Media and Culture

Looking back (fondly)

nobody@vox.com(Patapete) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:31:05 -0700

The dork in the middle is me. God I look awful.

Before I post up about the recent BlazBlue location test at Anime Expo, I thought I'd pull out the time box and reach deep down in the darker corners of my past. Some of my most fondest memories were from early 2000. Two of my friends and I used to travel across the Midwest playing in various Tekken Tag tournaments. We were young, eager to see how well we played against other Tekken fanatics, and loved travelling out of town a lot (it gave me an excuse to blow a whole weekend in another state).

We met a lot of talented, humorous, and sometimes eccentric people from all over the place. One of my best friends was a guy from Thailand named Tii. He was so aloof, that he was an easy target to prank. He went to college in St Louis. All the players around that region are really funny and goofy. They nicknamed him "The Prince of Thailand" because he owned two cars (a pimped out BMW and a Volkswagon). I swear he owns a palace somewhere in Thailand.

My number one favorite memory was during one of the last tournaments we attended in TX. I gained some notoriety with the Dallas crew (really cool guys, hands down) and earned their respect from the last tournament. In one match, I was paired up against one of the Dallas guys in the loser's bracket. I lost by a landslide in the first match, and if I lost the next one I was out for good. That's when he turned to me and said, "Dude what happened? I thought you were good!" Perhaps somebody cursed me for doing something horrible to them in a time that I don't remember, but the situation looked really, really bad. I felt that I wasn't going to win, so I chose one of the most ridiculous teams in the game: the animals.

The only animals in Tekken are a Bear and Kangaroo. Don't ask me why, I don't know. They are probably the worst characters you can play as.

Now by this point, a lot of my friends were watching. I'm sure they were all like, "Wtf? What the hell is he thinking picking that crap team!" But I overheard my friend Andy behind me say to them, "Ah don't worry. Just wait. He always does some really funny stuff with this team." That gave me some confidence.

Second match. Three rounds. 99 seconds on the clock. I got blown away the first two rounds. It was looking really grim for the last round, and I was totally expecting to lose flat out. But something inside me clicked at that moment. Perhaps the chicken sandwich I had pigged out on earlier had settled down. I managed to fight back a really lopsided match using every trick I could think of and came back even, two rounds to two.

There's a saying in St Louis when you come back from near defeat and perfect your opponent in the last round. Its what they call in the business a "reverse p broom". Broom meaning a clean sweep; an easy fight; total destruction. The "p" stands for perfect, because the other guy didn't lay a finger on you.

To my amazement, the whole auditorium went totally nuts, with lots of yelling and screaming all throughout the hall. It was the best feeling I've ever had in my life. The match count was evened up again, and people were cheering me on in a way I never felt before.

The final match was the most intense. I chose a different team, in hopes of messing up my friend's tempo. I didn't want to keep playing the same characters in case he would get used to my tactics. We went back and forth, and finally at the last moment in the last round of the last match, I got a lucky break where I could have won...but instead of seizing the opportunity that lay before my fingertips, I sat there for what seemed like, "an eternity", another friend commented to me afterwards. That mistake cost me the match, and finalized my defeat.

But oh what a defeat. Its a huge feat to disgrace your opponent not only with the worst team in the game, but to get a reverse p broom on top of it. People kept coming out and congratulating me, even though I lost, and I got huuuge props from a lot of people. Definitely the best moment of my life.

So now I ask all of you. What's your greatest moment in video gaming?

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Freedom of expression, McCain/Bush style.

nobody@vox.com(Snowy) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 20:05:33 -0700

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/video/90700/

Woman Arrested at McCain Event for "McCain=Bush" Sign

Posted by Lindsay Beyerstein, Majikthise at 5:46 PM on July 7, 2008.

61-year-old librarian single-handedly proves that McCain=Bush.

Librarian ejected at McCain Town Hall meeting

A 61-year-old librarian was ejected from an ostensibly public McCain campaign event at the Denver Center of Performing Arts in Denver, CO on June 7 because she was brandishing a deadly memetic weapon: a hand-lettered sign that read "McCain=Bush."

