Month: August 2007

  • Chocolate? CHOCOLATE!?

    Did you ever just eat a huge slab of chocolate
    in one sitting? I did that fairly recently, and let me tell you that it was
    fantastic. In what can only be described as indescribable, I felt a sudden and
    extreme need for chocolate. I immediately went to the grocery store and bought
    a chunk of Dove chocolate (now with bits of actual dove!) roughly the size of a
    shoebox. It didn't even make it to my car. I stood right in the middle of the
    sidewalk outside of the grocery store and ate the entire thing. I enjoyed every
    minute of it, including the nasty stares I got from obvious dieters as they
    looked at an extremely skinny guy eating a slab of chocolate. Sure, it probably
    clogged a few arteries, and it possibly gave me cancer, but it was worth it. What fun is life if you can't enjoy it?

  • The Prequel to the Return

    Okay folks, the euphoria of Rune Factory is starting to die down, so tomorrow I hope to continue my regular posting. Let me just tell you that Rune Factory is one great game, and is one of the better Harvest Moon games released. I'll give you a full review on it later (maybe). Also, I start classes next week, so that may or may not affect my regular posting habits. More on that later. And lastly, I would like to welcome all new subscribers to my blog. I hope you enjoy your stay.

  • The Tradition Lives On

    As per tradition for the release of a new Harvest Moon game, I shall be going on hiatus for a few days to enjoy it to the fullest. I will be back sooner or later.

  • God(s) Bless Us

    How exactly does a "God bless you"
    work? I work in customer service, so I tend to gather up a lot of those. Every
    time I sneeze, or whenever I help an overly religious person, they say "God
    bless you." Are they just instant, one-use sort of things, or are they collectible like "get out of jail free" cards. I hope it's the
    latter, because that's how I've been living. I'm hoarding my "God bless
    you"s for when I really need them. I'm hoping that some day, when I'm on a
    bed dying of cancer, I can look up and say "God, Allah, whomever, I have a
    list of twenty 'God bless you's here in my hand. You owe me big." Maybe I
    could even use them for a little bit of fun. I can go sky-diving one day, and
    just before taking the leap I can clasp my hands and cash in on some divine
    protection. Actually, maybe I should keep my "God bless you"s for
    when I get to Heaven. As a Pastafarian, I'm not too sure how those will
    translate in Heaven, but I better hang on to them just in case the Flying
    Spaghetti Monster considers them as something of a status symbol. The person
    with the most "God bless you"s gets serious bragging rights, or
    something. Nah... jealousy doesn't have any place in Heaven. I know it sounds
    like a silly idea to stash "God bless you"s, but won't you all be
    jealous when I have this huge stockpile of them ready for my personal use when
    the end of the world comes. In one way or another.

  • Stardust, a review


    So who got to see Stardust this weekend? If the number of people in the theatre during my showing are any indication, maybe all of eleven people. This is a darn shame, because it was an incredibly good movie. It is essentially a comedic fairy tale, much like Shrek. The story revolves around a star crashing into Earth and taking the form of a young woman. Now, several people want to claim her as their own because (a) she's really, really good looking, and (b) because her heart has the ability to grant immortal life. Enter Westley, er... sorry, that's Tristran, who stumbles upon the girl. Viewers are then taken on an odyssey where they run into several characters, including a cross-dressing character named Robert de Niro. Clearly, humor runs rampant throughout the movie, or I would not have called it a good movie. A lot of the laughs are subtle, and come a few seconds later when you have time to think about it. The ending, while somewhat rushed, was very good and had a high "aww..." factor. In short, it is a very fine piece of cinema, and I hope more people will get the chance to see it.

  • Some of My Favorite Comedians

    I draw my influence from a lot of different people, but
    these five comedians top my list.

    Dave Barry – This is the writer that made me start writing
    frequently to my blog. His brand of over-the-top observational humor makes me
    laugh every time, and he is one of my favorite authors. I have read nearly all
    of his books, and he still influences my writing today. If you read some of his
    books, then some of my drivel, you will see the connection.

