Let me just add up some of my vices, and see just how much
of my money has poured into them. The prices given are estimates (some more
conservative than others).

Manga
191 volumes (counted at $10 each)
$1,910

Anime DVDs
41 single DVDs (counted at $25 each)
$1,025
4 box sets (counted as $40 each)
$160
2 limited edition Haruhi Suzumiya DVDs (counted at $50 each)
$100

Video Games
45 PS2 games (counted at $45 each)
$2,025
7 GCN games (counted at $45 each, -1 as a gift)
$270
2 Wii game (counted at $50 each)
$100
16 DS games (counted at $30 each, -1 came with system)
$450
(Note: PC games vary so greatly in price that I decided to
omit them from this list. Also, it would be difficult to keep an accurate count
since I'm missing so many of them. I have also omitted N64, NES, Genesis, and
older GameBoy games because most of them were gifts and did not come from my
own wallet.)

Anime Models
5 PVC models (counted at $50 each)
$250
4 Gachapon models (counted at $10 each)
$40

Grand Total Spent on Vices: $6,330

Important note: This list does not include other
vices, which I was too lazy to count up, which include books, other DVDs, music
CDs, and hentai, and other necessities.

I think there needs to be a Nobel War Prize. Y'know, to balance out the same guy's prize for peace. This prize could be given out to people whose achievements have led to the advancement and propagation of war in the world. Some people who should, or should have, won the prize include:

• Avtomat Kalashnikov - The inventor of the famous AK-47 assault rifle. This weapon is one of the most popular firearms in the world, and its large supply and low cost has armed militia groups the world over.
• Herbert Akroyd Stuart - The inventor of the oil-powered internal combustion engine. This guy's creation, aside from creating new weapons of war, created a huge surve in the demands for oil, leading to conflicts and campaigns in oil-rich regions.
• Pope Urban II - Called for the beginning of the First Crusade. I know this took place before Mr. Nobel was even born, but this guy deserves an honorable mention. This gent called forth a holy war and has screwed up the future for centuries to come.
• The guy who invented the security stickers for DVDs - I haven't found this guy's name yet, and he isn't directly responsible for any wars yet, but I can feel trouble brewing for this prick.

I need a new memory card for my Nintendo 64. I tried every possible store in the area, but most of them don't carry anything for the ol' N64 anymore. It was time to hit eBay. After playing for a little bit (I do not recommend a "Hamtaro hentai" search), I decided to get down to business.  I managed to find a a memory card where the starting bid was a fair penny. I decided to up the ante and bid five times the amount (a nickel). Needless to say, I came out the victor of the fierce bidding war, as I was the sole combatant. Now it was time to hit the bank.  I needed to move five cents from my savings account into checking to cover the expenses. At first, the bank tellers didn't take me seriously. Apparently, they found the idea of moving money from a savings account into checking laughable. I assured them that I truly wanted to do this and the transaction was made. My thanks were returned with a crooked smile from the teller. So, I went to pay when the real kicker revealed itself. The shipping and handling cost was over one-hundred times the purchase cost. I cried "usury!", but my monitor just stared at me indifferently. In the end, I paid the outrageous charges and am now awaiting the arrival of my new memory card. For their sake, it had better be made of solid gold.

My collection as of this morning. Click the picture to see the full size.

Recently,
a friend of mine posted a YouTube video of an old Blow Pops commercial that I
remember from my childhood. This brought back so many memories (some less
palatable than others), and it made me want to go out and buy a big bag of
them. It suddenly hit me then. That is exactly what the advertising companies
want you to do. That's their big plan! They implant these silly commercials
into your head when you're a kid, and then they hope that you will feel
nostalgic about it when you're older. It's a very risky endeavour, but it could
pay off greatly in the future. It almost got me to pick up a bag of Blow Pops.
Imagine how other companies may fair by using such an underhanded scheme
against the subconscious. Maybe that explains those really creepy-looking
talking cars from Chevron.

"Okay class, our next presenter is going to be
Samantha's mother who is a... wait, who is that at the door?"

"Mommy, why is daddy here? I thought he was away at
that place with the other people like him."

"Hello class! I am Samantha's father Dave, but you
all probably know me better as... dun da da dunnn! Super
Guy! Defender of truth, justice, and apple pie!"

"Why are you here, daddy?"

"That's what I want to know Dave. We have a
restraining order against you. You're not supposed to be here!"

"Nonsense, fair damsel! Super Guy is always where he
needs to be. I am here, taking time out of my busy schedule, to show my
daughter's classmates what a career as a superhero entails!"

"Please don't daddy. You're not really a
superhero."

"Of course I am, sweetheart. I have the strength of
a-hundred men. Watch as I flawlessly relocate this teacher's hefty desk."

