Saturday, July 31, 2010

Welcome Back To The Herpes Shore

Welcome Back To The Herpes Shore

I.. really don't know how to justify it other than it's like watching a car wreck on the side of the road. You want to look away. You really don't want to see the headless body of the passenger laid out on the pavement, but you look anyway. You can't justify it other than there's some level of morbid curiosity there.. That's you're waiting for that massive fuck up that makes your life feel more whole and happy that you're not them. This is my fascination to the Jersey Shores.



How else can you admit to watching it? Well, I guess you could go the ironic route. Years ago we've accepted that MTV will never show music videos again and hey, at least this isn't The Hills, right? But sure enough, the whole gang are getting back together to have a second season of Jersey Shore. This time they've taken their long box of issues down to Miami.

And when I say that the gang is getting back together, I mean the whole gang. The once self-exiled Angelina, who left due to some boyfriend issues last season is brought back. You have the other cast members who are a car wreck all to themselves. It's only a question of time and amount of alcohol consumption before they do something stupid.



At first hearing news that a season 2 was going to happen I sort of dreaded it not being watchable. I mean, watchable compared to season 1. In that first season there was some innocence there. They had this misguided notion that they were celebrities and it got them in situations where they got into fights and punched around a lot. That was pure comedy.

This time they actually are pseudo celebrities. The small amount of sincerity they had going will be completely gone. You don't think just walking around Florida's beaches gets them with groupies and asked to take pictures/autographs? Or I could be wrong and they'll be even more full of themselves which could just as easily lead to them still getting into stupid hijinks and eventually punched in the face even more.



I have to point out that Pauly has got to be the biggest walking cliche ever. I mean, besides his attitude, he has gotten every cliche tattoo that existed in the past 10 years. Tribal Dragon, tribal angel wings, bicep band, Celtic cross, elbow star thing. How much more of a tool can he be?

I think Vinnie has to be the best cast member of the show because he's somewhat aware of what's going on. He's the sort of straight man of this buddy comedy of over the top characters. It does seem like he knows it's all a joke and that he can squeeze all he wants out of his 15 minutes of fame.



Besides, he already fucked the situation's sister, everything else he does is gravy from here on out. Then you have the return of Angela. And I wonder why they even bothered. Did she realize that leaving like 2-3 episodes into the show the last time really destroyed her ability to make millions of bucks?

I mean, no one gives a shit about Angelina. No one. What exactly has she been busy doing after realizing that she fucked up by leaving the show? I guess bartending and doing nothing. Last season I was sort of glad she left when she did because it felt like she was preventing any of the guys from getting laid. Then after she left and they continued to strike out every night, I realized all that really left was another reason for everyone in the house to get into more fights. So tossing Angelina just meant you have someone else to light that fire of a potential fight... So it's actually a welcome surprise.


The only question that remains is who will bang Angelina first? The Situation or Pauly D? Put your money down on this one, it's a bet worth taking. Then again, maybe neither will and she'll probably just leave again before the third episode.

But for those of you who are already worried that this new season of fun is going to be it for your ability to see fucking morons make fools out of themselves on television, fear not, this piece of news broke yesterday when Snooki was arrested.
What you’re witnessing here is a drunk as all hell Snooki getting arrested in Seaside Heights, N.J. today while filming an episode of Jersey Shore. TMZ says she was picked up for disorderly conduct, but based on these photos of her buying a beer bong, I’m going to assume someone called in an eight-year-old boy getting shit-faced on the boardwalk. Or possibly a small bear cub. Then again, these officers don’t look like they’re from the game commission.


That imagine right there makes me never want to have kids. Or at least be scared shit less that my kids will eventually end up like that. But that should be a huge spoiler for Jersey Shore season 3, when they return back to the actual Jersey Shore.

And if you can't wait for that, then perhaps you'll have the Asian version of Jersey Shore in K-Town, if MTV plans on picking it up.

As if the world could handle another Snooki, singer-model-actor Tyrese Gibson is producing a show called "K-Town," which TMZ dubbed "Like Jersey Shore', but with Asians." The pilot was shot in Los Angeles a week ago and has yet to be picked up by MTV, but if the drinking, muscles and attractiveness of the cast are factored in, it could be a big hit.

The cast is already set up on Twitter, where you can catch bon mots from former exotic dancer Scarlet Chan such as "I love the orgies scene in True Blood.. I wanna hook up with a Vampire so bad." Word. Or try out Peter Le, who runs a softcore wesbite and shames Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino with his rippling abdominals. In fact, Queerty takes up the burning question of Le's straightness, and dubs him "The Situasian."

Oh man... that sounds.. truly truly awful. I mean, I always associate K-town with All you can eat Korean BBQ and cheap rent. I guess the comedy will be there whenever morons act stupid, right.

Friday, July 30, 2010

Oh Arizona, You So Crazy

Oh Arizona, You So Crazy

Somehow I got myself on the recieving end of a free year membership to the NRA. I have no idea how, but for some reason I'm on it and so is my e-mail. I guess I pissed off one too many republicans in my blog and they signed me up. Anyway, I got the following e-mail in my inbox the other day and I'm just confused about it.
Dear Fellow Patriots,

I'm sending you this special appeal today because I am supporting a good friend who needs your help with a very important mission, and I am hoping you will respond as soon as you can... today if possible.

WE FACE AN EMERGENCY! Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Janet Napolitano and Eric Holder – just to name a few of the leading liberals who support AMNESTY – are rallying their forces in Washington, DC and around the nation.

They are planning an all-out assault on our nation and our efforts to stop illegal immigration by GRANTING AMNESTY to the 23 MILLION illegal aliens currently in the United States.
Holy shit! 23 MILLION of them?!? And they're all sleeper agents waiting to unleash the war on America?! Factor in that they breed like dessert jackrabbits and we're talking about 500 billion more brown people by 2012... if not sooner!

The good ol' Sheriff goes on to say..
For years, I've been called "America's Toughest Sheriff" because I enforce the law and go after the criminals, even when the Liberals in the media and the Socialists in Washington disagree. Today, I'm asking you to support B.A.N. – BanAmnestyNow.com – because they are America's toughest anti-illegal immigration organization, and they are our best hope for stopping the Obama Amnesty scheme in its tracks.

You and I already know that Barack Obama has pledged to pass Amnesty for Illegals this year! And the Obama White House has recently held meetings with political and community groups with millions of members around the nation to plot a strategy toward passage of a massive new Amnesty plan that includes a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants in America today.

As a conservative, I trust you believe as I do that we must secure ourborders. I trust you believe as I do that we cannot reward criminalbehavior by granting amnesty to illegal aliens who broke the law. And Itrust that you will join me now by supporting BanAmnestyNow.com!
Now I know what you're thinking: "He bolded some of that shit because he wanted to point out something stupid." Nope. That shit was bolded by the good ol' Sherdirff Jew Arpapaya himself... PERSONALLY using a Made in the USA bolding key board shortcut.

