I’m so glad I have errands to run today. It looks so pretty out and I want to be able to enjoy the happy warmness a bit. I’m gonna bring my digital camera too so that I can get some nice pictures. Just need to write up a shopping list and take a quick shower first. Must not get distracted by shiny things.

From over on Lockergnome comes a link to The Grand List Of Console Role Playing Game Cliches. Too many of these are oh so true. Some of my favs:

2. “No! My beloved peasant village!”
The hero’s home town, city, slum, or planet will usually be annihilated in a spectacular fashion before the end of the game, and often before the end of the opening scene.

14. Garrett’s Principle
Let’s not mince words: you’re a thief. You can walk into just about anybody’s house like the door wasn’t even locked. You just barge right in and start looking for stuff. Anything you can find that’s not nailed down is yours to keep. You will often walk into perfect strangers’ houses, lift their precious artifacts, and then chat with them like you were old neighbors as you head back out with their family heirlooms under your arm. Unfortunately, this never works in stores.

136. Gender Equality, Part 1 (Feena Rule)
Your average female RPG character carries a variety of deadly weapons and can effortlessly hack or magic her way through armies of monsters, killer cyborgs, and mutated boss creatures without breaking a sweat. She may be an accomplished ninja, a superpowered secret agent, or the world’s greatest adventurer. However, if one of the game’s villains manages to sneak up and grab her by the Standard Female Character Grab Area (her upper arm) she will be rendered utterly helpless until rescued by the hero.

Speaking of which, I’m doing my best to avoid the pull of the new Zelda because I know I’ll disappear for a day or so after starting.

Laurie Anderson: “Paradise is exactly like where you are right now…only much, much better” [Quotes of the Day]

It’s too damn early. I don’t want to be up. But I know if I crawl back into bed I’ll never wake up in time to get to rehab today. I’ve been bad the last month and a half. I blame the cold I had really, but that only accounts for about a month of it.

I’m actually glad to be getting started exercising again. After about a week of starting up again I tend to find all the basic getting around stuff to be much easier. One of the theories behind pulmonary rehab is that when you are in shape your body needs less oxygen to do things. I can definitely tell the difference. It’s kind of amazing.

Damn, my iPod is almost full and i still have around 15 to 20 CDs left to rip. How frustrating. I’m going to start having to come up with playlists of stuff to listen to that I’ll sync. Smart Playlists help with this a lot actually. I have ones for 80s music, Jazz, and Anime soundtracks currently.

I feel like I’ll get back from working out and pass out for half the day again. Bah. What’s everyone up to this weekend? Anyone feel like hanging out and watching some DVDs tonight? Maybe a spur of the moment anime night?

If you live in MA (or TX, SC, FL, GA, AL, TN, or CO) and use a Firewall you should beware. It may become illegal if bills in those states pass. I just downloaded the MA one and am going to read through it tomorrow, but the blog entry linked to above says:

Here is one example of the far-reaching harmful effects of these bills. Both bills would flatly ban the possession, sale, or use of technologies that “conceal from a communication service provider … the existence or place of origin or destination of any communication”. Your ISP is a communcation service provider, so anything that concealed the origin or destination of any communication from your ISP would be illegal — with no exceptions. [Freedom to Tinker]

Just to explain that a bit more. That would make most corporate firewalls illegal, along with those little mini firewalls they make for home. And don’t forget just about any recent OS (since they do connection sharing). (via BoingBoing).

The HR Giger Museum has a Quicktime VR Tour of the museum online. Pretty cool. I like the Alien room the most I think. Though I think going to this museum might give me nightmares. (via BoingBoing)

Dick Cavett:”It’s a rare person who wants to hear what he doesn’t want to hear.” [Quotes of the Day]

I have a fear of endings. When faced with the last episode of a show I really liked, I freeze up. I delay, I procrastinate, I find something else, and I put off the big finale because, once I watch it, it’s over. That’s it, no more, close the curtains and walk out of the theatre. The show that I put so much of my heart into is finished and there won’t be any more. It’s an illogical, visceral reaction that I just can’t help; on the one hand, I really want to watch those last episodes. I want to see how it ends, I want to see how everything’s sorted out, and I want to see the big climax. But the problem with a climax is that, by its very definition, it’s the last big bang before everything ends, and I don’t want it to end.