"Uh... Mr. Sanders, please don't. That desk is made
of three-inch mahogany and marble, and-"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Hup... Hurrrrrrrrrrrr...
braaaaaaaaaaagh... grnt... phew! Strange, this is no average table."

"Dave, please, the police told you to stay at the psychiatric
institution. You're not ready to leave yet."

"Clearly this table is some form of evil trickery.
No doubt the aliens from Betelgeuse are responsible for this monstrosity.
Everybody stand back. I'm about to unleash my ultimate super power."

"What's that daddy?"

"Is... is that a pipe-bomb, Dave?"

"I said stand back, innocent civilians!"

"Everyone, get out of the room!"

"DIE VILE ALIEN SCUMBAGS!"

The gap between cake and pie is getting narrower.

I
mentioned the new anime School Days in a post a couple of months ago, but it
has changed so greatly recently that I felt I should revisit it. At first, I
thought that it was going to be a fun and straightforward love-triangle. For
about the first half of the season, this was the case. The two girls, Kotonoha
and Sekai, were both in love with the guy, Makoto, and it seemed like he was
torn between the two. He started going out with Kotonoha because she was the
one he had a crush on initially. Once you reach the halfway point, everything
goes awry as the prick, er... Makoto decides to drop Kotonoha like a hot potato
and tries to score with Sekai. In short, he was successful and scored ample
shag time. The mere trifle in his plan is that he never really broke up with
Kotonoha. To tack on more problems (or pleasures, depending on your view
point), Makoto decides to press his luck and shack up about five more girls,
including a sweet foursome. What can I say, the booty was good. Anyway, after a
shocking discovery by Sekai, all of the girls cut off their liaisons and Makoto
is left with an itch that not even his hand could scratch. In this last
episode, it seems that he cut his losses and decides to rejoin with Kotonoha.
I'm sure in the last episode, though, he is going to have to confront all of
the girls in his harem of whores... with sexy
results!

Well, yesterday I had
decided to take a tasty and nutritious orange to work. Y'know, for when I get
my break and I'm a little hungry. Anyway, the thing is, I decided to put it in
a plastic grocery bag so it wouldn't roll around on the floor too much. See, I
was thinking ahead. As soon as I started to drive off, though, the orange
started to roll around anyway. It continued to roll around until it finally
slipped out of the bag and was free to go everywhere. At the next traffic light,
I stuck it back in the bag. Wouldn't you know it, after a little while longer,
the thing rolled right back out of the bag? So, at the next light, I put it
back in the bag, and put a knot in it. You see how smart I am? I didn't think
it would go anywhere. It still managed to get out of the bag. I was entranced
by it. I couldn't help but stare as it mockingly rolled across the floor, free
from its limp, plastic prison. And that, Dad, is why my car is wrapped around
that tree halfway up the embankment.

Well,
today is the eleventh of September, or Patriot Day as the president likes to
call it. I don't know why he decided to christen today by that name. I know a
lot of people died in the terrorist attack six years ago, but can you really
call them patriots? It was time to consult Mr. Webster on what exactly a
patriot is. According to his book (the dictionary), a "patriot" is a
noun. So far so good. It goes on to say that it is a person who "loves and
loyally or zealously supports one's own country." Okay, that rules out
probably ninety-eight percent of the people working in those towers that day.
I'm sure most of them were very happy in the U.S., but they probably wouldn't
go so far as to zealously support and/or die for it. I'm sure that if they were
told a plane was going to crash into the building, and most of them were going
to die, they probably would have called in sick that day. Wait, maybe that's
why he only called it Patriot day, in the singular form. Maybe there was one
guy in there who loyally and zealously supporting the good ol' U.S. of A, and
they dedicated today to him. If there were two or more such people, we would be
celebrating Patriots Day. Wait, I think they celebrate that in Boston when the
Patriots win a Super Bowl. Never mind, that day is already taken.

I wonder which came first: the arrow used for a weapon or the arrow used to point direction. I, honestly, think it was the former. Early man probably realized that the arrow shape was great for sticking boar, giant sloth, and other tasty animals, while using it as a directional cue came later. I suppose a spear would have been handier to point out where a herd is moving than constantly constructing signposts. Also, some signs I see with arrows still have a sort of fletching at the butt end of it. Of course, it could go the other way around. Early man could have used arrows to point out direction, but then realized that having a pointy thing at the end of a stick might actually be useful for other things, like picking their teeth. I take that back. That's complete hogwash. The arrow had to be a weapon first because almost everything in history was used for warfare first. Except, maybe, Hawaiian shirts, though that would be a bit fun to see. Perhaps it could be camouflage in case you every have to fight a battle in, say, Hawaii.