E.B.

Let There Be Sims

Tue, 19 May 2009 14:04:33 GMT

NIN vs. Apple

Tue, 05 May 2009 15:16:51 GMT

Trent Reznor flames Apple for their rejection of an update to the NIN app in the App Store. And he has a point.

"Now, “The Downward Spiral” the album is not available anywhere in the iPhone app. The song “The Downward Spiral” I believe is in a podcast that can be streamed to the app.
Thanks Apple for the clear description of the problem - as in, what do you want us to change to get past your stupid f u c king standards?
And while we’re at it, I’ll voice the same issue I had with Wal-Mart years ago, which is a matter of consistency and hypocrisy. Wal-Mart went on a rampage years ago insisting all music they carry be censored of all profanity and “clean” versions be made for them to carry. Bands (including Nirvana) tripped over themselves editing out words, changing album art, etc to meet Wal-Mart’s standards of decency - because Wal-Mart sells a lot of records. NIN refused, and you’ll notice a pretty empty NIN section at any Wal-Mart. My reasoning was this: I can understand if you want the moral posturing of not having any “indecent” material for sale - but you could literally turn around 180 degrees from where the NIN record would be and purchase the film “Scarface” completely uncensored, or buy a copy of Grand Theft Auto where you can be rewarded for beating up prostitutes. How does that make sense?
You can buy The Downward F u c king Spiral on iTunes, but you can’t allow an iPhone app that may have a song with a bad word somewhere in it. Geez, what if someone in the forum in our app says f u c k or c u n t? I suppose that also falls into indecent material. Hey Apple, I just got some SPAM about f u c king hot asian teens through your mail program. I just saw two guys having explicit anal sex right there in Safari! On my iPhone! Come on Apple, think your policies through and for f u c k’s sake get your app approval scenario together."
"Everyone - let me be clear. I love Apple products and as goofy and out-of-touch as their app approval process / policy is, I will still use them because they work 1000X better than the competition. This is not a debate, it's a fact. The iPhone is THE most elegant, modern smartphone at this point in time and it's perfect for what we want to do with the NIN app - except for the ludicrous approval process, and that's what I want to draw attention to.

Android is cool, but nobody has an Android phone. Blackberry is OK but the hardware is inconsistent and WinMo straight-up sucks balls. If Apple doesn’t get it together, we will most certainly make it available to the jailbreak community. I didn’t invest in this app to see it languish on the sidelines from an idiotic policy while this tour is in full swing."

Shucked from: http://www.modmyi.com/forums/iphone-news/595591-nins-trent-reznor-scathes-app-store-rejection-objectionable-content-ok-3-0-a.html

United States of Tara

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 05:24:59 GMT

...what he said.

United States of Tara, is such a cool fucking show! Watch it.

NOW!

Krazy! Cosplay Party!

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:59:58 GMT

http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=30d38e21

In conjunction with the exhibition KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games, Japan Society holds its first-ever Cosplay Party, inviting local fans to create and show off costumes of their favorite characters and share their enthusiasm for anime, manga and video games.

Admission to the Cosplay Party includes:
A costume competition with prizes from Kinokuniya Bookstore and Manga Entertainment! The KRAZY! Cosplay Contest will be judged by members of World Cosplay Summit Team USA and Ningin.com!
Music from DJ VDRK and a special performance from Reni singing songs in Harajuku and Akihabara style!
FREE entrance to the KRAZY! exhibition featuring original manga artwork, hundreds of manga to read, an environment by cutting-edge architectural practice Atelier Bow-Wow, and playable video games! Classic anime film clips from Akira, Mind Game, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Paprika, and more!

DJ provided by 303GRAND.

Join the discussion on our Facebook Page!

Costume Contest Prizes:
1st Place: $200 gift certificate to Kinokuniya Bookstore
2nd Place: $100 gift certificate to Kinokuniya Bookstore
3rd Place: $50 gift certificate to Kinokuniya Bookstore

Other prizes: DVDs of Ninja Scroll, Straight Jacket and Ghost in the Shell provided by Manga Entertainment and Street Fighter 4 for PS3

Sign-up for the Costume Contest is from 5:30 - 6:30 PM.
If you plan on competing in the competition, please arrive early.

