I can’t eat meat today
(I should have probably written this on Wednesday, but I was too busy forgetting to be Catholic and eating a double cheeseburger from McDonald’s.)
So, if you’re Catholic, then during this season of Lent you are not allowed to eat meat on Fridays. And why is that?
The easiest way to answer this comes from Answerbag.com.
The tradition of eating fish on Fridays and not other meat was, strangely enough, for ecomomical (sic) purposes.Back when the religion was smaller, most of it’s members where poor fishermen.So in order to help their trade,the church decreed that all catholics (sic) should eat fish on every Friday.Eventually this was changed to be done only during Lent but it was originally done to help the fishermen’s trade.
But on the off chance that you want the real reason you can’t eat meat during Lent, then read this from NewAdvent.org.
Personally, I have no problem with forgetting it’s Lent and eating a BLT salad for lunch.
have kids, star in porn
I can’t quite make sense of the fact that Nadya Suleman—the woman who had eight babies at once—is now being given an offer by Vivid Entertainment to star in “hardcore porn.”
The morality and MILF jokes aside, who’d actually want to watch a porn starring a lady who popped out fourteen children total? Surely not me, but there’s gotta be a host of others who would get off on this. And that kinda frightens me.
Then again, I still want to find out if “In Diana Jones and the Temple of Poon†” actually exists, and yes I actually want to see it.
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† The alleged video was mentioned briefly in the the 2002 comedy 40 Days and 40 Nights, and may indeed be a fictional production.
Second Game Beaten of ‘09: Too Human
Almost nine years ago Blizzard dropped “Diablo II” on the gaming community and it quickly became one of the most successful games ever. The game was very well polished, told a great story and for people who love to collect stuff dropped tons of loot much like its predecessor. To this day I still play “Diablo II” and like a junkie chasing the dragon I love to try out new loot drop RPGs in the off chance that it will be as addictive as “Diablo II”. “Too Human” could have been this game but unfortunately for me and for developer Silicon Knights, who spent roughly ten years developing it, it is not.
If you were to tell me that you were going to take “Diablo II”, “Devil May Cry”, Norse mythology, cyber punk and mix them together I would have told you I was on board because damn the idea that forms in my head look awesome. While “Too Human” does have all these ingredients, it sadly doesn’t come together very well. The strongest point of the game is its story and there are some twists and turns that will do much to keep gamers interested in the game because outside of that, the game is a mess. “Too Human” takes place in a futuristic world where you are cast as Baldur, a son of Odin, with the purpose of protecting the humans from the ever growing machine presence. Baldur can enter cyberspace, which is much nicer looking than the real world, and by doing certain things there he can alter the real world. Can anyone say “The Matrix”?
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My thoughts on Robin Arthur
Yeah. I named the Sidekick iD. Full name, Robin Arthur Tyler.
Two weeks ago I wrote about how Mark Oshiro, community manager at Buzznet, was kind enough to send me his old phone so that I could add it to a collection of old cell phones. Once received, the temptation was too great to just throw it into a box and let it collect dust. I really did try to resist, but the whole flash of its wide screen, rubber bumpers, and colorful trackball won me over. Plus, I couldn’t really add it to my collection if I hadn’t actually used it myself, right? My first two Nokias were second-hand phones, given to me by my big bro! So, I had to try it out for myself!
So, with a bit of guilt I plugged in my SIM card, worked around its charging port issue, and gave it a whirl. Here’s what I think of my first ever T-Mobile Sidekick.
My Music Monday: Blessid Union of Souls
Welcome to My Music Mondays. Each week I will be delving into my music collection and looking at a new artist going from A to Z, although I am slightly out of order now. I’ll examine why I first started listening to them, my favorite album and my top 10 songs for the artist. As my music collection is pretty extensive and I have a lot of one offs, I have set a qualification to be featured here. That is that I have to have at least two albums of the artist’s music before they can be considered. This week I look at Blessid Union of Souls.
Anybody who has been following My Music Mondays knows that I am a big fan of hard rock, specifically 70s and 80s rock. When the 90s came along I didn’t jump on the grunge bandwagon and while I like a lot of the music now, (Pearl Jam, etc…) I moved in a different direction with my musical tastes. In 1994 a little band named “Hootie and the Blowfish” hit it big and opened up an alternative to the alternative music. “Hootie” was more of a bar band that had an album than anything else but they did open the door for some other like-styled acts. But enough about “Hootie”, they will get their day (sometime soon).
Today I am going to look at “Blessid Union of Souls” a band that jumped onto the scene about a year after “Hootie” with their 1995 release “Home”. They hit it pretty big for a short time having four top 20 hits (including a #1) off of that album. They never really hit it as big again and kind of faded away. The band still records music, now for an independent label, and tours. I still find their music quite fun, especially if you get a little buzz going.
Favorite Album: Walking Off The Buzz
While most people would probably pick “Home” my three favorite songs by them come from this one, so that’s where my allegiance lies.
10 Favorite Songs
10. Oh Virginia
9. Nora
8. Stone Glass Window
7. Lucky to Be Here
6. All Along
5. I Believe
4. Let Me Be The One
3. Real Good Friends
2. Hey Leonardo (She Likes Me For Me)
1. That’s The Girl I’ve Been Telling You About
So what do you think of Blessid Union of Souls?
You have no idea who they are do you?
It’s February 17th!
And all that means is, TV stations across the nation will cease to broadcast in analog. And all that means is, you’ll either have to have a TV that can receive digital signals, a converter box to translate the digital signals into analog signals for your old TV, or you’ll have to have cable, which is already transmitting in digital, and converting to analog if your old TV needs it.
Now, just so you know, not every station across these glorious United States of America is making the switch, according to the Washington Post, but as far as I know the change is happening around here.
