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| Thursday, June 8th, 2006 | | 4:12 am |
| | Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004 | | 11:39 am |
Here we go again...
Just because I felt like writing something political today, here are a few things I hold dear to my heart. I believe that all references to any specific religion should be expunged from government and solely government-sponsored things. Period. That includes the Ten Commandments, swearing on the Bible, and the phrase "under God". This is not because I am a Godless Heathen (which I am). It is because I take freedom of religion seriously. Yes, I think that students should be able to carry bibles and do whatever they want on their own. Yes, I think that it is perfectly appropriate for a public school library to have copies of the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud, and whatever else qualifies as a "religious text". I believe in the United States as a one-language nation. I feel kind of insecure when I meet people that can speak 5 languages and write 10, but I know in my heart that unity of language is a profound strength for this nation. Again, not saying that foreign language programs should be cut in schools, I'm talking about the "official" language of the united states. I believe in drug legalization. The war on drugs is a black hole into which we feed too large a portion of our money and our populace every day. The obscene amount of money to be made on illegal drugs has fueled wars, propped up dictators, and led to a culture of violence that we have all been touched by. Also, there are only a couple of recreational drugs for which I advocate full legalization.. for the rest I think decriminalization will do. This does create a problem; What do you do with the hundreds of thousands of people that have to be released from jail? Frankly, I couldn't care less. Inconvenience to society is not worth the continued stay of one person in prison. Not ONE. I believe that no person should ever be able to be taxed out of their home. In today's world I'm sure it would take some definition of the word "home", but there it is. Conversely, and this is where I diverge pretty strongly from the libertarians at least, I don't think that a property owner should be able to do whatever the hell they want with said property. Yeah, I'm talking about you, Wal-Mart. Suburban sprawl becomes suburban blight at an alarming rate, and I think the companies responsible for creating it oughta be held accountable for its cleanup. I believe in the second amendment. As it is written. I don't think you should have to buy your first gun, I think it should be issued to you, along with the training to use it. I believe that life for a child begins when it can live on it's own outside of the mother. However, if it comes down to the life an unborn child or its mother, I choose the mother unless she herself has indicated otherwise. I don't think abortion should be used as casual birth control, but I'm not going to make that decision for anybody. Well, I gotta go home.. maybe I'll finish this thought tomorrow. Current Mood:  disappointedCurrent Music: Apocolyptica: Fade to Black | | Thursday, October 14th, 2004 | | 11:30 am |
come one, come all
October 16th, 2004 I'll finally be moving out of the Casa de Blakeney. I'm not calling in any markers, and I'm not going to lay any kinda guilt trip on anybody. If you want to show up and help move my piddly bit o' stuff into storage and/or to augusta, you will be welcomed and appreciated. (also at some point fed and boozed) The Move will be commencing(for me at least) at 9:00am, 'cause that's when I'm going to pick up the truck. Current Mood:  groggy | | Saturday, October 2nd, 2004 | | 3:51 am |
My own little twilight zone moment
As some of you may or may not know, I'm moving back to augusta fairly soon. As part of this, I'm going through my stuff and sorting things, packing and throwing a ton of shit away. (A quick aside- there is a tradition in columbia whereby you put crap you don't need out at the curb, and people will descend like locusts to pick through it; I just got rid of a 400lb tv that was missing 90% of its guts that way) So I set a box full of miscellaneous bric-a-brac out at the curb, hoping that someone would take all or part of it, so I wouldn't feel guilty about throwing perfectly good stuff away.. A vacuum cleaner, some scented candles, some computer stuff.. nothing amazing, but all still perfectly usable. I get home tonight, and lo and behold, somebody has gone through the box. Great, I think. One more thing gone to a good home. The thing is, I go and put some stuff back into the box that got pulled out, and notice that in payment(I guess) for the things that were taken, there is now a clock radio and a box of Jiffy corn muffin mix. I swear I must have laughed for a full five minutes. I think I'm gonna keep putting stuff into the box to see what shows up next. Mr. Serling, you have the floor. Current Mood: tired | | Saturday, March 20th, 2004 | | 2:42 am |
