Purple Glitter on a Sea of Velvet

When you just can't decide...

2010-05-12T18:04:00.000-07:00

I really should have named this blog Krazy Quilt or something similar. I have so many different and varied ideas for blog entries that I find it difficult to settle on a theme. I also find myself unable to pick one and therefore unable to write in my blog. I guess a wealth of ideas is better than having none, but really to me it's the same thing. It's like being so hungry that everything on the menu looks good and you just can't decide. I think I shall make a list and just go down and tick off the blogs as I go. That seems like the best idea. Ah writing, my joy and my curse....

Awww Hell...

2010-02-25T21:21:00.000-08:00

So we have been delayed yet again. I made the reservation for the van yesterday. We get to Bakersfield and discover that we need a credit card to secure the rental. Jason's credit card doesn't have much money on it so it is declined, and for whatever reason they won't accept a debit card...great. We try to get someone to use their card and she agreed initially but then backed out for reasons that aren't really that clear, and so now we're stuck until Sunday because the money won't go on Jason's card until Saturday. Joy!

Yep, a streak of good luck would be really really welcomed right about now... please?

Adventures In Moving; Going To Coloroado With Next To Nothing.

2010-02-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

So when I move in a few days I will be leaving with a few clothes, important mementos, some books and my computer. Pretty much everything else will either be lost or staying here in storage. When I get to Denver I will have no furniture, nothing for a kitchen, nothing at all. I even had to sell my TV. It sucks. I am feeling a bit badly about it, but as long as we have a place to stay I guess I'll just have to get all new (or used) stuff. Anxiety abounds, and yet...I feel hopeful, and more than a bit excited. This has been an interesting journey and it still isn't over. I am hoping that everything goes smoothly and that we get to Denver with no problem. All I can do is keep my fingers crossed.

I really do try to stay positive, and I'm hoping that we get what we need... Positivity really works, right?

Snowing...

2010-02-20T13:50:00.002-08:00

I am no stranger to snow, but dammit I wish just this one season we could have a warmer than average winter. Seriously, it's not bad enough we have to leave on the fly with much of our stuff staying here with a friend but we have to deal with crap weather too? I hate that. I will be glad when we get to Denver and we're on the same level as stores, work, etc...

On a more positive note we are going to try to be out of here this coming week.

My Journey: Homeless, or a Close Call.

2010-02-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

So, it was exactly 9 months ago today that I took my friend and landlord, Hank to the hospital. It’s probably a good thing that I had no idea what was in store for me then; I probably would have had a nervous breakdown. We’ve struggled to keep the power on, and it’s still iffy, we’ll most likely be losing it really soon. We’ve had our water turned off, we’ve run out of propane, not that it matters because the furnace is broken, so we have to heat the house with the oven…well the broiler to be exact because the oven coil is burned out, we’ve had to eat ramen for days on end and now we’re down to the wire and will be having to leave soon. Hank is still in a coma, and now has been diagnosed with cancer. It does not look good. So on top of our financial problems, I am going to lose one of my best friends, and let’s face it, being poor can be cured; losing a loved one is permanent. Will we be homeless? I hope not, and in all honesty we probably won’t be. We’ll muddle through, and may very well lose stuff that means a lot to us, but living in the street or a shelter isn’t inevitable. It is a distinct possibility however and if that occurs well then I guess a new journey will be had. But I plan on blogging about it no matter what… There are a few possibilities, here. One will be that we get really lucky and find some money and move to Denver in the next few days. Another possibility is that we find somewhere to stay and save money to move and go in a few months. Of course there is the possibility that everything falls to complete shit and we’re out on our ass. I figure even if we’re in the streets or in a shelter I will be able to get to a library or café and get online to post.

I’ve already learned a bunch of new stuff since I’ve started with all of this and I’m not even homeless yet. The first thing and most important is that on a governmental/institutional level altruism is dead. There is no help for most people unless they have children. That’s pretty sad, and quite scary. On a positive note there are still individuals who are willing to help. Mark and Sharon, we appreciate what you’ve done, and we love you. We still have the money you so kindly donated and will be using it to help out our cause. Another thing, there are still a lot of people who mistreat the homeless. Lots of people think that if you are homeless it’s because you’re lazy and that it’s totally your fault. Here is a bit of scary truth for all of you. The fact is…are you ready for it? Anyone, and I mean any one of you, is only two months away from being homeless at any time. That’s not my opinion that is statistical fact. If you’re safe at home and have a good job, be thankful. Also, there are people who have jobs who are homeless. Crazy right? Because really, being homeless has more to do with being really unlucky than it does being lazy. At any rate, I have about had it with being told that there is no help and people expecting me to just get a job, and find a new place etc. If there were jobs to be had I would have one. I have an interview in CO. so it’s not like I’m not trying…ugh. The sad thing is we don’t need tens of thousands of dollars and aren’t asking for it…

Hopefully everything will work out. I’m not as optimistic as I was, but there is still a glimmer of hope. I figure this experience will be something to write about and learn from. Really isn’t that what life is, a series of lessons learned?

