Unwanted Commentary

Yay me! I didn't smoke this weekend and, in fact, I didn't really think much about it, except for when Trinity told me not to smoke and then when e and I had a conversation in WoW about smoking...ok, I thought about it a little. I only smoke when drinking and since I only drink on the weekends (mostly) I had gotten into the habit of picking up smokes when I got booze. It's funny how much of a habit it became, though I never craved a smoke during the week (mostly), once Friday came around I'd be hankering for drag something fierce. Hopefully having broken the cycle I won't pick it back up again, we'll see how that goes.

I moved my ‘free' day to Sunday from Saturday since I had gotten into the bad habit of starting on Friday night and then not stopping until Sunday and skipping my workout. This is the second weekend in a row since I made the change and I think it's agreeing with me, I find it's a lot easier to keep the diet going thru Saturday then trying to start up again on Sunday. Plus it's far more convenient to work out on Saturday and I can get it done early. Overall I hope this will help me make more progress as I seem to have hit a plateau and am having a tough time fighting through it.

I didn't do a whole lot this weekend outside of play WoW, but the gang and I had a good time. I finished watching season one of Sports Night, which after a slow start ended up being really good and very funny. It had been lurking in my queue for a long time on suggestion from a friend. The episodes are short and the whole first season was on the disc, so I was able to plow through all of it over the course of last week. I don't recall ever hearing about this show, but then I don't pay much attention to or watch TV very often, so that's not surprising. So used to Buffy and Angel have I become that it took me a couple of episodes to get in the swing of it, but I found it to be witty, well written and well acted. Indeed it's a light show that's totally enjoyable and it made me laugh, so I deem it good.

Another long time queue lurker arrived this weekend as well: Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040: Vol. 1. I don't remember what my rationale for selecting this one was, but I think it was just the goofy name. I watched the first episode on Saturday and I wasn't too bad actually. It's been such a long time since I've watched any anime and I'm not sure how geared up I am about watching the series. The animation isn't the greatest, but the story does seem fairly interesting, if not a little cliché. I skipped the English dubbing for the Japanese with subtitles, I don't know, it just seems better that way.

Ok, I've prattled along quite enough. Hope everyone has a great week.

Posted by Jeff at 11:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Man Can Sue Over Surprise Pregnancy

"She asserts that when plaintiff 'delivered' his sperm, it was a gift - an absolute and irrevocable transfer of title to property from a donor to a donee," the decision said. "There was no agreement that the original deposit would be returned upon request."

Story via coworker Jon
Details from Fark

Posted by Jeff at 09:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So wait a minute here. First I was getting spammed for Viagra and various other ED drugs, now I'm getting bestiality spam. What's the logic here?

I envision a redneck, pikie mother fucker, a bent and unashed smoke hanging from his chapped lips. He's squinting at a yellowed 15" Compaq monitor, greasy fingers clasping a mouse that doesn't quite roll right anymore. All alone in his unibomber style shed in the wilds of West Texas muttering to himself, "Meh, (incoherent mumblings) we didn't get him with the Viagra or the Cialis precious, maybe he responds to different (cackling) things (racked coughing followed by more cackling)."

After some forced mouse work and a few heart palpitations, "Ahhhh precious, we bet he likes the bestiality…we knows hows all his hits comes from searches for "tight ass"…we thinks he likes the naughty bunnies and sexy duckies…ponies and puppies." Maniacal laughter emanates from his raspy air ways, until the cherry from his smoke falls into his crotch. Wild flailing and flatulent cursing ensue, but unfortunately the high flammability of his unwashed underwear cause a flash fire in which he and his dwelling are consumed.

Somewhere in the rugged desert of West Texas a lonely plume of smoke rises to the heavens.

HARRRRRRR!

Posted by Jeff at 09:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I'm so ready for this day to be over and by proxy the week. This has been such a terrible five days and I'm completely exhausted. I've been on two cookie benders in as many days, when you add stressed out Jeff and Girl Scout cookies the results are never pretty. I teetered on the brink a few times seriously considered stopping off on the way home to get pizza and beer. Fortunately by the time I had finished gorging myself on cookies that no longer seemed like a good idea.

Outside of that my fitness and diet routine didn't suffer too much, ok, I did drink too much whiskey Wednesday night, but under the circumstances I felt it was justified. I went to bed a little earlier last night, so I'm hoping that will help me out, as more than four hours of sleep should be beneficial. Specifically I hope it will allow a good extended session of WoW since I haven't been up to it much this week.

It seems like a lot of people I know have had a bad or particularly demanding week this week. I don't know what's up with that, but let me be the first to wish you a happy Friday and extend wishes of a care-free and non-sucky weekend (unless the sucking is related to fellatio or cunnilingus, then may your partner be skilled and long lasting, you dog you).

Posted by Jeff at 08:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today has been more sedate and I've almost caught up, though I still have some shit I've been procrastinating on for two weeks…ugh. At least things went mostly smooth and I got most of the newer work orders done.

I did manage to make my own misery and in doing so learned something important. If you happen to mix protein powder in a Tupperware mixing cup thing, don't do it with really hot water. I've made my protein shakes with warm water before and everything went fine, but it was just warm water from the tap. Today I decided it'd be neat if I put the water in the microwave so it'd be really hot. Then it'd be kind of like hot chocolate protein drink. Yay!

I put the appropriate amount of powder in the cup and gleefully poured in the hot water. I sealed down the lid securely. I always make sure it's secure because one time I didn't get the lid on all the way and sprayed myself. Thusly assured in the belief that I was ready to shake vigorously, as to dissolve said powder into aforementioned hot water, I begin the gesticulations when a subtle popping noise is heard. All of a sudden I feel wet and warm in places. Now that could be a good thing, but not in this instance.

Evidently, the hot water causes the protein powder to froth up and pressure builds, causing the lid to pop off a bit. At first I thought I had simply not pushed the lid down hard enough, so I cleaned up, double checked the lid and tried once more. I know, I ‘m a dumbass, but at least I did it over the trash can the second time. So I've learned this lesson, only cold water from now on.

