The Ninth.

Malachi Ritscher

I don't know exactly how I feel about Self-immolation. I will say that I'm very opposed to suicide. But to kill yourself for a cause or belief is something that fascinates me. I don't think I'm strong enough to carry out such an act.

Make up your mind.

When there is no more information, it's time to make a decision.

Shows on the Show Show-er

I don't watch t.v. very often. The problem with t.v. is that I'm not available to watch the shows I want to when I want to. So I watch them online.

Chuck is a good show, and it's free since iTunes and NBC fell out. Chuck is available online the day after it airs. But if you want to catch the oldest episodes you're out of luck, unless you search for them through other avenues such as Amazon. They're a $1.99 per episode and worth it at 45 minutes an episode on Amazon Unbox: Chuck

I watch The Unit, although I'm very far behind on this show. CBSs website has a few of the latest episodes of The Unit. So they're also $1.99 per episode on Amazon Unbox: The Unit and worth it for 45 minute per episode.

I watch Dexter. I hope to buy the first and second seasons soon since season two will soon come to a close. I haven't ever seen the first season in stores I've been to yet, although I don't frequent the DVD Isle often.

Amazon Unbox: Dexter is worth $1.99 for an hour with Dexter. I would buy the individual episodes if I knew that I would be promised the boxed version when it comes out for a little extra. Kind of a reservation for the DVD, the same way they do video games. It's a Very Good show.

I watch Weeds. I managed to find Season 1 & 2 for $26 at a rental store close out. Amazon Unbox: Weeds is not worth $1.99 for a 30 minute episode even though it's pretty entertaining.

You'd think I'm getting paid to do this. I just like the shows and figured I'd share.

Art?

Flingin Paint

Ok, so it's semi-entertaining because the guy's slinging his paint everywhere and acting a fool. But even though it's about 9/11, I'm not diggin' it. I was really hoping to never hear that Hero song again too. Nevertheless, God Bless the Firefighters.

It's Jerry Time

I happened upon this by clicking an ad I do believe. I rather enjoy listening to the crazy stories, and the animation is different and definitely helps keep ones interest, even though the style can be a bit uncomfortable to look at sometimes. But I think that may be the purpose.

Here's the Site: It's Jerry Time
Go there and enjoy, maybe click on some ads while you're at it to give Jerry a little extra cash.

Exoskeletal Battle System.

I've always wondered when this would come into practical existence. I want one!

Early Art III

This image is pretty to familiar to most I'm sure. Simple, usually pretty to look at and man does it make you high doing it. Ahh, nothing like hyperventilation to keep a kid occupied. One could even derive some fractals from it if they wanted to spend the time doing such. Chaos or Order?

Vampire Electronics

The Article

I think it's an interesting concept and frankly, I'm more interested in the money saved than conserving energy, although that is quite important to keep in mind. But either way this is something that I think is worth looking into and figuring out a way to cut back on. Think of this, those cordless phones you use, are always on charge. If you don't have one on the docking station, there's still the answering machine, or clock, or caller I.D. that is seeping power.

My Playstation 2, Wii, VCR, DVD player and stereo all have these features. And if some of them don't have power running to them, then the correct time and settings are all lost. And they also are really difficult to unplug since everything is behind the t.v. stand. So what to do? At least my stereo has a mode that consumes less power.

So in the end, more coal is burned, more CO2 is released into the air, and more money is spent on electricity by the consumer. The only ones that benefit are the power companies themselves. I wonder how much money they're losing now that those florescent bulbs are becoming more popular.

I just have to state that cutting back for me would be really difficult. Unless there are ways to make it easier. Any suggestions?

Political Trash.

As much as I want to try to steer clear of politics I can't help but gravitate towards it occasionally. I won't go into much detail about my thoughts but here's a heavy handed take on it.

Denial.

Misleader.

I just want someone who actually holds himself accountable for his actions. Don't you think it's rather unusual that SO MANY people resigned the administration over the past 7 years? Actions do speak louder than words.

Fedex truck crash: Driver's condition unknown.

Fedex truck crash

It kind of irked me that they failed to mention whether the driver of the truck was alright or not. It seems like that would take priority over the mess that it made. It would suck to have a package damaged as a result of this though.

Sellout.

Here's what is wrong with the media. So many people have to sell out in order to exist in the media. Here's an example, and I know that it's kinda lame that I watched this with so much intent. But hey, it was on. MTVs Wanna Be a VJ contest showed exactly this sort of selling out. Or maybe not. Stay with me to understand.