But this man isn't done yet, no sir. Look at the rest
P.S. Individuals who contribute $50 or more before June 30, 2010 will receive as a special “thank you” a BanAmnestyNow.com bumper sticker and a VIP invitation to the upcoming B.A.N. kickoff TELE-TOWN-HALL with Sen. Russell Pearce. Please join our team today! What we need most right now is YOU!
I say God fucking damn the LIEberals have delayed this mail so that I did not recieve it until a week after the cut off. I wanted to be all up on this amazingly awesome twon hall meeting. I have always loved Russel Pearce! I think but now fuck a golden opportunity missed forever. This just makes me furious! Almost as furious as illegals coming into our country and taking are jobs away does!

So won't you help me and Joe out. I mean, Sheriff Joe is really the Greatest American Hero, right? You know, the only important email you can get from Sheriff Joe is one where he details his location and you just go and assassinate him with a bullet inscribed with one word: Adios.

Just remember that there are millions of people who support forcibly rounding up all "illegals" placing them in camps and deporting them in a process which would inevitably murder tens of thousands and deport thousands of citizens and lega residents. There's no way there are 23 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.

But if there really were 23 million "illegals" and during the roundup/mass deportation only 1% of them were killed "resisting" that is 230,000 human being murdered for the crime of wanting a better life for them and their families. You have to also remember that it's fairly obvious that if all the illegals were spirited away to Oz right now, the economy of the US would more or less collapse and it's comical that it's never discussed.

Targeting individual immigrants is typical bullshit, how about actually fining employers $500,000 per illegal employees, or maybe 10k for the first and 500k for the next citation. I'm sure that would end illegal immigration as we know it as every employer will make sure they hire someone with proper paper work.



The thing that's funny about this is that these are the same people who were horrirfied at liberals demonizing the President George Bush during war time. As if it was against all the laws to do so. You know, if you don't stand behind our troops, perhaps you should stand in front of them sort of bullshit mentality.

Wouldn't decriminalization of drugs be a much better way of stemming the flow of illegals into the US by cutting violent cartel profits and making Mexico less of a shit hole or am I just dumb. Actually, it would probably cause a dramatic upsurge in violence as the cartels fight to maintain what profits they do have. Though this wouldn't las long. It goes
1. Underground systematic violence.
2. Legalization confusion probably a lot of violence
3. Eternal peace.

So hey, let's just get legal weed! Though he'd have no way of running his campaign to remain King of Maricopa County if they decided to just make any ammeisty law that would work. How will I threaten my cleaning lady without the normal "I'll call INS on you, Bitch!" I really wish the dude who bought FUCKJOEARPAIO.COM would do something with it.

Don't think I'm extremely loose on this one siding with undocumented folks. I don't get how progressive democrats or whatever are all so for illegal immigration. What's good about that? Why don't we scrap NAFTA so that Mexico can have competitive exports or something? What does letting every illegal immigrant in without repercussions mean, but a race to the bottom? It's like when they say 'they do jobs Americans won't do'. This is really saying they do jobs Americans wouldn't do at illegal immigrant deflated wages and benefits.

I know we're all so above the idea of the nation state and the state only exists for wars and so on, but what's wrong with protecting all the hard won social safety nets helping rebuild Meixco so they don't need to come to America. None of this excuses the fact that Joe Arpaio treats Mexicans like they have no rights, he's a scumbag. But we should take a moment to look at how to actually fix the problem.

"But... I came here when I was 3... I don't even speak Spanish!"
"And? Get the fuck in the cattle car, Mojado. Next stop Juarez!"

The sad part is that Joe Arpaio is going to be the next president of the united states.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Should You Even Bother With Saving For Retirement?

Should You Even Bother With Saving For Retirement?

In theory it really probably is a good idea to save for retirement, but let's be real here, you're probably asking yourself if you should you really bother saving for retirement. Depends on if you plan on being old sometime. I don't plan to ever be old, so I don't.

I mean, who the fuck am I kidding maxing out my Roth IRA contribution? I'm a fairly average 30 year old living in some shit hole I'm trying to fix up so I can maybe some day be a slumlord. Who the fuck do I think I am? Some fucking millionaire or something come the year 2040 because I followed what my rich boomer parents told me to do in between golf games? I mean, seriously, let's be honest, do you really think the human race will still exist in 2040?

You should follow my lead and start withdrawing that shit tomorrow. I'm a fucking retard for buying into this retirement scam. It's very simple if you find yourself being asked if you should save for your future? Probably not. Mainly because there's a chance there will be no future.

Fuck this gay earth. Fuck it to hell. Ride that nuke bomb all the way down like in Dr. Strangelove. Didn't you read my piece on BP's giant fart bubble? Yeah, if that giant bubble of methane under the gulf coast bubbles up like some crazy dude on the internet predicts, then I wouldn't worry about seeing next year, let alone retirement. The entire earth is going to die thanks to the incompetence of oil giants.

Some crazy dude on the internet predicted that doom would come like it did in a global extinction event 250 million years ago.. in the form of a big fart cloud of death. Methane pockets blowing up and all of us dying. You're telling me you don't believe him?! If you did then none of this would matter. Besides, you're in America. We're always finding ways to fuck everyone who lives here.

But back to retirement - You have to figure that with most work places eliminating their .0000002% 401k contribution that any of the $200 a month or so you could put spare on saving probably wouldn't even keep up with the rate of inflation anyway. Besides the pain that not having that $200 would inflict would probably be worse than the pleasure of being $15,000 or so richer when you're 80.

So it's really the best time to invest your retirement funds... into guns, ammunition, durable food, batteries, gasoline... and so forth. Here's what you do, Buy a gun and some bullets and start robbing people. Your retirement plan should be to fulfill your kill list in your golden years.

Now that I think about it, maybe you should save all the money you can, because the ruling class will prevent our economy from experiencing inflation even if it means a 90% unemployment rate. But it's still worth getting that gun because the mob justice in that situation will be a real threat.

At work there's all these posters around the art department with dudes beating themselves up for not saving properly because now they have a to golf at a B rate resort instead of an A rated resort. I think when the revolution comes, the golf courses will be the first to get torched. But the mini-golf places will still be around for the surviving boomers to enjoy. You can't be THAT terrible to your elders, you know.

If you have to have your monopoly money, you should just keep it in savings and pray they don't implement a federal sales tax on your ass. Maybe you could bury your money underground in a fallout shelter alongside your non-perishables so you can survive the eventual breakdown of society which is going to happen in our lifetime.

Let's be real. It's not going to be another scenario like when the boomers leeched off their kids. That sort of scam only works once. I would highly advise reading The Road and just using that as a guide for when the eventual dooms day situation happens and you find yourself faced with surviving day to day.