Posted by Jeff at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our Father, who 0wnz heaven, j00 r0ck!
May all 0ur base someday be belong to you!
May j00 0wn earth just like j00 0wn heaven.
Give us this day our warez, mp3z, and pr0n through a phat pipe.
And cut us some slack when we act like n00b lamerz, just as we teach n00bz when they act lame on us.
Please don't give us root access on some poor d00d'z box when we're too pissed off to think about what's right and wrong, and if you could keep the fbi off our backs, we'd appreciate it.
For j00 0wn r00t on all our b0x3s 4ever and ever, 4m3n.

Taken from the Quote Database Home: Top 100 Quotes

I'm usually the last person to hear about stuff, so I'm sure everyone has seen these. If not and you enjoyed the Bloodninja logs I posted a few days ago, you may enjoy reading through these....and if you didn't read the Bloodninja stuff...go do it now!

Posted by Jeff at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week has been so bad I'm not even sure where to begin. Specifically work has been brutal. Tuesday I was the only technician on hand and I had three different computers go completely down. One blew a video card and, of course, it's an all-in-one Gateway Profile so there's no way to fix it. The other two I'm pretty sure are malware induced, which just adds massively to the frustration level. One of those two I ended up having to backup and completely rebuild. When the user brought it to me it would go past the BIOS page and then go black. Doing a reinstall of Windows had gotten it back up and running, but it was so flaky that I decided a rebuild was in order, especially after the Default User profile mysteriously disappeared. The third was another no video situation and after removing scads of malware and the video driver I got it back up, but when I tried to reinstall the driver it rebooted itself, so that one is sitting down there with the generic VGA driver.

It seemed like everything I tried to fix turned to poo. Yesterday was a little better as Jon came back and we were only down one tech. I remember a day when installing a printer was a ten minute job, plug it in, load the driver and print a test page. Done! Not anymore. I spent three hours installing HP's all-in-one software, it failed twice on me and so I ended up cleaning off scads of malware (surprise!), then trying again. The third time it worked, though I installed the minimal setup. If the user complains I'll just smack her.

Today seems to be going a lot better, I feel like I've turned the corner. I haven't fixed any of the three computers yet, but I've found workable solutions so that's a reprieve of sorts. Not too many other calls have come in either, pray it stays that way!

Hope your week is going better than mine :-)

Posted by Jeff at 11:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ugh, sigh, ick. The wife is coming over tonight so we can go over dividing up the debt. I really don't want to deal with it, I don't want to see her and I don't want her in my apartment. There's something weird about finally dividing up our stuff, even if it is debt that we're separating out. I've been pondering why this is something I don't want to do and I can only guess that it's because it reminds me that we're breaking up.

When I told her this during a chat session last Friday she asked if I wanted her back, not that I believe she would want to come back. I told her no and she commented that it still gets to her that I let her go so easily. I haven't let go that easily, though I know it looks that way to her. That's the way I am, I can shut people out very quickly, especially if they one night tell me they want to leave. It's my way of getting them back for hurting me. I've done it several times under varying circumstances. I flip that switch and leave that person (in a mental sense), then later I deal with the sadness and regret on my own terms. Somehow, to me, this is easier than dealing with that person. With that said though, if I feel like the other person still has any desire to be a part of my life then I won't be so severe. I do refuse to try to maintain a relationship with anyone who I feel doesn't at least meet me halfway.

I still like the wife and I probably still love her, but I can't fathom how to fix things between us and she hasn't shown me any reason to even try. We're on good terms with each other and I'm glad about that, but I'm no longer sympathetic to her swings in mood, or her depression. I spent too much time trying so hard to deal with that and make it better only to have her walk out on me. That tells me that my efforts were not appreciated and I'll be damned if I'll waste more energy on comforting her, hell she never comforted me. My heart still aches when I know she's in a bad place, but I can be a cold bastard and in the end it was she who decided she didn't need me.

I apologize for dumping this out here, but I needed to. At least this one isn't laced with fuck and goddamn like the one I didn't post.

Posted by Jeff at 09:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The bold ones are the ones I've never done. Taken from Trinity

I've never kissed a member of the opposite sex
I've never kissed a member of the same sex
I've never crashed a friend's car
I've never been to japan
I've never been in a taxi
I've never been in love
I've never had sex in a public place
I've never been dumped
I've never done cocaine
I've never shoplifted
I've never been fired
I've never been in a fist fight
I've never had group intercourse
I've never snuck out of my parent's house
I've never been tied up
I've never regretted having sex with someone
I've never been arrested
I've never made out with a stranger
I've never stolen something from my job
I've never celebrated new years in time square
I've never gone on a blind date
I've never lied to a friend
I've never had a crush on a teacher or professor
I've never celebrated mardi gras in new orleans
I've never been to europe
I've never skipped school
I've never slept with a co-worker
I've never cut myself on purpose
I've never had sex at the office
I've never been married
I've never been divorced
I've never had sex with more than one person within the same week
I've never posed nude
I've never gotten someone drunk just to have sex with them
I've never killed anyone
I've never received scars from my sex partner
I've never thrown up in a bar
i've never taken a hallucinogenic drug
I've never purposely set a part of myself on fire
I've never eaten sushi
I've never been snowboarding
I've never had sex at a friend's house while they were throwing a party
I've never had sex in a dressing room
I've never flashed anyone
I've never met anyone from online

Posted by Jeff at 09:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Is the NHL dead? Probably. I'm going to come out and say it. I don't think the league is going to survive this debacle. NHL hockey was already a mess before the labor dispute and lockout. Let's face it; the game was boring, gummed up by defensive trapping, a small rink, huge players and goalies with oversized padding. Low scoring was normal, maybe 3-4 goals in a game. It took watching some international games to see how bad the NHL's style was. Even if they do get a new CB installed, I'll never look at the games the same way again, unless they do some major revamping. I've read too many articles in the last few days about how bad the situation is, how much Bettman has fucked it up and the lack of hope that it can be fixed at all.

I've been reading some buzz about the WHA raising phoenix like from its own ashes. No doubt having been fertilized by the shit that the NHL lockout has provided. I'm really excited about the prospect of the new league. Not only would they play in Reunion Arena, the tickets would be cheaper. There's not a lot of info on it and the official site doesn't say anything, but I'm putting my hope there after having it brutally smashed TWICE by those festering stupid ass boils.

Go WHA Go!