I think the first time I ever heard this feeling vocalized was during Nadesico. Akito, the main character, mentioned that he had never watched the last episode of his favorite anime because he didn’t want it to be over. At the time, I didn’t really understand what he was saying (Nadesico was one of the first few full season animes I had watched at the time), but now I do. It’s scary to have a show you really cared about, that you watched one episode at a time, speculating about future events in between showings, thinking about its good and bad points, and generally making it a part of your mind, stop.

Just at a glance, I have the unwatched endings to: Kiddy Grade, El Hazard, Gatekeepers 21, Kanon, Saikano, and Farscape, and that’s not even counting shows that I delayed finishing for weeks or months but ultimately completed. It’s not just serious character dramas that make me this hesitant either; the fact that El Hazard is the most delayed show on that list isn’t because I disliked the series (it’s more happenstance than anything else). The only real connection all those shows have is that they’re all building towards (or in the middle of) a really messy climax.

Someday, I’ll watch the last episode for all those shows. Someday, I’ll close the book on each of them. I doubt it will be that long from now.

But it ain’t gonna be today. I’ve got 19 episodes of Get Backers to catch up on, and when the last episode of that is released I can always add another series to my list.

I was napping for a tiny bit this afternoon, but I kept hearing what sounded like scurrying sounds. Of course, when I saw that it was actually the sounds that people and bikes going by outside were making I felt foolish, but every time I layed back down I heard the sounds again. Now I’m not sure. Maybe the mice were actually making those noises to fuck with me. They’re keeping me from sleeping. Making me tired and cranky so I’ll make a mistake.

Wait. What was that noise?

Tonight at the Analog Lounge I’ll be celebrating the capture of another mouse (I get to count the one committing suicide as a capture don’t I?). I’ll also be celebrating nice weather and the letter Q. Here’s the deal. And definitely make note of next month’s guests. I’m really psyched about April. We’ve got return appearances from MJ and Frantic. Defixio finally found a time she could grace us with her presence. And we’ve got Jeff Mission and Headrush coming out too. I think it will be a great way to start off the spring. So here’s the details on tonight.

Changmian and Dubcoast present

*~The Analog Lounge~*
The relaxed side of things. Join us every Wednesday for a mix of
musical styles in the lounge at Vertigo, with lots of mellow mixed in. Tonight is:

RESIDENT’S NIGHT!
That’s right. Pete, Pete, and Gregory will be playing all the tunes
tonight while the Special one is off travelling the world. After a
nice warm sunny day (it’s 61 out!) what a better way to relax than
with a nice drink and some chill tunes.

(Also, check out our upcoming Guests below, April’s gonna kick ass in
the Lounge).

with resident dj’s

Gregory Blake (Changmian) Boston
Special Pete (dubcoast music) CA
Peter Ellis (ttb) Boston
Pete Yagmin (Changmian) Boston

Wednesdays
@ Vertigo (upstairs)
126 State St. Boston, MA
617-723-7277
10pm – 2am
21+ with ID
$5 cover (gets you into both the Lounge and Anitya)
No dress code
www.changmian.com
www.dubcoast.com
www.vertigoboston.com
www.mapquest.com (directions)

Upcoming Guests:
04/02 – Jeff Mission [Beatfix : Circle] MA
04/09 – Frantic [Suburban Groove Project] MA
04/16 – MJ [AudioDreamControl : Satellite : Galanta.net] MA
04/23 – DJ Headrush [wbrs : djheadrush.com] MA
04/30 – Defixio [Redlight : punkrocktechno] MA

To view our calendar online (with support for you iCal and Mozilla
calendar folk):
http://ical.mac.com/gblake99/The32Analog32Lounge

This week downstairs at Anitya: Binary (Sonic Beating/WBRS-Boston)12:30-2:00

Be there or be square.