There will be an area to don your costumes at Japan Society.

Those without a costume are welcome to attend, to observe, and to cheer on their friends.

Food/Beverage:
There will be complimentary beverages (coke/sprite/etc.) and western snacks available.

Tickets:
$10 pre-register
$15 at the door
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged!

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<a href="http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=30d38e21"><img src="http://www.japansociety.org/resources/legacy/event/cosplay_party_316.jpg"></a>
http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=30d38e21

In conjunction with the exhibition KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video Games, Japan Society holds its first-ever Cosplay Party, inviting local fans to create and show off costumes of their favorite characters and share their enthusiasm for anime, manga and video games.

Admission to the Cosplay Party includes:
A costume competition with prizes from Kinokuniya Bookstore and Manga Entertainment! The KRAZY! Cosplay Contest will be judged by members of World Cosplay Summit Team USA and Ningin.com!
Music from DJ VDRK and a special performance from Reni singing songs in Harajuku and Akihabara style!
FREE entrance to the KRAZY! exhibition featuring original manga artwork, hundreds of manga to read, an environment by cutting-edge architectural practice Atelier Bow-Wow, and playable video games! Classic anime film clips from Akira, Mind Game, Super Dimension Fortress Macross, Paprika, and more!

DJ provided by <a href="http://www.303grandnyc.com/">303GRAND</a>.

<a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-NY/Japan-Society/7479618059">Join the discussion on our Facebook Page!</a>

Costume Contest Prizes:
1st Place: $200 gift certificate to Kinokuniya Bookstore
2nd Place: $100 gift certificate to Kinokuniya Bookstore
3rd Place: $50 gift certificate to Kinokuniya Bookstore

Other prizes: DVDs of Ninja Scroll, Straight Jacket and Ghost in the Shell provided by Manga Entertainment and Street Fighter 4 for PS3

Sign-up for the Costume Contest is from 5:30 - 6:30 PM.
If you plan on competing in the competition, please arrive early.

There will be an area to don your costumes at Japan Society.

Those without a costume are welcome to attend, to observe, and to cheer on their friends.

Food/Beverage:
There will be complimentary beverages (coke/sprite/etc.) and western snacks available.

Tickets:
$10 pre-register
$15 at the door
Pre-registration is strongly encouraged!

<a hre"http://www.japansociety.org/content.cfm/buy_tickets?eid=30d38e21">Buy Tickets Online</a> or call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 6 pm, Weekends 11 am - 5 pm.

Ticket holders for this event are welcome to arrive early to check out the KRAZY! exhibit from 11 AM - 5 PM!

We recommend that children under 13 be accompanied by adults.
Children in costume will have chance to show off their costumes at the end of the contest.

Contest Rules:
In order to compete in the KRAZY! Cosplay Contest you must have a costume that fits into one of the following categories:

- Anime/Manga/Film/US Comics
- Videos Games
- Original/Other

No store-bought or rented costumes will be eligible to participate. Contestants must appear in some form of legitimate costume. Japan Society staff reserves the right to determine what actually constitutes a legitimate costuming effort. Store bought props and/or pieces are allowed. Please keep costumes PG rated. Do not bring real or metal swords or weapons to this event.

You may enter as a group. For a winning group there will only be one prize, and the group leader gets it. Please keep that in mind when entering and registering.

...and I'm a Marvel

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:22:46 GMT

Now this is funny.

Two and a Half Watchmen

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:50:50 GMT

Mildly Amusing. And I do stress the "mildly" part.

I love the "Hi, Lady Gaga" Because I was thinking the same thing! haha

Sims 3 iPhone

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:03:06 GMT

Are Violent Video Games Preparing Kids For The Apocalypse?

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 04:33:55 GMT

Fallout 3

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:30:58 GMT

Play. This. Game.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Animated Series

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:39:31 GMT

What could have been. They managed to boil down the bare theme of the show and dumb it down for 9 year olds. I would've watched every single episode.