Posted by Jeff at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yes. I did. I spent all weekend playing WoW. I did do some chores though, be proud. I also went out Saturday night and hung out with real people. Alas, the depth of my addicted psychosis has developed to where my otherwise geekier coworker Jon now looks on me as reductive influence on his own stature. I logged in briefly just to see if I had won my Auction House bids, I got the 12-slot bag and the gun I bid on, but some Neanderthal-like prat out bid me on two very sweet 1H swords…(oh god, help me).

I'm level 23 now. I went through this funk after hitting 20; I termed it "post- level 20 depression", where I didn't feel much like playing last week. I also attribute the slump to having dumped my long time pet so I could get another one that I thought would be better. That didn't really prove to be the case, so after a few different pets I tamed a similar creature and named him the same. It's surprising the amount of attachment you can get to a virtual pet, I'm not sure what it says about me, but I'm choosing not to think about it and moving right along. Don't fret about my funk, as I fought through it with the help of Trin and Adam and as you can see I'm fully recovered now.

Now for the "so true" part, you'll have to replace Everquest II with WoW, but I think fellow addicts will find this frighteningly amusing. If you don't read CTRL-ALT-DEL, you should.

*UPDATE* Oh and evidently the pizza thing on EQII is for real...I'm not sure whether to be envious or shake my head at how sad it is.

Posted by Jeff at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Copied from Trinity.

Copy the list. Bold the ones you've seen. Add four more of your own at the end (bold them, too, of course).

01. Trainspotting
02. Shrek
03. M
04. Dogma
05. Strictly Ballroom
06. The Princess Bride
07. Love Actually
08. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
09. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
...
156. The Virgin Suicides
157. Unbreakable
158. Starring Pancho Villa as Himself
159. A Day Without A Mexican

For the full list...you know what to do...you sexy reader you.

01. Trainspotting
02. Shrek
03. M
04. Dogma
05. Strictly Ballroom
06. The Princess Bride
07. Love Actually
08. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
09. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
11. Reservoir Dogs
12. Desperado
13. Kill Bill Vol. 1
14. Donnie Darko
15. Spirited Away
16. Better Than Sex
17. Sleepy Hollow
18. Pirates of the Caribbean
19. The Eye
20. Requiem for a Dream
21. Dawn of the Dead
22. The Pillow Book
23. The Italian Job (original)
24. Goonies
25. Baseketball
26. Spiceworld
27. Army of Darkness
28. The Color Purple
29. The Saftey of Objects
30. Can't Hardly Wait
31. Mystic Pizza
32. Finding Nemo
33. Monsters Inc.
34. Circle of Friends
35. Mary Poppins
36. The Bourne Identity
37. Forrest Gump
38. A Clockwork Orange
39. Kindergarten Cop
40. On The Line
41. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
42. Final Destination
43. Sorority Boys
44. Urban Legend
45. Cheaper by the Dozen (Original)
46. The Crow
47. The Princess and the Warrior
48. Seabiscuit
49. Hard Core Logo
50. Phantom of the Paradise
51. Zardoz
52. Lost in Translation
53. American Beauty
54. Big Fish
55. Starship Troopers
56. Starship Troopers 2
57. The Lost Boys
58. All About Eve
59. Showgirls
60. Swept Away
61. Star Wars: A New Hope
62. Black Hawk Down
63. Elizabeth
64. The Shawshank Redemption
65. Four Weddings and a Funeral
66. The Sound of Music
67. Notting Hill
68. Scotland
69. Oxygen
70. The Ring
71. Shrunken Heads
72. Legend
73. About a Boy
74. Lilo and Stitch
75. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
76. Pitch Black
77. Maid in Manhattan
78. Willow
79. Secret Of Nimh
80. Throughly Modern Millie
81. The Cutting Edge
82. Anna and the King
83. The American President
84. Save The Last Dance
85. Grease
86. Dirty Dancing
87. Mad Love
88. Tomb Raider
89. 10 Things I Hate About You
90. Beyond Borders
91. Stigmata
92. Harry Potter and the Prizoner of Azkaban
93. Gossip
94. Blowdry
95. Igby Goes Down
96. The Hudsucker Proxy
97. Heathers
98. Hedwig and the Angry Inch
99. El Mariachi
100. Armageddon
101. Pearl Harbor
102. Ghost
103. Oceans 11
104. Fight Club
105. Sleepers Forgot I'd seen this one
106. Pi
107. Bubble Boy
108. Jerry Maguire
109. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
110. Die Hard
111. The Never Ending Story
112. Peter Pan (the new version)
113. Cinderella Story
114. Manchurian Candidate
115. The Bourne Supremacy
116. Four Rooms
117. Lawrence Of Arabia
118. Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sex (But Were Too Afraid To Ask)
119. Vanilla Sky
120. The Mirror Has Two Faces
121. Jesus Christ Superstar
122. Napoleon Dynamite
123. Anchorman
124. Labyrinth Wore out the tape on this one
125. Angus
126. Loser
127. Garden State
128. The Big Lebowski If you could wear out DVD's
129. Death to Smoochy
130. American Movie
131. Alien v. Predator
132. Closer
133. Say Anything
134. Almost Famous
135. Kill Bill Volume 2
136. Django
137. The Good The Bad and the Ugly
138. Switchblade Sisters
139. Ilsa: She Wolf Of The SS
140. Blast Off Girls
141. Maria Full of Grace
142. Mayor of the Sunset Strip
125. Xanadu
126. Friday Foster
127. Casa de los Babys
128. Hell Comes to Frogtown
129. Stone Reader
130. West Beruit
131. The Apple
132. Little Otik
133. Foxes
134. Aberdeen
135. Under the Sand
136. Stardust Memories
137. Orca
140. The Third Man
141. Akira
142. Wings of Desire
143. The Jerk
144. To Sir With Love
145. A Room with a View
146. Imitation of Life
147. The Scorpion King
148. Wayne's World
149. This is Spinal Tap
150. Best in Show
151. Pride & Prejudice (The A&E version)
152. My Neighbor Totoro
153. Before Sunrise
154. Pure Country
155. When Harry Met Sally
156. The Virgin Suicides
157. Unbreakable
158. Starring Pancho Villa as Himself
159. A Day Without A Mexican

Posted by Jeff at 08:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Overcome by your
Moving temple
Overcome by this
Holiest of altars

So pure
So rare
To witness such an earthly goddess
That I've lost my self control
Beyond compelled to throw this dollar down before your
Holiest of altars

I'd sell
My soul
My self-esteem a dollar at a time

One chance
One kiss
One taste of you my magdalena

I bear witness
To this place, this prayer, so long forgotten
So pure
So rare
To witness such an earthly goddess

That I'd sell
My soul
My self-esteem a dollar at a time
For one chance
One kiss
One taste of you my black madonna

I'd sell
My soul
My self-esteem a dollar at a time

One taste
One taste
One taste of you my Magdalena

-Perfect Circle: Mer De Noms

Posted by Jeff at 02:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Trin and I had an awesome session of WoW last night as we went on a murderous rampage through the south east portion of the Stonetalon Mountains. Rest assured that many Grimtotems and Venture Co. Goblins felt the wrath of our fury as we smote them mightily. I ascended to the coveted level 20 (hello duel weapons!!!) and Trin made it up to 18…pretty sweet.

