XMAS IS WHEN??!!?

OMFG. I just realized that Christmas is less than two weeks away. (That's a fortnight if you're currently in a Dickens festival.)

The Plan

BSG: [cc] " VFX - NUCLEAR DEVATATED COASTLINE / A SINGLE COLUMN OF SMOKE" #deletedscenes #MayanCalendarTooBad (Battlestar Galactica: The Plan)

Happy Me Day

Happy birthday to me.
Happy Birthday to me!
Happy Birthday to mmmmeeEEEEEeeeEEEeeEeee...

(that's how well I sing in real life)

This year I found out that I share a birthday with Grace Helbig and I got some nifty gift cards -but- I got myself two things, which I thought I'd share:

1) The "A Bit of 'Fry & Laurie'" box set. Most of which - well, almost all of which, is, in fact, on YouTube (here). Then "Why?? get them?" you might ask. You might - and just that dramatically. It's not that I'm worried for Messrs. Fry and/or Laurie -'s financial well being (what is this? year 10 of QI, and about the same for House?) but it comes from the same urge, I suppose, that makes me want to give buskers a buck when I hear something I particularly like (at least in the 'ideal' - it's been ages since I've seen one in the wild and even if I did, I doubt I'd have any cash on me at the time... so it's all just academic, really, isn't it?)

Anyway- it's good. And if you don't want to drop a dollar in the hat - or more precisely, 54 at Amazon - then do check out the "duo" on YouTube.

(fig. 1 in which Emma Thompson doesn't play a significant role in this DVD set, thought it does include a Special Feature, in which she does play a part in several Cambridge Footlights Revue sketches (; the puppy is just cute))

2) And Music! The Scott Pilgrim soundtracks as well as the new Synthetica by Metric.
Samples:

a) "Threshold" by Sex Bob-Omb (Scott Pilgrim versus The World Original Motion Picture Soundrack)

And

b) "Youth Without Youth" by Metric (Synthetica)

And yes, Metric is on the Scott Pilgrim soundtrack - "Black Sheep" but in the movie it was Brie Larson singing as Envy Adams in the'meta-fictional band' "The Clash at Demonhead":

(VO in BILL HADER's voice): Bonus Round!

(HADER): Versus!

(sorry - couldn't resist)

When servers bite.

When racking stuff without help, always keep a firm grip on your equipment. Your shins will thank you.

Afters - the Sam Adams Octoberfest and the rib-eye from Chili's made everything better. Well... the Advil helped too.

AFP Live - on the Internet

This is just cut and pasted from the YouTube:

"MailChimp Presents: Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra Live from NYC

"JUST ANNOUNCED! Save the date: New Year's Eve with Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra Live in NYC - venue and details coming tomorrow at AmandaPalmer.net... "That's right, it's PARTY ON THE INTERNET time and you're all invited! Thanks to our friends at MailChimp, we're going to stream our concert in NYC on Tuesday, September 11 LIVE from Webster Hall on YouTube to celebrate the THEATRE IS EVIL album release and tour kickoff. You'll be able to tune in starting at 10pm EDT / 7pm PDT on YouTube.com/amandapalmer AND we're making a big (awesome) announcement that night, too! If you're coming to a show this fall, this'll be a good way to get extra excited for it as we'll be playing a bunch of the new songs and old favorites. There will be surprises, and it's going to be off the hook. 'Theatre Is Evil' and evil is EVERYWHERE on Tuesday - get it on AmandaPalmer.net at http://bit.ly/AFPshop."

 #happeningnow

DVD Trailers

You know- You Know- You KNOW... the DVD is good when the trailers are mandatory when you first pop the disc in. And it's Michael Freakin Moore.