minor drunken ranting
Bear in mind that this is indeed a drunken evening, quarter of 3, and a bit of a rhetorical question.. but, am I indeed so hard to read? I have always prided myself on knowing what other people are thinking.. being able to determine without asking when to speak and when to be silent, when to act and when to remain still. I have had failures, some pretty spectacular lapses in empathy, but I still think my track record is pretty damn good. So, why does it seem that I have such a hard time making myself understood without just having to sit somebody down and beat them over the head with it? GAH and again I say, GAHHH ok, I'm done. wait, FEH! ok, now I'm done | | Tuesday, October 28th, 2003 | | 1:15 pm |
at long last
I finally have something that tickled me enough to jot down.. Driving back to work, I had to cross train tracks at an intersection.. Sitting in the middle of the train tracks directly under the "do not stop on tracks" sign is a truck with state plates that has a "highways or dieways" sticker on one side and a "I'm for Miles of Highway Safety" on the other. Oh, and the bumper was hanging off and kinda crumpled looking. It's almost as funny as seeing a land-yacht driving soccer Mom cruising around with a cellphone glued to her head and a "Mothers Against Drunk Drivers" Bumper sticker. | | Thursday, October 9th, 2003 | | 11:15 am |
| | Tuesday, July 29th, 2003 | | 11:42 am |
Yes, there is something wrong with my head, thanks for asking
Had another one of those nifty semi-lucid dream last night (this morning). I had a huge party and invited all of my friends, whereupon they started turning into either vampires or zombies.. For the most part, the vampires were more fun to hang out with. Go figure. Current Mood: tiredCurrent Music: Pearl Jam - Crazy Mary | | Wednesday, May 7th, 2003 | | 6:18 pm |
Con-tinuing the study
Well, I've been compiling the list of things that everybody really seemed to miss from the old days of cons, and generally trying to figure out how I would do them. I still have a laundry list of people to bug and things to find out, but at least this is a start. Here it is in the order in which it occurred to me. Ok, first on everybody's list seemed to be: MEDIA GUESTS. Specifically, the kind of guests who would show up, participate, hang out, and generally act like real human beings. So these guests would be pulling duty as Panelists, Party Judges, and Event Judges. Under no circumstances should anyone have to pay to see them. ART SHOW It would be a multi-level juried show, and a portion of the works in question would be for sale by the artist. No idea whether there should be an entry fee for this or any sort of gallery fee. Entry fee perhaps, as in this format it would be entirely too much hassle to get a gallery fee out of the artist. MULTIMEDIA SHOW/CONTEST I'm betting that there are a number of flash animators and the like out there producing some damn good stuff. And Crap. Probably mostly crap, but hey- that's what competition is for, to winnow out the crap from the merely unprofessional. MOVIE ROOM This actually cropped up a lot more than I thought it would. I'm thinking of a place attached to the Con Suite with a DVD changer and a lcd projector in a big nasty lockbox. Chained to a midget. A very unhappy midget. -The room could show Anime, cult films, fan fims, and perhaps a forum for the entries in the multimedia contest. COSTUME CONTEST Ok, everybody still has a costume contest, even those whose connection to fandom has become.... >tenuous< to say the least. What I kinda miss about it is the Masquerade Ball afterwards. I also think that there should be multiple levels and categories, perhaps even a category for random costume sightings, because an awful lot of folks have multiple costumes for different days.. Come to think of it, I think MOC might have done that with numbered badges one year. CASINO NIGHT Done by MOC in its heyday, all I can remember about it is that it was hostessed by Catwoman, and a tremendous amount of fun. I also seem to recall having learned all the casino rules for blackjack for about 3 hours. Then I got drunk and forgot them again. - players get a certain amount of chips for just showing up. After that, ya gotta buy'm. Chips are redeemable for con-scrip (get it?) CON-SCRIP As I recall, they were called MocBucks at Moc ( go figure ). This idea seemed a little silly at the time, but in hindsight it's a very good way to spread the love. Uses I see for ConScrip: (feel free to think up more) Additional prizes for contests use to buy party judge badges use in slave auction at some fraction to a dollar 5 to 1 perhaps? Whatever exchange rate they are sold for at casino night, I expect. Redeem for donated items at Con Suite/Store PANELS/WORKSHOPS There are a million