Of course the price was steep in that I staid up till 2:00 in the AM, but one must have priorities in life and completing that last quest so I could hit 20 was paramount. Verily I knew I wouldn't have been able to sleep due to turbulent dreams about being so close and having not grasped the moment while it was there. Images of being struck by a bus after work would have tortured my mind, laying in the street a mangled, twisted mess I would moan, "If only I had made it to level 20…*gasp* *gurgle* a…venge….my…dea…th!"
So as you can see, I had to do it.

In other news:

The Blue cat decided that we needed to discuss some things around 5:30 this morning. We entered into a terse NHL/NHLPA type of debate whereas he demanded something and I demanded something else, neither one of us budging from our position. My plight was simple, I wanted to sleep. For his part I'm not sure what he wanted and I refused to listen, but my sweet pet is a shrewd negotiator and in the end I capitulated to the only desires I could imagine a cat having at 5:30 AM. I got up and fed them.

I felt a little cheated in having given in without more of a fight as I found the grievances to be less than worthy of having been brought to the table, especially considering the hour and the strong arm tactics that were used. Indeed the food bowls were somewhat full, only you could see the bottom of the bowl. Now I understand, in some circles, there are certain standards to be upheld, but these are my boys and they should know we have no such standards. I think the Blue cat and the Grey cat will both be given a stern talking to this afternoon. After which I will scratch them behind the ears and tell them how cute they are.

Posted by Jeff at 09:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

So it's official. The nails have been driven into the coffin and the old pine box with a tarnished cup belonging to Lord Stanley has been solemnly lowered into the ground. Attendees of the open casket memorial service were heard to say that the old trophy looked good, peaceful and at rest, but I think we all know that was just pleasantries. You could tell by the look in their eyes that most were wondering if there would a Jesus style resurrection. When September comes around, will we run down to the tomb to find the puck rolled away? Will there be some old hockey angels telling us to rejoice for our game has been raised?

The thing about this whole debacle is how meaningless it all is. With so much going on in the world around us, so much death, violence and uncertainty, the concern about whether a hockey league plays or not is pretty inconsequential. I think we all have more important things to fret about. What saddens me is the fact that the people involved in this collective bargaining agreement couldn't see that. Do they realize they play a game for a living? Do they realize how lucky they are that they even have the opportunity to do it? The petty squabbles of millionaires is not, or should not, be a major concern and for most folks it isn't. I feel bad for being so upset about the cancellation.

Perhaps the players and owners will come to realize what a blessing and privilege it is that they get to do what it is they do. Maybe they'll see that what they do brings a lot of joy and happiness to a lot of people. Maybe they'll pull their heads out of their asses and take care of business like responsible adults. Because if they don't, then that coffin with the old trophy in it is going to stay buried and it's going to be a lonely grave site as we all move on.

Posted by Jeff at 08:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Three Systems for Steve Jackson under the sky,
Seven for White Wolf in their halls of stone,
Nine for the alternative publishers doomed to die,
One for TSR on his dark throne
In the Land of WotC where the moneys lie.
One System to rule them all, One System to find them,
One System to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of WotC where the moneys lie.

Props out to Aaron fo this little gem...yo

Posted by Jeff at 08:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

*Profuse Glee* Oh this is awesome! I'm all a flutter! Must see, must see!!!!

42 Baby!

Link yoinked from eclecticism

Posted by Jeff at 02:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Canoodle is in the dictionary.

ca·noo·dle     P   Pronunciation Key  (k-ndl)
v. Informal ca·noo·dled, ca·noo·dling, ca·noo·dles
v. intr.
To engage in caressing, petting, or lovemaking.

v. tr.
To win over or convince by cajoling or flattering; wheedle: "his matchless ability to charm, bamboozle, or canoodle most of his political associates" (Timothy Garton Ash).

Posted by Jeff at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh My Fucking God!

I'm literaly crying...this is so funny!

HAARRRRRR!!!!

Posted by Jeff at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ok, I got excited when I heard that there may be a breakthrough in the NHL labor dispute. Damn my weak moral character! I passed being pissed off and upset about the whole ordeal a long time ago and settled into a nice contemplative apathy. Until Trinity sent me links about the impending "official" doom of the season I hadn't really thought about it much. When I read those articles the other day; however, my hackles were newly hoisted and my righteous indignation revived. After I ranted about it I felt refreshed and settled and as far as I was concerned they could all go fuck themselves and I'd go play World of Warcraft. Assholes.

Then I read that both sides have made major concessions. Despite the addendum that they're still bickering and that it would take another miracle on top of the first to save the season I got excited. Almost giddy. I didn't want to, but I did. At least briefly. Now I'm sighing deeply again in frustration asking why they couldn't have done this over last summer or, hell, why not started the process a few years ago when they knew it was coming up. For no other reason than, you know, saving the league or maybe thinking of the peasants whose livelihoods depend on the hockey season. But no, they're egotistical cretins.

I've allowed myself to get excited, because I'm a whore and I want my hockey. But if those schmucks think I'm going to like them, or something, when they come back they've got another thing coming. I'll watch, but I'm going to grimace a lot…mark my words! Deep down I don't think anything is going to happen, it's too late, too little and the damage is done. My only hope is that the league can survive this. Jeremy Roenick made this comment, "…he feared for the league's future if the season is canceled." I just wonder if there's more to this statement then just one player's ramblings.