Carol Kreck was standing outside the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, which is located on city property. When she was asked to either discard the sign or get out, Ms. Kreck objected that she was standing on city property.

She was lead away by police officers and subsequently ticketed for trespassing. As she was being removed, Kreck asked if was being arrested. The officer answered, "Yes." (Approximately 1:03 into the video.)

Carol Kreck, QED. McCain=Bush.

As ThinkProgress notes: "McCain has apparently taken a page from the Bush playbook. In 2005, the White House had three activists expelled from a Denver public forum with President Bush because it was the administration’s policy “to exclude potentially disruptive guests from Bush’s appearances nationwide.”"

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Thank you @tiffanybbrown for always keeping me updated

nobody@vox.com(SerenityLife) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:37:50 -0700

Two great bloggers in the universe who are my pals are @calinative & @tiffanybbrown

@tiffanybbrown brought my attention to a situation in March 2008 that totally alarmed me with her discussion with Lynne D Johnson.

See here - Where are the Black Tech Bloggers - 03/15/2008

Now please read @calinative's update on the situation:

Better Late Than Never: 1938 Media's TechN*gga Video Costs Feldman Verizon Deal - Liz Burr

I have been reading @1938media's twits on twitter off and on because @netdoc66 alerted me to something about him and @1938media's humor did not make me laugh. It is offensive to me. (I am not linking to @1938media - google search him. Sorry but I don't want bad karma over here. I deal with enough racism on the net as it is)

Thank you to @koa for brining the Verizon situation to my attention today. I had NO CLUE and I am glad Verizon took what they felt were the precautions to prevent them losing customers like myself.

EURweb.com - VERIZON UNDER FIRE BECAUSE OF 'TECHNIGGA' BLOG: Najee Ali, Paul Porter and other activists plan to speak out this morning.

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Mexican comic book 'Memin Pinguin' sold at Wal-Mart called racist |

nobody@vox.com(SerenityLife) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:52:52 -0700

Mexican comic book 'Memin Pinguin' sold at Wal-Mart called racist |

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedconte...

HOUSTON — Shawnedria McGinty was not sure what to think when she saw the comic book series Memin Pinguin on shelves at her local Wal-Mart. After flipping through the popular Mexican comic book, one word came to mind – racist.

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Hot Chip anyone?

nobody@vox.com(Marc Styles) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 12:04:26 -0700

I saw these guys at hydepark and had no clue who they were or what i was listening to. All i know is they are fantastic

Hot Chip

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Sélection Cinéma Du Dude : Bandes annonces Juillet 08

nobody@vox.com(The Dude) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 03:15:52 -0700

Hancock

09/07/08- Hancock avec Will Smith : Un super-héros impopulaire fait appel à un expert en relations publiques pour améliorer son image.

09/07/08- Kung Fu Panda : La jungle chinoise est envahie par une horde de léopards. Seule solution pour les autres animaux : s'en remettre à un guerrier prophétique censé les défendre. Problème, le sauveur s'avère être un panda tout ce qu'il y a de plus paresseux...

16/07/08- Broken English : Entre New York et Paris, les déboires amoureux de Nora, trentenaire désabusée.

16/07/08- Un monde à nous avec Édouard Baer : Noé entre en 6ème en même temps qu'il découvre une nouvelle ville et une nouvelle maison dans laquelle il vient d'emménager avec son père, Marc. Coaché par ce dernier, Noé assume un entraînement intensif de sport de combat...

30/07/08- Wall-E : WALL-E est le dernier être sur Terre et s'avère être un... petit robot ! 700 ans plus tôt, l'humanité a déserté notre planète laissant à cette incroyable petite machine le soin de nettoyer la Terre. Mais au bout de ces longues années, WALL-E a développé un petit défaut technique : une forte personnalité. Extrêmement curieux, très indiscret, il est surtout un peu trop seul...

Mon coup de coeur du mois, et oui vous vous en doutez, depuis le temps que je vous harcèle avec cela :)), c'est Wall-E, dès que je vois ce petit robot je fond littéralement. Les premières critiques sont justes fantastiques, attendons-nous à du très grand cinéma d'animation...

