Sorry.

Looks like I got nothing today, play with This for a while.

------------------
Updates at www.stopbillc51.com.


-James

Anime North proper.

I'm sorry but this is coming in place of a comic post this week, and a day late to boot.

Anime North was an exhausting experience, the long and the short of it is that I was at the table almost constantly. The detailed of it is that I was there helping a friend shill his Game. It's a great game with pretty art, buy one dammit! Over the weekend I drank far too much caffeine since I came off of a nightshift and went home to get ready, I was up for somewhere in the mid-thirty hour area. I clocked a grand total of eleven hours over the whole weekend, and that's including half an hour asleep sitting at the table while someone else kept an eye on things and another thirty minutes asleep laying on the grass outside the hotel.

I enjoyed it much more than it sounds, this was a strange experience for me above all else. It was definitely one changed by an absence.

One moment on the subject of comics, read Welcome To Tranquility, I wish they were going to do another run of this book. Fingers crossed, please let there be more stories in it.

-James

Another not so great tide of filth.

Since I was at Anime North this weekend I didn't have time to gather you a tide. I'm giving you a Youtube link for Gen13 the movie Part 1, the following part should always be in the related video box. I'm also giving you The Long Lost Lyrics To The Theme From Raiders Of The Last Ark.

Enjoy.

-James

Anime North.

I'm fresh back from Anime North, and I am physically and emotionally drained. I'll make a complete post tomorrow or Tuesday after I've had the chance to collect my thoughts.

I'd like to note as a statement of fact, over the weekend I got Rickrolled twice while working the table. This is the first time someone's done it to me in person, I didn't have a snappy comeback and I think I'm gonna need one.

(EDIT: That was a really dumb title... I'm sorry, I was tired.)

-James

And they wonder why we don't support them when they strike...

What's stuck in my craw this week? TTC Bylaw #1, specifically section 16a. On my way home from work this morning the driver stopped the streetcar to ask me to turn down MY iPOD! Pardon me, but if I want to listen to Coheed And Cambria at a volume that is likely to cause my ears to bleed at 6:30 in the god damn morning it should be my fucking business, provided I'm wearing my headphones.

I can only imagine it was the woman sitting behind me who said something, unless the driver's hearing was so good that the furious buzzing of my headphones was enough to distract him from his driving from ten feet away, with a large metal box filled with... I don't even know what, between us.

The bylaw was written in 1990, so I understand it's intention. They didn't want unruly "teens" with "ghetto blasters", as they were sometimes called then, disturbing the other riders. I can see the need for the rule, I really can, I shouldn't be sitting there forcing others to listen to whatever drek I see fit to subject myself to, but this is complicated for me by the fact that they aren't hearing more then a low, harsh buzz.

The driver in question was a bald, mustachioed(I just wanted to use the word.) man, should you have a similar experience with a fellow matching this description on the Queen streetcar line let's trade notes. As for you sir, try asking the question without the tone that implies an unspoken "or GTFO!", at least he said please. I'd also like to request that you kindly fuck off, fuck off and die... horribly.

--------------

I still can't find an update on www.stopbillc51.com about a rally this weekend, and since I'm not comfortable asking people to stand in for me at a rally that may not be happening I can't in good conscience ask that people make it out. Still, if you want to do something writing, not e-mailing, your MP or MPP is a great place to start and if memory serves if you include a question in your letter they are obligated to respond. The system may not work but I much prefer it when we get to choose the people making our laws.

-James

COMICS!!!!

I think I'll start with Doktor Sleepless Manual #1, this reprints issue 1 along with some bonus materials. If you aren't already reading Doktor Sleepless pick this up.

Next up, Bomb Queen Volume 5 #1 of 6. It's sick, it's twisted, it's unrestrained sex and violence. If you're even slightly squeamish I'd say steer clear.

Avengers: The Initiative #13, looks like the new team has arrived. This issue revolves around one new recruit in particular, Boulder, a superhero fanboy with invulnerability and the proportional strength and speed of a fat kid. By issue end he's even managed to impress Taskmaster in spite of washing out of the program.

