Asteroid L

Eva shows me a video made by CCTV (for those not-China-savvy, that's the state network, not "Closed Circuit TV") about WoW and MMORPGs.

I see a room full of young people in army uniform (and some concerned-looking elders, presumably moms, in the back) watching a video of WoW in a big screen.

Me: What, they're teaching the army to fight dragons?
Eva: They're trying to convince them, and us, that MMORPGs are evil.
Me: No.  You must be pulling my leg, my theory was less ridiculous.
Eva: They say if you play WoW you lose your humanity.
Me: No, hmm, that would be Vampire the Masquerade.  (Sorry for the geeklings in the audience who don't have the background to get this one.)

Cue scene of human character massacred by creatures I can't identify (because I'm not a WoW player myself) -- orcs?  Giants?

Me: Well yeah, it doesn't look too good for humans if you suck at playing it...

It's ridiculous and a bit infuriating, though.  Any other place (well, almost), this would be an instant lawsuit.  But of course, it would be a bad idea to sue the state-operated TV network in a state that's still partially totalitarian.  It's times like this that I'm really tempted to go invest my money elsewhere... (well, when I have any!)

It's April 385th. For 19 days, Cannon Fodder has been crossing universes, looking for the one the Xinerama Brotherhood uses as their base of operations. The New Misfits have been searching for the Time Crapper, who apparently has the Ultimate Gnab, an universe-killing weapon created by the Evilverse LNH. Pantra, the foul-mouthed, badly-behaved leopard girl who came from the future with some of the New Misfits, has been running with them, apparently because it gives her "more things to hit". Oh, and the leader of the New Misfits, Blackbird, has been captured by the Evilverse equivalent of his group, called the Acla Fright, and replaced by his own Evilversion, Deathbird. The Acla Fright then proceeded to interrogate and kill him. Or so they thought.

=============================-=============================

...

Twenty days ago, Cannon Fodder and the New Misfits stopped a Xinerama Brother from imploding the Looniverse. In the weeks before that, they dismantled the Crime Empire, the largest criminal organization their world has ever seen, and that was after repelling an invasion from the Evilverse.

But the work of a net.hero never ends. The Xinerama Brotherhood is still out there somewhere, and they will inevitably attack again (Cannon Fodder went looking for them). The Ultimate Gnab, the terrible Evilverse weapon which the Xinerama intended to use, was stolen by a cloaked figure which we're assuming to be the Time Crapper, self-proclaimed mortal enemy of the New Misfits (who went looking for him.) And, worst of all, Pantra decided it would be fun to stick around. OUCH, watch those claws! ...

...because of the US holiday (Memorial Day) last Monday.

I mean, seriously. Diamond*, wtf?

*For those not addicted to comics: Diamond is the US distributor who, for all intents and purposes, has a monopoly on distribution of mainstream comics. Like most monopolies, they have no clue what they're doing.

A pal helpfully informed me that union rules in US say they'd have to pay 2.5x the normal rates if they wanted people to work in the holiday. Which I totally get; I don't like forcing anybody to work in a holiday either.

But this is just a case of a monopoly not planning ahead, because they don't have to. If the holiday was on the Tuesday, then yeah, I totally get it that the stuff is actually trucked around in the day before. But two days? Anyone with an IQ better than a shoe could work it out; that's what the Friday and Saturday are there for, dimwit!

But I guess it's not called "diamond" because it's bright or transparent... it's because they're a little dense... and if you try to work with them you'll realize how hard they are!

Frankly, I don't understand why a bunch of American readers don't just band together and slap Diamond's ass with a class-action suit. I would.

Yesterday, Cannon Fodder and the New Misfits stopped a Xinerama Brother from imploding the Looniverse. In the weeks before that, they dismantled the Crime Empire, the largest criminal organization their world has ever seen, and that was after repelling an invasion from the Evilverse.

You'd imagine they'd be very busy now tapping each other in the back, wouldn't you?