    George Carlin – I really wish George Carlin would write more
    than three books. His dark humor on touchy topics never ceases to amuse me. He
    is another one of my influences. He covers all of the topics that others would
    not dare touch, and I'm right there with him. Granted, I don't write about drug
    use, but that's probably because I wouldn't touch the stuff in my life. In case
    you didn't realize, he also helped spawn my "some thoughts" series of
    posts.

    Robin Williams – While he does very little for my writing,
    he is still one of my favorite comedians. His impersonations and
    improvisational humor is top notch, and he still cracks me up with whatever he
    does. From what I hear, he's also an avid video game player and Evangelion fan.
    My hat goes off to you for your excellent tastes in entertainment.

    Christopher Titus – While I only know him from his sitcom,
    Titus has greatly influenced my personality. His pauses after silly phrases
    have passed on to me, as has his spastic frustration dance. His dark humor,
    while risqué, is also hilarious. While I would never make fun of my mom, it's
    fun to see him make fun of his in my place.

    Bill Engvall – I love this guy's wit. While I have
    never used the phrase "here's your sign," I have used some pretty
    quick rebuttals to stupid questions. Of all of the "Blue Collar"
    guys, he is my favorite. He's good at pointing out the stupidity of the stupid.

  • Cooking with Jimbo 4

    Welcome friends to
    another exciting installment of Cooking with Jimbo, wherein your host wows you
    with culinary exploits that would make a professional French chef piss his
    pants with laughter. Today's culinary endeavor will cover the ins and outs of a
    positively palatable macaroni salad.

    Step 1: Purchase the ingredients

    As is a recurring theme in the cooking odyssey, buying the
    ingredients is one of the first and most important steps. For this recipe you
    will need four cups of rotini pasta, three cups of fresh veggies, one cup of
    Italian salad dressing, 2 tablespoons of salad seasoning, and a teaspoon of
    salt. Now, I know the "fresh veggies" may be a bit vague, so let me
    give you some advice. Buy one (1, un, ein, ichi) red bell pepper, a bunch of
    celery, a bag of peeled baby carrots, and several cloves of garlic. The last
    one is to keep vampires at bay while you're attempting to cook. You may wish to
    also consider buying a box of Frosted Cheerios. I'm all out.

    Step 2: Boil water

    I understand that this step may be difficult for some of
    you, but you should have faith in yourself. You will want to find a large pot
    that will fit four cups of pasta and fill it with water. Clean water would be
    preferred over gutter water. With the pot full of water, put it on your stove,
    activate the stove's heating mechanism, then sit and watch the water patiently
    until it begins to boil. Once it reaches that roaring boil, the time has come
    to add the pasta. Add all four cups of uncooked pasta into the water and wait
    until it resumes boiling. Now look at a clock. It should say that it is 10:35.
    If it does not, then you did it wrong and should start over. Once you get the
    timing right, you will want to let the pasta cook until 10:50 or for fifteen
    minutes, whichever comes first. While waiting for the time to pass, you can
    move on to step three. Just be sure to stir your watery concoction
    periodically.

    Step 3: Cut up the vegetables

    For this step you will want a few tools to aid you.
    Specifically, you will need a sharp knife or short sword, a cutting board, and
    a separate plate. You will want to begin cutting the carrots and celery into
    small medallions roughly the thickness of your average Sacagawea dollar coin.
    The pepper is a little more difficult, as you can't just cut it easily apart.
    You will need to start by cutting off a little bit of the bottom and throwing
    it away, followed by cutting it "hot dog style" until you reach that
    icky seed mess near the top. While that seed mess is probably edible, I
    wouldn't recommend trying it. Just cut the rest of the pepper around it off,
    and then throw it away. It may seem wasteful, but it may just save your life.
    Just keep on cutting more and more until you have roughly three cups of the
    cuttings.