Ray, a short-haired, blond, wiry looking fella ended up winning a Wanna Be a VJ contest. He was quite outspoken about how MTV is so cliche and shows crappy music and he hoped to bring more electronica and Bob Marley to the network. Which is kind of funny.

Soon after, he got his shot at introducing videos on the network he was no longer able to be the outspoken fellow that said, "You know, this video sucks, I don't understand why you people like it, now here it is." Instead it was business as usual and he soon was no longer on MTV, either because he was defiant or because he just didn't work for them. If he was defiant then he actually didn't sell out.

The VJs are robots trained to do what they're told and there's no real personality coming from them because of that. The reason for that is because it's a formula that works for MTV. They don't want people to give their opinions, because if they do there's a good chance they'll piss off their sponsors and they'll be short some money.

"Taser This: Fuck Bush", "Nappy-headed hos", and "This is a Brokeback Mountain game, because there was so much penetration." Are all great examples of people speaking their minds, right or wrong as they may be, and were chastised for it by the respective companies they were affiliated with. The reason they were chastised is because of the fear that sponsors would hit the eject button and those companies would no longer have the money they once had. It all comes down to money not moral concern.

This explains why at the beginning of certain programs there's a warning that says "These are not necessarily the views of the network." But hey, selling out can be a good thing to certain people. Somebody gets paid a lot of money, and we all need money unfortunately. Heck that's why there are ads on this blog.

Hooray for capitalism!

Wishlist.

Well, it's that time of year again, capitalism at its finest. I figured I'd post what I have my eye on.

I'm to the point to where what I want isn't what people would be willing to get me because of how expensive it is. There's a lot of games and game peripherals, an xbox 360, a nice printer, a wacom tablet, and well, the list could continue but for the sake of brevity I'll have to say that this combo is close to the top of my list:

Insignia mp3 Player

Insignia Bluetooth Headphones

If I had to choose between the two I'd have to pick the headphones. I just got the same mp3 player a few months back and it has been a great addition, but it doesn't have bluetooth and the cord is always getting caught and often rips the headphones off my head or out of the jack. If the headphones don't have a dongle to connect to my current mp3 player then there'd be no reason to have the headphones either.

But anyway, ante up! What's the main thing on your list this year?

Drugs.

I don't do them. Never have. Heck I haven't even took a swig of alcohol or took a drag off of a cigarette. I hope I never find out why drugs are so appealing. The actions involved alone make them lose their appeal to me.

Marijuana: Inhalation of hot smoke into your lungs.

Cocaine: Snorting white powder up your nose.

Heroin: Injection by needle of hot liquids.

None of these sound like comfortable ways of getting high. In fact they sound quite invasive. And obviously they're not good for you. These are the popular ones, but have you heard of Indian Bean? Scopolamine? Jenkem? Bannadine?

Here's Scopolamine, A.K.A. Colombian Devil's Breathe A.K.A. The Zombie Drug.



The Indian Bean is a bean pod that grows on the Southern Catalpa tree. Famous for the worms that live on them called Catalpa worms or Catawba worms. These worms are great to use as bait for fishing and destroy the tree's leaves annually. Native Americans are believe to have smoked the dried bean pods on the tree thus the name Indian Bean tree. And I've read there's some hallucinogenic effects.

The Wiki Doc.

Jenkem. Let me tell you about jenkem! Boy would it be awful to die from huffing jenkem. Jenkem is basically fermented fecal matter that is either left in bottles or bags for about a week and then huffed to get a hallucinogenic effect. I mean come on people, are your lives so bad that you stoop so low as to huff crap gas just to get away from it all for a while?

The gas that they huff is Hydrogen Sulfide, and will kill you if you take in too much of it. Anybody watch Dirty Jobs? Remember when Mike went down into a sewage treatment plant to clean off a huge sewage pump? That's the same stuff they were worried about and had to clear out for a little while because of an alarm. It makes me happy to know that those who do it have to have the taste of butt mud in their mouths for the better part of a week.

The Wiki Doc.

Bannadine is a chemical derived from banana peels. I dunno how you extract it but once you have it you smoke it and it makes for a hallucinogenic trip as well. But alas, this one is a hoax and doesn't work, in fact bannadine doesn't even exist. However, bananas do have tryptophan, the drug that's also in turkey that makes you sleepy, although there's much debate about it's effect as well.

The Wiki Doc.

My point? I'm amazed at the lengths people will go to get high.

Word Salad.