But the work of a net.hero never ends. The Xinerama Brotherhood is still out there somewhere, and they will inevitably attack again. The Ultimate Gnab, the terrible Evilverse weapon which the Xinerama intended to use, was stolen by a cloaked figure which we're assuming to be the Time Crapper, self-proclaimed mortal enemy of the New Misfits. (Yeah, go figure. We don't ...

Back on Sunday, April 57th 2007, Cannon Fodder's and Innovative- Offense Boy's enjoyment of a kiwis-versus-mind-controlled- insects battle was interrupted by a strange figure. His skin was a deep, but reflexive black, like an LCD screen when it's off. For hair, he had three thick strands, running from his eyebrows to the back of his neck; one red, one green, and one blue. His eyes were red, and he had sideburns -- green on his right side, blue on his left. He told them he was a rogue member of the Xinerama Brotherhood, self-appointed guardians of the Usenetverse, and that his brothers had decided to wipe out the Looniverse, for its annoying insistence on using alt.comics.lnh in addition to rec.arts.comics.creative.

Almost an year later, or what would be an year if April wasn't dragging on indefinitely, on April 365th, he returned. Cannon ...

Previously in 58.5:

While in a campaign against the Crime Empire, the New Misfits busted a vice den set up specially for comic book addicts; dark, poorly-ventilated rooms, with shelves full of old issues turning the whole place into a maze, pretty girls in costumes (well, they look pretty in the dark, to comic junkies without a life) serving pizza and soda, and paid trolls hanging around to discuss the finer points of Mr. Fantastic's sex life or who'd win in a fight between the Detective Chimp and Howard the Duck.

"Um", said the Amazing Amazon, "I'm not sure this is even illegal, in fact it's kind of cool..."

"They don't serve Mr. Paprika", declared Blackbird. "That has ...

Hi! Kid Recap here. Funky numbering aside, this issue is more or less the middle of the road for the series. So, the New Misfits and Cannon Fodder asked me to set aside a few minutes and bring you up to date on the story so far. If you're picking up the series now, this is the best issue to start with. If you're pondering whether to pick it up but intimidated by the number, this one is for you. If you just want to recap and refresh your memory -- and who doesn't love a recap? -- then by all means enjoy it. If you did read everything up to now, maybe more than once, and still have no clue what's going on, well then, I guess this issue won't help too much, as it's exactly as badly written as the rest. Sorry!

58.5 is a series of fiction stories in a shared universe called "LNH", which stands for Legion of Net.Heroes, the premier ...

[gods, I suck, or something. Two months without posting and I forget how to do it?]

In another plane of existence, a red-haired girl was intently studying complex diagrams and practicing hand gestures. A beast, larger and more terrible than most minds can cope with, approached and looked at her with the pride of a master.

%YOU HAVEN'T LOOKED AT YOUR HOME WORLD IN A LONG TIME.%

"What's the point? I have much to do. And since we have accelerated time here, every time I look it's more or less the same thing." She didn't even look at him.

%IT'S NOT THE SAME THING NOW. YOU SHOULD LOOK.% ...

Previously on 58.5:

Since the beginning of April, one LNHer (sometimes more) was picked as leader, every day, and disappeared at midnight. That wouldn't be such a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that April has already lasted for 290 days.

A few weeks ago, the Looniearth was invaded by an alternate LNH from the "Evilverse". They defeated most of the remaining members of the "real" LNH, and took over Net.ropolis. President Luthor then decided to seal the city in a force field. The New Misfits got stuck inside it, where they joined the Resistance, which strangely enough, is led by the Crime Empire, which in turn is led by Paraddox (formerly Weirdness Magnet) and Vector Prime (a.k.a. the Melissa Virus). ...