ME3's New Extendo-cut Ending (Free) DLC

So... I got a email saying that "eavision" had just dropped a clip on YouTube. Among other things our friends at EA announced the re-cut/extra scenes added - well here it is in their own words:

The Mass Effect 3: Extended Cut DLC is a downloadable content pack that will expand upon the events at the end of Mass Effect 3. Through additional cinematic sequences and epilogue scenes, the Extended Cut will include deeper insight to Commander Shepard's journey based on player choices during the war against the Reapers.

(from EA, emphasis added, DLC launch date page here)

Really? You really think it's going to make this guy happy?

Whadda ya want? It's a meme.

Samsung delivers the Galaxy (boldly going... where no phone has gone before...?)

And I thought I was just getting a phone that I could finally play Words with Friends on.

...and Mille Bornes, of course.

While I'm here- so I went into my local @ and T store to get a cover for the thing (didn't want to scratch up the back with my keys or my pocket knife or anything). And I get there at lunch. Two people on two sets of customers (2 in the first, then 1 in the second set) and then one woman in the back flipping through a magazine. Okay. So I grab a cover and que to check out. And I start waiting. And Waiting. And waiting some more. And there's one guy - the greeter, I suppose, who is not doing much of anything. After a while, Magazine gets up from the bench at the back of the store and walks out. Finally when the cashier - excuse me - sales representative (or somesuch) finishes with her guy, she leaves me waiting at the counter while she walks the guy to the front of the store in order to open the door for him on his way out. But only after asking him "if he was pleased with his service today and if he was asked would he recommend them to his family and friends" or some damned thing. Now I could understand if the guy was infirm or looked like he would have trouble finding his way to - or some how opening the door - or finding Outside once said door was found and indeed open. But he wasn't. He was mid-thirties business casual guy - in short, he looked like he could hold down a day job with out drooling on himself too much. WTF AT&T? WTF?

And- I get the impression that that's not that unusual. I know someone that used to work for a cell carrier at a call center. They used to say that the people in the retail stores were generally considered to be complete idiots by the call center workers.

To be fair (he said grudgingly) I have find *the* guy to help before at the locations that I've had to take problems to. By my own limited experience, there seems to be only one person employed at any given location that is really helpful and competent - not a super-great average... but then I don't go very often (wonder why?) so my experience is limited and anecdotal. Caveat emptor you.

Drewford

It's been a while since last I posted. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't want to spend my time bitching about Internet content (I do enough of that on FB). Not exactly 'ranty', I know. But. I'd rather try to spend most of my time sharing wonderfulness - and only resort to the soapbox when I absolutely have to (or I just feel like it).

Today's Thing to Check Out is another webcomic - "Drewford". I've clipped a panel instead of posting a whole cartoon just to avoid that whole "The Oatmeal" theft scene. (Those Funnyjunk idiots are just that. But that's just my opinion - I could be wrong (to steal a line from the old Dennis Miller))

Go There Now!: http://drewfordcomic.com

"Allegiance"

A good project about an terrible event in American history.

The show's website is here, but to support the show go to the IndieGoGo website by clicking on the widget below.


For additional info about the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, you can start with Wikipedia. Another place to start exploring the subject is a PBS.org website supporting a documentary called "Children of the Camps". A quote from that website:

"Most of the 110,000 persons removed for reasons of 'national security' were school-age children, infants and young adults not yet of voting age." - "Years of Infamy", Michi Weglyn

One of these children was George Takei.

"The Other Lost Podcast"

Wednesday's somewhat nifty something:

"Nation, if you watch this show, you know I don't like to toot my own horn... I'm not that flexible." - Steven Colbert, during the lead-in for his 1,000th episode.

Do you remember-, or are you a fan of the ABC's ex-show "Lost"? You know - J.J. Abrams, a plane crash, invisible dinosaurs... Kate. Ring any bells? Well, there's yet another introcast - and this time its personal it's about Lost.

"What's an 'introcast'?" you may ask. You may well ask.

Go ahead...