I mean, if you want real world advice, you could consider doing something which will continue to generate income long after you've stopped working. Write a good book, produce a good piece of art, and so forth. Do something that tickles the human psyche and contribute to humanity as a whole. I mean, that's what I'm planning on eventually doing.

What? Did you think that I write a blog a day but can't write a book? Unlike the blog, people might actually read it.

If nothing else, saving for "Retirement" might give you a little bit of financial breathing room for when you're inevitably downsized and can't find another job for months because everyone who graduated in the last 50 years with a humanities degree is also trying to find a shitty retail job.

I'm no financial adviser of any sort, so don't take my word for it, but maybe you should save just enough to buy a hand gun. Yes, that's it. Buy a gun. You only need one bullet in the chamber at all time for when you finally feel like being free of the suffering that is capitalism.

In the end, you should just live a fun life in the moment and day to day. Then when it stops being fun, just kill yourself. Or you could do what I hope to do and save about 20k, move to a third world country and live out your last 20 years like a king.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Comic Con - You'd Give Your Left Eye To Be There!

Comic Con - You'd Give Your Left Eye To Be There!

I was going to call this "Comic Con - Let's Get This Party Started" because I always feel like parties should be started up in here, you know. But I couldn't pass up the chance for this one. What made it so topical? Well, more on that later.

First.. well.. wow. First, how do you even start to talk about this years Comic con? How about long before comic con even started and the crazy folks at the Westboro Baptist Church said they were going to protest it. You know the ones, those that say God hates fags and what not. Yeah.. them. Only they didn't know what they signed up for when dealing with nerds. We don't give no fuck!
An anti-gay protest from the Westboro Baptist Church at the massive comic convention Comic-Con has been muffled by a humorous counterprotest.

The Westboro Baptist church has gained notoriety for anti-gay and anti-government protests, picketing the funerals of US soldiers, celebrating the deaths of Michael Jackson and Heath Ledger and making hate-filled diatribes against Lady Gaga, President Obama and Sweden.

But they met their match with convention-goers at the massive science fiction/comics event in San Diego, California, who countered the demonstration with witty signs, lurid costumes and mocking chants.

"What do we want? Gay sex! When do we want it? Now!" shouted members of the crowd.


Apparently the church protesters dispersed when they got completely overwhelmed by nerds and their signs. I'm glad to see people counter-protesting Westboro supporters, they are quite possibly the most vile modern christian sect. imaginable. Well, at least they aren't violent...

Though let's be honest. Fred Phelps is a pretty genuinely broken, hateful man and he's done hjs level best to infect the rest of his family with his hatred. If even half the things I've heard about him are true, then he's truly insane and with some terrifying violent tendencies. But it seems that all those violent tendencies are centered into brainwashing his children into his belief.



All of these signs made me laugh when I walked by them at con during the protest. The Odin one was really comical. Not many people have picked up the good book of thor #5, I'd say. And I completely agree that God Hates Michael Bay. I'm pretty sure he supports competent editing in films.

But this was probably the best way to deal with them. Everyone knew arguing with the WBC was useless, so they just went with overwhelming them with a heap of internet memes and nerd related humor. It was interesting to see WBC try to handle all of the senselessness directly targeted at them for a change.



And for those of you who think that the best way to deal with WBC is to not give them any attention at all and let them go away. I can't really believe there's some people who continue to pull out that completely ridiculous chestnut of "You're just giving them attention, if we ignore them they'll go away".

This tactic works in the same way as "it's just cancer! Don't give it any attention. If you just ignore it maybe it'll go away!" Because just ignoring the WBC won't have them go away. You should fight hate with love, injustice with justice. You can't out-hate people like the Phelps, so it's really the best tactic to nullify their message with just out doing their absurdity



It's rather funny that the WBC folks have the police around them at all times and they go after the folks who they are protesting against to prevent any sort of violence to happen. Though really, the whole thing was comedy at best when they just walked away.. realizing that they got out-trolled by comic con folks.

You could almost say that you would give your left eye to see that. Which is just what one person did when an argument broke out in Hall H.
Between the just ending Resident Evil: Afterlife panel and the Marvel Comics panel a fight between two fans erupted when one of them wouldn't change seats. Sadly, the scene ended in bloodshed as the argument turned violent resulting in the man who wouldn't move being stabbed in the eye with a pen.

The victim has been stretchered out and the attacker (both adults) has been removed from the convention center by police in handcuffs, his exclusive Comic-Con Harry Potter T-shirt soaked in blood.
Yes, that's right. Someone stabbed a dude in the eye with a pen so the Thor and Avenger panels had to be delayed. By Odin's Beard, is there no honor in Hall H? And why did he do it? Because the guy wouldn't change seats.



Okay, that's a little vague. Let me describe what happens in Hall H. Last year when Twilight came to con, the line for Hall H started up much earlier - the night before the panel was set to start. So now the line for it starts up extremely early, so much so that you really don't even need to book a hotel room for con anymore. You could just be homeless.

So all these people wait in line and in the morning they're allowed in. They find their seats and since the programing for the day varies, at many points people just leave. They were there to see what they wanted and they leave. So between programs/panels with the people leaving their seats for good, other people sort of move up in chairs. It's a crazy situation only made crazier.



So I'm guessing that this poor joe was saving a seat and Harry Potter fan #1 wanted it. After losing his own chair in risking to venture off and find a better one, he got pissed and they got into a fight and the pen ended up being mightier.

Ha! That's absolutely horrible that someone got stabbed in the eye over something so trivial. That's also got to be one of the worst places to get stabbed in too. Over a seat at comic con. Do you know how many jokes will be made because of this single event for however many years of comic con to come?



Then think about how prison is going to be in terms of extra levels of torment and hell when people find out that you stabbed a guy over moving up a couple of chairs to see the next panel. Then again, maybe they may think he's extra tough when he comes in with his blood stained Harry Potter t-shirt. "Stay away from that guy, he rolls with the west side Gryffindors!"

Though I have to feel for the guy who got the pen to the eye. I also received a sharp injury at comic con. I got a splinter in my fucking throat. And no, it wasn't during the panels. I actually had an amazing Thursday at the con. Finding a tron scavenger hunt piece and getting into three after parties that night.



But when Friday night rolled around I went with my friend to one City of Heroes after party at the Hardrock hotel and there they had some free food. Meat on bamboo skewers.. Which seemed like the perfect thing. I de-meated my skewer and chewed on the meat and I guess somewhere in there was a splinter and it got lodged in my throat under my tonsils. It hurt like fuck and I was in the bathroom trying to get it out for some time.

Nothing worked and I ended up just waiting till Sunday with this gag inducing stick in my mouth when I saw a doctor. Eventually got the 1cm stick out of my mouth with tweezers. Yes, that's right.. Ugh. Let me tell you, getting staked at comic con is no fun.