(13:10:12) Lalo: Why do I read comics?
(13:10:42) 美: because you're a dork. Any inteligent person would had quit by now.
(13:10:59) 美: *beats DC and Marvel*
(13:11:56) Lalo: Kord is alive, Bucky is alive, Uncle Ben was alive for a while there, Barry Allen is alive, Supergirl is alive (if a little brain-dead), Peter Parker never married... what's next, the Waynes?
(13:12:38) 美: You're late. I made this joke more than 12 hours ago.
(13:14:44) 美: that's why I only read Tek Jansen.
(13:15:28) 美: I'm seriously tired of comics.
(13:15:38) 美: I don't enjoy reading it anymore.
(13:16:13) Lalo: I suppose I still enjoy looking for the diamonds in the middle of the shit
(13:16:36) Lalo: Morrison still writes some pretty fucked up stuff now and then, but you have to read everything he writes to catch it
(13:16:38) 美: I stopped giving a fuck long ago.
(13:17:11) 美: it demands energy I prefer devoting to books at this point in my life :/
(13:17:17) Lalo: Fables is awesome, Booster Gold is hilarious (except that the last storyline just isn't working), Blue Beetle is BSG-cool
(13:18:04) 美: :P
(13:19:55) 美: As I said, one shit too many.
(13:20:23) 美: or should I say one ton of shit too many?
(13:20:36) Lalo: Well, if they keep trying this hard, I suppose I'll get to that point too
(13:21:02) 美: no, you won't.
(13:21:08) 美: You'll be the last reader.
(13:21:12) 美: srsly man.
(13:21:50) 美: You'll only quit this shit in your grave.
(13:21:54) 美: XD
(13:23:00) Lalo: well, I'm going to blog this entire conversation.
(13:23:29) 美: hahahahah then let it be said that comics is your crack.
(13:24:26) 美: It will eventually kill you, but you won't be able to quit it. XD
(13:25:01) Lalo: Thanks, you just gave the post a title too :-P
(13:25:24) 美: I'm that nice to you, you know.
(13:26:33) 美: Wanna talk more with an ex-addicted? XD
(13:26:44) Lalo: bout what?
(13:28:47) 美: About comics, duh. Holy shit, did it kill all your brain cells already? Would explain why the fuck you keep reading.
(13:32:01) Lalo: I mean, hmm
(13:35:31) 美: You can always tell me about the worst titles you've read. I know I'm a masochist.
(13:35:38) Lalo: lol
(13:35:57) Lalo: Well, hmm... Jim Starlin is clearly a skrull
(13:36:29) Lalo: the man who wrote all those awesome comics in the 70s and 80s must be imprisoned in some skrull dungeon with the real Chris Claremont
(13:37:04) 美: (that actually reminds me of the blog idea you had. :P)
(13:38:17) Lalo: Death of the New Gods was impossibly dumb, and Countdown was mindfuckingly bad; but their individual stupidity was compounded by the fact that the two endings, already ridiculous enough, were incompatible with each other.
(13:38:59) Lalo: In DONG (that's the best acronym for a bad book ever), Darkseid collects the souls of all New Gods and takes on the Source; then leaves for Earth for unknown reasons, and the mini is over.
(13:39:31) 美: Hahahahahhahah, Dong XD
(13:39:51) Lalo: In C2FC, he gets to Earth to recover the souls which were stored in Jimmy Olsen, but Ray Palmer destroys the "soul battery" (?!?!?) before he can recover them; then Orion shows up and kicks his ass.
(13:39:58) Lalo: hmmmmmmmmmmmm... yeah, ok.
(13:40:22) Lalo: Hyperflies, you know.
(13:40:25) 美: Wait a sec. Orion?
(13:41:04) Lalo: Yeah, Darkseid's son who was according to prophecies supposed to kill him one day
(13:41:10) Lalo: And he did
(13:41:20) 美: C2FC? Sounds like a Star Wars droid.
(13:41:31) Lalo: "Countdown 2 Final Crisis"
(13:42:06) 美: Ah, ok. *point to the DONG* He walked with the New Gods, right?
(13:42:36) Lalo: Yeah, he was raised in New Genesis by the Highfather. Dude in red spandex and silver helmet with a sun in the forehead.
(13:42:56) 美: and by walk I mean 'holy shit, I'm sleepy I can't speak english anymore.'
(13:42:59) Lalo: To add insult to injury, after those two stupid and incompatible endings, we'll be having Final Crisis, which starts from the premise that Darkseid "won" (won what?) and is now all-powerful. eeeeeeeeeeeer... WTF?
(13:43:06) 美: I remember. Very gay.
(13:43:18) ***Lalo headdesks
(13:43:29) 美: hhahaahhaahhahaah, we should start discussing comics in LOLspeak, man! \o/
(13:44:46) Lalo: Oh, and minor annoying detail, the end of this "story" in C2FC #2 was out two weeks before its buildup in DONG #8. I think someone took the backwards numbering of C2FC a bit too far...
(13:45:24) 美: Ok, now my brain hurts.
(13:45:30) Lalo: yeah.