Still Homesick After Five Years? Really??

2009-10-17T17:00:00.000-07:00

So, I've never made a secret of the fact that I love my hometown. I really do love it. It's seen better days, but I'm proud to be from there and only left to try to advance my career. It comes as no surprise that I miss it, but I had no idea how much until I became obsessed with a couple of video games.

I noticed that I have become particularly fond of Fallout 3, and TimeShift. They're fine games and lots of fun, but I was getting a bit ridiculous with them playing them constantly. All I knew was they made me feel good and comfortable. Jason has been teasing me for a while now because I keep playing these games over and over. He would complain that I have lots of other games, why not play those? This is something that I was asking myself as well. Then one day I was looking through pictures I have of different places, buildings and landmarks I have of Flint and after looking at the Mott Building and the Genessee Towers and it dawned on me....the architecture in those games is very similar to Flint! How was this not obvious before I have no idea but it's true. The industrialized art deco, mid century modernist look of both games can be seen in abundance in Flint. It's kind of odd, but there you have it. It would seem that I miss home even more than I realized. It's been five years since I've been to home and hopefully I can visit soon, but with all of the stuff going on in my life right now I don't know when that will be possible. I guess until then I will frequent Flint Expatriates, and play Fallout 3 and TimeShift.

Why You Should Go To The Doctor When Someone Tells You To.

2009-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

As you may or may not know, I am a Michigander living on a mountain in Southern California. I have been living here with my fiancee Jason, and our friend Hank for about five years now. Our financial situation here has been tenuous at best and we've been barely getting by and sometimes it has been a bit close. However, things have turned south in the last few months and it's getting damned scary. What has this to do with going to the hospital when advised to do so you are probably wondering? Be patient, I'm getting there.

Around the middle of January of this year Hank, the man who owns the house that we live in...or at least holds the mortgage on it had an odd episode. He was groggy, incoherent, forgetful, disoriented, had a minor headache, was dizzy, and slept most of the day. I was worried, and called 911, but by the time paramedics arrived he was feeling better and refused to go to the hospital. He was convinced that it was carbon monoxide poisoning due to the fact that his furnace had quit working about a week before this happened. I thought it may well have been as well... until he kept having the episodes. I would beg him to go to the hospital but because he was always out of it during these episodes he wouldn't remember and thought I was exaggerating. I really was at my wits end. Finally in May, the 15th to be exact, he had his worst episode yet. He was so weak he couldn't even sit up in bed. I finally got so angry with him that I demanded that he seek medical attention. This coupled with the fact that he was actually aware enough to realize what was happening convinced him to go to the hospital. As it turned out when the doctor got the results of the CT scan back Hank had a brain tumor. Yep, a brain tumor. Of course he had surgery and thankfully the tumor turned out to be beinign but still. It was huge and he's had to have four surgeries all together. Count'em, four! Hank is now in a facility in a semi-comatose state. He is communicating as best he can and I have faith that he will pull through this, but he waited way too long to seek help. Seriously folks, if you are having odd symptoms please for the love of...well your loved ones go to a doctor!

The sad side effect of all of this? Jason and I who are still living in his house (we have no money to go elsewhere) are trying to keep bills paid so that we can have utilities. It isn't easy, this house is big and California is a really expensive place to live. He is losing the house to foreclosure, and I have no clue what we're going to do. I'm sad that Hank is going through this, that a vibrant and unique person like him has to suffer and heal from an ordeal no one should go through, and he's losing his house to boot. As for Jason and me? Well, lets just say that going through charities is notthe nost pleasant experience (this in a whole other blog though), and I am humbled and amazed that people get through these experiences. I've always called myself a sarving artist but this is getting ridiculous. Ah well, I still have faith that we will get through this and that Hank will snap out of it and be okay...what can I say? I'm an eternal optimist.

MIA, Ignoring Your Blog Is Very Bad.

2009-09-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

I've been absent from my blog and I am sorry. I'm still too opinionated for my own good and I still have the delusion that people actually are interested in what I have to say, but lately I've been going through some serious stuff. I am in the middle of a foreclosure of the house I live in but do not own,and the man who does own it is in the hospital in a semi-coma after having brain surgery for a tumor. On the plus side, I now have several new topics on which to rant. Stay tuned!

The Fight Over Marriage Rights.