Ah, a splinter the size of a fucking penny stuck in the throat. Gotta love that bullshit. City of Heroes, I never played your game nor would I ever bother to.

But I still have to say that even though the two big stories of comic con were violence and stupidity in eating and protesting, there's reason for the mass migration of nerds to this convention center every year.. and sadly it's not for comics but for comic related items.

Look at the following piece for the upcoming Captain America film. It's a thing of beauty.



It's also the place were you see your comics come to life. In the form of some really scary shitty looking cosplayers (though, let's be honest - half the time it's an excuse to walk around half naked) to seeing props that will be used for future comic book summer blockbusters.

I never in my wildest imagination thought I would see the Infinity Gauntlet in person. I mean, look at this!



But even those props and what they might be used in isn't the real seller here. No, it's to see the comics come to life. And considering that this year had NO news or announcements in terms of comic books from either Marvel or DC at the biggest comic convention around, I guess the main focus had to be the films they were producing.

One of the highlight was when the Avengers finally Assembled. If there's any reason or justification for the Hall H violence that happened, it's that you get to see the cast and hear announcements for stuff that will be big news. Because hey, the Avengers did Assemble on stage.



For those of you not paying attention at home, we have;

Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark
Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow
Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Chris Evans as Captain America
Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye
Mark Ruffalo as Bruce Banner / Incredible Hulk

For a company that had a lot of the characters sold off to other film studios in movie rights, to get the Avengers movie off the ground and see these comic characters class is something utterly huge. I mean, it's a long way from when we first got film/tv crossovers such as this fine example of Thor vs Hulk...



That was bad and I only saw one actor in that video that looked like they belonged there. But hey, that was then and this is now. Just seeing the cast there was amazing and even though the movie is a whole two years away, it's still screams for attention.

A lot of the actors for the Avengers movie are perfect for the role. Just look at the swagger that Robert Downey jr. brings to the table. And even though Chris Evans is the poster boy for every comic book movie these days with his latest one being an Evil Ex in Scott Pilgrim, he still looks great for Captain America. Wait a minute, I think we need to stop and look at scarlet once again.



Yeeeeaaaah, That wasn't creepy at all. Anyhow, it's an entirely big boys club all up in there. What be up with that. You have Marvel Girl, Wasp, Jessica Drew, and various others to choose from and all you have is Black Widow? I guess I can't complain about that.

Though I'm a little let down about Nick Fury. I'm a huge Fury fan. I mean, look at the side image. I have a Nick Fury eye patch rocking most of the times because he's such a bad ass. Maybe I'm just waiting for them to announce a Nick Fury movie that goes back to the classic days of Nick Fury...



And I don't mean WHITE. I'm more than happy to see Sam Jackson ride a motorcycle through a wall bare chested while shooting two guns at Hydra scum. I mean, that in itself would be a movie I see four times and why the Hoff couldn't do that once in his version of Nick Fury, I will never know nor will I speculate. But that's the main reason I disliked that one.

Then there's those surprises you really can't expect but just love when they happen. Such as this surprise guest appearance to con for his first time there..



Which just brings about new questions.. such as, it took Cowboys & Aliens to bring Harrison Ford to comic con. Really?! REALLY? I know he's sort of a recluse who just doesn't want any part of the Hollywood scene, but he's played how many iconic nerd characters in films now? Han Solo and Indiana Jones alone should be reason enough for him to have visited in the past.

What? He didn't want to promote Crystal Skull? I know some people hated it, but come on.. it's Harrison Ford and this is the first time he's been at con? That just doesn't make any fucking sense. But I'll take it, I suppose. Then you have those cute moments when you just see a young kid become a life long nerd with a single question. Like this little guy asking Ryan Rynolds how it feels to be Green Lantern and saying the Oath.



So there you have it. A lot from comic con. Hopefully some expanded news on what you heard from someone else and slightly chuckled over and a lot more out of what happens in San Diego that causes us nerds to flock there like the Swallows returning to Capistrano. There's always a best/worst of comic con list but every year it's worth it for those Best.

See you next year... as well as tens of thousands of sweaty people who need a fucking shower and should know more about invading personal space!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Support Your Troops Cause They Can't Support Themselves

Support Your Troops Cause They Can't Support Themselves

You know all those Ads on TV telling you how you'll learn great life lessons and a shit ton of job experience that will help you in life by joining the armed forces? Well.. yeah. That was all bullshit. I do hope you realized that.

The sad reality is that our troops are coming back and finding not that they are called baby killers. But that all the promises told to them about their usefulness post-service is nothing but hot air.
After Brooks Douan finished serving in Iraq for the Marine Reserves, he returned home in October 2008 to battle something many civilians had already been fighting: unemployment.

To survive, the 24-year-old took temporary jobs in his home state of South Carolina. He donned a pumpkin costume during Halloween for extra cash. He took a temporary gig as a photographer, but he was let go shortly. The economy was to blame, the studio owners told him.

When Douan eagerly signed up for the military in high school, recruiters told him veterans were coveted hires in the civilian workplace, targeted by employers for their hard work ethic and discipline. Now, in the toughest economic times since the Great Depression, Douan is finding veterans are not immune to the woes of the economy.

"I thought it would be easier for me to find work because people would be like, 'Oh you're a veteran, you served your country,' " he said. "But now, I don't think it makes one bit of a difference."

For months, the unemployment levels for veterans has been prompting concern among government officials and the nonprofit world trying to help veterans readjust to civilian life. Some politicians have been pushing for legislation that would help returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan find jobs. Others have been addressing startling rates of homelessness among veterans -- a number that could surge, some advocacy groups say, if the unemployment issue is ignored.

Unemployment for veterans from 18 to 24 hit 21.6 percent in 2009, slightly higher than the unemployment rate of 19.1 percent for their civilian counterparts, according the most recent March report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of all the veterans from past wars, soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced higher rates of joblessness, the BLS reports on its web site.

Reserve and Guard members left jobless

Daniel Hutchison, 28, loves building homes.

"I always enjoyed working with my hands," he explained.

During the housing boom before the recession came, he worked 60 hours a week. Sometimes, he had to turn down jobs because he was so busy. The money was good, he says.

But when Hutchison returned from Iraq in December 2008 after working as a emergency medical technician in the Army National Guard, he applied for dozens of jobs without any luck. He's not alone. About 10 percent of veterans from 25 to 34 are unemployed, the BLS reported.

Theodore Daywalt, president of VetJobs.com, a national nonprofit that aids veterans in the job search, says unemployment rates among young veterans have increased because members of the National Guard and Army Reserve are serving longer stints abroad. They are also being called overseas more often. Soldiers are finding their jobs no longer exist when they return home, Daywalt said.

VetJobs.com polled 700 members of the Tennessee National Guard brigade in Afghanistan and discovered 320 of them don't have jobs waiting for them when they return.