I'm glad you asked. An "introcast" is a type of "podcast" where the "podcasters" are comprised of a number of "veterans" and a number of "noobs" - people who have seen the show (usually in its entirety) and people who haven't. The Haves and Have-nots of the television experience, as it were. They get together on a regular basis and talk about each episode in broadcast order. And by "talk", I mean "discuss in detail the story, the character development, episode trivia... and so on".

In the case of "Lost", this is not "Survivor: American Samoa". "Lost" is an ambitious, complex - at times a bit arcane - show that challenges its viewers as it journeys into the depths of the human soul... and into the eye of the island.

"The Other Lost Podcast" follows along as the story unfolds and the mysteries deepen. The cast is comprised of Amberlee, Kelsey, Erin, and Scott, with the occasional guest host - and constant virtual guests via email. If you like insightful, witty, sometimes slightly humorous chit-chat about The Hero's Journey, the metaphysics of The Island, the division between Light and Darkness, mysterious radio transmissions (and the headaches they can cause), 'torture' as a literary device - not to mention the aforementioned invisible dinosaurs, plane crash, et cetera., tune in!

"The Other Lost Podcast". It's a podcast. It's a blog. It's a Facebook group. It's an email account.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-other-lost-podcast/id495256711
http://theotherlostpodcast.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/groups/324722280871467/
theotherlostpodcast@gmail.com

And, yes, there is a reading list.
http://theotherlostpodcast.blogspot.com/2011/12/other-lost-podcast-read-along.html

"Vaginal Fantasy": The bookclub

Cool thing for today:

Felicia Day, with Kiala Kazebee, Veronica Belmont, and Bonnie Burton, started a GoodReads Hangout with a monthly G+ live hangout. It's called "Vaginal Fantasy", basically it's four person bookclub covering genre romance-y books. Minor minus for me is that I don't know any of the authors that they talk about except for Laurell K. Hamilton - I started the Anita Blake books once upon a time. But - that month's book isn't the only thing that they talk about (not nearly).

What led me to this was that Felicia Day posted it to YouTube. What hooked me was the nearly rolling on the floor laughing at the conversation - that and the geeky, geeky references (Skyrim, Mass Effect, Star Wars, True Blood, Dresden Files, etc, etc, etc). If you want to listen in on a smart and funny conversation about genre fiction, you should really check it out.

Here's the first one:

I hadn't realized it had been a solid moth (sorry, moths in the brain after last week's ep of The Other Lost Podcast) month since the last post. I'd been intending to post on something stupid that was posted to FB... and putting if off... more than anything else because it involved finding sources to cite - you know, work. And then something else stupid was posted and... long story less long: I've been avoiding the keyboard.

And now I'm downloading the ME3 demo.

Things aren't looking good for content for this here blogspot blog.

The Weakly News with Iliza Shlesinger

Don't quite know how to describe this. News? Comedy? It's not exactly "The Daily Show". What it is... is Iliza Shlesinger (comedienne who has been touched by Justin Bieber) with Alexis Archer (actress) and their producer Brian Gramo (guy) doing odd things on camera. It's loosely bound to a fake news show format but with "Wolf Corner" where everyone has to do something as if they were a wolf, Alexis' "Nerd News" and "Acting Corner", and the odd guest appearance of Blanche (cute dog who has been touched by Justin Bieber). Each episode is live with a chat room - kinda like... never mind. Do yourself a favor and watch Monday nights at 7 Pacific. Older eps are on YouTube and new ones are on theStream.tv. Watch them deliver "the hard hitting facts that will hold you after and tell you you're pretty and won't find anyone better".

Oh, and follow @iliza on the Twitter.

Dateline!! Episode #301

 Dateline!! Here's the last 2011 episode:

Iran Deckard

"'My schedule for today lists a six-hour self-accusatory depression,' Iran said.

'What? Why did you schedule that?' It defeated the whole purpose of the mood organ. 'I didn't even know you could set it for that,' he said gloomily."

Iran and Rick Deckard, conversation, Jan. 3, 1992.

"Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Philip K. Dick