2009-03-15T16:11:00.000-07:00

There are a couple of heterosexual college students here in California who are going to begin to collect signatures for a proposed ballot initiative to strike marriage from law. I say good. If Marriage is a religious institution then it should not be a legal one too. I've said this ever since the Gay marriage debate started getting hot here. My solution is the fairest, though probably won't be very popular.

If marriage is strictly religious, fine then it should only be recognized by the church, or whatever religious institution that performed it. It should not have any legal bearing what so ever. It would be strictly a rite performed by the religious institutions, like baptism. If you want your union to be recognized legally then you whould have civil unions performed by a judge or JOP. If you want both, fine, then have both. That way everyone, straight and gay alike have the same rights. It's fair and a fairly simple solution.

Is Detroit The Dieselpunk Mecca?

2009-02-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles, Tokyo, and New York City are cyberpunk/biopunk. London, Paris, and older New York is steampunk/clockpunk, but where do you think dieselpunk would have likely been set? I think since dieselpunk is all about the petroleum power based technocratic society wouldn't Detroit be the logical place? Chicago, Cleavland, and Cincinnati are also good choices for setting.

Don't mind me, I'm just thinking out loud...er...well you know what I mean.

VC At The Movies: Semi-Pro

2009-02-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

I love a good comedy, I love Will Ferrell, and I love my home town, (no matter how bad off it may be), and so when I found out that there was a Will Ferrell comedy being made about and even in Flint, I was ecstatic. Seriously, it couldn't get any better. When I finally did get to see it I was pretty stoked. After all not many movies are made about Michigan much less about Flint. Of course as usual I didn't get the opportunity to go see it at the theater I did get to rent it for free. Yay for having a boyfriend working at Blockbuster.

Semi-Pro is about singer Jackie Moon (Will Ferrell) who had a single hit record in the 70s called "Love Me Sexy". With the money he got from the hit song he bought the (fictional) Flint Tropics basketball team. Of course no one attends the basketball games and Jackie is losing money. Sadly this bit is true, Flint has had several semi-pro sports teams and with the exception of The Flint Generals hockey team, (which has had a fairly tumultuous career in Flint to say the least), they've all gone under. The Tropics are in last place in the ABA and when the commissioner has a meeting of the all of the teams telling them that all but four of the teams will be disolved with the remaining four teams going to the NBA, Jackie has a melt down. He convinces the commissioner that they should reconsider and that the top four teams by the end of the season should be the ones that go on to the NBA. Of course much mayhem and hilarity ensues, and with the acquisition of Ed Monix a washed up NBA star the team sets out to make it to number four. Of course we know who in the ABA went on to the NBA so you pretty much know the ending, but getting there is pretty funny. Jackie has to get attendance up, win games and it isn't easy, but it's funny. I won't give any spoilers, but it is worth a watch. It's not as good as Anchorman, but it is pretty funny. One thing that kind of bugged me, why did they have to mention Flint Michigan so many times? Who says the full name of the place they're referencing anyway? It would make for a great drinking game though.

Oh and a couple of things. I'm not nitpicking because it didn't really bother me but the Capitol theater wasn't being used as a movie theater in 1976. I believe it was being used as a venue for small time rock bands for concerts. Also Henry Ford had nothing to do with making Flint, that was Louis Chevrolet, Billy Durant, and Charles Mott.

If you like Will Ferrell and his usual silly comedy then this movie is for you.

7.5 shuriken out of 10

My 30 Favorite Video Games: 15, & 14

2009-01-24T02:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, so from here on in my favorite games are all first person shooters, save one. I know, I know there are other kinds of games, and they're fun I'm sure, but I love me a FPS. I can't help it! Maybe my top 15 games will change over time, but I doubt it. Anyway, from now on until I get to #5 I will do two games at a time and then one, but there will be pictures! Yay! So, enjoy.

15. Project: Snowblind

Publisher: Eidos, System: Xbox- This is a shooter in the strictest sense of the word. There is very little depth and next to no story. The idea is to go from one mission to the next. This was originally supposed to be one of the Deus Ex games. I think the original title was Deus Ex:The Clan Wars, but after Deus Ex: Invisible War did so dismally with the critics and in sales, that idea was scrapped. It's not hard to see that is indeed a Deus Ex game though, it's pretty clear it takes place in the same "universe", so to speak. The game is fun, and it plays well. It's very pretty and it's fun to do more stuff in the Deus Ex world. Lots of people hate this game, because it is just a shooter and has none of the RPG elements that made Deus Ex so popular. You play Nathan Frost a soldier in a civil war in Hong Kong who was "killed" in battle and then fixed and brought back with amazing nano-tech augmentations. You have ballistic shielding, it protects from bullets for s short time, vision that is a cross between x-ray, infrared, and night vision, reflex boost that heightens your reflexes so that everything seems to be going in slow motion. If you have played F.E.A.R. you know what I mean. You also have cloak which will render you invisible for a short time, and electrical storm that causes a huge electronic burst to shoot out and injure enemies and disabling electronics. These augs are a lot of fun, but they also take up energy that is replaced by energy packs that you find throughout the world. While there are some real problems with the game, it's a bit too short, and there's only one level I think the game play makes up for its shortcomings. I love it though, and accept it for what it is. Like I said, if you like a straight up shooter then this game is for you. But you have to play it on the Xbox because it's not backwards compatible for the 360.