You are also in luck just now because of the plague; prices are down. With the bat in your hand, you can only do what it allows you to do. Thevision of curry will remain clear-cut to your dying breath. Despite these efforts, the Projects eBooks and any medium they may be on may contain Defects. Two in two out Two little people went out etc. Please contact us beforehand to let us know your plans and to work out the details. Twinkle twinkle little star Twisters and claps Two and three holes Two foot fly Two in the rope etc. Partridge with regret; she was both intelligent and devoted. Now we re on the battlefield Numbers Nurses Nuts in cap Oats and beans etc.

I wanted to post this because I received it in an email one time, and received 5 more since then. But spare you I will of the others and truncated was this one. It reminds me of schizophrenic ranting, and mind disorders really intrigue me. Any idea why these emails are being sent? This is all that was in the email, so why send this? There's no advertising or anything.

Pop.

So there's a lot of hula-baloo going on with soft drinks and I have my own perceptions on them. These are all simply things that I've gathered from tasting and doing a little bit of reading on the web and aren't necessarily facts.

Based on taste, I'm saying that Vault is simply a re-branding of Surge which came out in the mid 90's. Furthermore I find it hilarious that there's a petition out there asking to bring back Surge:

Fight the Power?

Based on taste, Mountain Dew Game Fuel is simply re-branded Code Red Mountain Dew. Perhaps with a squeeze of orange juice.

More on Game Fuel, Haha!: Game Diesel

Coke Zero is basically the Classic Coke formula but instead of sugar the company uses aspartame.

Diet Coke is basically the New Coke formula which was an abysmal failure in 1985 and also replaces sugar with aspartame.

Coke Trickery

What is it you do again?

I'm a 3D Artist. I model, I texture, I rig, I animate. But even though I've shown some of my family what I do they still don't get it. I don't suspect they'll all ever truly grasp it, but you would think that showing them would've done it. A lot of the older folks in my family abhor computers, so it's no huge surprise to me. It's almost a refusal by them to understand what I do for a living. I don't suppose I have a conclusion for this one, I just wanted to get it out there. Anyone else have this issue?

DS Technologies.

Hmm, this would be great except if it tunes into the same t.v. that we've been able to do for years through an antenna to watch NBC, CBS, ABC, and Fox then I'd advise not buying it. The FCC has decided that all cable companies have to switch to digital cable. Which means that every television also has to have a box. They also will be eliminating the free antenna channels altogether, so unless this tunes in to something else, it will soon be useless. At least in America.

The Bell.

You know the one. The one that sits on front desks at several businesses, post offices, and stores. It creates quite the dilemma. When to use the bell is the question. Even when there's noone around to help you it still begs the question. *inner thoughts* Maybe if I wait around for a minute someone will show up. Hmm where is everybody? Maybe it's lunch time. Sheww... *DING* *end inner thoughts.* It just seems so rude to ring the bell. But to do it while someone is directly in front of you is rude. I should start doing that, maybe raise a few blood pressures. It'd be a hoot!

Money.

I've seen time and time again where men will be very forward with girls. I won't go into extreme detail but it seems like those who speak it often get it. I've seen one guy continuously say that he wanted sexual favors around girls and he ended up getting his way. Well, I figured I'd give it a try, but I don't want sexual favors. I want money.

I'm not begging, I don't want people to give it to me for free. But I need a lot more money than I'm earning now, so I want money. I want money by doing what I've been trained to do through college. I am getting paid for doing what I've been trained, but not nearly as much as I feel like I'm due.

I want benefits. No not just a free subscription to Game Developer magazine. I want health insurance, a retirement plan, paid vacations, and whatever else this wonder company wants to give me. I don't expect that I'll ever really be rich, but I want to feel comfortable. I want my own place, and to get that I want money. I invite tips on how to make money, which stocks to invest in, what kind of IRAs, CDs, what to collect and sell for higher prices... you get what I'm saying. I want money because I need money, not because I'm greedy. If I were to be rich, I would definitely be a giving person. But until I feel comfortable, I want and need money.

Believe me, I'm really going to try to make it happen without aid, but I realize a lot of people get in good with certain groups of people to make their money. And that's why I wrote this blog.

How to make a peanut butter sandwich

How to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich:

Materials: Spoon, butter knife, 2 slices of white bread, 1 jar of peanut butter, 1 jar of jelly, paper towel or small plate.

