Shameless Nerd Gushing, Vol. 1

Too much geek stuff to justify multiple posts, so I've decided to cram it all together into one while it's all fresh in my mind. Today, I'm geeking out hardcore, and I figure it's not too bad an idea to share. After all, you all come back here and read, so part of my insignificant life must be somewhat interesting to you all, right? Well, here's a couple of tidbits.

BitTorrent Blah Blah + Wheaton Goodness = Postworthy

It's been a little over a month since I began seeding Wil's CactusCon performance on Mininova, and in that time, I've tossed up a ratio of 17.172 over 705MB. Not bad, not bad at all. A little over 17 copies worth of data came from me, and for that, I'm proud. I'd call that a successful torrent, since I've seen seeders and leechers come and go rather frequently. It's out there, and it's awesome to know that I had a wee tiny hand in spreading the good word that is Wil.

And speaking of Wil, if you missed it, you really need to check out his Keynote Address from last year's Penny Arcade Expo (PAX). Dare to compare: the man's good at what he does.

How Could You Not Want That?!?

Anime fans are a picky lot. We care about the art form, and if an American production company hacks and mangles a series too much in trying to Americanize it, we get a bit miffed. Such was the early doom of FUNimation, the production company behind the later release of Dragonball Z and, since, alot more series that show they learned from their early mistakes. Their first dub of Dragonball was an atrocity, and I have the DVDs to prove it.

But sometimes, hacking and mangling for the sake of an American audience can be a good thing, as is the case with FUNimation's recent redux of Crayon Shin-chan. Some of the more notable changes include:

• Shin's school has been changed into The Happy Funtime American School. This allows for name changes for the teachers, a complete heritage change for the principal, and the introduction of modern American humor to make up for the fact that Shin-chan is over 15 years old, series-wise.
• While the original show focused on Japanese social issues through the eyes of 5 year old Shin and those around him, the FUNimation dub scraps all that and goes for the testicles when it comes to outrageous humor. It's very, VERY adult oriented. Sex jokes, sexual orientation jokes, toilet humor, the whole nine yards.

While these and other changes are abound, it really doesn't matter, because this show is FUCKING FUNNY! FUNimation, in a surprise twist, hacked and mangled an Anime series into something that stands on its own as a hillarious adaptation. When I get time, I'll probably go deeper into it all, but this is a good start, and will jog my memory a bit when I finally get around to doing it.

Myth of the Prophyt

After some discussion amongst my inner circle of geeks and geek-stuff enthusiasts, I've decided to make an attempt at building a small side business in the tech sector. It's not the 2GPro that I've envisioned for the last two years, but it's a good start in the right direction, and should be relatively easy to get started. I've got the attention of the people I need to back me up, and I think we're about ready to roll. I'll try and make an announcement soon, but for now, I have to keep it in the realm of Myths.... Which, by the way, is your only clue as to what I'm going to try and accomplish...

Retune The World

I've been checking out alot of new Anime recently (beyond Shin-chan), and I've found quite a few new favorites in the mix. I highly recommend RahXephon if you can get your hands on it. Big robots, great music, and solid voice acting on both sides of the big pond. Another new favorite is Full Metal Panic! Funny stuff right there, and plenty more big robots for those that like such things.

Soon, I'll be starting Love Hina, a series I've put off checking out for far too long, as well as reacquainting myself with Vision of Escaflowne. Beyond that, I have so much more, but I don't really have the time to do so. Being a dad has its demands, after all...

Hope you all enjoyed my little geekout. See you tomorrow for Caturday, I promise!

Thank You Very Fucking Much

George W. Bush and his flunkies can all go to Hell.

While they got greedy - the power grab after 9/11, the illegal wars since that have served no other purpose than to rob the American taxpayers and stuff the money in the pockets of a few corporate fat cats, and the failed war on terrorism that has done nothing more than keep the people distracted - the rest of the world was changing. They missed it. They dropped the ball. They were so fucking short-sighted and selfish that they let the powder keg get filled right under their noses.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's Cold War 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Whoever wins this November, I pity them. They have to clean up this mess somehow, and deal with the new power bloc that's emerging out of the ashes of the Communist East. The real problem is, if what I think will happen happens, then the other side will have a full 1/3 of the world's population at its disposal, and it's going to be very, very brutal. To give you some idea, here's what will happen if the unthinkable does come to pass: If Russia, China, and North Korea form a new collective power:

The US Economy will take a serious hit. Why? Flip over anything you own and look for the "Made In" sticker. Chances are it says "Made in China," doesn't it. Yep. We've spent so many years cutting China a break because they can supply a desperate workforce willing to work for cents on the dollar American workers would demand. The bastard children of NAFTA, along with Outsourcing and a false sense of smug security in our financial dealings, have served to make America's corporations dependent on China. If China suddenly shuts its doors as it did after Mao, the US will be forced to rethink in a god damned hurry, and I seriously doubt the greedy fuckwads that call themselves CEOs will be able to do that kind of pressure thinking.

Even though the original Cold War is over, Russia is still a nuclear (not Nukular, fucktard) power. Add the ambitions of North Korea and the burgeoning Chinese populations' energy demands, nuclear proliferation in that region of the world will most likely skyrocket, and it'll do so largely unchecked.

While Cuba isn't what it used to be, China and North Korea aren't exactly a world away like we tend to think they are. An alliance would give them control of a sizable chunk of the Eastern Hemisphere, and the capability to have a formidable presence in the Western half on the planet as well. They'll have all the room in the world to place whatever ICBMs they want. And with Russia being a space power already, coupled with China's emerging space program, rocketry isn't going to be feeble for very long. China's workforce, suddenly appropriated to the whims of Putin and Moscow, could do quite a bit for military production, to boot.

By focusing its resources in the entirely wrong direction, blinded by greed and personal ambition, the United States Government has allowed the possibility of this alliance to not only take root, but grow for a little while unhindered. All because you just HAD to invade Iraq, you just HAD to take taxpayer money and stuff it in your own pockets, you just HAD to do it YOUR way.

Now what, genius? You don't care, because come January 20th, 2009, you're not responsible anymore, are you. You got what you wanted, and now you're going to ride off into the sunset, lighting your cigars with C-notes and laughing all the way to the bank because you pulled of the fleecing of the century.

And what does that say for you, America? Doesn't say a thing about me, I was against all of this from the word go. Not once have I supported ANYTHING this administration has done - apart from supporting my American soldiers, who deserve it.

Which gives me the ability to say "I FUCKING TOLD YOU IDIOTS SO."

When you're all ready to do what needs to be done, I'll be here, waiting, ready to take the lead and make the changes necessary to get America back on track. Until then, though (because it's going to take you lazy Wal-mart shopping fucks a while to get around to this, I know it), do what you can now. Vote for change. Vote for new leadership. The Lost Prophyt Blog officially throws its support behind BARACK OBAMA FOR PRESIDENT 2008.

It's a whole new kind of war, kids. Are you ready to fight it? Are you truly ready to see who the real enemy is? Wake up, smell the coffee, and get your heads out of your asses.