Robin #174, the cover asks "who is The Spoiler?" It's really her, Spoiler lives! This is a well earned moral boost for Tim, it's about time he got someone back.

Finally, Spider-Man: With Great Power 3 of 5. I picked this one up a little late, but I've been loving this book and wanted to plug it. It's a reimagining of Spider-Man's origin that stays close to the original while expanding on things like his wrestling career and his interactions with his classmates.

That's it, the office is closed, get out.

-James

A great tide of filth.

This weeks tide comes mostly from Whitechapel, internet at large, you have failed me.

On the subject of justice we have This and This. On the subject of "the paper ran what?" we have This and on a related note I give you This

Now, Shrimp Vision, When in Winnipeg, A Collection Of Quotes, Chest-Balls, The Best Yearbook Ever, and the Worst Sculpture Ever(NWS).

It looks a little bit light, but I did spend 26 of the last 48 hours asleep, bite me.

-James

Two seasons.

Guess what Toronto, the snow is gone and it's started to get warm, you know what that means. Like most cities this size we have two seasons, winter and construction, and I can tell you from the fact that a jack hammer across the street is shaking my couch that winter is over.

Now, I don't mind construction on principle, growth and development are good for a city and a culture, what I don't like is when my internet gets knocked out because they "didn't know there was a cable there", or I have to walk inches from traffic or go back a block for a crosswalk because of a sign telling me to use the other sidewalk. I don't like when construction sites make me late for something because they just have to block as much of the street as possible.

I do like seeing a new building go up in an empty or unused lot, I don't like when that building is going to be filled with condominiums, which by the way, they, whoever they may be, are advertising for a new condo tower(EDIT: They're putting up lofts, but really what does that change?) going up at 2 Ossington, right at Queen street. I don't like the fact that this will likely make me late for work at least once.

I do like seeing a new park or other public space opening. I miss the idea that a new block of apartments may be a red-brick walk-up. I miss the idea that a new building going up might mean a beautiful or interesting piece of architecture will be joining a neighborhood.

---

On an unrelated note www.stopbillc51.com has updated it's main page, while there's still no listed date and time for the next rallies there was mention at last week's that there would be another in two weeks, that's next Saturday, if you can make it out I need someone to pick up my slack since I'll be missing it.


-James

COMICS!!!!

Hey, it's late but I was tired, here you go;

Let's start with X-Force #3, I've liked this book so far, I hope it stays this good. The splash page at the end was... something.

Next, Raven #3, this story hasn't sucked, the use of Psycho-Pirate's Medusa Mask as the power source of the main antagonist makes an interesting foil for an empathic hero surrounded by upset teenagers.

Booster Gold #9, guest starring The Justice League International! Yay! Booster and Beetle rebuild their old team from their surviving incarnations in their current time line.

Gen13 #20, this issue caps up an arc that's been running for a while, I'm mostly happy to be caught up. This is the end the arc was coming to since a few issues ago, I can't say anything in the issue surprised or wowed me... Okay the Rat Catcher fight wasn't bad. The art has changed tone and I can't say I like it.

X-Men: Legacy #211, continuing Professor X's attempt to reassemble his shattered memories we get a neat little tidbit on what Mister Sinister was up to when he didn't have any Summers to chase around.

last, but not least, Titans #2!(I really wish that link lined up better.) This issue is a great example of how this incarnation of the team worked, even while sniping at each other they're getting along. In stark contrast the current Teen Titans can't seem to talk to one another with out nearly coming to blows. The cover flatly states it, Trigon has returned... again, and he don't look so good this time around. Also, Raven does sarcasm now.

That's it, now if you'll excuse me I have some New X-Men back issues to plow through and I need the office, go on, get.

-James

A great tide of filth.

It's Monday, and you know what that means. Get your hip-waders, it's tide of filth time.

This week's tide is about the contents of my iPod.

The idea to do this came when I decided to squeak in a link to Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain's Contest over at the WoW homepage. Then I thought, why not throw in a plug for Springman Records since I have so many Punk Rock Strike albums shuffling around with my play lists.