Wall_e_still_3

Wall_e_still_4

Wall E Affiche

http://www.gamaniak.com/video-2822-presto-pixar.html
Ce court métrage signé Pixar dure 5 petites minutes et s'appelle "Presto" mais ce n'est que du bonheur...il sera diffusé dans les cinémas qui accepteront de jouer le jeu, avant toutes les séances de Wall E, je vous laisse avec ce petit lapin et ce drôle de magicien :-) c'est une exclu pour vous remercier !! ♥♥♥

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Nas - Hero ft Keri Hilson

nobody@vox.com(kiLian) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:14:45 -0700

feels like '94 again...

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MOST $100M+ HITS IN A CAREER - Will Smith

nobody@vox.com(North) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:26:23 -0700

(Including animated films & excluding cameos)

Tom Hanks: 15

Tom-hanks

Tom Cruise: 14

Tom_Cruise

Eddie Murphy: 13

Eddie-murphy

Will Smith and Harrison Ford: 12 (including Hancock)

Harrison Ford

Will Smith

Jim Carrey and Robin Williams: 11

Mel Gibson and Matt Damon: 9

Bruce Willis and Jack Nicholson: 8

Will Smith, however, will have achieved something unprecedented--a feat never done by the Toms - Hanks and Cruise. Hancock will be his eighth consecutive $100M+ grossing blockbuster. Hanks and Cruise both had career-best streaks of seven films with $100M+. Here is Will's current streak.

2002: Men in Black II; $52.14M opening; $190.41M cume
2003: Bad Boys II; $46.52M opening; $138.6M cume
2004: I, Robot; $52.17M opening; $144.8M cume
2004: Shark Tale; $47.6M opening; $160.86M cume
2005: Hitch; $43.12M opening; $179.49M cume
2006: The Pursuit of Happyness; $26.54M opening; $163.56M cume
2007: I Am Legend; $77.21M opening; $256.39M cume
2008: Hancock--estimated $107M by Monday

Pixar's Wall-E (Disney) Pixar's latest masterpiece, scored another $33.41M over the three-day for a new cume of $128.13M. That gives the lonely little robot the 3rd-best 10-day gross for a Pixar movie, trailing only Finding Nemo and The Incredibles.

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My Uncle Bob Passed Away Today: July 7, 2008

nobody@vox.com(Strive2Be) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 20:10:38 -0700

For anyone who has followed the story of my Uncle, I just wanted to let you know that he passed on today at 1:30pm Atlantic time. He was up and down for all these months....getting over one thing to have another complication take place. So much for an older man to have to endure. I believe that he was a special case for the doctors and staff simply because 1. all this suffering was caused by one of their own by her incompetent surgical skills and unethical conduct regarding it, and 2. because every time they thought he couldn't possibly withstand another procedure or operation, he kept LIVING. He was Superman! Lol. He drew a lot of attention, and when anything was occuring, they immediately were calling in specialists for that particular situation. They had never seen such damage done to someone by a surgeon, and they did not expect him to make it past the first week when he first arrived from the little county hospital to the city where the GOOD doctors are! But he just would not die, even when his kidneys shut down....zap, they started working a little again and they thought that after 1-2 months of dialysis they would be fine. His lung collasped, blood clots in his other lung, body cavity filled with blood and pus, bile leaking from the duct and eating away at his stomach, blood clots in his legs, depression, oh...I can't even remember all the complications that happened to the poor man. And much pain, of course. Shunts and tubes and wires and injuries. But with all these incidents that happened within his body, all due to one simple but extremely botched surgery, he made it. Even when the surgeons didn't think he had the strength to make it through yet a third or fourth surgery....he always did. Like I said....he was Superman! They were amazed, and openly admitted that they never expected this type of severe damage in an older man to be survivable. Surprise!! And he held on for 5 or 6 months. A few days ago, he winked at the doctor and said, "I'm getting better", as he was sitting up in a chair. Then he got an infection. His kidneys started shutting down again, another clot in a lung, and his lungs were filling up with water. The doctor phoned today to let us know that a shunt was gong to be placed in Uncle Bob's lung to help the fluid drain, but he did not expect him to survive. He wanted my other Uncle (who has been the liason for the whole family this entire time) to get the family to come into the hospital today. It was time. And my poor dad.....who has been a good friend with Uncle Bob for over 50 years (as my parents just celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last week!!) couldn't go inside the hospital to say his good-byes. Because where do you get sick? In the hospital, of course. He has caught a case of Shingles, so had to wait outside in the car while other family members went in to say their farewells. And, like I said, he passed on at 1:30pm Atlantic time July 7, 2008. Wow, he sure put up a fight. I had just told my mum a few days ago that if that were me in the hospital.....even with all the family support, including my two wonderful children....I probably would have given up long before this just from sheer exhaustion. And Uncle Bob is twice my age!