14. Quake 2

Publisher: id, System: Xbox360- I first have to clarify that I played the PC version that came bundled with Quake 4. In gaming you will often hear, remember your roots. You should respect the games that came first because without Atari we wouldn't have the NES. Without Nintendo we wouldn't have the Sony Playstation systems, and so on. Well for FPS fans the Quake series is one of the those. There would be no Halo, or BioShock if not for Quake, Doom, Wolfenstein 3D, and Duke Nukem. To be honest I played Quake 4 first, and when I was finished I decided to give Q2 a try. I am so glad I did! It is just tons 'o fun! There's even less story that there was with Snowblind but it is amazing! And considering how old it is it held up so well! You play a marine who crashes into the Strogg base and you are led through different missions to sabotage the Strogg. Eventually to have to fight the final boss who is also the Strogg leader, the Macron. He is not easy, but it is so satisfying when you defeat him. The whole game was just so much fun, I adored it. Seriously, if you don't mind the rather primitive graphics (I don't) then give this a try, and then play Q4. You will not be sorry.

History

2009-01-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

Today, January 20th, 2009 at 12 pm eastern standard time, history was made when an African-American man became The President of The United States of America. That's pretty amazing. Whether you voted for him or Sen. McCain you have to admit this is pretty huge, and I for one am glad to be alive to witness it. The country is experiencing a difficult time, but as with all new administrations I have hope for a better future. I am hoping President Obama can help make that happen.

This is a new era, a new President and there is new hope for change.

Things I Want To Do With This Blog.

2009-01-19T21:20:00.000-08:00

The beauty of the internet is that everyday people like myself are able to express themselves and their opinions and (hopefully) lots of people will read what they have to say. Some people are funny, some are droll, some are smart, and others...not so much really. The best part is there is so much variety that you don't have to read the stuff from those you don't like or whom you disagree with, but then you can have a real mind expanding debate if want to.

I have done more with my blog(s), (I have a couple of others, one on MySpace, and one on Live Journal, but I usually post the same things to all of them), than I have in a very long time. I feel more creative and it feels great. Also my writing is really good lately, and while I have no idea why, I will continue on that streak and keep on keepin' on.

So friends, welcome to my world of movie reviews, video game reviews, and commentary on pop culture, the news, entertainment, and politics as I see it, or think it, or write it....eh you know what I mean.

I'm published! ....Sort of.

2009-01-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

So, I' am now an internationally published photographer. It's just one picture and it's in a Portugese book about Jim Morrison and The Doors, but still! I feel pretty good about it. It will eventually be published in English for the American and British market, so that will be really cool. Yay!

Video Game Remakes, Updates and "Spiritual Successors"

2009-01-10T19:09:00.000-08:00

I support the idea of the remake. Resident Evil did it and it was fabulous. Doom did it, but they just called it Doom 3, It was amazing. BioShock is supposed to be the "spiritual successor" to the System Shock games, and Tomb Raider Anniversary was gorgeous. Why are there not remakes planned for the System Shock games and Deus Ex? because the gaming industry sucks, that's why! Also, where in the hell is Half-Life 3? Marc Laidlaw? Hello?

note: if eventually there are remakes of System Shock I and II, and Deus Ex, I will consider taking back my statement above, but I will only consider it.

Cyberpunk Is Dead.

2009-01-09T20:13:00.000-08:00

Or so that's what I've been told... I was even told this by Bruce Bethke, and he should know since he coined the term and all. But honestly, as I was editing and re-writing one of my short stories, it hit me; I am either a total maverick (not the McCain/Palin type, but the real deal), or I am kicking a dead horse. Of course I realize it's probably more of the latter than the former but then I have always loved a challenge. Anyway, I have decided to keep on writing the stuff that inhabits my brain, trying to claw its way out and just tell whomever I am trying to sell my stories to, What? No! It's not 'cyberpunk', it's tech-noir, or neopunk, or some other synonym that will appease the editors who have convinced themselves that cyberpunk is not what people what to read.