Hell, while I'm at it, why not Pain? What about the stars of my favorite scene in Punk Rock Holocaust, The Phenomenauts? I might even manage a plug for The Groovie Ghoulies, whom I'm honored to say I got to see live once upon a time.

...And hey, since I've already gone off topic with plugging one horror flick, why not Brainscan? It's John Conner VS Skeletor, and actually one hell of an awesome horror movie, especially compared to what was coming out at the time. I spent an afternoon trying to find it on DVD last week, I know it's out there, I just can't find it.

That's your filth for the week, now, get your feet off my damn desk.

-James

The Downward Spiral.

For those of you fluent in legalese This is bill C-51. I hadn't heard of it until a friend sent me a notice about the rally against it today, and from what I've heard your MP and MPP will be reluctant to discuss it.

Here is the discussion of the legal ramifications of the bill. I thought that the legislating back to work of the TTC was the start of a slippery slope but this bill is a dangerous precedent on whole different scale.

It gives sweeping power to appointed representatives of a government agency with oversight that covers products like garlic, vitamin supplements, energy drinks, analgesics, and anti-depressants. The bill removes burden of proof, it allows them to bill you for the cost of confiscating your goods, and it gives them the right to destroy 'evidence' before they prove any wrong doing. It allows them to pass their own laws by bypassing the legislative branch of government, it makes it illegal to give away any product designated as a therapeutic product, this includes things like garlic and vitamin c.

This means they can declare it against the law to give your children vitamins or to cook with garlic if they so choose. They may well not choose to enforce the law in this way, but should they have the power? If they give Health Canada this power what agency is next?

There's another rally in two weeks, I'm not going to be able to make it, so who's going to go for me? Queens Park, two weeks today, if you can make it go defend your right to elect your law-makers!

-James

What?

RUN MEGAMAN, RUN!


EDIT: Also, the plans for tomorrow have changed. If you take vitamins, or drink energy drinks, or cook with garlic consider being there.

COMICS!!!!

It's that time again, forgive me if this week is short, I cut my hand at work so I'm going to be brief.

Young X-Men #2: It's the new team VS the Original Junior Class. I'm hoping this book can keep up it's quality, I like it so far, and Dodson covers can only help. I did like the Danger Cave mission pulled right out of the first X-Men comic my parents ever bought me.

Blue Beetle #26: Special Spanish Issue, the issue is almost entirely in Spanish with an English script at the end. The issue is set at a Reyes family reunion and since most of his extended family speaks no English and Traci, who's meeting them for the first time, speaks no Spanish comedy ensues. While the issue features an awesome fight with Parasite the core of the issue has to do with Jamie finding out he has the support of more of his family then he knew, the final splash page is undeniably heart warming.

Teen Titans #58: This issue is all about Miss Martian, and the current arc has been proof that there have been no bad additions to the team since the last Crisis, two years back. I still miss the old team, and I say this a lot, but, if these kids could just work as a team they'd be the best.

Avengers: The Initiative #12:... It ends with 'The End', what? Why? No... Please... I love this book, I love the team they have. Now they're all on the run, out of action, or split up across the Initiative's fifty teams.

Teen Titans: Year One #4: This book is neat, but that's because I'm a fanboy, I can't hide it. This is a book for fanboys, I love this book for all the reasons I loved Titans #1, these are the versions of the team that showed the best chemistry... well, the ones that have enough surviving members to still reform.

That's it, my hand hurts... say, what gets blood out of desk?

-James

A not so great tide of filth.

Since I was out all weekend I didn't have time to gather you a whole tide of filth.

Instead I Give You This. Go on, hate me.

See you later this week, and we've got another weekend edition coming up.

-James

A Bovine Birthday.

So what did I do this weekend that didn't get rained out? Well for one thing I played GTAIV; for another I went out and saw a friend on their birthday, I know, a dangerous precedent to set. I picked up a coffee and made my way to the bar, early, the way I like to be. When I got there the DJs were still loading in their equipment. I ordered a drink and drifted off to sit on a stool by the wall, a Japanese Spider-Man on one of the TVs over the bar being plenty to keep me amused while I waited for someone I knew. Huh, I spend a lot of time doing that, I'm typing it a lot at least.