"We have made our members of National Guard third-class citizens," Daywalt said. "We want them to fight for the country, and yet we make it impossible for them to get good jobs."

Bob Madden, assistant director for the National Economic Commission at the American Legion, said his organization will put on almost 250 career fairs across the country this year to help returning former find jobs.

"It's bad," Madden said. "It definitely needs to be addressed. We need to figure out how to solve these problems."

Some military experts say they believe some companies are reluctant to hire people in the National Guard or Army Reserve because they may leave for duty again. Companies cannot afford those kinds of abrupt changes in an economic downturn, experts say. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act was passed in 1994 to ensure that soldiers would have their jobs when they returned, but some employers have found loopholes around the law, these experts say.

The number of complaints filed under the law have risen from 1,226 complaints in 2007 to 1,389 complaints in 2008, according to the most recent USERRA report released in 2009.

PTSD, wrong skills hinder job hunt

After 15 months in Iraq, Shane Hornbeck, 24, of Portland, Oregon was shot by a sniper. He is decorated with a Purple Heart. But none of that matters in the job search, he says.

Like many soldiers trying to secure a job, he is having trouble translating some of his military skills into the civilian workplace.


He's been unemployed since 2008. He suffers from post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.

"A lot of people think TBI (traumatic brain injury) and as soon as they hear that, they think I'm broken," Hornbeck said.

The gloomy economic climate has been difficult for soldiers, say sociologists who have studied how soldiers transition into the civilian workplace. One disadvantage soldiers have in the job search is the stigma surrounding highly publicized conditions such as PTSD, says Morten G. Ender, a professor of sociology at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Sociology professor Meredith Kleykamp at the University of Maryland, College Park, says veterans traditionally have been preferred over civilians in job hiring. In her study, she created fictitious resumes with comparable skills for veterans and nonveterans and applied to entry-level positions advertised online. More employers responded back to a veteran than a nonveteran, she said.

However, Kleykamp said some veterans' skills, such as working on a tank, might be not be directly applicable to a civilian job. Veterans who had experience with clerical work or engineering had an easier time finding a civilian job.

"Part of the challenge veterans face is that everything isn't equal," she said. "The kinds of experience they may have attained may not be the kind of experiences that translate into the work world."

Kevin Grafeld, a 25-year-old who served in the Marines, felt defeated after unsuccessfully looking for a job for more than two years. Now he is receiving assistance from Wounded Warriors Projects, a nonprofit that is putting him back in school for his associate's degree. Grafeld is hopeful the degree will help him find employment.

He says he's barely getting by after exhausting his savings last August. His career future may be uncertain and his financial prospects are shaky, but Grafeld says he wouldn't take back the time he served in Iraq.

"It's been my life's dream to serve my country," Grafeld said.
So getting shot in the head by a sniper and having a trinket to show for it doesn't carry much weight in the civilian market? Not to mention that it may very well hurt the chances of a job candidate? Color me surprised but I'm pretty sure that's not what was advertised in the commercials looking for people to enlist.

I'm not really surprised when infantrymen don't get a job after finishing a tour. If you find it as something of news that military overtly lies to poor and mostly uneducated people to get them to join with promises that make no sense, then perhaps I have a bridge to sell you.

The army said it would give me strength for today, strength for life. Though, I guess they never made any promises as to a job for life. Or a promise that I would actually make it back from the war in one piece. It's not like I've been a massive supporter of the "The troops". I usually make fun of them because they are the folks who fell in for those lies like trying to kill giant lava monsters that the ads had.



Pay heed, when the military tells you all your job skills you learn in the service have real world value and will help you get a civilian job, they're making shit up so you sign the dotted line. Have you ever noticed that in those ads where they show how the same jobs can be parlayed into civilian life they only show examples from technical and medical jobs that your average target audience for this ad will never qualify for.

When you think about it, Military recruiters are hardly different than Scientologists. They tell candidates that they have potential but need special training. After completing an easy test the candidate is told that he scored exceptionally high. If only he would sign up he'll get to fly to Comanche. At least he won't have to be deployed in a Crusader.

Where I would normally be laughing at a news piece like this, I'm sort of bummed right now. It is the poor uneducated people that are suckered into joining the armed forces. So those very same people get no jobs afterward. It's not comedy. It's just a sad grim reality in this economy.



It really does confirm the idea that military enlistment is an exploitative war on the poor. Though, let's face it, with today's modern combat of predator drones, troops are pretty useless in war as well. A military record seems to add up to being nothing more than a criminal record.

Veterans have to face the prospect of unemployment like the rest of us. Though, I do have to wonder, if you aren't abusing the fuck out of the G.I. Bill and unemployment right now, you're a fucking scrub moron of a Vet. You should be using that shit as it's the only way you're ever going to dig yourself out of the hole of spending so much time over seas in an unjust war.

Fun Fact - The Republicans main argument against modernizing/expanding the G.I. Bill was that it would give the servicemen too good of a shot at success in the civilian world. Which would cause them to leave the military... Pretty fucked up, right?

Then again, there's always Blackwater. Literally the only job you can get outside of Blackwater if you were an infantryman would be a janitor because of all the shit you need to clean while you are a lower enlisted member of the army.

Doesn't that sound nice. Join Xe. Get paid big bucks to crusade for the Cristian cause, onward soldier. Remember that the difference between middle class and low class is whether you are two or one paychecks away from losing your home.



One guy I know that I went to school with went into intelligence thinking it would get him a nice job after, but it just gave him depression so now he's unemployed and psychologically damaged, but check out that sweet sweet security clearance, yo.

There's one thing military experience is good for and that's kitchen work. It usually means strong time management skills and a sense of urgency which is important for working in any busy restaurant.

It was a bit depressing watching Generation Kill and then seeing the interviews with the actual soldiers and half of them are PMCs and the other half are cops because those are the only jobs they can get. Considering how much the tax payers paid for their training for these killers to hone their skills, it sure does seem like a big waste.

Why hey, even our troops are supporting the troops or the government that sends them in..


It's sort of like going to prison. When you get out of prison, it's still not your place. You're so far removed from that life that you have trouble adapting. So most of them just end up going back to prison because they're at least someone there. When all you know of life is how to squeeze off a few rounds into that Hajji's head, how could you really go back to the modern world and see things like you did before? They at least know how to survive there. Till they stop even doing that due to some IED.

Did we just gloss over Vietnam? I guess the major difference is that people don't spit on them when they come home like they did during Vietnam.

Nam vets were and are completely unemployable. It's no wonder people were running from the draft. Of course people aren't going to hire veterans. After shit like that they are crazy for the rest of their lives. Who is a more attractive hire in a white collar entry level position?;
22 year old recent graduate from state school with liberal arts degree, worked in retail or something while in school.