There is a celebration in heaven now. He is with Gram (his mother), his father (who passed on when my Aunts and Uncles were just kids themselves), his own son, his brother, his sister (who just passed away a few months ago from cancer), and my cousin Katrina (who walked across the highway one foggy night when she was in her early 20's, and a car hit her at full speed because he just did not see her). And I am sure there are many others that I don't know. Maybe they are jamming up there! *smile*

Speaking of jamming, I know that John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival will want to be at the funeral if he possibly can. This was his friend. But he is putting on concert with The Eagles just a few hour's drive from here....I'm not sure of the date. I hope he can make it. I think probably the jamming sessions have ended now. It just wouldn't be the same without Uncle Bob there.

I've added two videos with this posting. Both are of John Fogerty, for two different reasons.

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Down on the Corner (1969)

CCR in 1969. John Fogerty is, of course, the singer. No more jam sessions in my Aunt's basement with my Uncle Bob now and the rest of my family. He just lost his friend. I wanted to pick out a song by CCR that had a happy, jam-type atmosphere. I'm sure they all played this at one point or another....smiling, drinking sodas, eating, talking, and just plain having fun for hours. He's going to miss my Uncle Bob.

Lyrics:

Lyrics: Early in the evenin just about supper time,
Over by the courthouse theyre starting to unwind.
Four kids on the corner trying to bring you up.
Willy picks a tune out and he blows it on the harp.

Chorus:
Down on the corner, out in the street,
Willy and the poorboys are playin;
Bring a nickel; tap your feet.

Rooster hits the washboard and people just got to smile,
Blinky, thumps the gut bass and solos for a while.
Poorboy twangs the rhythm out on his kalamazoo.
Willy goes into a dance and doubles on kazoo.

Chorus

You dont need a penny just to hang around,
But if youve got a nickel, wont you lay your money down?
Over on the corner theres a happy noise.
People come from all around to watch the magic boy.

Chorus
Chorus
Chorus

John Fogerty: Bad Moon Rising (2008)

And this is John as we know him now. We all age, and he is no longer the cute young man talking with my dad when my silly older sister (in the early 1970's) tripped going up our backsteps into the house...and he made a joke about it. We are all older and wiser and seen a lot more of life....but we sometimes still trip over tings. Lol. This was recorded in February, 2008.....so this is John as he jams with my family in a basement these days whenever he is in the area....even though he still tours extensively. He is truly a decent man and, as far as I know, has always been. Never a harsh or vulgar word. I'm just showing this video to allow you to realize the age group that he is in now...and how he enjoys jamming informally with my family as we all continued to age and mature.

Lyrics:

I see a bad moon arising.
I see trouble on the way.
I see earthquakes and lightnin'.
I see bad times today.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

I hear hurricanes a-blowing.
I know the end is coming soon.
I fear rivers overflowing.
I hear the voice of rage and ruin.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.
All right!

Hope you got your things together.
Hope you are quite prepared to die.
Looks like we're in for nasty weather.
One eye is taken for an eye.

Don't go around tonight,
Well, it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise.

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do school(s) KILL CREATIVITY? Ted Talk.

nobody@vox.com(softservegirl) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:27:49 -0700

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