As some of you know, I really enjoy playing EVE-Online. As one of the few people active around Stratics who does enjoy the game a lot I have been offered a wonderful opportunity. I have asked, been recommended, and been asked and then quickly accepted to be the Managing Editor of EVE Stratics!

We have lots of cool stuff coming out for the site which anyone of you who do not play EVE, or any other MMO, may not really care about so I won't bore you with it. Lets just say I think I have my hands full! I'm actually really excited about this and have so far enjoyed posting news to the new site. Soon I'll have the ability to really take the page to new places by being just more than an RSS feed with a human touch.

Every time I hear the words South Carolina in a national venue, I cringe. It's not that I don't love my home state, and right now I am basking in the humidity, awaiting afternoon showers that could come more often, eager to see whether my largest tomato plant will actually manage to peak the roof line.

But we're the prodigal child of the nation, not quite welcomed back into the fold nearly a hundred and fifty years after seceding from the Union, and it's as if the rest of the country relishes every opportunity to witness us behaving like in-bred, parochial bumpkins. Only a few months ago I saw the Bishopville sheriff humoring a reporter's question about whether the Lizard Man caused damage to the front of a local couple's van. I gotta hand it to the guy; he almost managed not to crack a smile. Back when I lived in Arizona, I just knew they were talking about my home town in a lead for a story about the sheriff whose video surveillance captured not illegal dumping but an entirely different kind of illicit behavior instead.

And now we have state senators who've decided that their blogs should look like the Daily Show or Colbert Report.

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I looked around on Google to post a silly birthday picture. Then I realized that most of the stuff I found was crap. So here is a bunny with a pancake on its head:

A quick review from the Ben-Cave.

The reviews are all true and The Dark Knight is a riveting motion picture.

At 3 a.m this morning I felt as if someone had punched me in the gut then
stomped my left nut just for kicks. I have no idea how Nolan
pulled it off but this is the real deal. On more than one occasion I
had to reign myself in and say "Brooks get a hold of yourself Old Boy!
It's just a movie and a "comic-book" movie at that." And then I would
get lost in the grit and the grease-paint once more. This sucker is a back alley
knife fight, with no rules. None.
No one is safe. The script is point on and brutal. A few minutes after a pivotal scene where two lives are on the line (and you will know which one it is) I was in a cold sweat and as close to "in shock" as I have been in a theater since the opening salvo of Saving Private
Ryan. This film hurts. It hurts really bad. No one gets out unscathed.

The cast Nolan has put together for these movies is beyond brilliant. Only the best in the business. Bale gives another seemingly
effortless performance playing the duality even better this time
around. His Bruce is even allowed to "appear" to have fun at times.
The millionaire playboy is tossed around more so in this one, to much
needed comic relief. Aaron Eckhart is absolutely perfect as Harvey Dent. All-American chin and grin. The white to Bruce's dark. But you can still see that slow burn, that simmer just
below the surface. His hospital scene with the Joker is chilling and so,
so sad. And lordy, Gary Oldman.
He gets to shine in this one and yet shows such graceful restraint. I can't wait to
see him keep getting older and older as he will work forever. Maybe the best character actor
out there.
Maggie Gylennhal makes Rachel Dawes a woman to not only respect but to
understand how any man could be willing to sacrifice himself for her
love. She nails it.

And that leaves Heath. I thought Ledger was an interesting choice when
cast. He's like Depp in the fact that other than their first heart-throb
roles they were on in some crap movies or small interesting indies up
until Brokeback for Heath and POTC for Depp. But every time I thought of
either of them, I still thought of a "movie star." Because well, they are. And brother does Ledger burn it up here. I have
never seen anything like it. If you have seen the previews you have a
glimpse..but you have no idea. None. It's beyond iconic and a
performance that might just end the Joker on the big screen for decades
to come. I would be shocked if anyone felt they could step into those
shoes anytime soon. The world lost one of the greats.

I watched Batman Begins last night to get set up for the main event. And man, it's a good
movie. It really, really is a good, fun movie. But again you have NO IDEA how much the bar is raised with The Dark Knight. I'm sure you have
read the Empire Strikes Back and Godfather II comparisons...blah, blah,
blah. That's an easy out in the sense that yeah, it's a sequel that
trumps the original.
But this is more than that. It takes the genre to a new level and I for
one have no clue how they can possibly top it. And while we are
talking about it, no, of course it is not as great a film as Godfather II...but not much
is. But it is great. So, great that I might not ever see it again. It
might hurt too much.

I'd love to find more of these!
Decepticon!

Edit: New Link

Yay Fireworks!

I try not to get to overly political in my posts. I tend to leave that up to Squee more than anything, but tonight I found something that I feel needs to be posted before being brought to Squee's attention. I am sure she can write a better article about it than I can so I'll actually leave that up to her. So for now here is the synopsis and a few links:



and by "right now" they mean June 9th during the day ;)

Daily Kos article.

Support this initiative by signing this petition that will also email your name and your support info to your two U.S. Senators and one Representative.

Digg the story and follow the link to The Raw Story's article.

And I leave my disgust for this not making national headlines as it was happening. This has been widely ignored from what I can tell. I expect that to change in the morning.

UPDATE: Kucinich can hold the floor for 4.5 hours and give 35 reasons why the impeachment process should begin and Bush's approval rating is SO LOW [ <25 ] that it doesn't even make it into a byline of the political section of the USA Today. The people like Obama so much better that his campaign platform makes headlines instead of this historic moment. Kucinich has even brought t the face of congress the fact that Bush has violated the GENEVA CONVENTION and it still doesn't make it into the mainstream media.

This message is brought to you by Peanut the dog. Hair dryers are not chew toys. Thank you.

You know.... This is so silly I just had to post it.

Wired.com

Here is my favorite quote from the article:
The e-mails will be triggered when three of the site's five Christian staffers "scattered around the U.S." fail to log in for six days in a row -- a system that incorporates a nice margin of safety, should two of the proprietors turn out to be unrepentant sinners or atheists.

[/uncontrollable giggling ]

We now have a nice little house with a nice little fenced yard, and of course, no fenced yard is complete without a dog to run around in it. So we got one!



This is Peanut. She is supposedly a chocolate lab mix, but she could really be just about anything. She's about nine or ten months old. She has the shape of a Weimaraner and the color of a chocolate lab but is smaller than either breed. She's a very sweet dog who loves to play and is nice to our cats (who admittedly aren't thrilled, but they'll get over it). Her name was "Peanut Butter Jelly" when we got her, and of course, Sper wanted to keep a gem like that so she's still Peanut. Now I'll just have to smack him every time he sings that stupid damn song.

To me!

Thanks to Squee for taking these!

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My father would be proud of me today. I cut the lawn without anyone having to yell at me or tell me even once to get it done. It feels kinda nice. It feels like I have finally accomplished something grand. Kind of like the first meal I prepared at the house. It was a nice ramen of egg noodles, beef strips, potato, and prickly pear cactus leaf topped off with Thai peanut sauce. The sauce was in the "Korean" aisle of the international food store. Anyhow, I know its just mowing the grass but its is MY grass. Don't worry next week I'll probably be whining and moaning about having to cut the damn grass.

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Here watch this while I find the charger for my camera.

Once I find it I'll post pictures and make a nice post on the house me and Squee bought. Until then you can keep tossing out the PICS OR GTFO statements.