The character 气 means steam, vapour, air; it also means "qi" or "chi", as in the martial arts concept; it also means, when used as a verb, to anger, to make angry. Discovering this made a lot of Anime scenes that previously made zero sense suddenly understandable!

I've been enjoying Battlestar Galactica season 4, yes, but for some reason, not as much as I expected.  It was disappointing, it was missing something, and I was having trouble putting my finger on what.  Today I figured it out.

I'm having a hard time caring about it, because those aren't the characters I so painstakingly learned to love.

Now, I do believe that characters that change, evolve, grow, and yes, even devolve sometimes, are essential to good storytelling.  My problem with comics these days is that most things that change, eventually get rolled back to "status quo" by a different writer (or editor) that didn't like them.  So I'm glad those guys are changing.  However, changing too many of them at the same time is a mistake, because your audience will feel lost, abandoned.  I don't recognise these people, and as such, I don't give a frak about them.

The only ones that didn't get completely turned upside down (or airlocked) were, let me see, the Admiral, Helo, and Athena.  But I never really cared too much for the Admiral, and I positively dislike Helo, which leaves me only the Toaster Babe... who made, if memory serves, one appearance in this season.

I suppose if I count recurring characters, I still have Cottle and Zarek to smile about.  Oh, Gaeta didn't change much, but he changed a lot in season 3, and I can't stand him anymore.  Ah yeah, and Racetrack... the most boring character in the series, worse than Simon even.  I was surprised to notice I actually felt disappointed last episode when she failed to die.  Sigh.

Now to be honest, I do like the new Lee more than the old one; and Sam is finally getting developed into an actual character.  So it isn't all bad.  Heck, it's not bad at all in absolute terms, because stuff is happening; it's just, I feel like I have to get to know the characters all over again, I feel... well, lost and abandoned.

Maybe I'll feel better when D'anna returns.  Er... she will, won't she?

.....

Ok, just to put some more volume into the post, I'll share my pet BSG mad theories :-P  Those aren't new, but stuff I've been musing for some time.  Spoiler warnings: if you haven't finished season 3 yet, stop reading!

Since season 1 I decided Ellen was a cylon.  What's crazy about that, you ask?  Well, I didn't think she was a previously unseen model, but rather, an (artificially) aged 6.  I thought I just had to share this, in light of the last episode.  Very funny.

And, I don't think Starbuck is a cylon; I think, instead, she's the real first hybrid!  That could explain her crazy powers... her mystery daddy may be Cavil (model 1), Tigh, or the final one.  There's something about the idea of Kara as Tigh's daughter that just makes me cackle.

Finally, not a theory but a wish, I'd really like to see the cylons resurrect some human, just to freak us out.  I mean, if they're as similar to humans as they keep saying, there should be nothing preventing their resurrection system to work for a human, right?  I guess Baltar would be the perfect candidate (they had plenty of chance to get whatever information they need to do it), but Cally would be fun to see too.

Today, I was shocked and awed to learn that in Brazil, ATMs still close at night. It reminds me of the old Brazilian joke about the restaurant that closes for lunch.

I was still living there when this was first done, as a temporary measure to save energy during a brownout. Then after the energy crisis was over, the banks decided to keep it a little longer, because of the interesting Brazilian phenomenon of the "flash kidnapping": criminals will pick up someone who looks like they have money (preferably drunk), take the person to the ATM, and demand a ransom. Ah, the wonders of technology; in the old days you'd have to wait days for a ransom, and go to the trouble of having a place to store the hostage, feed him, all that unending mafan...