Posted by Jeff at 09:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a great article. I'm an ardent supporter of the separation of Church and State. After reading this I feel more certain that our nation was not founded on "Christian principles" and that government has its role to play, but it does not include dictating our religion or our morals. This country was meant to be a safe haven for all, despite what they believe or what they look like.

…Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. The latter was a truly radical document that would eventually influence the separation of church and state in the U.S. Constitution; when it was passed by the Virginia legislature in 1786, Jefferson rejoiced that there was finally "freedom for the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and the Mohammeden, the Hindu and infidel of every denomination" -- note his respect, still unusual today, for the sensibilities of the "infidel."

This article also propped up my growing belief that the basic, original tenants of Christianity have been lost and corrupted over the last two thousand years. I believe that God and spirituality are important and shouldn't be discounted, but that they also shouldn't be used to manipulate, condemn, persecute or take advantage of others. That's exactly what Christianity has been used for and I'd say it began not too long after Jesus ascended back to heaven.

In their fascinating and eloquent valetudinarian correspondence, Adams and Jefferson had a great deal to say about religion. Pressed by Jefferson to define his personal creed, Adams replied that it was "contained in four short words, 'Be just and good.'" Jefferson replied, "The result of our fifty or sixty years of religious reading, in the four words, 'Be just and good,' is that in which all our inquiries must end; as the riddles of all priesthoods end in four more, 'ubi panis, ibi deus.' What all agree in, is probably right. What no two agree in, most probably wrong."

When the truth is evident, it is impossible for parties and factions to arise... Well, to what dogma do all minds agree? To the worship of a God, and to honesty. All the philosophers of the world who have had a religion have said in all ages: 'There is a God, and one must be just.' There, then, is the universal religion established in all ages and throughout mankind. The point in which they all agree is therefore true, and the systems through which they differ are therefore false."

Make of it what you will. I found this very engaging and thought provoking. I stole the link from SEB's website.

I admit I find myself lately not really knowing where I stand spiritually, especially after so much I had strived for in my life slipped away. As always, in times of crisis I slip back to a solid foundation of simple beliefs and begin to reexamine everything. In the end, on in the beginning I guess you could say, I know only two things for certain: There is a God, and I am not Him (or Her).

Be Just And Good

Posted by Jeff at 10:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The bad. Not that this is surprising, I think all of us hockey fans have seen the writing on the wall for a long time. At this point I'm just surprised they haven't called it quits completely and called off the season. I mean really, how many of us want to see a 20 game season?

The bitter. Nice article about the moron's who are destroying the NHL, because…well…they're morons.

I'm actually starting to feel ambivalent about the whole thing anyway. I've lost interest and I wonder how many other NHL fans have too. If I had a minor league team close by (Ft. Worth is starting to look close) I wouldn't care at all if the NHL ever plays again. Hell if they start up next year I may still not care and if enough of us don't where is that going to leave these bickering, hard headed assholes.

*UPDATE* Add scathing to the list. Good article.

Warming. To end on a positive note, this is a great little article remembering the miracle team. I got a little misty eyed on this one.

Posted by Jeff at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I've done it twice now, so that makes me a dumbass. It was warm last night as I finally logged out of World of Warcraft and headed to bed. I live in an old apartment complex, one where you either have sweet refrigerated air or you have heat, one or the other, never both. I checked to see if the AC might be on, as even with the windows open it was feeling rather stuffy in my humble abode. It wasn't on, but it was blowing a nice cool breeze out of the vent and I figured that this was better than nothing. I brushed my teeth and went to bed.

I awoke in an inferno, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. As I imagined flames leaping up around me I launched myself from bed and turned off the thermostat. I then went back to bed. I awoke in an inferno, drenched in sweat and gasping for breath. Goddamnit, the first one had been a dream, but it was no less hot and hell like in my bedroom.

As had happened once previously, a few days ago, the gentle cool air coming out of the vents had turned over to sweltering heat at some point in the night. I should have known this would happen and I should never have turned on the thermostat, but I'm a dumbass. I'd like to think I'm naively optimistic, but I don't think that's the case. Fortunately, I have a box fan that I run at night for a white noise effect, so I popped open the window and situated the fan on the sill. Shortly thereafter a nice cold breeze was extinguishing the flames and I went back to sleep. I awoke this morning freezing, but I just bundled up in the covers and hit the snooze button.

Posted by Jeff at 10:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dead leaves and the dirty ground
when I know you're not around
shiny tops and soda pops
when I hear your lips make a sound

Thirty notes in the mailbox
will tell you that I'm coming home
and I think I'm gonna stick around
for a while so you're not alone

If you can hear a piano fall
you can hear me coming down the hall
if I could just hear your pretty voice
I don't think I need to see at all

Soft hair and a velvet tongue
I want to give you what you give to me
and every breath that is in your lungs
is a tiny little gift to me

I didn't feel so bad till the sun went down
then I come home
no one to wrap my arms around

Well any man with a microphone
can tell you what he loves the most
and you know why you love at all
if you're thinking of the holy ghost

White Stripes: White Blood Cells
Yoinked from: Lyricsondemand.com

Posted by Jeff at 12:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trinity: how'd you sleep, baby?
Me: like a log
Me: it's kind of like going to bed drunk
Me: I don't' really remember going to bed...but I just wake up in the morning when the alarm goes off
Trinity: LOL
Trinity: again, I dreamed about the game
Me: I dreamed about having sex with this chick from work
Trinity: ROFL
Trinity: nice
Me: and it wasn't even in WoW format
Trinity: hahaha
Trinity: *Orgasm 679 XP
Me: OMG ROFL!!!!!!!!!!
Trinity: LOL
Me: I'm so blogging this

Posted by Jeff at 10:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have two cats. Unusual sounds don't bother me, or wake me up. I awoke at some point this morning; however, to a sound coming from outside my window. I leave my bedroom window open at night, though the shade and blind are pulled down. I got up and peered out. Looking back at me was a cat. My cat.

My mind began to put pieces together and I reasoned that he must have knocked the screen off and gotten out. I therefore reach out to grab him and pull him back inside. One problem, the screen is still there.

"How curious", I thought, "My cat teleported outside, but at least he didn't run away and seems to want back in."

Then I started to doubt that my cat could teleport himself, which overall I feel is a good thing. So I nudged the corner of the screen and it bent outward.