Munny!

Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:26:13 GMT

MUNNY Sprouts! from Kidrobot on Vimeo.

Sony Releases Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 20:19:57 GMT

It's funny cuz it's true.

The 11th Doctor

Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:05:35 GMT

I know, I'm a day late, but... *sigh* I'll have to see him to believe him. The casting people have been really brilliant so far, so I'm going to trust them on this. He looks like a bit of a prat, but, we'll see. Who's gonna be his sidekick? I mean, Donna Noble won't exactly work. She'll look like his mother. While I wanted the next doctor to be a woman, that doesn't really make too much sense to have him gender swapping like that. But a black guy would've been nice. I thought Dr. Moon, from that Library episode (he was also the teacher from Hex) would've made a good Doctor.

Torchwood @ NYComicCon

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:37:28 GMT

Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Thanks to Newsarama we now have confirmation of a Torchwood panel at this year's New York ComicCon, headed up by actress Eve Myles and director Euros Lyn. They'll be there to promote the up and coming third series of the show - Children of Earth - expected to hit both sides of the Atlantic this summer.

The official line-up:

Saturday, February 7

4:15 – 5:15pm Torchwood: Actress Eve Myles (Merlin, Doctor Who) and director Euros Lyn (Doctor Who) to present a sneak peak of Torchwood: Children of Earth and discuss their creative process and experience working on BBC AMERICA’s highest rated series.

Followed by a Q&A session.

6:00 – 7:00pm, Table 1, Autograph Area: Eve Myles and Euros Lyn will participate in an official New York ComicCon signing.

As much as I'd love to be there this Brit can't weather hefty flight costs, especially at short notice! So it's up to you guys that can make it to keep the rest of us posted on what's said/shown during the event - any news can be emailed to my handy email address.

***

Hey, now that my all time favorite space oddballs are returning to Earth, what better time to suggest some sort of Red Dwarf/Torchwood crossover?! I could see it now - Captain Jack meets Cat! And Ianto faints at the very sight of Dave Lister... Come on BBC chiefs, commission the damn thing already!!*

*Now obviously this is a joke. 'Obviously' applies to 99.99% of people on this Earth, meaning 0.01% will think me serious, but then they're just idiots. Obviously.

Legion of Super-heroes on Smallville!!!! AAAHHHH!!!!!!

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:07:28 GMT

fook! I got to start watching Smallville again.

Child Bankrupts Make-a-Wish Foundation With Wish For Unlimited Wishes

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:37:47 GMT

It was embedded, but I couldn't get the "autostart" to stay falsified. (~_~) BOOOO.

Child Bankrupts Make-A-Wish Foundation With Wish For Unlimited Wishes

Guilty Pleasure Remix Voting

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 04:00:56 GMT

Check out remixes of Manda Rin's Guilty Pleasure and vote! Vote! Boat! ...wait, what?

http://www.gybo5.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=109:manda-rin-remixes-vote&catid=30:main-features&Itemid=118

If you listen to only one track, make it the "Incognito mix by Acrylic Iqon". It's brilliant. And oh look, they're from Glasgow. Coincidence? I think not.

There's some really really crazy remixes over there. So cool. I wasn't that into the DNA Remix on My DNA that much. So this made that up to me.

El principe de Bel Air

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 17:48:20 GMT

My NEGATIVE Review of Alen Moore's "From Hell"

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 20:18:01 GMT

From Hell by Alan Moore

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
Okay, this is a preliminary review as I have stopped reading this tedious and totally un-enjoyable book and I don't know if/when I'll be going back.

Wow. It's just sooo boring. There's a bunch of dominoes being set up, and it's just hundreds of pages of the SAME SIZED PANELS and those same dominoes still haven't been knocked over yet.

I'm having a hard time with the panels. Using the same, small panel boxes over and over and over and over and over again makes reading a comic book excruciatingly boring. It makes it seem like nothing important is happening.