Now seriously. I can understand this as a temporary solution. But it strikes me that places everywhere else in the world still have ATMs, and they don't close at night. And really, what are ATMs for, if not for getting money when the banks are closed? The logic behind this measure amazes me. Freedom for security? Apparently, we're willing to throw in comfort, convenience, heck, even logic!

Well, bank agencies get robbed, so let's not have banks anymore.  And let's fill all dark alleys with concrete and build over all squares so that drug dealers have no place to work anymore, why not?

Hey wait a minute, I have a brilliant idea! What about we don't have CORNERS anymore??? Think about it! No prostitutes, no traffic accidents...

Oh man, and people say China is hardcore.  And people ask me when I'm going back!  Care to take a guess?

Lots of sci-fi fans and non-fans all over the world are rejoicing that Battlestar Galactica is finally -- after a long break -- returning for its fourth and last season.

But I'm frequently surprised, puzzled, and annoyed by hyperbole like: Yet BSG has done for the post-Roddenberry space western what Tony and Co. did for the post-Coppola mob tale: exhumed a mummified subgenre and reanimated it with all the relevant eschatological dread and martial hysteria of millennial America. BSG was, for a while there, the most important show on television.

WTF? Seriously, WTF?

I'm a card-carrying, t-shirt-wearing BSG fan, don't get me wrong. I think it's one of the best series I've ever seen.

But from there to bashing sci-fi? "Mummified"? Really? No. Just no.

Whoever expresses a point of view like that either:

• Is trying to hard -- or just being sensationalistic to get more page views.


• Has no idea what they're talking about, probably parroting something they heard.


• Was blown out of their mind by the coolness of BSG. (Hey, it happens.)


• Has never seen, say, Firefly, or Torchwood, or Babylon 5.

BSG is cool. It is very relevant it that it made a lot of people watch sci-fi for the first time ever, or for the first time in years.

But please, let's keep it in perspective. There's nothing new or revolutionary about "realistic" sci-fi; it has happened before, and it will happen again. If anything, I think the greatest merit of BSG is reminding a lot of people of what (good) sci-fi is about. Not visual effects, fancy make-up, lasers, explosions, fistfights, strange aliens. It's a medium for talking about whatever is important to the author; it's a kind of fiction that uses a situation removed from the viewer/reader's reality, in order to create a detachment, and make it possible for us to think about certain things from that detached point of view (which can be used either to make us more objective, or more flexible).

Let's thank Ronald Moore and crew for an awesome work of fiction. Let's enjoy this season. But when it's over -- or, if you're anxious, even between episodes -- let's not feel abandoned. Those DVDs of Firefly, Babylon 5, The Outer Limits, etc are not that expensive. Heck, with any luck, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles may even drift away from the gunfights and explosions into a deeper exploration of what it is to be human.

This one would be the kind of place you go to get drunk. The booze is top-quality, although it's sometimes wise not to ask where it comes from; the bartender knows what you like, and a glance is all you have to do to order; the prices are reasonable; and you always meet the same few whackheads, whom you enjoy and find very funny. You could even consider them your friends, if you had ever seen them sober.

(Little "meme"-ish thing I picked up from BLUG colleague Melanie Parsons Gao)

Got this from a very reliable source.

This weekend, the comeback episodes of two fan-favourite series -- Battlestar Galactica and Doctor Who -- come with a historical cross-over. First, Starbuck's return is explained, not by her being a Cylon, but by a timely intervention by a certain Time Lord. After saving the maverick blonde, he proceeds to tell her where, after all, is this "Earth" place. He then takes her there to see it, where they discover Martha Jones is really the Last Cylon! The two of them then run back to Galactica for help, leading directly into the events of the BSG season 3 finale...

Highlights: Jack Harkness (John Barrowman) sets up a sevensome with Gaius Baltar (James Callis), #6 (Tricia Helfer), #3 (Lucy Lawless), #9 (Freema Agyeman), Starbuck (Kattee Sackhoff) and a Viper (Clint Eastwood).

It's a sci-fi series, a very popular spin-off from another, very popular sci-fi series which has been going on for much longer than these series usually last. They have two "chief" doctors clashing in the lab; the guy who has been there since the beginning of the series, who just came back from the dead (although with complications), and a pretty girl, loved by the fans, played by an actress who had a very popular role in another sci-fi series...
Which series am I talking about?