22 year old recently discharged specialist, did 4 years of infantry or something, maybe got an "Associates" while on active duty from University of Phoenix or some other military-friendly pseudo school.
You tell me. Which one are you going to hire? It's pretty clear that the first one would be the choice of many. If the discharged dude was any degree of smart, he'd use the G.I. Bill to get some more schooling in as the new one is fairly decent.



Now that I think about it, I can't think of an example of welfare jockeys more successful than Troops who joined up and put in a full 20 years between 1975 and 2003. Tax-free salary, free housing, free health care for yourself and your family. Free food and booze and cigarettes and transit when deployed in Arizona or North Carolina. World travel and getting trashed and puking on defeated German or Japanese people. Retirement and full pensions with health care and housing by 38, and the only downside is 20 years of loyal service without taking some stupid facebook pictures of you taking shots off some dude's ass crack?

I guess the major downside to that is between those years, by the time you were 38 in a civilian profession you could easily be making $65-120,000 a year instead of $27,000. Though, let's not split hairs, $27,000 is a pretty good salary considering that you get free health care, dental and vision, free housing and a $250/mo food stipend, also what particular difference does it make if you make three times as much if you have to retire 20 years later at best.

Call it a guess, but I doubt that most dudes who join the military are the same kind of razor-sharp go-getters how are going to be pulling down six figures by their 30's. No offense, and really, if you're offended by that, please never read what else I say about soldiers.

So there you go. Now you know that you should really support your troops in other methods that are really needed. Like, say, giving them an application to Walmart the next time you're buying bulk socks.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Touching Rosemary's Baby

Touching Rosemary's Baby

Rape fans everywhere jump up for joy, Roman Polanski's free and it looks like he got away with it. So I guess you're just gonna have to deal with it.
Roman Polanski's latest courtroom drama has an ending.

Switzerland has ruled the famed film director will not be extradited to the United States, from where he fled in 1978 after pleading guilty to having sex with a 13-year-old girl.

The 76-year-old was taken into custody in September when arrived in the country to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival. Polanski has been held under house arrest in Gstaad, Switzerland for several months.

"I ask only to be treated fairly like anyone else," Polanski said in May, as officials spent months pondering his fate.

The Oscar-winning director of "Rosemary's Baby" and "Chinatown" was accused of serving his victim champagne and drugs in 1977 during a modeling shoot, then raping her. Polanski was originally sentenced to 90-days of "diagnostic study," but when the judge decided to change his sentence, he ran.

The French-born filmmaker has continued to direct films in Europe, including "Frantic" with Harrison Ford and "The Pianist," which earned him an Academy Award for Best Director in 2002.

Hmmmm. So let's review this. Fucked a drugged up 13 year old girl in the ass. You know what's frustrating about this the most? It's that it would have still been rape if the girl was 18 and everyone just focuses on her age as if that's the only thing wrong with this situation.

I guess since he slept in jail a few times and hasn't been able to party it up in Hollywood anymore the man has clearly paid his dues. It's good to know that his artistic output is more important than the right of women not to have their bodies violated. I sure hope that Nathan Lane never looks at me with those eyes.



Remember that Free Polanski petition all the celebrities signed that referred to rape as "a case of morals". It's nice to see that the act that the rich are better than the poor is being legally enshrined internationally as well. If it weren't for the fact that he's famous, he would have been in prison a while.

I can't wait for Lindsey Lohan to not go to jail for more than a couple of weeks for something a minority or poor would get 5 years for. And yet Jack Nicholson, the man who you see at Laker games all the time walks free, even though he watched and taped it. I mean, it was in his house after all.

Perhaps he should just rub it in everyone's face. Say by making a movie about a guy who just rapes women all the time and gets away with it. At the end he could put "Based on a real story", shortly before "That's me!" then a "I raped a ll the bitches" and a "It was MEEEEEEEEE!!" to just add extra insult to injury.

Rosemary's Baby was about an unrealistically guileless woman being repeatedly raped and tricked into eating poison by a group of cultists. Um. He's a film genius or something, I suppose. I guess let he who has had a half-naked teenage girl posing on their couch and a whole cabinet of alcohol and drugs readily available and didn't do anything cast the first stone, right?

Our culture has a double standard when it comes to younger women. We want hairless skinny girls but looking at younger than 18 girls is sick. The only difference between the ideal and the 14 year old is the unrealistically huge breast on the ideal.

How about this for thinking about - Did you know his current wife is 2 years younger than the girl he raped. Attributing that to anything other than your standard Hollywood May-December romances is approaching tin foil territory, but I always found it an interesting coincidence.



an unrelated story, but the European Court of Human Rights recently ruled that some Islamist UK guy cannot be extradited to the US because of super maximum jail conditions. What I'm trying to say is that nobody should be extradited to the US on the grounds that our prison systems are total shit.

That's what the US gets, right? They failed to submit the proper information for the review of the extradition request. So the American court system is too incompetent to even handle the proper divulging of information. On the other side, we can make fun of the Swiss for keeping a child rapist safe. It's not like women have much rights there anyway. Swiss women couldn't vote until like 20 years ago.

Though it all seems like an attempt to release Polanski anyway. They were requesting information to determine if 42 days he already served was a sufficient amount of time to serve for raping someone.

My thoughts on this? It's really mixed, but for the Swiss to just say "fuck you" seems a little much. I do agree that our prison system sucks badly. But then the justice for rich celebrities is just something that angers me.

I really don't know. Rape isn't something to scoff at and drugging someone is just all sorts of wrong that should require him to enjoy the loving embrace of big bubba from a jail house shower. But yeah.. I'm totally thrown for a loop on this one.




I read this morning that FIFA is considering Polanski and for the organization's official groundskeeper tasked with deciding whether or not there is sufficient grass on the playing field in order to proceed.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Why I Hyte Ayn Rand

Why I Hyte Ayn Rand

I have been giving the writer of Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, a lot of shit lately. It's not for unknown reasons. I think she's about the absolute worst. I mean, shit. We based our entire socio-economic policy off this bitch. I love how she says altruism is evil, and then goes on to completely redefine altruism in terms of hypothetical situations of things no one has ever done or would ever do.

If you have a little bit of time to kill, I implore you to see this Ayn Rand interview on Donahue. Yes, Donahue. Clearly she's reaching the peak of all talk show host of the day by picking a day time talk shot to make her first public appearance since the death of her husband and three years before she died.











And then she goes on and on about "would you kindly harvest these corpses and modify your DNA, etc." and then Donahue punches her across the room with his drill arm. I kind of wish Ayn Rand were still alive so that I could punch her as hard as I could and then rob her, and every time she tried to get back up I would just keep kicking her legs out from under her and I'd just be like "Rational self-interest: I HATE CUNTS!"

How anyone makes it through any one of her books is a test of fortitude. They are impossible to read. Though if you're really an Ayn Rand follower, I guess you could have one of your staffers read it for you and give you the gist, I guess.