When the friend I was there to see arrived they ran over to the bar and began excitedly talking to someone they knew, since there were only about eight other people in the bar and I was sitting right behind them I thought I'd just give them a second before I said anything. I didn't get the chance, they turned around and were practically face to face with me, I'm not explaining the logistics, just go with it. I stifled a laugh as she excitedly greeted me and introduced me to the people she'd arrived with. It seemed that one of the people she'd come with was someone else I already knew, her little sister, whom I had also met way back in the fog of the very, very early 90's. I was jokingly scolded, "Just sitting there and not saying anything is the most 'you' thing you could do, you creep." I agreed, sometimes it's fun to be a bit of a creep.

We hurriedly caught up, even a few hours is far too little time to catch up, especially when there's booze and music involved. These things tend to drift the active from the contemplative. The evening was a melange of pleasant conversation, primarily excellent music, and interesting visuals from the decor, see refuse, and from the televisions above the bar. Fairly early on a group of gentlemen, and I use the term loosely, in primary colours and leather jackets came in, ordered drinks and proceeded to barfly by the wall. They stayed most of the night, an nearly endless source of wisecracks. The only thing I saw begin to throw them even slightly off was when a man I have no other stories about bought them a round of drinks, they looked dumbfounded. They didn't seem to know if they should take the beers.

As people began to filter out I made sure my friend was safe to get home, then cracked to her sister and the young lady's boyfriend that I'd say not to do anything I wouldn't do, but... I know, old joke is old, I like it. I've said this elsewhere but not in the last little bit. I don't get out to do these types of things enough. It's good to see humans being tolerable, hell, even interesting and appealing to spend time with, on this kind of scale. Sometimes groupings measured in three or four digits is just to many and less than two digits can get lonely. Happy Birthday Jessie, thanks again for having me out.

-James

Always the goddamn rain!

Somehow whenever I get ready for a day like today I know I need to get ready for rain. Today was The Toronto Freedom Festival, or as you more likely know it, The Global Marijuana March. My brother and I left the apartment later than intended, it being nearly 11:30 already and the festival was starting. The transit ride was long, but uneventful. The day at the Festival started rather slowly, a light drizzle of rain falling on people setting up tents. One of the stages was already alive, a Nufunk.ca banner hanging from the stage. A band named Chamelion Project was playing. As the rain fell I wandered the festival grounds with my brother, looking for people we knew. Eventually he found someone, and from them got word of a small stage off to the north playing jungle music. Hoping to find some more of his friends we headed off to the stage. Shortly after we got to the stage he found more of his friends and I headed off in hopes of finding someone I knew.

I wandered back to the first stage, where a dj was filling air between sets. After around twenty minutes of listening to him I made my way to College street to find a coffee shop. Filled back up with caffeine I made my way back to Queens Park. Continuing to wander the grounds I returned to the same old stage. I found a band called God Made Me Funky playing a cover of Jump Around. Shortly after, while patroling around the stage area looking for, well, anyone, I ran back into my brother, and we smoked, again, and no, I'm not telling you how many times, it was a few. While they rolled my brother and his friend discussed their lack of plans for 4:20. As we finished up they excused themselves to go and locate more friends and I made my way off to find a convenience store.

Running into someone I know from the store that I game at we walked and talked as I made my way to the store. Halfway there he needed to turn back and meet someone, so I carried on alone. Making it to the store and buying my paltry Redbull, hardly a meal, I turned around and headed back. Within five minutes of my return the latest band stopped playing and the DJ announced that 4:20 was only twenty minutes off. I took the time to wander the crowd and see as much as I could. It was all fairly uniform, tarps in trees, tents where ever they would fit, and clusters of umbrellas dotting the ground.