and one things that can be done, and here I just barely scratch the surface. Guest Panels- I think it would be great to do guest interviews interviewer style, perhaps a spoof on Letterman, or "inside the actor's studio" The host could then use prepared, researched questions as well as taking submitted fan questions, eventually getting to an open Q/A forum. I would also like to do more with indie films and fan films. Some panel topics it would be nice to dig up guests for: How to get Financing Film vs. video, and current video technology CGI in fan films Stunt choreography panel and maybe a demo- doing an unexpected skit with a little fighting and a couple squibs would be great PARTY BATTLES The boon and bane of a con's existence. For the record, I think the best method to deal with it is make sure you have some pretty damn hardcore rules and ruthless enforcement. If eveyone knows the rules and the consequences up front, people should still be able to have a ton of fun within that framework. Stuff that people have come up with so far: One, maybe two floors of party rooms. If you're not on the party floor, you're not having a party. Period. Conversely, if you ARE on the party floor, you're either having a party or have signed away your rights to complain about said parties. Parties have to be listed with con staff. When you sign up, you're issued plastic and duct tape and you'd better be ready to use it. Walk-throughs with con staff will be mandatory. When the walk through is done, a disposable camera with the room number on it will be used to take before and after pics. All breakables will be removed from the party floors no matter what. All volunteers/security will be issued disposable cameras. Of course, the con reserves the right to boot anybody for transgression at any time, no refund. Ok, this is just the preliminary list.. more things have occurred to me as I've written it, as I'm sure they have for you. There's still a ton of research to be done, and even when all the i's have been dotted and t's crossed, it still may never actually happen. Be that as it may, I still need all the suggestions that you can give me, and if this ever does happen (God help us all) I'm gonna be looking for volunteers. Yeah, that means you. Jack Current Mood:  goodCurrent Music: ACDC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap | | Wednesday, April 23rd, 2003 | | 2:27 pm |
looking for recollections
There was something that was bugging me after last year's fantasm, and unfortunately it hit full force this year. Ever since MOC went down the tubes, there has been something missing from the events that either sprang up in its wake or absorbed its following. Fantasm is not a fandom con. It is a full-on freaky fetish con, no ifs- ands- or buts. I'm not sure whether it was ever intended to be anything else, and it's maybe just taken me this long to notice. DragonCon, by comparison, is a complete geekfest, whose appeal is aimed so broadly that they have to reign in even the merest bits of adult-oriented fun so as not to spoil the family friendly nature of the event. It is a sprawling mess of a con, with so much going on that it's almost impossible to see and do what you want to without massive amounts of advance planning. Too big for me, in any case. MOC was a great middle ground. There were enough media guests in the old days to get the mainstream crowd in, and they were a part of the con. They did duty as panelists, judges, and partiers. There were events that not only appealed to the casual fan, but also those who were aspiring film-makers, artists and writers. The parties were confined to certain floors, making noise concerns a bit moot; and if you were on the party floor, you WERE throwing a party. It was pointed out to me this afternoon that we all felt really welcome at the FAGG bash... well, we should. We have been partying down the hallway from those guys for close to 13 years. Scary, ain't it. As a side note, I should mention something that came as a bit of a shock to me.. the Hyatt Regency, HOME as far as I'm concerned, was less than 350 rooms? Eight Floors. That's it. Amazing. Consider some of the things that MOC did... Fantasm was CONSIDERING putting up a bulletin board. MOC had ConTV, and a constant scrolling event listing. Amazing! I had no appreciation of it at the time, but it just seems so ahead of the game now. This is my request, for all of you that may read this livejournal: I want you to think, and remember. I want you to cast back into the mists of time and try to remember all the things you have loved about cons in the past, things you would like to see, and some things that you think are common stumbling blocks. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with this information, but it's been on my mind lately. Even questions such as, how important is it to book an entire hotel? And if you happen to know, how hard is it? How burned is the hotel community on cons, and how much cash does DragonCon have to throw at the problem for it to disappear? Send it on as you think it up. Jack Current Music: Kermit the Frog and Big Bird - Stoned on Sesame Street | | Monday, April 14th, 2003 | | 4:46 pm |