    Step 4: Unboil the water

    By "unboil water," I naturally mean drain the
    water. Get yourself a strainer and pour everything through it, preferably into
    a sink. It's okay if you live alone, but I'm sure other members of the
    household would not appreciate making a mess on the floor. While it cools, it
    is time to find a big bowl to mix everything in.

    Step 5: Mix everything

    The final step is nearly upon us, but first we must put
    everything we have done into one large, commanding bowl. A wrought silver bowl
    studded with precious gems would be ideal, but a Tupperware bowl will do in a
    pinch. Put everything into it, cover it, and then shake until the spread of
    ingredients is uniform.

    Step 6: Allow to cool

    The salad is best served cold, so you should put it in
    the refrigerator for about an hour or so. While you wait, might I recommend
    that you write a demanding letter to Paramount
    ordering them to make The Naked Gun 444.25.

  • If you could have only one super-power, what would it be... and how would you use it?

    This is a fun question because it's supposed to reveal what type of person you are. Most people choose one of the big ones, such as flight to get around rush hour traffic, or immortality to go around and insult everyone in the universe, to name a few. Personally, I would have to pick telekinesis, just because it would be so handy in the real world. It would make learning to juggle completely irrelevant. You could be in a bar somewhere and see some juggler on TV and say, "pfft, I can do that." Gather up a large pool of bets, pick up some old cans of Billy beer, then just start looping them around with your mind. Maybe you could move your arms to make it look a little realistic (and not be disqualified). It may also be handy in impressing your boss with a rousing game of golf. He'll probably get a stroke as you sink a hole-in-one at the toughest par-five on the course. It would also bring irritation to a whole new level. All you would need is a toothpick and the back of someone's neck exposed. Let the poking begin. Me? First and foremost I would use it to keep my clumsy being alive. Stop bullets, stop myself from falling down the stairs, stop a tree from falling on me, stop a volcano from erupting under my house, etc. Aside from that, I would probably use it to become the laziest person on the planet. I would never see any need to leave my chair. If I got hungry, I would just bring up some Pop-tarts from the pantry. If I ever got bored, I could bring over a book or move my chair over to my computer (with my mind). If I need to use the bathroom, I would just lean over and tell my waste where it needs to go (the toilet). Maybe - MAYBE! - I would use it to save some lives, but I would have to be really bored for that to happen.

       

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  • The McDonald's at the End of the Tunnel

    Folks, I think the world is going to end very
    soon, so these may be my last words. The reason I think the world is going to
    end is because I think I have found, and eaten, the perfect Big Mac. It
    happened yesterday afternoon when I stopped at a local McDonald's to clog my
    arteries. I had ordered my usual "number one" and sat down to eat it
    with a load of barbeque sauce and generic orange drink. I opened the cardboard
    burger wrap and stared in awe at a Big Mac that actually looked like the
    picture on the menu! I could hardly believe my eyes, so I forced my taste buds
    to be the final arbiter. My logic was outvoted as my mouth agreed with my eyes
    in determining that that burger was the perfect Big Mac. It actually tasted
    good. The meat did not taste like a sweaty gym sock, but like actual meat. The
    lettuce was fresh and crisp, and the Big Mac sauce was definitely present but
    did not override the rest of the flavor. The fries were almost equally
    delicious. They had the perfect flavor balance of salt and fried fat. I don't
    know how this could have happened. My brain must have just been addled by the
    100+ degree (Fahrenheit) weather outside. Yes, that must be it. McDonald's food
    is not supposed to be that darn tasty.

  • Letter to the Editor

    WJZ's coverage of Otakon 2007

    In response to WJZ's Otakon coverage:
    Please don't call us "animaniacs." Yakko, Wakko, and Dot are animaniacs. We are simply otaku. You could call us geeks if you so wish, but animaniac seems a bit much. It makes it sound like an illness. We generated a lot of money for your fair city, so I expect some apologies.