Her whole writing process is absurd. Gee, I wonder - how should I structure my characterization. How about I introduce 5 characters that believe everything I believe in and are always right and are just constantly showing up a bunch of strawmen who always lose and who's arguments make no sense.

Fountainhead was so bad with building strawman arguments. As soon as you meet Roark, you know he's going to be right about everything and win all the time, and that Keating is going to suck and lose at everything. If you're reading an Ayn Rand book, just remember the key is to see them use excessive tokenism to demonstrate that smart people of all walks of life are on your side.



Atlas Shrugged should be mandatory reading in high schools next to One flew over the cuckoos nest, the crucible, hamlet and slaughterhouse-five. Kids will never read a book with more than 300 pages again. Though we already have Moby Dick to teach kids to hate books.

What's worse? John Galt's 100 page speech, or all of the Of Whaling chapters in Moby Dick? Your feedback is needed here. Perhaps all copies of Atlas Shrugged should be burned and replaced on the curriculum with something less damaging to children's minds, such as Hustler Magazines laced with LSD.

I know it sounds strange and odd coming from me, considering how much I write, but FUCK, has Ayn Rand ever written just one sentence? She might as well, because everything she writes is the exact same thing. I don't even see how Jolie and Pitt can be fans of Rand's works, since they pretty much do the exact opposite of what Rand prescribes.


-Frank O'Connor

I recently saw a friend for the first time in, like a year, who had since read every single Ayn Rand book. She thinks the recession occurred because there was too much regulation. I then called Somalia a libertarian paradise and she got really annoyed at that idea. She also made it clear that she would rather have Americas privatized insurance than pay $50 a month for socialized health insurance like they do in Canada.

When it gets to that point, it's pretty much impossible to get them out of that mindset. They're pretty much lost forever. Sacks of empty, soulless husk of skin. So I'm glad to see whenever someone does brave through those god awful books and they don't take the political view point of hers seriously. Sort of like L. Ron and Scientology. You can enjoy the science fiction aspect, but by god, don't embrace the religious aspect.

If you find yourself agreeing with any of Rand's "philosophies", please jump off a building because you're too stupid to live. How else can you boil it down to anyone on this one. Just look at the mentality here -
"Fuck you, got mine." - Ayn Rand
Even worse. Ayn Rand said "Charlie's Angels is high art"

Friday, July 23, 2010

The Dead Walk San Diego Comic Con

The Dead Walk San Diego Comic Con

Reporting from Comic con here on the first full day of this nerd con and I have to say, it's still a mad house. It's still in Sandy Eggo, and thankfully doesn't look to be moved anytime soon and the madness... oh the madness. As Danny Glover would say it best "I'm getting too old for this shit."

Actually I'm not. At least I don't think I am. It's crazy but all that craziness is worth it to make the pilgrimage to the mecca of nerdom. I love it. I'm loud and proud. Thankfully though, I am not shambling. Unlike this TV show, which feels like it's shambling in a very slow fashion to your television screen this October, is "The Walking Dead" on AMC. If you haven't read anything about this piece so far, then it's clear you haven't been reading my blog all that much.

As much as I love zombies so much that I got bored with the overuse of them causing me to stop writing about them. For the love of all things holy, there's even a ZOMBIE DATING WEBSITE. But even with the over saturation of zombies in the world, I had to write a piece up about the upcoming comic book turned television show - The Walking Dead.



The story follows a small group of survivors trying to stay alive in a world overrun by Zombies. While other stories tend to stay focused on the zombies contingent, this story is completely focused on the survivors. For you see, it's not the zombies that are the title character, it's the Humans. They are the walking dead.

Just look at Carl, he's wearing a Science Dog t-shirt. A good nod to the comic creator's other works. And in the event that you haven't picked up the book or just don't want to read some funny pages, here's the motion comic in action.



At Comic con there was a panel for the show and while I was a little disappointed that it wasn't in a bigger hall way, it was still really good. So much so that I just need it to hurry up and be October already. There's really no time to waste since this looks so good.

It's really amazing to see a well written comic book get picked up by the director of The Mist, a film that broke the mold of Stephen King novel to films suckage and turned out an amazing ending. Besides that, Kirkman is very character heavy. Having met him a good handful of times, it's always been a pleasure and I just wish the best for him in this.



It was learned that the full roster of writers and directors for the six season 1 episodes is as follows:
#1.1: Written and directed by Frank Darabont

#1.2: Written by Frank Darabont; directed by Michelle MacLaren (recurring director for Breaking Bad; recently nominated for an Emmy after she melted faces with the final act of "One Minute")

#1.3: Written by Frank Darabont, Charles H. Eglee (The Shield; serves as the show's co-showrunner), and Jack LoGuidice (Sons of Anarchy); directed by Gwyneth Horder-Payton (Sons of Anarchy, The Shield, Battlestar Galactica)

#1.4: Written by Robert Kirkman (the comics; this will be his first credited teleplay); directed by Johan Renck (Breaking Bad)

#1.5: Written by Glen Mazzara (The Shield); directed by Ernest Dickerson (The Wire, Dexter)

#1.6: Written by Adam Fierro (The Shield, Dexter, 24); directed by Guy Ferland (The Shield, Sons of Anarchy)
All in all, Darabont's put together a fine group of storytellers to push this through. I really can't wait to see this on the small screen. It sounds like an amazing line up.

You can see some of the behind the scene footage that they're currently working on right now via MTV here.

What Darabont and AMC's Walking Dead team are able to achieve on the streets of downtown Atlanta on a summer day is no easy feat. This is talking about hot and humid summer days and closing up blocks to simple living folks.

"We have blocks of Atlanta shut down here, and there's a tank behind me if you can't see it," Kirkman told MTV News. "Just the scale of everything... Everything is being done exactly the way I would've wanted it, and it's better than I could have ever envisioned it. The whole thing is just amazing."

So really, I just can't wait to see this on the best damn channel on cable television.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tron Legacy: Flynn Lives!

Tron Legacy: Flynn Lives!

This blog post has taken a year to write. I wish I had the excuse that I was trapped in a computer world mistaken as a program as to why I didn't ever get to post this, but I don't. It was a little less than a year ago that I started writing this after coming back from Comic con and being blown away by the announcement and footage of Tron 2.



Yes, Tron 2. You know, the sequel to Tron, the 1980's awesome Disney movie that used Visual FX and introduced the world to the inside of a computer. You may know it from the recent South Park episode that parodied Facebook.

In any case, much like this blog post, the film has gone through a lot of change in that year. Back then there was basic film test footage shown. Things have grown and evolved. Just look at the new logo. If you can look past how awesome the rest of it is.



Last year at comic con Disney released a small clip that was filled with the test footage of what was at the time called TR2N. The sequel to a movie from a computer centric film of the 80's that not many people seen. I loved it. I'm a nerd so that goes without saying. Since that footage was shown the only way to see it was on a very poor quality youtube video for at least 9 months. It was worth the wait to see a much better quality of it.