Once more into the breach
One more week to Fantasm. Two and a half more weeks to xmen2. Four weeks to matrix reloaded. Then the hulk. Not to mention renfest, pennsic, dragoncon... This will be the most gloriously geeky summer on record, and I just couldn't be happier about it. Come to think of it, this is an important summer on all sorts of fronts.. as a group, we have kids on the way, houses being bought, lots of good things happening all over the place.. There is a very good chance that this will go down as one of the best summers of all time for our collective little family. It just makes me smile Current Mood:  ecstaticCurrent Music: Staind - It's Been A While (Uncensored) | | Monday, April 7th, 2003 | | 1:55 pm |
Well, another weekend come and gone. This weekend was a good one; paintball on saturday, archery on sunday, and some other potential good news that just made me happy. It would be nice if I weren't quite so sore today, but it's a good sore.. I've been far too much a couch potato lately. Current Mood:  soreCurrent Music: Black Sabbath - Iron Man | | Thursday, April 3rd, 2003 | | 11:07 am |
What a beautiful day.... That's all I got. Current Mood:  contemplativeCurrent Music: Police - Synchronicity II | | Wednesday, April 2nd, 2003 | | 8:41 pm |
MWAHAHAHAHAAAAA
MY CREATURE LIVES ONCE MORE!! Don't know why it pleases me so, but my favorite paintball gun is fixed and ready to go.. Current Mood: ecstatic | | Tuesday, April 1st, 2003 | | 6:04 pm |
When did this happen, and why was I not notified?
It seems that along with the ability to walk quietly without having my joints make awful and worrisome noises, I have lost the facility to throw a football without embarrasing myself. I can distinctly remember being able to throw one, fairly well even. Furthermore, I don't recall the tendon inside my elbow getting yanked every time I let go of the damned ball. Whatever is causing this, I demand it stop immediately. Current Mood:  aggravatedCurrent Music: Crow - Devil's Night | | 10:19 am |
augh!
I can't believe I forgot this is April Fools, and I ain't got nothin' ready or anything. Funny thing tho, the likliest target of any prankin' is mysteriously absent today...... And here I didn't think he was that smart. Current Mood: aggravatedCurrent Music: Tenacious D - Dio | | Monday, March 31st, 2003 | | 1:46 pm |
monday schmunday
Well, another weekend has passed. I had fun in augusta as always, although in doing so I managed to miss the Camden cup again (and all that it implies). Ah well, at least we got a little bit done on fantasm props. I should have the stuff I ordered in to make the flame walls by wednesday, so that'll give me something to work on this week. Been having very vivid dreams the last couple of nights.. I was prepared to blame it on sleeping under a disco ball friday night, but after the last couple of evenings I'm not so sure. I'll just write it off to "spring weirdness" and let it go at that.. Current Mood: amusedCurrent Music: The Beatles - Hey Jude | | Thursday, March 27th, 2003 | | 11:38 am |
And so it begins
I'll be driving down to augusta tonight for the Ballet showcase.. that oughta be fun. I was planning on just staying and skipping work on friday, but I don't think I'll be able to now. Too much crap to do in my little cave at work. On a silly note, I got a piece of spam this morning from "Heather Hunter" (rather famous porn star, gone quasi-mainstream) selling voice recognition software. What the hell? Is porn so powerful that companies expect that you'll open potential smut spam before anything else? What an idea! Ginger Lynn pushing Norton works... boo hah! Current Mood:  awakeCurrent Music: Ape Hangers - I Don't Want To Live Today | | Tuesday, March 25th, 2003 | | 10:38 am |
Beautiful!
Man, it is just a glorious day out there today. Much too nice to spend it all inside, I think.. A trip down to kmart to get a frisbee or something is in order for lunchtime. Being the worst emplyee ever, I think I'm gonna instigate some daytime slackin' ;) Current Mood:  chipperCurrent Music: Tom Waits - God's Away On Business | | Monday, March 24th, 2003 | | 11:49 am |
So very much nothing...
So I had a lazy weekend once again. Got out and about a bit on friday and saturday, but sunday I stayed home and did exactly nothing but watch the toob and read. It's funny- I only seem to have two modes these days.. either horribly busy without a moment to spare and ten things going at once, or nothing. I just can't seem to handle moderation.... getting things done a little at a time. Current Mood:  mellowCurrent Music: Pantera - Planet Caravan |
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