Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Why Was I Not Informed?!

I don't care what in the hell I have to do to get this poster, but I will have it.
He will grace my wall!!

--Weasel, "Words don't do it justice... it's just too beautiful..."

Aftersqueal: Wouldn't mind getting this shirt either, even if it is unofficial.

Round Two....

And here we go again!


Wal-Mart has been quietly pulling dog treats off of their shelves since July. The products were Chinese made and might have sickened pets.

So why hasn't anything really been done about this? Where the hell is the outrage over this latest round of recalls? What's it going to take to stop this bullshit?

The stupidity just makes my head hurt.


Warning Sign created here.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Holy. Shit.

I heard about this a few days ago, but I haven't had a chance to blog about it.

It's been discovered that, under the right conditions, space dust can come to life.


SCIENTISTS have discovered that inorganic material can take on the characteristics of living organisms in space, a development that could transform views of alien life.

When Prime read the article to me my heart quite literally leaped for joy. Non-organic life can exist out there in the universe. A ripple of hope ran through me.

An international panel from the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Max Planck institute in Germany and the University of Sydney found that galactic dust could form spontaneously into helixes and double helixes and that the inorganic creations had memory and the power to reproduce themselves.

Suddenly, the idea of "autonomous robotic lifeforms" from another planet doesn't sound so far-fetched.

I wish it weren't raining right now. I'd love to go stargazing tonight.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Apocolypse is Nigh

Jenna's engaged.

Jenna Bush, 25, is marrying Henry Hager, 28, a former White House aide who used to work with Karl Rove.
The groom to be is a former aide to Karl Rove?! ::insert canned wolf howl from American Dad::

To steal a quote from an obscure 90s cartoon called Animaniacs: "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

The Results are In!

Why am I not really surprised?








Which 2007 Transformer are you?




You are Bumblebee the Camaro! Gathering information is what he does best. He prefers to work in silence and solitude, acting as an unseen guardian over his assigned target. Dont let the fact that he likes to remain hidden fool you though when it comes to a fight, he rushes in, both plasma cannons blazing!
Take this quiz!








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Well, at least I'd look good in yellow.

I Feel Safer Already

Bush is trying to fast track executions.


The Bush administration is preparing to speed up the executions of criminals who are on death row across the United States, in effect, cutting out several layers of appeals in the federal courts so that prisoners can be "fast-tracked" to their deaths.

Good old W. He truly cares about the living.


President Bush has always been a death penalty enthusiast. The 152 prisoners he dispatched to their deaths in his eight years as governor of Texas set a high-water mark unmatched before or since.

I'm so glad GW is watching over us. I'm sure Joe Amrine feels the same.

Four years ago, a Missouri man, Joe Amrine, was released after 17 years on death row after the collapse of all evidence that led to his conviction for a jail murder. The state argued, with a straight face, that even the establishment of innocence was not a reason to stop his execution, because nothing had been procedurally incorrect about his original trial. Again, it was a federal appeals court that weighed in on Amrine's behalf.


I'll sleep soundly tonight, yessiree. No worries here. Wait, is that the thud of boots on the pavement?

Ah, it's just my imagination.

......

I hope.

Only in America

We are spending billions in Iraq, but some people can't afford health care.
According to court documents filed Wednesday in Jackson County Circuit Court, Stanley Reimer walked his wife to the balcony of their apartment and kissed her before throwing her over.
The reason?

According to the court records, she had no health insurance to pay for medical bills that ranged from $700 to $800 per week.
What the hell is wrong with this country? Where are the protests over this? Does anyone even care? Or are we too damn busy pissing our lives away over Britney Spears and Paris Hilton?

What happened to America? Where did my country go? I weep for our future, for it is grim indeed.

A shoutout to Shakespeare's Sister for the info.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

The Top Thirteen: BotCon 2007 Edition

I'm listening to 80s music, which helps "get me in the mood", so to speak. So without further adieu, here are my personal favorite moments from this year's BotCon. Enjoy the geekiness, if you will.

13) Bonding with a Beatmix Bumblebee and causing Prime and our friend Shawn to nearly puke.
Beatmix Bumblebee happens to be sound activated, so when I started talking to a demo version at the Providence Place Sharper Image, it responded. So I kept talking. And it kept reacting. Within a few minutes, it had obviously taken a liking to me..... and Prime and Shawn were trying to suppress their gag reflexes. Easily one of the most fun and geeky moments I experienced. The little bugger won me over so much that two days later, I bought one.

12) Prime injuring himself at the customizing class.
The hazards of being a guy who works with his hands. Prime managed to stab himself in the hand with a screwdriver while assembling his custom figure. When I met up with him after coming back from the tours, he was sporting a homemade bandage. And I thought I was supposed to be the klutz around here. :)

11) The awesome swag.
The exclusive toys, the exclusive hotel keycards, the freebie bag for the cocktail party. We got lots of killer stuff, which helps keep the memories fresh. My personal favorite? The hotel keycard from the Westin. Bumblebee, of course.

10) Made in China? Melamine!
This became a running gag between me and my friend, DA. He'd point out something was Chinese in origin and I'd yell out, "Ut-oh! Melamine!". Then, we'd both laugh. Don't ask.

9) Running on 2 hours of sleep, a handful of tortilla chips, a shitload of caffeine and still feeling fine!
The unwritten rule at any convention is "Thou shalt not eat or sleep". It may sound exhausting (and it is) but while you're there, you realize you don't really miss sleep or food. Caffeine, however, is a necessity, since adrenaline can only do so much.