"Ah hah!" I said, relieved that my cat did not, indeed, have magical properties. He just used his hard head to push the screen open and slipped outside.

It all ended well. I pushed the screen off, grabbed the fuzzy bastard and pulled him back inside. I then slammed the window shut.

As I drifted off back to sleep I recalled that I had two cats, so in my sleepy malaise I figured I'd better make sure that the other one was still inside. Fortunately I saw him hunkered down on the edge of the bed.

As you can see, everything ended well. One cat does not have supernatural powers and the other isn't bright enough to escape.

Posted by Jeff at 09:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

World of Warcraft is killing me. I haven't slept more than five hours all week and I've been neglecting my IRC buddies (not that neglecting IRC buddies causes death...AFAIK). This is exactly why I didn't want to buy this game, but it's too late now…I'm hooked. I even put it on my work PC, so don't be surprised when I blog about needing to find a new job. I have managed to keep working out though, but the lack of sleep is hindering progress, that and drinking too much coffee during the day.

Trin gives a pretty good run down of what we did last night, if you're interested. Like her my dreams have taken on a surreal WoW format, where everything moves and feels just like the game. I've been a gamer a long time, so this phenomenon isn't new to me. I do appreciate that the game is set in a 3D world so that the dreams at least somewhat mimic reality. It was very disturbing, after playing the original Civilization for five days straight, when my dreams were a bunch of little tiles moving around in a grid fashion.

My only-child nature has been bubbling to the surface while grouping up with Trin and her friends. I like the social aspect, I really hate sharing the loot. Even at 30 years of age, I don't like sharing.

I'm level 11 and I have a pet wolf named Howlie…because he howls. I'll be level 12 soon, hopefully tonight.

Posted by Jeff at 09:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ok, we all know "A heffalump or woozle is very confusle", also "A heffalump or woozle's very sly, sly, sly". Indeed, "They come in ones and twosles" and if the sources are to be trusted they can multiply with great rapidity, "But if they so choosles, Before your eyes you'll see them multiply, ply, ply". The song goes on to impart this very grave warning:

They're extraordinary
So better be wary
Because they come in every shape and size, size, size
If honey's what you covet
You'll find that they love it
Because they'll guzzle up the thing you prize

Beware, beware, be a very wary bear

We're given even more detail as to the description of these insidious creatures. Evidently they come in black and brown, but if the eye witnesses can be trusted they also have the ability to take on many colors, shapes and sizes. Not only can they morph themselves, they also posses the ability to shift planes of reality and/or the gift of teleportation. This is evidenced by the following:

They're up, they're down
They're in, they're out
They're all about
They're far, they're near
They're gone, they're here

And lastly we have the direst of chilling descriptions, one that caps off the point of the whole warning:

They're quick and slick, they're insincere
Beware, beware, beware, beware, beware!

So as we can see, these are creatures most foul. They posses "extraordinary" powers and while the song only warns that they covet honey, I feel certain that their greed and desire far power extends far beyond the simple by product of bees. The author tries to warn us, I think, by tacking on "Because they'll guzzle up the thing you prize". Oh yes, I think this stark statement shows, without a doubt, that they will in the end take everything you love and hold dear.

Now…this all being said, why the hell has Disney done this: Pooh's Heffalump Movie? Why have they broken canon, skewed the delicate balance of good and evil? How could they introduce a "good" heffalump? How could they ignore the blatant warnings? Don't they see the treachery, the cunning evil? It's lunacy I tell you, sheer lunacy! I've oft scorned the concept of the Apocalypse or Armageddon, but I now find myself very concerned for the world as we know it.

Posted by Jeff at 09:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I predict it will be a long, hard year and we'll all probably end up getting shafted before it's over...ok, I'm done.

It's the Year of the Rooster and if you want to read way more than you ever wanted to about why it's the Year of the Rooster and not Year of the Cock, you can go here.

There's also a lot of tasty information about cock...though the article goes a little limp by the end.

I think it should be Year of the Cock though, because that would make me chortle....maybe even guffaw...or at least chuckle.

Inspired by FHB

Posted by Jeff at 03:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

There are a bunch of new Windows security updates, do yourself a favor and get'em installed. Most of the trouble that I see people having with their PC's is due to not keeping the updates...um...up to date.

That is all.

Posted by Jeff at 01:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So Trin and I had made our way to Red Rocks in Mulgore so I could speak to the Ancestral Spirit (oh, lord, I can't believe I'm blogging this) and complete a quest. We're both level 8 and we made our way there without much trouble, if you don't count my misdirection into the neighboring Barrens area. Once we got there it got pretty sticky as the little buggers guarding the spirit were all level 10, but fortunately Adam was there and he kept our back. The unfortunate part of the tale began on the way back.

Of course, I suppose we should have gone back the way we came, but that was not what we did. We struck off due west towards Thunderbluff and suddenly found ourselves in a sea of level 8 and 9 Taloned Swoops (flying birdie things), Prairie Wolves and Cougars. These are all beasts whose asses we can kick, as long as we do it in a one-at-a-time fashion. However, this was not the case and there were so many of the bastards that we were continually overwhelmed. The consequences of the situation meant that there were a lot of Barashakaw and Esmerelda ghosts running across the plain from Bloodhoof Village.

Our main problem was that one of us would die and then the other would stay near the other's corpse, I guess to protect it…go figure. So by the time the other got back the one who had stayed would usually be dead or so hurt that they would die shortly afterwards. We had this sort of tandem ghost rally going. It took a lot of cursing, but after running and dying, always getting closer, we eventually made our way back to Bloodhoof.

By the time we made it back we were both exhausted and I went to bed. This was a good example of getting a little too cocky on my part. Good times!

Posted by Jeff at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I did it, against my better judgment I did it. I bought World of Warcraft last night and spent about 3.5 hours playing it. I probably would have skipped my workout if the installation hadn't been taking so long. Whatever hope I had of creating a social life has officially gone out the window.

I've been hearing for months how great the game is how it's the best MMORPG ever and also hearing about some of the problems that have cropped up. I had been thinking that once it went public I would run out and get it, but my budgetary fidgetiness coupled with tales of queues and server outages kept me from doing it. That is until Trinity popped up yesterday and said Adam was talking her into playing. *sigh* I knew at that point that I had the excuse I had been waiting for, so I went out and bought it.