So what does that mean for my poor VCR, anyway? I wondered aloud last night, but received no viable answer. Of course, I didn’t ask the Internet. Turning to my prized informational resource, currently known as the System, gave me information on how to jerry-rig the VCR so that it still records analog signals. That’s all fine and dandy, now, but now I’ll need two DTV converter boxes.
Also, I don’t really need to worry about this because it’s my parents who have the VCR, not me. If I ever get a VCR it will only be to see exactly what the lone piece of VHS-porn I have really is.
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ETA: Actually, a better article to read about the DTV transition date can be found at Engadget. Go there and read about it. Much better than boring old every-day ho hum newspaper news.
My Music Monday: Coldplay
Welcome back to My Music Mondays. Each week I will be delving into my music collection and looking at a new artist going from A to Z, although I am slightly out of order now. I’ll examine why I first started listening to them, my favorite album and my top 10 songs for the artist. As my music collection is pretty extensive and I have a lot of one offs, I have set a qualification to be featured here. That is that I have to have at least two albums of the artist’s music before they can be considered. This week I look at Coldplay.
I’m not even going to pretend that I am a Coldplay fan. My personal opinion of them is that they are a U2-lite. The only reason I have them in my music collection is because I paid about $3 total for their four major label releases. After having listened to all four of those albums they are OK. I wouldn’t pay to go see them in concert and I probably wouldn’t pay full price for an album of theirs but they aren’t terrible.
Favorite Album: X&Y
It’s about on par with U2’s “All You Can’t Leave Behind” which is a pretty good album but not U2s best work either however X&Y is actually a decent little album.
10 Favorite Songs
10. Death and All His Friends
9. Yellow
8. Clocks
7. Viva La Vida
6. The Hardest Part
5. Amsterdam
4. Shiver
3. Life in Technicolor
2. Speed of Sound
1. Fix You
So what do you think of Coldplay?
new old phone
So maybe I’m weird, but I kind of like having a phone collection. I had some of the old phones. I had started out with, I think, the bulk of a Nokia 6110i. I mean, sure it was the size of my entire face, and I had to carry it in my backpack, but I had a cell phone! I was AWESOME! What was awesomer was when I got a vibrating battery for it, so I could leave it on silent. I moved up to the 8210 and then down to the 3360, and then got my first colour-screen cell phone. It was a Motorola. I quickly returned it and switched it for a Panasonic cell phone.
It was the GD87 and it was my favorite phone up to that point. Polyphonic ringtones, a built-in digital camera; it was state of the art. I kept that for a few years until my bro turned me on to Sony Ericsson and unlocked phones.
My Music Mondays: Apocalyptica
Welcome to My Music Mondays. Each week I will be delving into my music collection and looking at a new artist going from A to Z. I’ll examine why I first started listening to them, my favorite album and my top 10 songs for the artist. As my music collection is pretty extensive and I have a lot of one offs, I have set a qualification to be featured here. That is that I have to have at least two albums of the artist’s music before they can be considered. This week I look at Apocalyptica.
Note: My last entry in this feature, at that time called My Music: A to Z, was back in September when I looked at my favorite band Guns N’ Roses. Since then I have gotten some additional music that qualifies for the feature and they are going to kick off the first couple of weeks, thus Apocalyptica this week.
I like classical music. I like Metallica. Apocalyptica started as a cello quartet that played classical covers of Metallica songs hence I like Apocalyptica. Over the last decade Apocalyptica has evolved from a talented group of cello players with a Metallica fetish to a full fledged rock act, complete with guest vocalists and a percussion section. If you’ve never had the pleasure of hearing their music, do yourself a favor and give them a listen, at the very least you should be impressed even if you don’t like the music.
Favorite Album: Inquisition Symphony.
While their album “Plays Metallica by Four Cellos” is awesome, Inquisition Symphony expands on their work there and the band really starts to come into their own, even if the best songs on it are still Metallica covers.
10 Favorite Songs
10. Hall of the Mountain King
9. I Don’t Care (feat. Adam Gontier)
8. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
7. S.O.S. (Anything But Love) (feat. Christina Scabia)
6. The Unforgiven
5. Nothing Else Matters
4. I’m Not Jesus (feat. Corey Taylor)
3. One
2. Fade to Black
1. Farewell
So what do you think of Apocalyptica?
Children’s Fund for Lost Socks, Shoes, and Gloves
Today, we’re going to talk about telemarketers. Can you say telemarketer? Do you know what a telemarketer is? They are the rude people that call when you’re on your way out the door running late to work or spending time with your honey or eating dinner with your family or something else you’d rather be doing than wasting time on the phone with someone you didn’t want to talk to in the first place. The phone is ringing and ringing like a teapot that won’t stop and you have to run and get it so it’ll shut up. You finally get to it and pick it up and it’s a stranger asking you ever so sweetly if you’d like to give to the Children’s Fund for Lost Socks, Shoes, and Gloves. “Uh What?”
Telemarketing guy says, “Ma’am, I’m sure you’ve seen the billboards on the highway with the picture of a single lonely shoe on the back porch or the story of the single white sock among the pile of black ones on the radio. Well winter is here and we’d like to try to match up as many socks, shoes, and gloves for as many kids as possible so their little fingers and toes don’t freeze up and fall off. Can I put you down for a $50 donation?”
Pause, loading information into the brain… oops needs more ram. You say, “I have to go, could you please just send me the info in the mail and I’ll think about it?”
He says, “Sure, I’ll just need to ask you a few short questions and keep you on the phone another 30 min or until you are so annoyed your head explodes. Whichever comes first.” 
The moral of the story is don’t bug people unless they bug you first. Come back next time and maybe there will be something to talk about, but maybe not. Y’all come back now, ya hear!?
