, now I have even less. Most of my fun activities require sitting for prolonged periods (as does my job, for that matter), and that stresses the lumbar region way more than standing does. And there were some things I'd pretty much resigned myself to never experiencing, but it was nice to be able to pretend that there was still a chance.
Of course, added to that is that I'm going to be fifty this year. I really didn't need for Blue Cross to remind me of that by raising my premium to $400 a month, but I guess it's all part of the service.
So, all in all -- complete drive-by. I know self-pity is excessively unattractive (a moot point, really, but there you are), but a little whiny emo self-indulgence seems called for here.
At least I've finally decided on my epitaph -- the pithy line on my tombstone that'll sum up my life. Check it out:
"Okay, what the hell was the point of that?" |
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| For the Record |
[Feb. 15th, 2008|01:14 pm] |
I just want to say that I hate Valentine's Day.
I want it to die.
I want it to eat shit and die.
I want it to eat shit, taste it, throw up, taste it again going the other way but with vomit flavor added, choke on it, and die.
Bitter? Sour grapes? You bet your ass.
That is all. |
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| I guess "pointless waste of time" is ironic or something |
[Feb. 1st, 2008|08:30 pm] |
This guy has that rare quality known as wisdom.
http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/misery.html
He also gives really good rant. Read the one about the Monkeysphere some time. |
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| Well, it wasn't that bad... |
[Jan. 5th, 2008|01:15 am] |
New Year's Eve I decided to go out among people. As I didn't know of any fireworks displays or anything like that, I went to a local midscale tavern and had a few ginger ales at the bar while I watched people have a good time. The highlight of the evening was these three plastered college girls who kept groping each other, which they all thought was utterly hilarious.
Then the millions of TVs on the walls all showed the countdown, I stood up and drank the rest of my soda at midnight, and then I went home. I dunno. I was kinda glad I went, even though I didn't actually speak to anyone. It beat sitting at home, and it was nice to see other people having a good time.
But to flaviarassen and ginevra007, I'd like to thank you for the messages, and I promise that if I don't have any plans next year, I'll let you both know by December 27th. |
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| what to do, what to do... |
[Dec. 31st, 2007|06:02 pm] |
It's six PM as I type this, on December 31st. My first New Year's Eve in my new place. It's dark outside, and not that bright in here.
I have several options for New Year's Eve activities. I don't enjoy alcohol, so sitting alone in the dark and drinking myself into a stupor is out. Sitting alone in the dark with Dick Clark on the tube is out too, because I put "getting cable" way down on the list of priorities and without it I pretty much don't have a TV.
That leaves sitting alone in the dark with the radio on, listening to the countdown and people cheering in other apartments while another little bit of me dies inside, or else doing something I've never done before: going out to one of the local taverns, alone, and sitting at a table while everyone counts down, then watching as all the couples turn to one another and kiss while another little bit of me dies inside.
At least the latter option has some novelty to it. |
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| On the subject of Domestic Bliss... |
[Dec. 30th, 2007|07:31 pm] |
My brother's ongoing divorce from the Queen Of The Night enters a new phase on Wednesday, when the custody hearing resumes.
Apparently there's a question that's standard in custody cases -- pure boilerplate -- both parties are asked "If the other party gets custody, what visitation rights would you want?" Herself refused to answer the question. She was all, "That isn't going to happen." So yeah, she does have a tendency to shoot herself in the foot in a courtroom.
But that can't be relied upon, and too many courts just assume that the mother is the only real choice when assigning custody.
So I'm gonna be at work, but my mind won't be on it that day. Anyone else wants to pass on some good vibes, or ask any saints or divinities to look in on them, feel free. |
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