Thus far it has totally been worth it, outside of the lengthy install everything has gone very smoothly. I had been concerned that my computer was too old, but it ran smooth as pie and I only experienced a wee bit of lag once or twice. Trinity, Adam and I all ran around killing monsters and solving quests until I reluctantly decided that I should go to bed around 1:30. I made it level 4 and I can't wait to get back home to play tonight! Better yet I can't wait for the bloody weekend where I'm not constrained by having to go to bed. With a box of depends and plenty of non-perishable food items within convenient grasp and I won't have to move for two and a half days.

Right now we're on the Proudmore server and I'm a level 4 Tauren Hunter named Barashakaw (and yes it was randomly generated, I hate coming up with names).

Posted by Jeff at 01:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Weekend recap...thrills, chill...um...yeah.

I watched Buffy season 5 dics 2 and Angel season 2 disc 2. All good stuff. Episodes 7 & 8 of Buffy were heavy to say the least and more than a little depressing, it was frustrating to leave off on the last episode knowing I have to wait a week to see what happens. If it keeps up this intensity I'm going to be a wreck before it ends.

Angel is as good as ever and I've particularly enjoyed the filling in of Angel's past. One very cool part of watching both series at the same time is the cross over flash backs that are occurring at the same time. While you get Spike's life story from Buffy you also get the converging story of Angel from his show and at the same time you learn about Darla and Drucilla (one of my favorite characters). It's been very entertaining.

I watched The Virgin Suicides and at first I wasn't sure what to think about the movie. I didn't dislike it, but it hadn't made much of an impression on me either. I felt like I had been entertained, but I hadn't been moved emotionally and I had really anticipated that I would. I mean how can a movie about teenage suicide not be moving is some form or fashion? I felt like I had just watched moving pictures for two hours, albeit moving pictures that had been well done. I was left thinking, "That's it, I must have missed something."

I wrote it off to not being in tune with the film. I hadn't caught whatever symbology or imagery they were trying to portray and decided to move on. The movie, as far as I was concerned, had been too subtle for its own good, or I was just too obtuse to fathom it. As the day wore on though, I kept thinking about it more and more, so I ended up watching it again to see what I'd missed, but ended up with the same conclusion. Weird. I had been sure I would get it on the second go. As there was no commentary, I watched the behind the scenes featurette seeking some insight. Afterwards I understood that I hadn't missed anything. I had in fact gotten it. It was supposed to be that way. Once I had this realization, I decided I had enjoyed the movie a great deal. It's a very "out of the box" movie, or was for me anyway, but it's well done and worth a look-see.

So that was my weekend in a nut-shell. I did go over to a friend's house for the Super Bowl. I hadn't seen Rick since last Super Bowl, so it was good to see him again. He's been going to some Irish music jam sessions at a few of the pubs that happen to be near me, so we'll be getting together again in the near future. He also invited me to attend a pre-Renaissance Faire party he and is wife are planning as a kick off to a weekend at Scarborough Faire. I'm excited about this as I haven't been to faire in a long time, though my garb is all bit worn out or split from an unfortunate Halloween party ping pong accident. But, stuff to look forward too….yay!

Posted by Jeff at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I sense you coming long before you arrive. The night is cold and the rain pelts like stones against my face. Steam rises from the gasping earth. I know you're there, I feel you all around me. I move faster, but can't escape you. Ducking under cover, escaping the rain's relentless pour, I tremble from the cold. I stand quietly, in a small pool of light, the blackness surrounding me like a mourning veil.

You're getting close. You make no effort at stealth. You know I can't get away, I know it too and I wait for you. Floating from the night you appear suddenly, though your every movement is slow, graceful and filled with malicious love. I don't look at you, but know you're standing beside me, close. I don't want to, but my eyes are drawn to you. I know what I'll find and I don't want to see it.

Your face, soft cold skin and deep eyes, all framed by hair black as death. I want to turn away, but when my eyes meet yours I can't leave and you hold me. Your subtle pink lips part in a smile that reminds me of angels, but chills my soul to ice. Cold fingers touch my cheek. You're caressing me, pulling me to you with no effort. I know I'm yours and I don't want to fight you anymore. My body screams with desire for you and I submit to it.

Delicate lips brush mine, supple and moist you press a kiss against me. I fear to touch you, but as my mind screams to flee I slide my arms around your slender waist and hold you. I feel you move down my cheek, you leave a trail of passion along my chin and down my neck. My entire being is aflame. Tears sear torturous paths down my face, I want to run but am unwilling to leave you. I cry out meekly as you push into me, small daggers piercing my skin and my pulse beats hard. My body is alive as you take me and I know I will never leave you.

The light has dimmed and my mind is blank before the darkness closing in. You return to my eyes and I see you over me. Radiant and beautiful your deep crimson lips smile lusciously. You are angelic and gorgeous. I go to eternity willingly, exultant in having been touched by you.

Posted by Jeff at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's a tree, in space. It's space tree!

I'm not sure what else to say.

Posted by Jeff at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Yesterday, while adding the anime film Porco Rosso to my Netflix queue I saw that Grave of the Fireflies was also available and added it as well. Proco Rosso is a Miyazaki film, so therefore I much covet it, and I thought Grave was too, but while looking at the credits for it I found out it was not. Hmmm, I said…err…thought, I'll get it anyway as I have it from a good source that it's a quality flick. Then I decided to do a search on Miyazaki to see if there was anything else of his that I hadn't seen or maybe wanted to see again. This would be the point at which my jaw plummeted to my desk.

It was there, it really was there. I had heard it was being re-released through Disney/Buena Vista in an uncut version and with all new dubbing, but I had forgotten about it, slash, given up waiting on it. Waves of orgasmic euphoria ricocheted through my body and my clicking finger began to quiver with desire as I intoxicatedly added it to my queue. What could cause such profound, unmitigated excitement, and delirious, almost psychotic joy? I'm sure you're dying to know, either that or you think I'm talking about porn.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. I don't really remember the title of the original US release though I think it was Warriors of the Wind or something like that. As a wee lad I stumbled across it on HBO and was instantly captivated by the story and surreal environment. I recorded it on VHS and then watched it incessantly, as I was want to do and still am when I get enthralled by a movie. The release was in 1984, so I'm assuming that it was around that time that I saw it through our burgled satellite hookup, so I was maybe ten or eleven years old. I didn't even know what the hell anime was at that point, I just knew I loved the story.