At any rate, there are still lots of people who want to read dark gritty stories of a future that is far more likely to occur than not, and I am happy to provide them that. 2009 is going to be an interesting year for me...I feel it in my bones...so to speak.

So, it's 2009 Already!?

2009-01-01T02:05:00.000-08:00

The very first New Years Eve/ New Years I can remember was 1974/1975. It was the first year my mom thought I might be old enough to stay up until midnight. I had just turned 6 the October before and I was so stoked! I was getting to stay up all night! (heh) My Aunt Lula Mae used to have a big party every year in her basement and pretty much the whole family would show up. I loved running around with all of my cousins and eating all of the great snacks that were put out. Ah I miss those times.

Anyway, I hope everyone has a lovely New Year and that it brings lots of happiness and good luck. Cheers!

My 30 Favorite Video Games: 20-16.

2008-12-27T21:57:00.000-08:00

I'm truly sorry it took me so long to get back to this but I have endured two blackouts within the last week and a half (one of which was on Christmas day!), and it's just put me off of everything. I'm getting back on track now, though.

20. Dr. Mario, Publisher: Nintendo, System: NES- A fun and totally addictive puzzle game starring Mario as a doctor throwing pills into a medicine bottle to kill the viruses inside. There were three different color viruses, a blue one, a red one, and a yellow one. You would manipulate blue, red, and yellow capsules, (or a capsule with two different colors) so that they land on the corresponding baddies. Stacking three or more of the same color on top of the virus resulted in the virus dying and thus disappearing. You would continue to do this until the bottle was empty of the viruses, and then you would go to the next screen where the pills fell faster. I loved this game and the soundtrack is one of my favorites. It's one of the first video games that I actually noticed the accompanying musical score. An interesting side note, in a comic based on the game the viruses got names; Fever, Chill, and Weird. I think you can probably guess whose name was what.

19. Katamari Damacy, Publisher: Namco, System: PS2- A third person puzzle game that has you playing the prince who has to rebuild stars, constellations, moon and other bodies in space because the King of All Cosmos ( the prince's father), accidentally destroyed them. You play by manipulating the sticky katamari (which looks a lot like a bumble ball) around to pick up various items with in the area you are. You will have goals that must be met, and if you reach your goal then it helps rebuild part of the Cosmos. It sounds odd, and believe me it is, but it is such fun and really addictive. It's also incredibly Japanese, and it just has that sweet offbeat Japanese flavor that everyone loves.

18. Bust A Move Bash!, Publisher: Majesco, System: Wii- Another awesome puzzle game where you shoot colored bubbles to the top of the screen to connect as many bubbles of the same color as possible to burst sections and clear the area. I've played both Bust A Move ( aka Puzzle Bobble), and Bust A Move Bash! and they are both lots of fun but the Wii, and its controller lends itself really well to the game play and makes it a really fun game experience. It's what we in the business call a winner of a game.

17. Castlevania, Publisher: Konami/Nintendo, System: NES- I love vampires, and vampire stories, always have. More specifically I love Dracula, and when I found out that there was a game called Castlevania that has you going through Dracula's castle killing monsters and then you get to fight Dracula himself at the end, I was hooked, sign me up! It is a lovely game and so much fun. It's typical of its time, in that it's a platformer, but it was a blast. You play Simon Belmont the descendant of a vampire hunting family and you must work your way through the castle killing all manner of ghosts and monsters to get to Dracula and destroy him. Of course it never really takes because there have been about 22 sequels, but it's fun to try. I can remember my Mom marveling at the graphics while I played, (remember she was addicted to the Atari 2600). I had lots of good times playing that game.

16. Doom 3, Publisher: ActiVision, System: Xbox/PC- Doom 3 is basically a remake of the original Doom but with a story, and a whole lot prettier. It is one of the scariest games I have ever played, and let me tell you, it plays like butter. What a fun time that was! It took my boyfriend forever to convince me to play it because it was so damned creepy, but I am so glad that he did. You play the typical bald space marine who lands on Mars just as Hell is about to take over. Your first task is to go find a scientist who has gone off somewhere and bring him back but as you find him all Hell breaks loose... literally. The scientists becomes possessed and you have to kill him, and then make your way back to the Marine base. Along the way you get a myriad of weaponry including a chainsaw (awesome) and the legendary BFG9000. I won't say too much about the story lest I spoil it for anyone who hasn't played it and wants to, but let me just tell you that the game takes you to Hell and back...heh. ;) It makes me sad that there are so many haters, it really is an amazing game. If you like survival horror, first person shooters, or science fiction then this game is for you.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T03:05:00.000-08:00

I am hoping that everyone has a lovely day to day and that all of your wishes come true. Happy Holidays, and all the best to you all. Here's hoping that 2009 is a better year and that things start to look up. Take care.