I'll give you a second to go and change your under pants. You back yet? So what is this all about? Yes, it's the Dude chilling in a computer. Jeff Bridges. Award winning actor now even though he does finish most of his sentences with "Man". It's jut his thing and it may very well tie the room together, man. Jeff Bridge's character is Kevin Flynn. A computer programer that is a master at arcade games. Oh yes, this man sure plays characters I want to be.



The teaser wasn't the only treat for the fans at Con last year. In the original film, Kevin Flynn ran his own arcade. Flynn's. So in true fashion Disney actually built a replica of the arcade in the gas lamp district. In it was working arcade machines and it was completely free. After a couple of minutes.. well, let's just let the video show you.



Fake wall letting you go behind the scenes and see the new updated lightcycle. That was pretty damn amazing in itself! How could you not be drooling over all this stuff? So if you still don't know what this film is about, here's the quick sum up.
"TRON is a 3D high-tech adventure set in a digital world that's unlike anything ever captured on the big screen. Sam Flynn (GARRETT HEDLUND), the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn (JEFF BRIDGES), looks into his father's disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin's loyal confidant (OLIVIA WILDE), father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced and exceedingly dangerous."
The release date of December can't come soon enough in my opinion. Though around Comic con time I always say things can't come soon enough. It's just me getting really excited for all the projects that are popping up in the pipeline, is all.

How could you NOT get excited, especially when the latest trailer for this came out and it looks like this. Just listen to the end on how that sound is just popping. It really is going to blow your average movie theater sound system out to hell.



The cherry on top of all this is that Daft Punk is working on the Soundtrack. In fact, the music from both the SDCC arcade and Light Cycle reveal as well as the music in the new trailer are all done by Daft Punk. So with a new Tron film we're getting a new Daft Punk soundtrack.

If you didn't know who Daft Punk is, they're an electronic band that you most likely have heard.. in fact, even if you don't like electronic music, you heard them at least through Jay-Z remixing or adding random lyrics over their music. They're huge Tron fans and it's easy to tell from their outfits that they were inspired greatly by the film.



And as cool as those old Tron outfits may have been and what they inspired in the form of electronic music revolution, they did need an update. You wouldn't be surfing the internet on your old IBM, right? Much like the programs in the film, everything needed an update to the modern day. Fashion included.

Just compare the old and new styles of clothing and the look of the grid where all these programs reside. You have the Old and Busted



Then the New Hotness.



That shot alone is worth a thousand words. I mean, I want to lose weight so I can put on a black tight spandex neon suit for Halloween and look like that. That's just cool looking. Yeah, sure. I do have a Threadless Tron jacket that I seem to wear all the time, but it doesn't scream out "coolness" like that shot of the suits does.....

Or does it?



Okay, no it doesn't. But at least you know who I am in a crowded night club or during a power outage. But the look of the film itself looks amazing. Perhaps it's due to that enjoyment of neon lights, but it looks slick.

Besides, tell me if this shot doesn't look all sorts of kick-ass cool



In case you're wondering, yes. That's 13 from House in a very skin tight black neon lit suit. What else could you ask for in a film? I mean, she's.... so.... HOT! Maybe it's just that I'm very much enjoying the look of short hair these days. Maybe it's because it's summer. Who knows. But tell me that this wouldn't make you turn gay.. cause, 13 is a lesbian and all.




Anyhow, back to the movie promotion of this film. On Santa Monica Blvd. in West Los Angeles, Disney literally bought up the rights to a billboard for the entire year and has made it a point to put up new billboards every month till the film is released. How do you like that, a year of promotion.





E3 this year also had a lot of push for this film. I imagine that later today will show a lot of Tron on the exhibit floor at the Disney Booth. They're making Tron their main focus. In a sense, they're hoping that it spins off the potential of a trilogy. Disney's John Lasseter grew up, much like Daft Punk, loving Tron. So since he's running the company now it's easy to see that he's going to put priority and major push on this project.



Then you have Comic con where all of San Diego is going crazy with posters and banners leading up to the comic book convention. Look at the following images and tell me that the Dude would not oblige to this;



That is why I love Jeff Bridges. Now if only he'll sign the stuff I sent him.. But that's for a different blog entry.




The whole gas lamp is going crazy with this and I'm loving it. That's my main focus this con. Tron. There's a lot to an online ARG game for the build up of this film and I can't wait to see how it plays out on the streets. I mean, they're busting up why I fell in love with the news of this film again.

You see, here we are one year later and sure enough, look at what awaits the public if they look closely enough in the Gas Lamp district...



The best damn arcade that you'll probably never step into. I just have to wonder what else they're going to be giving out. Last year they did a T-shirt that was either for the arcade or pushing the online Alternate Reality Game for Flynn Lives.

As well as offering tokens for the arcade games. The trick behind this place is, as you've seen in the first video of this blog,



A piece out of the film. I love it. Did you know that Disneyland, back in 1982, actually wanted to theme two Tomorrowland attractions around the original Tron film before it was even released. They wanted a Tron ride thru attraction that was going to replace the old Mission To Mars attraction. There was even talk about a second project. A Tron-themed arcade which would have been built in an unfinished area on the second floor of Tomorrowland's Starcade

We did get the sort of first one in the section of the People movers that you entered the world of Tron. Though considering the people mover is long since dead, that shouldn't count anymore. As for the arcade.. well, that's a bit more complicated.



You see, while it's some miracle that almost 30 years after the first movie a sequel is set to be released later this year, it should now come to no surprise that Disney is going to be milking it. The proposed Starcade Tron Arcade is in the pipeline.

Back then they wanted the following, the second floor of the starcade was to have been reconfigured so that it could then feature:
  • An Audio Adventure Maze (Audio Exploration)
  • An Electronic Playground (Physical Participation with Electronic Games)
  • Mind Games (A Showcase of Computer Intelligence)
  • 3-D TRON Adventure Game (Visual Exploration)
  • Laser Hologram Game (Laser Light Exploration)
Now if just a fraction of that is made, I'll be a happy camper. But looking forward to today's SDCC programing, The schedule is as follows;
11:15-12:45 Walt Disney Pictures: TRON: Legacy— Returning for an unprecedented third year to the fans and convention that started it all, Walt Disney Pictures is pleased to present a special insider look at the upcoming TRON: Legacy. Panelists include filmmakers and talent from the film: director Joe Kosinski, producers Sean Bailey and Steven Lisberger, and cast members Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, Michael Sheen, and Bruce Boxleitner. The discussion, moderated by Patton Oswalt, is set to include exclusive glimpses of the film, as well as a Q&A involving all panel participants, along with special surprise guests. Hall H
Categories: Movies | Science Fiction & Fantasy
Making today the most anticipated day of comic con for the year. I'm am psyched!

See you on the other side, program