Years passed and I don't remember why I picked up Princess Mononoke, but I did and it began my love affair, slash, worship of Miyazaki and quickly thereafter I watched Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and Castle in the Sky. Wanting to learn more about the man I went out and Googled his name, reading some sights and I was astonished to learn that he had directed this film that I had so adored as a young child. How serendipitous it was to find out that a director whose work I admired greatly had created the film that I had loved as a child. It's delicously fateful I think.

I became even more excited when I read that they were doing a re-release of it. Evidently the original US release had twenty minutes cut from it, so I'm madly interested to a) see the whole feature and b) see if it's still as great as I remember it. If there's any downside to my flurry of over enthusiastic discourse it's that it won't be available until after Feb. 22nd, but I can wait…with bells on.

Posted by Jeff at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Trinity rocks! She made my Catbus skin. If the site comes up all white, scroll to the bottom and select a skin. It should work after that. One day I'm going to learn to do my own layouts, so Trin doesn't have to do them for me and endure my inability to know exactly what I want. She's a trooper, but then I'm pretty awesome, so I'm sure it's her privilege to bring my creative machinations to light.

Posted by Jeff at 09:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

New record for hits! I made it to 23 yesterday, go me!...or, um, thank you! When I started blogging regularly again, or really for the first time, I was eager to throw out everything that came to mind. I didn't really worry about it, because I knew there were very few people who would read it. Knowing that are there maybe more than two or three people reading this crap is a little scary, but very cool. Not to worry, though, I'm sure my policy of blogging all willy-nilly will remain in effect.

Applegeeks is one of the web comics I read regularly and it led me to Bunny, which has become one of my favorite dailies. AG also led me to this little iPod Shuffle poem…funny.

Trinity is working on a new layout for me. I'll warn you now it will be a Catbus theme. Yes, that's right, I said Catbus. If you've seen My Neighbor Totoro then you understand, if you haven't you should see it. Nay, you should stampede, abandoning all sense of self preservation and safety for others in your mad, frothing rush to go rent it. So, yeah, it's a children's story, but it is a beautiful, poetic work and so worth the viewing, not to mention it has the Catbus; which, I find to be one of the most disturbing and delightful concepts I've ever been exposed too. "Next stop…little sister".

"Grass for His Pillow: Tales of the Otori, Book 2" is very good, maybe better than the first. I'm already three-quarters of the way through it. This is fast for me, having bought it on Saturday.

Posted by Jeff at 08:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I weighed in Friday at just above 213 lbs. I think I started off at a little over 240 lbs., but seeing as how I wasn't really keeping records in the begining, that figure could be inaccurate. So that's 27 lbs that I've lost. My body fat, according to the scale, was a bit over 30% at the begining, which is considered morbidly obese, and it was at 25.9% on Friday. That was disappointing as I had been at 24% last Friday. I'm not sure how I loose two pounds, but end up with a 2% increase in body fat. I was reading earlier that scales are prone to some wild readings, and I've noticed this in the past. Time to get calipers!

I decided today, after some calculation, that I want to get my body fat at or below 20% and my weight down in the 200-210 range by April. My longer range goal is to achieve 15% body fat, and a weight around 187 lbs, hopefully by my birthday in July. I still have a big challenge ahead of me and a lot of work, but I'm feeling very confident that I can do it. I don't if I have ever been below 20%, either as a teenager or an adult. The first skin caliper test I did as a Senior in HS was 22%. After graduating high school I lost a lot of weight, into the 170's for awhile, but that was mainly due to eating less, so I doubt that my body composition was much lower even then.

Speaking of calipers, I need to get some. I've not always trusted the scale readings, but as that's been my only way of checking my body composition it is, of course, all I've been using. Hopefully, using calipers will get me to check my progress more often and trust the readings. More importantly it will help me judge when I need to make changes. What I've been doing is working, but I often think I could be doing better, especially in loosing body fat, I've felt that has really lagged behind my weight loss.

It's funny that when I started this back in October I had planned on being relaxed about it, but as time has gone on I've become much more anal about my progress. My biggest goal is still to keep going, keep working out, and keep eating right. So far I'm accomplishing that goal, but I need more specific goals to shoot for and a way to make sure I'm headed where I want to go.

So, there you are.

Posted by Jeff at 03:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As much as I've enjoyed watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and its spin off Angel, there's one thing that's always nagged me. Where do these people get money?

Through the first three seasons of Buffy none of the main characters has a job, except for Giles and he's only a high school librarian, so I seriously doubt he's pulling in the big bucks. Giles looses his job after the school blows up and Xander only works menial low paying jobs through season four, though he does live in his parent's basement at that point. Buffy and Willow, however, seem to have scads of money for everything they need and it never seems to be an issue. I guess you could chalk it up to the parents paying all the bills and Buffy does have an absent father who could be helping her mom with expenses.

Giles still seems to be a sticking point though. As of season four, he has no job, was fired from the Watcher council, but during one episode has no trouble giving Spike $300 as a bribe. Maybe the Watcher's council paid well enough and the old boy was a good saver, so that he could ride out the rough times. Evidently so, because he buys a convertible BMW in season five and takes ownership of the local magic shop.

Angel bugs me even more, especially since it's pointed out early in the first season that money and cash flow is a problem. Hell, most of one episode is comprised of Cordellia badgering Angel to invoice the people he saves. Yet, Angel manages to pay two full-time employees, house his office in very nice buildings, have lavish furnishings, bribe snitch demons, and so on and so forth. I can only assume that the characters are busy doing mundane, cash paying missions during the off time between episodes. I will give the writers some credit, they do go to pains to explain that Cordy's apartment was really cheap because it was haunted (and still is). The hotel they convert into an office, you can presume, was really cheap because it was infested with a demon that caused people to go crazy. So some effort is made to explain finances.

Yeah, yeah, I know…just TV shows. I don't have anything to write about and now feel like a dweeb for posting about the economy of Angel and Buffy. I really can't believe I just spent this much time thinking about a trivial aspect of fictional televisions shows. If this isn't a cry for help I'm not sure what is.

Posted by Jeff at 10:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)