Congress to the Middle Class Factory Worker- "F*(k You!"

2008-12-12T17:52:00.001-08:00

Yeah, lovely. So now whenever any politician says that they are working for the everyday Joe to ensure that he/she has a good life and the opportunity to make the American Dream a reality we can just point to the latest developments in Washington. The Wall Street white collars get a 700 billion dollar bailout but the blue collar factory workers get the shaft. Nice... Oh and before anyone points to the UAW and their lack of concessions that is not true, they have made concession, many of them. The only thing they stand firm on is the fact that they will not cut benefits to older employees and retirees. That seems only right to me since those people have put their time in and aren't really able to re-enter the workforce.

Isn't elitism great?

My 30 Favorite Video Games; 25-21

2008-12-10T22:18:00.000-08:00

25. Space Invaders, Publisher: Midway, System: Atari- This is indeed a classic. It's a fixed shooter that has you defending the Earth against an invading alien hoard. You get three turns and when you clear a screen the aliens descend faster. I have as many good memories of my Mother playing this game as I do of playing it myself. She was truly addicted to it. Some days I would go to school and she would start playing only to realize when I got home that she had been playing all day. I have an awesome Mom.

24. Tempest, Publisher: Atari, System: Arcade- I didn't get to play this game nearly enough since I could only play it at the arcade, but man it was fun.You would move a claw like space ship around these corridor things in space and shoot any enemies flying up the corridors. It was fun and had vector graphics which at the time were really cool.

23. Donkey Kong, Publisher: Nintendo, System: Atari/Arcade- Who would have guessed that a game about a love triangle between a carpenter named Jumpman an ape called Donkey Kong, and a lady named...well, Lady would be so popular? I can remember the line at the arcade waiting to play. Everyone loved this damned game, and I was so happy to get the Atari port even if the graphics kind of sucked...I had Donkey Kong! It's one of the first platformers and the idea was fairly simple. Work your way up the levels of a construction site and save the lady from the ape. It was lots of fun, but it was difficult. Of course now Jumpman is famous and we all know him as Mario. He also changed careers. I guess being a plumber is more lucrative? And Lady is now known as Pauline. Apparently the inspiration for the game was King Kong, (duh), Popeye, (huh?), and Beauty and the Beast. Ah factoids can be fun.

22. Centipede, Publisher: Atari, System: Atari/Arcade- The first major video game to be developed by a woman. It was also one of the first to have a major female fan base. What fun it was. I adored it at the arcade and I loved it on the Atari. It also had a child's level so the little ones could play too. A shooter where the object was to shoot each of the centipede segments and the falling debris. You also shot the scorpions for extra points. Of course like every other game once you cleared a stage it got faster. That's how you got good reflexes! I also really enjoyed Millipede but Centipede will always be special to me.

21. Super Mario Bros., Publisher: Nintendo, System: NES, The first game I played on my Nintendo Entertainment System. This was one of the games that led me to giving up games for nearly 11 years. I got so addicted to trying to get through those levels that I ignored my studies, not a good thing at all. It's about Mario (Jumpman from Donkey Kong) who is trying to rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil King Koopa. Ah good times. Other people were getting drunk and staying out late while in college and I was playing my NES, what a nerd!

Why The Double Standard?

2008-12-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

Has anyone noticed that Angelina Jolie has been demonized for something half of Hollywood has done...hell half of the world has done? Angelina Jolie seems to have committed the unpardonable sin of ruining one of America's favorite romances. She "stole" Brad Pitt away from Jennifer Aniston, and apparently no one, (by no one I mean the entertainment media/tabloid magazines) is willing to let this go. I am still reading about how Angie is hurting Jen in some way or other. Am I the only person sick to death of reading this tripe while waiting in line at the check out counter at the grocery store?

Seriously, why is this still a bone of contention for these publications when seemingly every other famous person who has done the same thing gets a pass? Are we still reading about how Owen Wilson is a horrible person for "stealing" Kate Hudson away from her husband? Did it even come up at the time that it happened? What about Claire Danes? She and Billy Crudup were dating while Mary-Louise Parker was pregnant with his child, where was the outrage? Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid were together for years and yet there was very little said about when Russel Crowe purportedly came between them. The list goes on and on. I could write a whole book on people, famous and not who have left their spouse for someone else . It's just a fact of life. The fact of the matter is the only people who should be held responsible for a relationship failing are the two people in the relationship. Yet Brad Pitt gets very little negative press. Odd. It's also a private matter and I don't think anyone should judge a relationship because the only people who are privy to all of the information are those directly involved. So why the vitriol for this one woman who for all intents and purposes seems to be a genuinely caring and decent human being? Is it because she's a vamp? She's unapologetic? Because she came off as "weird" when she first started in show business? None of those reasons seem good enough to continue to write so many negative things about her. Would the press be more sympathetic if she and Brad were to break up? That seems rather vindictive.

