More Twitter Fun

I've been on Twitter for a short time, maybe two months tops, but already its been a ton of fun!

As a WWdN:IX Monkey in good standing (or at least I hope I'm in good standing), Twitter has allowed me to connect with other Monkeys, two in particular that I gotta give props to: First of all, the incomparable Angie K. (@angiek42), also known as She of the Cookie Monster Gloves! The other is Danyiel (@disasterpiece73), a fellow PA-based Monkey and lover of all things musical! These two gals are good people, and following them comes with a full LP endorsement!

Last night, though, was rather nifty. For those of you unfamiliar with Mike Doughty (@MikeDoughtyYeah), he's the once-frontman of Soul Coughing, and continues to produce some fine quality non-commercial music. Well, I guess he got to hear both Death Magnetic and Master of Puppets - Metallica albums - for the first time yesterday.

While I find it odd that someone like him would wait 23 years to hear the awesomeness that is Master of Puppets (which came out in 1986), I find it even more odd that he'd think a post-commerical Metallica album (commercial albums from Metallica started with the Black Album) is better than what most people consider to be Metallica's best work. Hmmm...

Especially after hearing them both for less than a few hours...

Either way, he and I had a small back-and-forth, and in the end, I'm hoping that both parties can just agree to disagree. I know that's my stance (Puppets is still the better album, though), and I'm pretty sure he considers me insignificant enough to not care. But I'm still a fan, and I'll continue to purchase and listen to his music, Metallica opinions be damned!

The Twitter Celebrity Interact-a-thon continues!

So Passes Judah Ben-Hur

First of all, holy crap, I had no idea that anyone still read my ancient video game reviews. I got a comment on the review for Earthbound Zero, requesting where a person could find the ROM file. Legally, you can't possess ROM files, as they violate the crap out of copyright. Whether or not Mother 1 (AKA Earthbound Zero) was released in the US doesn't change that. Therefore, I can't answer your question, because I played it to review it, and deleted it right after. I don't have it anymore, and haven't really cared to try and dig it back up. So please, for future reference: If I review a game, please don't contact me asking where you can get ROMs.

And now, on to business: Charlton Heston is dead (FT). That's Mr. Heston over there, in the title role from the epic classic film Ben-Hur. You might also remember him from his Civil Rights work in the 60s, being one of a handful of Hollywood stars speaking out against Racism. You might also also remember him from his speech, directed at Al Gore, holding a flintlock rifle over his head, stating emphatically that Gore could have his gun "when he pries it from my cold, dead hands."

Well, as the submitter on Fark stated, it's time to pry the gun out.

Yes, Heston was a classic actor from the Golden Age of Hollywood (when they had original ideas, unlike today). Yes, Heston's Civil Rights work is to be respected and admired.

And unfortunately, yes, Heston was a gun nut.

Now, I'm all for the 2nd Amendment. I believe that responsible people should have the right to own and bear weapons. Did you get the key words there? RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE. But I don't need to join some club full of judgment day fundies who want every gun on the planet legal for the individual to own.

Assault rifles? Yeah, the military can keep that. Sub-machine guns, again, military. Handguns and rifles,? Sure, every day people can have those. But they have to be a fucking grown-up about it and think about any and all possible consequences that having a gun in their home could present. It's not rocket science, it's common sense.

Yeah, there are people who don't need guns, Dick Cheney the first among them, followed by all the gangsta wannabes (regardless of skin color), and moving right down the line to religious wingnuts (regardless of religion), mentally unstable, etc., etc.

Mentally unstable, like quite a number of the higher-ups in the NRA. Yeah, it's cool if you protect the 2nd Amendment. That I don't have a problem with. It's not cool when you're so fixated on its literal interpretation that you try and make firearms that no civilian should ever have access to available to the public at large.

There are just certain guns that untrained people shouldn't own.

Heston was at the forefront of that brigade of loonies, the public face of an organization that has way too much clout for its own good. Makes you wonder if Ted Nugent will take over for Heston now that he's a stiff.

Boooooooooooooooooooooooo

What is the obsession with all things Britney? Why do we care? Her life is a trainwreck, her music sucks ass, and her choices in men aren't the greatest, either. For example, here we have Kevin "Cletus the Fat Redneck" Federline getting booed offstage for his pitiful rapping - at his own birthday party (FT):

Awkward...

Smartass

Who hasn't seen A Christmas Story (IMDb)? If you haven't, woe be unto you, because you're missing out on a classic. Why mention it on Groundhog Day, you ask? Well, I submit to you one Derreck Lowe, good friend of mine and blogger-who-doesn't-blog-much:

Right? Right. Now, compare to A Christmas Story's Flick, played by Scott Schwartz:

Come ON! It's right there! While Derreck is a bit too young to be Schwartz's twin, it's pretty damned close, isn't it? And given Schwartz's career change, I'm willing to bet Derreck wouldn't have minded being mistaken for the former kid star.

My point? None, really. Just some Saturday Morning fun while we await today's Caturday Thread to emerge over on Fark, and give it some time to fill up...

Look Again

Probably the coolest thing I've found on Fark in the last few hours: Celeb look-a-likes pose for a new book called Confidential by Alison Jackson. She says her photos are purposefully grainy, making them look more like poparazzi shots. My favorite? You really need to guess? Fark Thread here...


Have fun, "Mr. President..."

The One About That One Time Back Then

Oh yeah. New book goodness, baby. The collection on my shelf continues to grow, with this week's addition of Harry Potter 7, and now with the news of the impending release of the latest book from Wil Wheaton (aka The Boss of Everybody), "The Happiest Days of Our Lives."

First of all, Kudos to Wil for using Pink Floyd. Brilliant choice, although the song itself (found on disc one of The Wall, for those scoring at home) isn't quite "Wil's New Book"-related. Oh well, most people won't recognize it off the bat, anyway. They all think it's just the intro to "Another Brick in the Wall Part II..."

At any rate, if you don't read Wil's blog, or haven't read his books, you're really missing out. Once you put aside the whole Star Trek fanboy nonsense, you find that Wil does something that the people who wrote his character on TNG couldn't do: Write, and write well. Convey a story in a way that elicits genuine connection and response from the reader.

Boy can spin a good yarn, that's for sure.

Go read some of his entries. You'll see what I mean. I'll be here when you get back.

No, really...