The art is nice for the most part, but sometimes it's so abstract, and loose and "sketchy"- in black ink over a black background, that I can't tell what's going on, or what things are supposed to be, OR WORSE WHO PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE.

I personally have issues with this kind of sketchy style, as I don't enjoy it at all. I am an artist and have been told that it is better. I disagree. I think it's easier for the artist to pretend it's "Art" with a capital 'A'. But that's just me.

I enjoyed the art for the most part, but there are gaps when I couldn't tell what was visually happening.

Oh, yeah, but it's a comic book and comic books have words, yeah? WRONG. The pages are lettered BY HAND. So there are times when words are literally crammed into the balloon and the letters begin to look dodgy and totally illegible.

There are a lot of threads that are all supposed to be linked to Jack The Ripper and only 1 or 2 of them is interesting. Yet at this early stage, you can't see how any of them have anything to do with a serial killer, and thus it feels like a waste of time, because you're less than a third into the book.

This is one of those poorly written books, that if you don't like it then you feel like an idiot. To that I say no thank you. Try harder if you want people to actually read the story you've written.

But I will say that a History Buff lent this book to me, and unless you are a History buff with a specific interest in Jack The Ripper and lots and lots of time to reflect on each panel and bubble to decipher what it's supposed to mean, this one may not be for you.

View all my reviews.

Happy Birthday...

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:50:09 GMT

...To me. (^______^)

I HATE iTUNES!!!!!!

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:37:10 GMT

Okay, iTunes ate up all of my contacts and stuff, so PLEASE text or email me your number. Cuz it's gone now.

And my apartment is freezing.

The Ungroundable

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:09:29 GMT

Can somebody please give the goth kids from South Park their own show? Please? I'll pay for it out of pocket.

Manda Rin - Guilty Pleasure Music Video

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:27:02 GMT

Embrace Change

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 20:59:05 GMT

OUTED! McCain Chief Of Staff Mark Buse

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 17:44:02 GMT

And another one bites, and another one bites, and another one bites the pillow.

When will Republicans just stop already? Damn, they're freakier then Liberals!

OUTED! McCain Chief Of Staff Mark Buse

In what they are calling a "hypocrisy bombshell", today SiriusXM
radio host Michelangelo Signorile and DC-based LGBT activist Mike Rogers jointly
revealed that Mark Buse, John McCain's chief of staff, is a gay man.

From
a story just posted on
Signorile's blog:

Over the past month I've
been contacted by three different individuals (two of them members of the Log
Cabin Republicans) claiming that McCain's Senate chief of state, Mark Buse, is
gay. None of these individuals would be quoted by name, though each described
Buse as being rather "open" to those around him and to his family – in a
"glass closet" rather than deeply undercover or trying to appear
heterosexual.

Then I was contacted in recent weeks by 46-year-old Brian
Davis, an Arizona resident, who told me about his intimate relationship with
Mark Buse (confirmed by his mother, as well as by a long-time friend), and who
decided he needed to tell the truth about Buse, on the record, in light of
John McCain's dramatic shift to the ideological religious right in this
election and his choice of Sarah Palin, starlet of the evangelical movement,
as a running mate. (Repeated calls to Mark Buse's office and calls and email
to McCain's communications office in the Senate regarding this story were
unreturned. Mike Rogers, the blogger and activist who revealed the truth about
Senator Larry Craig and others in politics, today reports this same reality
about Mark Buse that I report here, with separate, independent
sourcing.)

Signorile has posted an old video clip
taken by Buse's ex-boyfriend at their apartment in 2000.

Signorile:

John McCain is opposed
to every single gay rights measure of recent years –- from a hate crimes bill,
to an anti-discrimination bill to an attempt to repeal the "don't ask, don't
tell" policy on gays in the military –- and is publicly on record supporting a
ballot measure in California this November to strip gays and lesbians there of
their legally-won right to marry in that state. If that isn't enough to make
it relevant to report on his 20-year-relationship with a close aide and chief
of staff who is gay, the fact that Sarah Palin is now on the ticket --
garnering support for McCain from previously reticent antigay leaders like
James Dobson of Focus on the Family –- surely does.

