Saturday, May 24, 2003

Picture of the Day

I myself am an American citizen. I'd say I'm quite happy with this fact. However, I hope to some day travel abroad and see the world. One of the first places on my trip wishlist is England. Some of you may hope to go to Englad some day as well, or may actually be planning on going there soon as we speak. I found this and felt as though it might help us all.

How To Be American In London Without Getting Your Head Stoved In By A Cricket Bat
by Rich Johnston

On tube escalators stand on the right, or walk down on the left. Remember this.

Look right when crossing a road. Really remember this.

Get a Travelcard pass for as long as you are staying here. Covers tube, bus and rail. You will save hours with fiddly coins that change every few months.

Get an A-Z (street map book) and a copy of this week's Time Out. These are your bibles as to what's on and where.

It's pronounced "Less-ster Square"

Taking an actual bus is twenty times cheaper than taking a the equivalent tourist sightseeing bus, and you'll get a far better commentary from a random nutter.

Traditional English food is Indian-inspired these days. Not whatever chip-related meal they try to feed you in a "quaint" pub. Try a decent Chicken Tikka Masala to understand the British temperament fully.

No, we probably don't have (insert brand name here). Get over it.

No, there are no non-smoking bars.

No, there is not waiter/waitress service in pubs. Go to the bar. You've got legs.

Don't just ask for a beer. Choose a brand. You won't know any of the brands, so try them all one by one. This is called fun.

Yes, people drink alcohol here, legal from 18, tolerated from a lot earlier. People do not seem to think it's the equivalent of cocaine.

Don't try to buy cocaine. Your accent will leave your ripped off with talcum powder.

Yes, you do have an accent. And when you speak, everyone in a block radius can hear it.

Walking is an acceptable mode of transport.

Tea is never iced.

Yes, there are black people here. And Asians, East Asians, all sorts. Quite a lot in London. And yes, they've almost all got English accents. Find it entertaining.

But you cannot do an English accent. Don't try.

Don't wear a baseball cap. If it's raining, get wet or use an umberella. If it's sunny, rejoice.

Go on the London Eye.

Go and see "Jerry Springer The Opera."

Don't go and see "The Mousetrap."

Buy "Brass Eye," "Jam," "Spaced," the "Royle Family" and "Black Books" on DVD. As long as you've got a multi-region DVD or computer.

Do Covent Garden, Camden, Notting Hill, St James Park, Richmond Park, Primrose Hill, Soho, Waterloo Bridge.

You're American, therefore you're a movie star. Exploit that. We actually like Americans. Occasionally you may be patronised, live with it.

And no one, literally no one remembers "Independence Day" as anything other than a poor sci-fi film. It's not something we're taught, it doesn't colour how we think of Americans and no one will get your references to a Boston Tea Party.

We all actually liked Clinton, and consider him to be your greatest President for a long time. Not sure about the new fellow, though.

Whoever you are, your politics will be more right wing than anyone you choose to talk to.

Since it's been a few days since I've talked about anything to do with Nintendo, I figure now is as good a time as any to talk about some of the great stuff I've heard about Nintendo showing off at E3.
First up, Mario Golf for the Gamecube.
I'm not sure I understand how it's going to work exactly, but Giftpia looks beautiful.
Starfox!
At last, Nintendo Puzzle Collection.
Mario Kart: Double Dash.
Say what you will about Pokemon, but the people behind it keep coming up with new and different games for the franchise, and I've got to hand it to them for that.
To check out even more of the GC games Nintendo had on display, go here.
Mario and Luigi for the GameBoy Advance looks flat out amazing.

I don't know if any of you heard about this, but Tim Burton is wanting to do a remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory/Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Even stranger is the news that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston will be producing the film.


Superman: Man of Steel. Defender of man. Can still
look cool wearing his underwear on the wrong
side of his clothes.

Which Justice League (comic) Character are you?
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Thursday, May 22, 2003

I pretty much feel that M. Night Shyamalan can do no wrong, if his track record to date can be held as being worth anything... and I feel it can. He's announced what his next picture is, and I'm inclined to begin my looking forward to it.

Flash
You got Flash!
Congratulations, you're the fastest man alive. And
you have a sense of humour to go with it.
Life's tough, so ignore that, and crack a joke.
The other guys really need you around, even if
you mayn't think so- someone's gotta make them
smile- or at least try- and you're just the
hero for the job.

Which Member of Justice League Are You? (Animated Series)
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Wednesday, May 21, 2003

Ok, I'm not even playing around here.
Please, please, if it's at all humanly possible come to our show on Friday.
The Caravan's website has all the info as far as directions go.
It's at 8PM on Friday night at The Caravan (1337 Madison Ave., between Cleveland and Claybrook, I believe).
If you need a way to get there, or further directions, or money to get in the door, or whatever, get in touch with me or someone else in the band!
Just be there!
We need to show the guy who booked us for this show that we can draw a bit of a crowd so he (and others) will be inclined to book us for other shows.

Tuesday, May 20, 2003

Switzerland
Switzerland -
A neutral power for as long as most can remember,
it has avoided war for several centuries.
However, it is still considered highly advanced
and a global power.


Positives:

Judicial.

Neutrality.

World-Renouned.

Powerful without Force.

Makes Excellent Watches, Etc.


Negatives:

Target of Ridicule.

Constant Struggle to Avoid Conflict.

Target of Criminal Bank Accounts.


Which Country of the World are You?
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Monday, May 19, 2003

I didn't think it was possible for me to be more excited about this movie, but after reading this review I am, in fact, more excited.
I mean, I think you're all familiar with my feelings on zombies.

And speaking of things like zombies, it's never too early to start thinking about Halloween.

This is too great for me to explain.

I saw that Punisher poster in person in an actual theater and it stopped me dead in my tracks. I know some of you were impressed by it just seeing it via a computer screen, but it's even more impressive in real life.

The Caravan (aka: the place we're playing Friday night) has a wesbite now that includes show listings and directions. Please go check it out if you're still not sure on where it is or how to get there.
Also, please come see us Friday.

For those of you that are interested, every member of Guns 'n Roses except Axl Rose have started a new band called Reloaded, and Scott Weiland has filled the role of lead singer. On a little side note for the trivia fans, Butch Walker was one of the singers offered this gig. Butch respectfully declined. Mike Patton from Faith No More and now Tomahawk was also asked and declined. Sebastian Bach was supposedly pushing very hard for the gig, and it came down to him and Mr. Weiland.

Beginning in June (for a limited time), Nintendo's Gamecube will come packaged with the Gameboy Player. It's a neat little peripheral that lets you play your GB(A) games on the Cube. I just bought an SP not too long ago, but I still wouldn't mind being able to play all these games on my actual TV.

Corey was good enough to let me know that Wes Anderson's next film's title has been announced, and that title is The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

banana
You are a banana! Good job, captain obvious.

which rejected character are you?
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