I returned to the stage 3 times over the twenty minute wait, when 4:20 finally came the crowd around the stage had reached it's maximum density for the day. A dense labyrinth of people formed, and as the countdown from the stage finished and the pulsing music filled the air, so did a cloud of thick smoke. Moving through the crowd I saw people of every possible description, the traditional hippie, teenagers of every stripe, even an elderly eastern European woman was wandering the maze. After 4:20 I made for a coffee shop. A few minutes after I sat down the rain began coming down in sheets.

When the rain cleared I headed back north, against the crowd. As I got back to the grounds I observed what had become of it. The torrent of rain had turned the lively Festival into an abandoned swamp. Music bleated meekly from tents and tarps, all but the hardiest of vendors had packed up shop. Even the side stage I'd left my brother at originally had completely vanished, the territory an alien landscape compared to a few hours earlier. Giving the whole grounds a patrol I decided I'd spent plenty of time in the mud and made my way south, following the flow I walked towards the transit at College.

-James

Why you never send us to do something if you don't want to make a scene.

Today I'm struggling with a bout of writers block. At the suggestion of a friend I'm working at a piece of fiction. This is not it.

Wednesday nights have been the night I go out and game with my friends for over a year. I've recently been absent for almost three months. I was pleasently surpirsed to see the younger members of the group had matured some in that time, although clearly not enough to know better than to make political jokes at the table. The game was Shadowrun, and it was our second session.

Our group was a Cybered-Up street samurai, a literal one since his player is Japanese, a revolver using gunfighter, who's player shows up in a cowboy hat, and a weapons and infiltration expert, who drew as little attention as possible, which is good. The last three members of the group are where we get strange, we had one player insisting his character believes he is Hellboy and that he was therefore absolved from creating a background for him other than that his parents were from Greece so his troll could have devil horns. Unprompted he included that his character's real name was Anung un Rama, I had to leave to take a phone call, but by the time I was back his character was named Peter. Then we have Joker, a seventeen year old rich brat with a massive comic collection and dead parents operating on the principle that if he does enough horrible things he's bound to create one superhero. Finally, there's me, my character is more or less Spider Jerusalem, the GM even let me stat out a bowel disrupter. To give my character more usefulness than simply drinking, doing drugs, and yelling at people I built him to be a Rigger, in essence I have a small computer connected to my nervous system, I use it to control robots, my five "spider"-bots.

When this session started we were already on a job, after taking a few potshots out my window with the disrupter I called the spider-bots and we got in the car. Jo, who since his dead folks were loaded, lives across the street, he decided he needed to steal a school bus, and the street sam was there to help. The infiltration expert walked and the troll-who-would-be-Hellboy got rendered unconscious, since he technically wasn't part of the team yet and needed a reason to go to the job site and help us out. Now I'm not quite sure what happened in between, my travel time always seems to get fuzzy in this game, but the next thing I know I'm flying down the highway with a military police car in pursuit.

Now, I know this play, so I gunned it. The GM rolled something behind his screen and then the spider-bots started acting screwy. They started pulling stuff apart and making it into something else in the backseat of my car. Just as I was getting worried this cop was gonna chase me until I ran out of gas one of the spider-bots opened a window and threw something out. The black object bounced off the road and then the cop car vanished in a small flash of light, the little fuckers had made a Singularity Grenade out of spare parts, I swear, I love those little bastards more and more every day.

So we get away from the cops and sometime later pull up to the job site. I decide to wander around and get the lay of the land. The general layout was like this, there's a large park to the south, across a roadway, and on the north side of that roadway, divided by a connecting road there's a parking lot and the medical lab we're there to burgle. As I'm wandering through the park wondering how we're going to get in there without being noticed our troll friend gets himself pasted by an ambulance, which then crashes into the security check point. Jo and the street sam had given up on the school bus when it encased them in fire-resistant foam and had stolen a van instead, I wish they had just stolen the van, no they duct-taped five katana across the hood, and they used their sword-van to t-bone the crashed ambulance.