Mark Buse, after
all, is a public figure in his own right. His role as chief of staff to a man
running for president has elevated him and certainly his controversial former
role as a prominent lobbyist has brought media scrutiny to him. And he is
running the Senate office of a 72-year-old presidential candidate who has had
recurrent cancer and who might well usher into the White House as president a
woman who, by what evidence we have, has melded her politics with her
evangelical religious beliefs.

On Friday, Mike Rogers went to Buse's office to present him
with the Roy Cohn Award.

Mark Buse is not just a
Chief of Staff for a homophobic United States Senator, but he is helping that
Senator get elected to the White House.

Does Mark Buse fit the Barney
Frank rule? Without a doubt. While McCain voted against the Federal Marriage
Amendment, he supports amending state constitutions defining marriage as
between a man and a woman. McCain knows our country needs everyone who wants
to serve in the military and he knows that DADT is wrong, yet he swings to the
right on repealing it.

Worst of all, and a demonstration of his
inability to act rationally and with the country's best interests at heart, he
picked someone who, if she becomes president (very likely), will be the most
homophobic in American history.

With that in mind, and after confirming
the information with two other sources, I decided it was time t o present Buse
the Roy Cohn Award for working against the interests of the lesbian and gay
community while living as a gay man.

Go watch the
video of Rogers attempting to deliver the award at Buse's office. Buse did not
appear.

Mike Rogers:

Does the McCain campaign
truly support LGBT Americans? Let's see when the American Family Association
weights in. TAKE ACTION and CALL THE AMERICAN FAMILY ASSOCIATION and THANK
THEM FOR SUPPORTING JOHN MCCAIN even though he has gay Americans in high
places on his staff, including his Chief of Staff. You can reach the AFA at
1-800-A-FAMILY (1-800-232-6459)! Call and thank them
today.

Oh, this is going to be FUN. But also, UGH.
We've got another scumbag traitorous Quisling self-hating homo KAPO working to
beat down his fellow queers.

UPDATE: If anybody can find a better
picture of Buse, please send it to me. For a guy with such a high profile job,
he's20done an amazing job of keeping his face out of the news. Thanks very much to the JMG reader who
provided the above photo.

UPDATE II: This story is exploding on Daily Kos.

If John McCain keeps
this guy on as his chief of staff, does Sarah Palin still get to be
raptured?

Honestly.

Who is the bigger hypocrite
here?

Mark Buse, an openly gay man
who is spending his life helping John McCain block important gay civil rights
issues like marriage and adoption?

Or John McCain, who obviously
has no problem with gay folks, but has adopted an anti-gay platform out of
political expediency and a desire to court people like Sarah Palin, who think
that if they just hate
enough, they'll be Raptured into the love of Jesus when the End Times
come.

Ridiculous.

Mark Buse is obviously a man of
some ability. It ain't nothing to get yourself a position as chief of staff to
a powerful senator and presidential candidate.

A20pity that he is wasting his
talents fighting against his gay and Lesbian brothers and sisters. And against
everyone else who stands in solidarity for civil rights for
all.

It's also a pity for
us.

Because his efforts have
contributed to the endless delays, damages and humiliations caused to gay and
Lesbian Americans as we wait to achieve a full and equal status as citizens of
the U.S.

UPDATE
III: Since some readers are having trouble understanding the legitimacy
of this outing, a reader suggests that we revisit a 2006 JMG post in which we
discussed four outing scenarios. From the fourth case study in that post:

John Doe is a highly
placed staffer in a prominent Republican senator's office. Doe's boss is
virulently anti-gay publicly, even though he graciously hosts Doe and his
boyfriend at dinner parties in his home. Doe is dedicated and skilled and with
the help of his expert advice, Doe's boss successfully thwarts numerous
gay-friendly bills and positions himself as a "pro-family"
advocate.

Do we out John
Doe?

It's almost as if the above was
predicting Mark Buse.