I think "real life" really is some kind of massively multiplayer virtual reality game. That explains why people have such radically different priorities in life (different kinds of player, maybe different character "classes"!), and why there are so many mediocre people in the world (those belong to "casual gamers" who leave the character on auto most of the time).

Previously on 58.5:

Since the beginning of April, one LNHer (sometimes more) was picked as leader, every day, and disappeared at midnight. That wouldn't be such a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that April has already lasted for 290 days.

A few weeks ago, the Looniearth was invaded by an alternate LNH from the "Evilverse". They defeated most of the remaining members of the "real" LNH, and took over Net.ropolis. President Luthor then decided to seal the city in a force field. The New Misfits got stuck inside it, where they joined the Resistance, which strangely enough, is led by the Crime Empire, which in turn is led by Paraddox (formerly Weirdness Magnet) and Vector Prime (a.k.a. the Melissa Virus). ...

Previously on 58.5:

Since the beginning of April, one LNHer (sometimes more) was picked as leader, every day, and disappeared at midnight. That wouldn't be such a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that April has already lasted for 290 days.

A few weeks ago, the Looniearth was invaded by an alternate LNH from the "Evilverse". They defeated most of the remaining members of the "real" LNH, and took over Net.ropolis. President Luthor then decided to seal the city in a force field. The New Misfits got stuck inside it, where they joined the Resistance, which strangely enough, is led by the Crime Empire, which in turn is led by Paraddox (formerly Weirdness Magnet) and Vector Prime (a.k.a. the Melissa Virus). ...

This is a random thought that Fred actually asked me to blog yesterday :-)

You have probably heard the theory that every work of fiction actually happens in an alternate universe somewhere. Heck, we play this premise to death on the LNH.

Well. I consider the 80s definite proof of this theory. It was a whole decade during which we were the setting for some other universe's comedy writers. And really, what kind of person could be cruel enough to come up with the likes of Reagan or Mitterrand? And that fashion, oh, that fashion!

Previously on 58.5:

Since the beginning of April, one LNHer (sometimes more) was picked as leader, every day, and disappeared at midnight. That wouldn't be such a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that April has already lasted for 289 days.

A few weeks ago, the Looniearth was invaded by an alternate LNH from the "Evilverse". They defeated most of the remaining members of the "real" LNH, and took over Net.ropolis. President Luthor then decided to seal the city in a force field. The New Misfits got stuck inside it, where they joined the Resistance, which strangely enough, is led by the Crime Empire, which in turn is led by Paraddox (formerly Weirdness Magnet) and Vector Prime (a.k.a. the Melissa Virus). ...

Previously on 58.5:

Since the beginning of April, one LNHer (sometimes more) was picked as leader, every day, and disappeared at midnight. That wouldn't be such a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that April has already lasted for 285 days.

A few weeks ago, the Looniearth was invaded by an alternate LNH from the "Evilverse". They defeated most of the remaining members of the "real" LNH, and took over Net.ropolis. President Luthor then decided to seal the city in a force field. The New Misfits got stuck inside it, where they joined the Resistance, which strangely enough, is led by the Crime Empire, which in turn is led by Paraddox (formerly Weirdness Magnet) and Vector Prime (a.k.a. the Melissa Virus). ...

Today I'm borrowing some wisdom from Ultraje a Rigor, one of my favourite Brazilian rock bands.

Free translation:

"To live in this country is like having your mom in the red light zone. You know she's no good, but you love her anyway. Not that I have anything against bed professionals, but it's the sons of that dame, you know what it's called..." ("Filha da Puta", 1989)

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Italian spaghetti with mapodoufu. Yummy! Why didn't I think of this before?

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Yes, she's a geek.

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

In calm and fragrant flavour

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Previously on 58.5:

Since the beginning of April, one LNHer (sometimes more) was
picked as leader, every day, and disappeared at midnight. That
wouldn't be such a big deal, if it wasn't for the fact that
April has already lasted for 285 days.

