Read Me

My Pokemon column was pretty random this week. I had fun writing it though. I was just jotting down notes as I watched the new movie. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was totally ripping off Bill Simmons (my favorite sports columnist). Anyway, check it out if you get a chance. It’s hard to believe I’ve written 34 of these things already, hey?

Developing Thoughts

GDC 2008 was pretty good. I got to see lots of people, made a little bit of money, got some new leads, and got really drunk for free. Highlight time!

- It was lovely to see BB. It’s crazy that we haven’t seen each other in almost two years. Hopefully it’s not such a gap between visits. There’s still so much catching up to do. It was just joyous and comfortable spending time together. Thankfully there are several blonde hairs scattered around my room and bathroom. They will serve as happy reminders.

- I did some field producing for Intel. It was a fun shoot with some nice people. I think (I hope?) they were happy with the tapes. The dude from the agency said that he’s interested in using me for hosting/producing in a few weeks. Intel money is nice.

- Ruby was at the show! She was a mo-cap model at one of the booths. While the shooter was getting b-roll, I introduced the Intel guy to her. He seems interested in using her in the future too and said that he’d prefer two-host shoots. R&R strikes back?!?

Links and Photos

Here are some photos from GDC, along with two nifty links.

I think I found a new favorite band. I still miss the days The Fairways and Majestic were around, but these guys and gals might do nicely. Check out “Happy in Love.”

Here is an excellent (and long) piece from Keith Olbermann’s show on MSNBC. It’s about the Bush administration exploiting terror for political gain.

Lunch at the Berkeley Wat

Rannie, Kristina, Zak, and I went to Wat Mongkolratanaram in Berkeley for their Sunday food fair. I was interested in going to see if the Wat offered any resources that Noot would find handy. I was also curious to see how good the food is too. The fair is open from 9:30 to 14:00. We got there around 12:30. Sadly, many of the dishes were finished. I really wanted some penang and som tam, but it was too late. Aside from the pad thai, which had a ketchup taste to it, everything we had was pretty good. The mango and sticky rice was excellent. Here are some pics. I’ll paste a few ones here too.

Two More Links! (Edit: Make that Three!!!)

Here’s another sustainable-energy dream. It’s a train that would run solar and hydrogen power. Unfortunately for me, they’re proposing it for an Ann Arbor to Detroit route. I’ve been to the latter and can’t think of a reason I’d be back. As for Ann Arbor…yeah, don’t see it happening. *sigh* For a place that’s considered a major city, San Francisco has crap public transportation…though I suppose outside of San Diego, public transportation in California is generally crap.

And here are ten awful interviews. The Tom Green one cracks me up.

Edit: Wow. How can a prisoner of war vote against establishing interrogation standards (i.e. prevent the government from torturing people)? That’s amazing.

Swell

My ankle blew up on Friday. It looked like there was a tennis ball trying to escape the left side of my left ankle. It was debilitating and it rendered me useless for the weekend. Today it looked like there was something a little larger than a golf ball trying to exit — maybe a racquetball. The pain wasn’t nearly as bad either, so I took this opportunity to stroll up the hill to a mailbox. Walking uphill and on flat land was fine, but coming back down the hill was uncomfortable. That little excursion also increased the swelling a bit.

It just sucks feeling helpless and immobile. That feeling leads to thoughts about not having a job with health insurance…which leads to worries about Noot’s visa…which all adds up to a feeling of “Vttttttt!” Gotta stay positive though!

Two Links

Damn. It appears that biofuels aren’t so great for the environment.

These video clips are frickin’ hilarious — easily the funniest thing I’ve seen on the Internet all year. Of course it’s probably 932 percent funnier if you play guitar, but I still had to share them. The Jake E. Lee clip kills me with Ozzy’s clapping. The “Indiana Jones” riff in Malmsteen’s clip is awesome, as is the “Iron Man” riff in Van Halen’s. The guy does a pretty impressive job at synching his playing with the concert footage. It’s pretty impressive. Metallica’s “One” is fantastic — he plays enough of the right notes that it’s familiar, but he still sounds like a hack that couldn’t cut it at Bottom of the Hill. These videos had me laughing out loud…a lot. I’m curious to hear if they’re that funny to people that don’t play guitar. I’m guessing not.

Breaking Wind

This wind turbine is awesome. I wish more of these would pop up. I’m perplexed by people that are vehemently against wind turbines for being eyesores that ruin nature’s beauty. Renewable energy sources are far more important for the planet’s health.

In other news, I’m pretty sure I have to be a Black Eyed Peas fan. They have a Filipino guy and they support Barack Obama (I still miss John Edwards though!). Plus, will.i.am got hot Scarlett for this video. Check it out!




Here are will.i.am’s thoughts on why he got together with Dylan’s kid to make this video. On a side note, I have a Weavile (an awesome ice Pokemon) named chill.i.am. That’s frickin’ funny.

Prepare Yourself!!!

No, Mortal Kombat is not on its way…but the primaries are! Don’t forget to vote!!!

In case you haven’t figured out which candidate is right for you, here’s a nifty site that can help you decide. First, you answer a series of questions on several issues.  It even provides Wikipedia links to explain issues you might not understand. Then it tells you which candidate is most aligned with your beliefs. If you want, you can learn more about each candidate’s stance on each specific issue. It’s a pretty nifty site. Of course it’s not a substitute for your own extensive research, but it’s a good start or a good way to check what you’ve been thinking all along.