At any rate it would seem that this story has gotten old, so whose fault is it that this nonsense is still being published? The magazines for writing it or the soccer moms and gossip hounds who have taken this one Hollywood breakup too personally and keep buying this garbage to read all of the lurid details of how Anglina Jolie is ruining Jennifer Aniston's life? Honestly, Jennifer Aniston is fine and will continue to be fine because most of America thinks she's adorable, and loves her. She's filthy rich, and still incredibly famous. She's dated Vince Vaughn and is currently dating John Mayer...yeah, poor Jennifer. What a couple of loser uggos those two are. What a horrible life she leads. She could only be happy if she and Brad Pitt stayed together. Are people convinced that she's that pathetic? I mean Brad Pitt is gorgeous but he's not the second coming for god's sake. Jeez people, really. Can we stop kicking the dead horse already?

My 30 Favorite Video Games Of All Time- 30-26

2008-12-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

Like most people of my generation I grew up with video games. My uncle bought an Atari 2600 before it was assigned a number, (it was just called the Atari). And I soon inherited it when he upgraded to Intelevision. I then got an NES and soon realized that I could become hopelessly addicted to games if I wasn't careful so I took a hiatus from gaming. A long hiatus. I didn't play video games again until I got my computer in 2002 and bought some games for it. I only mention this because there is a big gap in the generations when I wasn't playing games regularly. However since I have gotten back into gaming again I thought I would do what lots of bloggers do and list my all time favorite games, (so far) for people to ponder. Here is the list, enjoy.

Note: I am listing publisher and system after the game title. The publisher is who published the game and the system is the system that I played it on, not necessarily the system that it originated on.

30. Pong, Publisher: Atari, System: Atari- A simple game. Just keep hitting the little square "ball" with your rectangular "paddle". The highest score wins. It sounds so primitive and boring compared to what we have now, but it was addictive and lots of fun. I first played this when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I believe I got good enough to beat my 30 year old uncle. A classic, the beginning of what is now a billion dollar industry, and lots of good memories for those of us old enough to have played it.

29. Atlantis, Publisher: ActiVision, System: Atari- One of the original ActiVision games. You control three turrets that is underwater and is supposed to be protecting the lost city of Atlantis. Space ships fly over head and you must shoot them for points. Occasionally there is a ship with a laser beam that will destroy part of the city if you don't destroy it first. you can rebuild the city but you must keep shooting the ships to do so. If enough of the city is destroyed the game is over. What a blast this game was. Again, simple but fun. I recently played it again on the ActiVision Anthology for the PS2 and it was just as much fun now as it was then.

28. Night Driver, Publisher: Atari, System: Atari- A first person driving game that takes place at night, (hence the game title). According to Wikipedia this was the first game to have first person real time graphics, but that assertion could be in error. At any rate this was a really fun game and it was fast. I was really very good at it and used the dial controller to play it. I played it with the analog stick on my PS2 and found that I'm rather rusty at it, but I prefer to think that it's because the stick is harder than the old controller I used to use.

27. Frogger, Publisher: Sega/Gremlin, System: Atari/Arcade- Pretty much everyone at least has heard of Frogger thanks to that infamous episode of Seinfeld. I played Frogger at the arcade and on my Atari and I loved it. Getting the little green guy across traffic and the river was fun and it made you feel good if you could manage to keep him from getting squished, or eaten or drowned. Good times.

26. Super Breakout, Publisher: Atari, System: Atari- The second video game I ever played. It has the same idea as Pong in that you hit the ball with the paddle but you must break all of the wall down to win and proceed to the next level. Fun and quite hard when the ball gets going really fast. You have many levels with different walls and some even have blockades that you have to bounce around to get to the wall to break it down. This is a Nolan Bushnell game and was worked on by the great Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. By the way, if you go to Chuck E. Cheese you're giving Bushnell money since he founded that as well. Personally I liked Showbiz Pizza better.

Old Age?

2008-12-08T19:33:00.000-08:00

So, apparently I made a blog here at Blogger in 2005 and forgot all about it. Odd. It is called Velvet Cyber Love and is a dreadful Pepto Bismol pink. I must have hit my head when I picked those colors, (my apologies to all of the people who love pink). Anyway, disregard that blog as I have no intention of using it. I'm going to try to figure out how I can delete it without having to resort to contacting Blogger for help.