A few weeks ago, the Looniearth was invaded by an alternate LNH
from the "Evilverse". They defeated most of the remaining
members of the "real" LNH, and took over Net.ropolis. President
Luthor then decided to seal the city in a force field. The New
Misfits got stuck inside it, but what can a few newbie heroes do
against an entire LNH with "no redeeming qualities"?

=============================-=============================
...

One problem I think many people (American or not) have with trying to understand America, is the assumption that it's one whole country pursuing this elusive "American Dream" they talk about so much. A land where all people are "equal" (at least to the extent that they work hard to enforce their own rights), and free to pursue their own ideas of happiness.

I eventually realised this idea is not, in fact, true. The "American Dream" was already achieved, a long time ago (probably right after their Civil War, or during, or a little before it). One of the purest expression of the American Dream is the wild west. But the difference in lifestyle between, say, New York, Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, Texas, Utah, and California in the late 19th Century is also another prime example. (Yeah, I realise I'm mixing cities and states. Don't bother me with details!)

America lived the dream for over a hundred years. Then at some point in the early 20th Century, they got bored and went after something else. And that's the key to understanding the country.

This candle isn't burning very brightly, because the wick is too short. Lesson? It's not bright to be insufficiently wicked.

If one of the holiday themes is milk... well, then it can't be a sin to drink some coffee too, eh?

So Brigid is a Goddess of inspiration, and I have on occasion lighted a candle for her when writing. But when coding? Well, why not? Being both a poet and a smith, I can't help wondering how she'd feel about computers.

A lot of candles in a small space can get pretty warm. Yes, even those ridiculous tiny candles.

[semi-Acraphobe warning: nudity, graphical violence, sexual suggestions, nothing too serious I think]

"That's a hero's death", said the humanoid kiwi.

"I'd agree if I agreed with the field at all", answered Sgt. Lauro Graziani, a few breaths away from his death after being blasted by a powerful Evilverse LNHer. "As it is, I think it's a coward's choice, and I'm not prepared to die for it. Help me out here?"

"What are you trying to do?"

"I have a small statue in my pocket. A god I've chosen to worship and who has been pretty good at protecting me. I want ...

Please choose up to 20 friends from the list below and click "Invite". If you don't, you'll be redirected back to this page until you do.

...

Seriously, come on Facebook, isn't it about time you started banning apps that do this?

"We need more net.a.humans to help us install--" Dramatic Pause Lass plugged a small device into the television, which came to life showing some diagrams. Sammy and Daniel whistled. "This."

"I'm sure Contraption Boy and Analytic are very impressed", said Blackbird, "but for most of us, these diagrams are completely meaningless. Care to educate us?"

Contraption Boy was the one to speak up, however. "It's a mesh-networked, AI-powered hive of force field generators. They would work together to compensate any kind of attempt to get past them. Matter, energy, anything... although this one seems to be programmed to let sunlight through."

"For a very strict definition of sunlight, yes", said a soldier ...

The bad new is, thanks to one of Beijing's viruses, the ball ended up not happening :-(

However, I still had a really, really wonderful new year's eve. Spent the whole day (and half the 30th and half the 1st) with Eva. We had a wonderful time, got to know each other a bit better (and like each other a bit more), watched some Battlestar Galactica, and had hotpot with a few good friends for dinner on the 31st.

Today she brought some Chinese magazines, introducing me to the wonderful local world of fantasy and comics fans. Now get this, she writes for those magazines. (The significance of this will probably not be clear to my Beijing readers, so I guess I should tell you, I wrote for an RPG magazine in Brazil for over 5 years.) One of those was a black-and-white magazine containing mostly fiction, with a single small colour section in the middle; in this issue, the colour part was entirely used by Eva's article on Spider-Man. On the other magazine, she wrote an article about women (characters), which seems really interesting and I wish I could read.

So yeah, it seems this is the real thing, the one I've been looking for ;-) 2008 seems very good indeed!