I ran over to the troll, who taking my advice on building the character closer to what he wanted had done away with cyberware and had gone with being an Adept instead. First I handed him a joint, and told him "smoke this, trust me, I'm a doctor." which I'm not. He smoked it and immediately began to Astrally Project, it was some real good shit. I also slapped him with a stim patch so he wouldn't pass out and die before he got picked up by an ambulance, since the one that hit him was no longer of any use. Since the spider-bots were already out, about, and no doubt up to something devious I left them to it and stood around observing, observing and smoking, being just shy of useless. The street sam had been running his motorcycle from the back of the sword-van to the park across the street, so he hadn't been there when Jo, the gunfighter and the infiltrator had run through the security point and he decided it was time to catch up. He bolts through the check point and it goes nuts, it had been rerouting systems when the rest of the team had gone in.

The troll had been playing with things on the astral plane and his heart stopped, I pulled a trauma patch out of my jacket pocket and restarted his heart, his player looked at me dumbfounded, I just chuckled, he was technically brain dead until the magical healing on the ambulance could restore his mind. A few minutes later the ambulance appeared in the form of a hover craft, I waved a random credential at them without turning around, yelling "Don't mind me, I'm with the press!" and they nodded and scooped the troll up. With my character's mechanically enhanced hearing I heard them discussing in hushed tones the state of the patient, "What the hell is he on? Is... Is he astrally projecting? No, that's not in his file. Well how should I know? ...And who resuscitated him already?"

Around then one of the spider-bots came up to me, handed me some keys, showed me an explosive charge it found, and asked me to follow it. They ask questions now, great little bastards. I told it to hide the bomb in the park across the street, away from the car. It lead me to the back entrance, where it disabled one of the building Security Bots. So with the robot down and keys in hand I unlocked the door, and popped my head back around the side to see the troll getting out of the ambulance. "Hey! Flatline! Come'er!"

He did, I pointed at the robot and said, "I need me a working van to take that thing in... better make it a truck, there's a parking lot across the street, find what ya can." He ran off to his new task and I went inside. I found the lunch room, complete with a liquor cabinet. The spider-bot with me handed me a bag and scuttled off to somewhere. So I started loading that sucker up as most of the team was at work infiltrating the labs, looking for what we were being paid for. I heard someone coming and hid under the table in the centre of the room. When the two workers began serving themselves from the buffet table I took aim and shot one with the disrupter, the results were nigh-catastrophic, I'll save you from the details but the second guy was still there flicking at his lighter trying against all hope to clear the smell. Then I shot the second guy without turning the disrupter down. His lighter decided to work as I hit him, the combustion of the methane set off the fire systems and the labs upstairs began filling with water.

I climbed up the back of the robot on my way out and began tinkering with it. When I finally got enough hits to do what I wanted I reversed it's target recognition system, authorized employees are targets; else not, and I needed to give it a go command, but I couldn't remember the damn keyword from the Movie, I looked at the GM and realized, he was giving it to me, "War." and one of my own "Verbalize, 'Rock'", so it stomped off down the hall shouting "War...Rock...War...Rock" killing any guard, accountant, or lab tech it came across... I booked it back to my car. By the time the robot was leaving the first floor the bomb in the park had gone off, killing the street sam's bike, love those spider-bots.

The team ran into some trouble and were beaten to the objective, or just beaten in Flatline's case. Jo had put out a post on his personal message board the second things looked tough and had gathered up a gang of street kids who planned to make him king. As Jo's gang and the police riot teams arrived my kill-bot flung itself out a window, jarring it's targeting system and setting it to "free-for-all". To get out of the building Jo stole a guard uniform and ran out screaming, the gunfighter and infiltrator made much more subtle exits, the street sam... how did he get out? Back on point, Flatline got locked up in a prison cell, and decided to make his escape just as the police reached his floor. He was shot and killed resisting arrest. My spider-bots made for me, but there was one stop that needed making. As Jo ran screaming towards the Halloweener's, yup that's what the gang is called, he flung off the guard uniform and demanded to know "Where's my crown and where's my popcorn?"

The popcorn was spider-bot delivered, that was it, they we're back in the car and me and my bots made our escape.

-James