The destruction of Flint Michigan and many other industrial cities.

2008-11-30T22:02:00.000-08:00

I'm from Flint Michigan, most of you know this. I have been reading about how the Big Three have been needing a bailout, and I am in favor of it. Not because I have any great love for the corporations themselves but because I know that the failure of the auto industry will cause Michigan's already failing economy to go belly up. Not to mention the fact that I have friends and family who would lose their pensions that they worked long and hard for.

I read that most people are under the impression that GM, Ford and Chrysler could just file for bankruptcy and then re-adjust everything, start over and they would thrive like K-Mart did. Well there's a difference between the big three and K-Mart. If you go to K-Mart and buy a TV you aren't buying their brand. You are buying Sony or some other brand so if they happen to go belly up and your TV goes on the fritz you can go to Sony and get the parts to fix it. People aren't going to reconsider buying from K-Mart because they know that they won't be holding a product that can't be fixed. If GM is in bankruptcy people won't want to buy a Buick because if GM goes under in two years they're stuck with a car with no way to get parts...see the difference?

Another thing that really pisses me off are the people blaming the average shop rat for all of the problems that the Three are having because of being "overpaid" and Union deals. What? Seriously? The average auto worker makes 25.00 an hour. Sure, he/she gets medical and such but why not? That pales in comparison with what lots of other people are being paid. 25 dollars an hour works out to about 50,000.00 a year. The average salary in the U.S. is 46,000.00 So that's about right. Lets put this into perspective shall we? The CEO of GM made 15 million last year. that works out to 7500 dollars an hour, that's 300 times what the average shop rat makes an hour and this is the dickhole who let GM go down the crapper. Yet people think it's the union's fault for demanding such high pay for the employees? That's all kinds of messed up. You want these corporation to do better? Stop letting them move jobs outside of the U.S. then expecting big tax breaks. Stop letting CEOs get huge salaries and then mismanaging the corporation knowing that they will be okay because they'll be getting a golden parachute.

Flint, Detroit, Allentown, Scranton, and many other industrial towns all through the rust belt are going under and no one seems to care. It breaks my heart.

I'm attempting Young Adult fiction.

2008-11-28T22:21:00.000-08:00

I've never really thought about writing YA but I was looking at some typical YA and I noticed something odd. There are all kinds of vampire novels, there are lots of fantasy and space science fiction too, but no real cyberpunk or post-cyberpunk, (save for the original short story Cyberpunk by Bruce Bethke, but then I doubt he was writing YA, he just happened to write about teenagers). I wonder why that is. It would seem that teens would love a good cyberpunk story. Anyway, I've started it but just barely. I feel good about it though, so hopefully it goes somewhere.

It's Thanksgiving and I 'm going to be cooking and cleaning all day.

2008-11-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

Yep, I am the chef de la Maison here so I am going to be doing all of the cooking and most of the cleaning. I will be exhausted, however we will be eating well.

Thanksgiving day menu-
Roast turkey
Mashed potatoes and gravy
Sausage cornbread dressing
Candied sweet potato casserole
Fancy green beans with onions, mushrooms, and ham
Cranberry sauce
Pickle tray
Pumpkin pie with whipped cream.

I hope everyone has a great day, and gets lots of good stuff to eat. Best wishes.

The Car Thief by Theodore Weesner

2008-11-24T22:13:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up in my hometown of Flint Michigan I would watch TV, go to movies, and read books and they would be set in lots of different towns in the U.S.. I noticed that lots of towns some of them pretty small and obscure to be represented in the arts. Flint however, was mostly ignored, (except for the TV program called The Fitzpatricks an hour long drama series set in Flint about a steel worker and his family...wha?). Then, when I was in high school I came across a book by Theodore Weesner called The Car Thief. It is set in the early 60s and while it is never called by name the city in which the novel is set is clearly Flint. The road names, the descriptions and the landmarks are all Flint. Of course I was quite happy to read this book because I had always wondered why Flint wasn't used more often in fiction, or as a setting for TV and movies. We certainly have an interesting mix of people, and a colorful history. Well I started reading the book and my excitement that it was set in Fling was replaced by the excitement that the books was really well written and the story was amazing. One of the best novels I've ever read. I often list it as one of my favorites.

It's about Alex, a boy who lives alone with his alcoholic factory worker father. Alex is troubled since his mother left and spends his free time stealing cars and taking them on joy rides around the city. Soon he's caught for one of the thefts and is sentenced to spend time at the juvenile Detention Center on Pasedena Ave. The book is sad, and really a wonderful story. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good book about coming of age, or if you're from Flint and want to read a good book set in our hometown.