"We are the Lodge of Nightmarish Horror[*]", said the man on
television. He looked and sounded like Fearless Leader from the
Legion of Net.Heroes, and went by the same name. But... "We're
not from your Looniverse; we come from a place we call the
Evilverse. Everything you think of as good, is an alien concept
for us. What you see as 'redeeming' qualities, we see as
weaknesses, and we have none. There's no resistance movement,
no 'fifth column' that you can count on. We do have enemies,
but you'd find them even more scary. We have already defeated
your LNH, and we're claiming your planet -- and later your
universe -- for ourselves. Any resistance will be dealt with
harshly and swiftly."

[*You have the right to think it's lame. But come on, give the
writer a break; it's getting hard to come up with things for the
...

What do you know... it seems I have a girlfriend!

(Gasps, shock, awe, screams, heart attacks)

Wait, there's more. Eva is not a pretty airhead that I found to help me feel less lonely. She's a True Geek™, who's into the Internet, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, mythology, and maybe more importantly, into geeks and into being a geek, about as much as me.

(Gasps, shock, awe, screams, heart attacks)

Wait, did I mention sci-fi geek? She's an Asimov fan. No kidding. (And a candy for any reader who can figure out this post's title. No, Xuedi, Ollo, and Eva, you three don't count.)

Our "first date" was a "chuan'r night" with the BLUG yesterday. We both enjoyed it immensely, and walked out of there in agreement that we were together. Next week there are a few holidays, so the future looks bright. (Of course, one of the downsides of dating a woman who's actually interesting and intelligent, is that sometimes she'll be busy; this week we can't meet again because she has a lot of business dinners, which is pretty common in China in the week before a holiday -- the "holiday rush" to get all business sorted out before the other party disappears...)

Oh well. Quite a find, and I'm sure she feels the same. All I can say is: Finally :-)

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

"So we're in agreement then?", asked Substitute Lad. Although Fearless Leader was back and had assumed the position of leader[*], Pulls-Paper-Out-Of-Hats Lad was secretly still picking a new leader every day, except for the day when the LNH "came back". This quiet insurrection started out of the misgivings Fourth Wall Lass, Contraption Man, and WikiBoy had about the returnees. And today, according to the hat, Substitute Lad was the leader; which seemed oddly appropriate.

[* 58.5 #17 -- Evil Footnote Girl]

"We've been investigating for almost three weeks, and although I do find their behavior strange, we uncovered nothing", said Contraption Man. The "rebel" LNHers were meeting in a cafe near the HQ, a cozy place called Jordan's. ...

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

(Or stir-fried string beans.)

This is one of my favourite dishes; for the first time, I made my own, and it turned out quite all right! A bit too spicy, but that's not really a problem...

Oh, and I elected to use meat strips (rousi) rather than ground meat (rouxian), because it always bothers me in this dish how the meat is hard to find!

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

(Or stir-fried string beans.)

This is one of my favourite dishes; for the first time, I made my own, and it turned out quite all right! A bit too spicy, but that's not really a problem...

Oh, and I elected to use meat strips (rousi) rather than ground meat (rouxian), because it always bothers me in this dish how the meat is hard to find!

Lalo Martins posted a photo:

(Or stir-fried string beans.)

This is one of my favourite dishes; for the first time, I made my own, and it turned out quite all right! A bit too spicy, but that's not really a problem...

Oh, and I elected to use meat strips (rousi) rather than ground meat (rouxian), because it always bothers me in this dish how the meat is hard to find!

Four people were walking out of the Lost Cause Boy Memorial Hospital. They looked quite unremarkable; all with dark hair, two men and two younger girls, one of them with light-brown-ish skin, one of the guys Latino-white, the other two pretty regular Net.ropolis people. They were all dressing in normal clothes, slightly out of fashion.

Of course, in Net.ropolis, people don't say "looks can be deceiving" anymore; they say "looks are deceiving". (Younger people usually say "looks are worth $#!+" or something like that.) In fact, the thinner girl wasn't a girl at all, and her hair wasn't really black, usually. S/he normally walks around with green hair, and his own features are neither completely male or female, since she is in essence, both. But Green Delaware (a.k.a. Tree-Hugging Kid) has, as one of his powers, ...