8) The dealer room.
The dealer room has always been the heart of BotCon. The dealer room is where you meet friends, look for deals and just hang out. This year was no exception. If you wanted good deals and good conversation, you hit the dealer room. I never wanted to leave.

7) The Sector Seven Experience.
If you were lucky enough to hit the Hasbro Toy Shop room, you probably saw a big semi near the back of the room. No, not that one; this one had a a trailer. If you decided to stand in line, you were let in and treated to the Sector Seven experience, which was actually quite fun. A pair of "agents" told you about N.B.E.s (Transformers) and you got a glimpse of some of the footage from the movie. Just make sure you didn't react to the word "Transformer", or one of the agents would start to question you. (It happened to me! An agent asked if I had any aches or flu-like symptoms. I wisely said no.) It was a lot of fun, in a geeky way.

6) Meeting Optimus Prime.... in more ways than one.
We had two special guests this year: Mr. Peter Cullen, who is the voice of Optimus Prime, and one of the actual rigs from the movie. I got two autographs from Mr. Cullen and have a couple of pictures of myself with the semi. (In one, I'm saluting the truck, in the other I'm snuggled up next to him. I hope Bumblebee won't get jealous.) Before leaving on Sunday, I said good-bye to the rig, passed it a kiss(!) and told him to bring Bumblebee next year. I hope he heard me. :)

5) The cocktail party.
Live music, swag and nerds, along with a cash bar. How much fun is that? Plenty. Where else can you see a couple of Hasbro reps dancing onstage or get freak danced by a friend? I'm still laughing at that last one and can't get KISS's "Rock and Roll All Night" out of my head. I'm not really a party animal, but I hope there's another party like that one next year.

4) The tours.
While Prime was injuring himself, I was touring. I got to tour the tours at Wood's Hole (yes, that one!) and went whale-watching. Did I get lucky enough to see whales? Yes. Was it cool? Hell yes. (I seriously need to post some of the pictures.) It was also the first time in nearly eight years that I got to see the Atlantic Ocean again. And having seen it again I realize I actually miss it, but not the hurricanes.

3) The Hasbro tour.
This is the place where it all began. If it weren't for Hasbro, we wouldn't have Transformers. And I wouldn't be a robo-geek. As crazy as it sounds, the brick walls of those buildings just screamed history, and I would have sold body parts to live there. (I could have been a gopher! Hire me, Aaron Archer! I work cheap!)

2) Seeing the Transformers movie before it hit theaters.
Imagine an entire theatre filled with nothing but Transformers fans. Imagine sitting next to your geeky Transformer loving friends and seeing their reactions to a movie you've been waiting to see for a very long time. Yes, it was awesome. Seeing Tyrese Gibson and Rachael Taylor enter our theatre sent us into a frenzy. Tyrese was right: that shit really was off the hook. We cheered, we yelled, we had a helluva time. No matter how many times I see it, the first viewing of Transformers will be my favorite. The huge crowd of geeks made it an amazing experience

And the top moment from BotCon 2007 is....

1) Seeing my friends again.
As much as I love the convention, seeing my friends is what makes it so special. Where else can I discuss in depth, why I love Bumblebee? Where else can the hottest topic of conversation be about upcoming toy releases and variant figures? Where else can I feel so accepted? Normal, even? Being at the convention is like a huge family reunion and I cherish that. So with that I say to my friends (DA, Groo, and everyone else, you know how you are), I'll see you next year, Primus willing. I miss all of you guys!

--Weasel, still re-adjusting to "the real world"

Sunday, August 05, 2007

You Have Got to be Shittin' Me

Apparently, the SCLC plans to honor Michael Vick.

What.

The.

FUCK?!


"We're in support of Michael as a human being," SCLC president Charles Steele said. "Right now, he's feeling discarded, ostracized by people who are rushing to judgment. It's our responsibility to save him."

Um... no offense here, guys, but where in the flying hell were you when Vick was toturing dogs? Why the hell didn't you get up and, oh I don't know, HELP THE REAL VICTIMS HERE?!

Fuck this shit, I'm getting a new pet toy.

A big thanks to AMERICABlog for the 411.

Friday, August 03, 2007

An Observation

Humans didn't become the dominate species on the planet due to intelligence; they became dominate because of their ability to out-kill nearly every other living thing.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Fuck You, Sam Walton

Seriously, fuck you.

I pray to Primus that BotCon is never held in Arkansas, because I might just get arrested for what I may do down there: i.e. taking a shit on Sam Walton's grave.

A huge one gunned salute to Shakespeare's Sister for the info.

--Weasel, "Target may suck, but it's looking a lot better than this!"

Movin' On Up!



That's a bit more like it. I'm still shooting for "R", though.

I Want this Fucking T-Shirt!

Seriously, I must have this shirt.

I will wear it to every BotCon I attend for the rest of my natural life. Just please, somebody get me this fucking shirt!

--Weasel, easily influenced by geek culture.

An Apology

As of late, I have been neglecting my blog. I'm still recovering from PEBS*, but I'll try to update a bit more often. Thank you for your patience.


*Post Ecstatic BotCon Syndrome

My Faith in Humanity is Slightly Restored

Stupid, spoiled skank loses her inheritance.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer girl.

Schadenfreude anyone?

--Weasel, "Aw, poor Paris.... my heart just bleeds for her......"