Weekend Stuff

I'm kind of a horror movie buff, so this weekend I'm totally looking forward to catching Sam Raimi's new flick, Drag Me to Hell.



It's nice to see him taking a break from turning Spider-Man into an emo loser getting back to his horror roots.

Umm... No

Io9 has either lost its damn fool mind or is in cahoots with whoever is in the process of ginning up the zombie apocalypse. Zombies are not and cannot be sexy/hot. Because they're rotting dead flesh and will eat your intestines out of your screaming soon to be living dead body.

Case closed. Not sexy. Not hot. Be prepared.

Memorial Day Weekend

It's tradition over here at WTJD, that we open up the DVD bin, crack open a few beers, and have a Band of Brothers marathon for Memorial Day weekend.

By this juncture, I don't expect there are many people who haven't seen it. However, if you're one of those unfortunate few the History Channel usually runs a marathon this weekend. It is awe inspiring and I recommend watching it with the same conviction with which I would recommend breathing.

This Explains Everything

About science funding, that is.

Thanks, C

Federal Witness Placed In Cell With "People" He Was Testifying Against

And that's only the beginning of the funny.

So, this gang member, Van Sneed, is supposed to testify against three other gang members who were charged with drug conspiracy....and killing witness tampering. These four worthless wastes of life are then locked in a cell together and a fight ensues. Oh, and Sneed's greatest claim to fame? His appearance in the Stop Snitching video.

Honestly, if it wasn't for the collateral damage, I'd say let the scum wipe each other out.

Hat tip, Steve

Today's Metal

Apparently I'm in an Arch Enemy mood today. Also, Angela is totally freaking sweet.

Classic...If You're Into This Sort Of Thing

Down in the basement at work today. That means iPod time. So I've been rocking out to these guys all day and figured I'd give you folks a taste.

Some Griping And A Question

A friend sent me a link to this site today (specifically the Yakuza pineapple post). The first thought that popped into my head was that it would be an excellent way for me to brush up on my written Japanese. The second thought that popped into my head was how completely ridiculous it is that having studied the language for a little more than 5 years, none of my instructors really taught Kanji. These weren't private lessons, but the Japanese language curriculum for Baltimore County.

To get an idea as to just how crazy that is, imagine taking an English class where you're taught to speak English, but only taught to read and write prefixes, suffixes, articles, and a handful of basic nouns, verbs, and particles (ex. days of the week, numbers, to run, to read, up, and down). Imagine studying English for over 5 years and being less literate than a kindergartner. Exactly.

At any rate, that's in the past. Right now I'm looking to refresh and improve my Japanese language skills. So, my question for you fine folks is this: Do you know (or have you heard) of any good study guides (preferably specifically for Kanji)?

Congratulations, Maryland!

You're one of the 5 least free states in the Union!
There really is no place like home.

On NASA

This post is less of a +/- list than a two perspective glance at some common questions about NASA. However, before we get into anything else, I have a bone to pick with the 14 dead astronauts jab. Don't get me wrong the loss of life is tragic, but we're strapping people to rockets to speed them away from the surface of the Earth at speeds that replicate multiples of Earth's gravity. The space shuttle goes from 0 to 17,000 mph in 8.5 minutes. All of this is towards the end of sending human beings into the single most inhospitable environment known to man. The fact that only 14 brave men and women lost their lives in that pursuit is remarkable and belongs firmly in the 'NASA rocks' column.

That said, let's look at the two other (major) issues:

1.) Government Bureaucracy vs Private Industry-
Clearly one of NASA's biggest problems is the degree to which it's a government agency with all of the accompanying/resulting inefficiencies, mismanagement, and sprawl. Of course, the greatest benefit of NASA being a government agency is that all Americans own a piece of NASA's accomplishments. The moon landings continue to be a source of national pride (as they should be), and I'm not sure to what extent that would be true if they had been accomplished by US Air or IBM.

Privatized space flight and exploration are the way of the future, but I think there's a strong argument for maintaining some kind of government space agency for national security/defense purposes at the very least.

2.)Manned vs Non-manned Space Exploration-
As far as practicality is concerned, this essentially comes down to whether or not think one of the biggest purposes of space exploration is give mankind an option for survival when the sun starts to die or an asteroid the size of Texas looms or whatever gonzo space disaster happens that's beyond our ability to control or fix. If being able to make a home on other worlds sounds important to you, then there's no substitution for manned space exploration when it comes to accumulating data on the effects that environment will have on human anatomy and psychology. It also provides field data on the challenges we'll encounter.

If you think space exploration is essentially about building a better encyclopedia then the costs and risks (in every sense) of manned space exploration are unjustifiable and robots are clearly the superior alternative.

I'd like the human race to have as many options for survival as possible.



In short, I would sell my organs on the black market to pay to be a part of the first human colony on Mars and NASA made us believe it was possible.

Before Dave Sucked

So this is the band the guy who did Bald White Oprah used to be in before he stopped drinking and started sucking.



Artists, let this be a lesson: Art is pain; if you don't suffer for your art your art will suffer.

Surprise- Oh, Wait. Never Mind.

So the WaPo wastes valuable newspaper money paying staff writer, Jen Chaney, to piddle away everyone's time.

Apparently S. Darko, the straight to DVD abomination sequel to Donnie Darko doesn't actually look like b-movie hell, but it certainly feels like it. I mean, 1.) Completely unsurprising, and 2.) It's straight to DVD. I expect that sort of review from "hip" "urban" weeklies or some such, but the WaPo entertainment section? Really? What's next? "Vampires vs Zombies 2, better than the original- only the second worst film you'll ever see"?

I've Got A Thing For Neat Animation

So this video is kind of rocking my world right now.

5 Minutes

The bit where he dances into his pants sans-hands is totally my favorite.

I'm Geekin' Out!

Thanks, J., for pointing out this free e-book of The Great God Pan.

The rest of you folk may not know that yours truly is a huge Lovecraft fan, and the man, himself, frequently proclaimed The Great God Pan to be his biggest inspirations.

Also, I'm kind of re-addicted to the x-box 360.

Jaw Dropping

Nyle "Let The Beat Build" from Nyle on Vimeo.

That's one continuous take and the sound was recorded simultaneously.