Take the slices of bread and place them side by side on either a paper towel or a small plate. Open the jar of jelly and stir the jelly with the spoon. Once jelly is at the proper consistency for spreading, place 1 piece of bread in one hand and spread desired amount of jelly with the other using the same spoon you stirred with and then place the bread jelly side up next to the other piece of bread. Put the spoon in kitchen sink when finished and close jar of jelly. Put the jelly back where it came from (usually the refrigerator).

Open the jar of peanut butter, place the other piece of bread that does not have jelly on it in one hand and butter knife in the other, extract desired amount of peanut butter from the peanut butter jar and spread onto the piece of bread that's in the other hand. Place peanut butter side of bread down on top of the other piece of bread that has the jelly side up, being careful not to squeeze any jelly out of the sides of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Close the jar of peanut butter and put the butter knife in the kitchen sink as well. Then put the peanut butter back where it came from.

Eat.

There are two reasons why I wanted to do this. The first is to try my hand at instructional writing again as it can be very difficult to do right if a person were to follow the instructions exactly. The other reason is to show how I like to minimalize mess when I make a PB&J. Notice the seperate utensils for the peanut butter and jelly. That way no jelly gets in the peanut butter jar and no peanut butter gets in the jelly jar. The reason for stirring the jelly is so that you don't tear the bread as you spread the jelly, which is usually kept in the refrigerator making it more difficult to spread since the cold makes certain liquids more viscous. The plate or paper towel is used to catch any crumbs that come off the bread and also to catch any jelly that comes out the sides of the sandwich.

Ahh yes, the art.

I figured I should share what I enjoy in art. There's usually a cringe factor involved because I gravitate toward the macabre and uncomfortable. I'm not too ashamed to admit that I play Magic: The Gathering, and I've been fortunate enough to meet and get in touch with several artists. Here's some of them:

Ron Spears

RK Post

Terese Nielsen

In other art:

Margot Quan Knight (contains nudity)

Ron Mueck (contains nudity):



I'll post more later.

Water Bottle/Gadget Holder

Why would I think of that?

The comments make for a good Guffaw.

At least they comment on this site...

Threadless Blog

This Place is a Mess!

I think I know why Walmart does so well. Yes, they have stores all over the world and that surely helps, but for the most part their stores are clean. I've seen the store contradict me on that statement but I would say that 75% of the time they're clutter free (restocking time doesn't count). The reason I bring this up is because 3 stores come that just made me very uncomfortable because of their problems.

K-Mart - The one in my home town seems to be the only one that's just completely unkempt and they surely know how to do that right. The toy isle is the worst of all. They had plastic shelves that stood about hip high up in the middle of the isle with an abundance of unsorted toys strewn about all over the top of them. Then in the food section where the drinks are there was a big puddle of soda pop being blocked off with over turned empty boxes. Let me tell you, the entire store has similar problems as well.

The another thing that truly irks me about K-mart is that friggin alarm that sounds when you walk into the claustrophobic electronics section. Why can't they just expand that section or maybe make it so that the employees that are in charge of the section can see the customers that are looking at the electronics.

Another funny thing about the K-Mart here is that they still have an N64 and Xbox display up that no longer functions. Furthermore, the Xbox part of the display still dawns the bear controller that Penny Arcade famously made fun of. In fact if I ever get a chance, next week I may photograph the display and show you. Keep an eye out for an update.

Random Consignment Shop: This shop is stacked from floor to ceiling with Everything! That's how thrift/consignment shops work of course. This one mainly focused on media like books, movies, and music but the problem with this store is not that it was cluttered exactly. They have things pretty well in order. It's just that they have decided to pack the store with SO MUCH. It's so claustrophobic in there, you barely have shoulder room to walk through it all. I guarantee that if a Fire Marshall stopped by they'd have a problem with the place. Plus it seemed so packed that it might even be dangerous in that something may fall on someone. Just thinking about the place makes me feel uneasy.

Old Retail Store:
I recently watched Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices and they showed how a local retail store was going under because Walmart moved into their town. It had thrived and did quite well for many many years. They showed footage of the inside of the store and it just seemed so barren. I don't know if it was because they didn't have the money to pay for any more merchandise or if it had always been that way, but to me having very little merchandise is a big turn off. I just find it so depressing and because of that I won't go back to a store like that. A big reason for having a store is so people can go there, look around, and to buy things, but if there's nothing to look at it kind of defeats the purpose.

So if you decide to get into the retail business, walk around in a few others first so that you can know what works, and what doesn't work. Now, off to contact someone at K-Mart HQ to tell them that something needs to change. It won't be the first time I've contacted companies about their products. More on that subject later.

Greeting Cards

I throw them away. Just give me the money and a hug.