Stewart-Colbert Rally: I Was There

Living in Baltimore and having off yesterday, I teamed up with a friend and headed down to DC. I figured if a good number of people showed up both sides would try to spin it. (And having attended Tea Party rallies, I know exactly how that ends up.) As it turned out a huge number of people showed up. Seriously.

I spent today surfing the web checking out what various sources are saying about the event. A lot of it is spin. The left is claiming it as a Democrat event. The right is marginalizing it (when they're not ignoring it altogether). I see a lot of people doing what the left does to the right- namely posting the loonies and ignoring everyone else. I think yesterday was important- if not for the national dialog then at least for the people who attended (physically or online).

A lot of people would like to get back to a place where no one was Hitler or Stalin except for Hitler and Stalin. A lot of people think that being obstructionist not because you honestly disagree with a thing, but for the sake of partisan obstructionism is actively detrimental to the ability of our country to function. And yesterday was a way for a lot of people to express that. So I'm writing this post. And here are a few things I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else:

1.) It really was non-political: Stewart and Colbert kept things light and non-partisan. Stewart's speech (scroll down) at the end summed up the idea nicely. Sure, you had a number of people who defined "sanity" as their own political agenda, but they were definitely in the minority from what I observed.

2.) There were Republicans!: Granted, there were certainly more Democrats, but it was by no means a one party event.

3.) Most people seemed to be fed up with both parties.

4.) From what I saw it was pretty interesting mix of people. But then I was amongst the (larger) number of people who couldn't see the stage at all (figure 2/3 to 3/4 of the crowd- but just a guess based on our location (land marks) and aerial photos.) Posts closer to the stage definitely have a monochromatic theme going on though. Still, after everything ended walking through the crowd and around the mall the mix seemed pretty good.


You might be thinking "Sure, now that Democrats are in power using inflammatory rhetoric necessitates a call to "restore sanity", but where were they when people were comparing Bush to Hitler?" And you'd be right- there are a hell of a lot of hypocrites in this world, but being a hypocrite doesn't make you wrong. The appropriate thing to do when other people act like an ass isn't for you to act like an ass too. But there are two possibilities for yesterday: 1.) I spent the day surrounded by a bunch of hypocrites with a good point. Or, 2.) I spent the day with a bunch of people who had finally had enough. Either way you cut it, I don't find a loss.

Sorry for the lack of pictures, but the phone died on the walk from the car because I forgot to charge it the previous night. (I did hope to be able to get at least a few shots before it quit, but no such luck.)

Anyway...that's all I have for you for now.

Uh...Huh...?

I guess the first thing is this. An online Collectible Card Game (CCG) based around the Stargate franchise is, frankly, weird to me. And it's less the Stargate and more the online CCG that's doing the weirding. I can't even put my finger on exactly why it's weirding me out- in my younger days I played a number of CCG's from Magic: The Gathering to Marvel Overpower. What I do know is that conceptually it gives me a sense of unease somewhere between my first 2NE1 music video and the idea of a bug laying eggs in my ear.

So the second thing would be 2NE1, a K-pop band which serves as either a raging indictment of the wholesale exportation of American culture or a testament to the universality of girls shaking their...assets... as an indicator of cultural awesomeness. Possibly both. Picture, if you will...never mind. I'll just show you.

This was the first 2NE1 video I was exposed to (thank you, Jacob):


Then I found this, at which point I honestly did not even know what I was watching anymore:

Great Old Spice

Eldritch horror for the win.

I Don't Know If I Should Laugh Or Vomit

Maybe the vomit part is just the hangover talking, but still....Uwe Boll (nope, not just the hangover) is taking on the Holocaust.(unfortunately, you'll remember his "movies" House of the Dead, **Bloodrayne, Alone in the Dark, ect.) You're not delusional- you read that correctly. The man who essentially made a career on raping the collective gamer childhood is making a movie about the Holocaust. Specifically Auschwitz.

Granted, Mr.Boll has made a number of films not based on video games. They also suck in ways previously unknown to mankind.

*Hat tip: J.

**Corrected

Oldy But Goody

Once upon a time the radio was something actually worth listening to. Back in those bountiful days Baltimore's 98 Rock actually rocked. They also had a sense of humor and did much to fan the flames of Dundalk-Essex rivalry. In that spirit, I give you the classic Devil Went Down to Dundalk.

So Very Well Done

Star Wars as a silent movie.

Hat tip: Kevin

What Would Largo Do?

Aside from be awesome that is. Apparently a heck of a lot. Including building a java fueled car. For those of you who are not webcomic addicts: *Mega Tokyo.

*Archive binge warning.

Hat tip: R-san

Pics From The Con Weekend

Way late, but here anyway. 3 were taken by a friend who was on staff.

So Very Wrong

Squid fly. That is all.

Creeeeeeepy

Just. Creepy. And, no, the pie doesn't help.

Technical Difficulties

Been having some issues with my network hub, but I hope to get pics from the weekend up over the next day or so. Sadly, I had to take them with my phone, but better than nothing, eh?

Under Siege

Otakon is in town for the weekend. Staff rolled out the setup yesterday and today the hordes arrive. Here's the rub, otaku aren't the geekiest out there, but as a whole they're pretty grody.

Look, I'm just going to say it: There are a lot of geeks out there for whom the flak with regards to personal hygiene and social skills is not undeserved. In addition there is a particular brand of geek-girl who, by simply being very likely the only (but possibly one of very few) girl(s) that will speak to/associate with geek boys has essentially attained queen-b status. 90% of otaku fall into those two categories (oddly enough, yaoi fangirls not so much).

So, that's thing the first. Thing the second would be convention behavior for certain geek groups. Which, look, there's just something that happens when a lot of geeks come together and it's rarely pretty. Sure, I want to go to Comic-Con (I also want to go to E3), but it pretty much stops there. Those are conventions where the pull (in my book) is worth the horror show that is geeks en mass. I'm not saying they're all huge neck-beards. Most of them are quite average looking (cos-play aside).

At any rate expect photos over the weekend.

Good Morning, Baltimore!

A Hopkins researcher was robbed and stabbed to death walking home from Penn Station. Baltimore (or at least the part that's not, you know, killing people) is outraged that the murderous scum isn't just murdering other murderous scum.

The year so far.

(I'll post an image later. This comp is giving me grief about it.)

Chewbacca On A Squirrel Fighting Nazis

Really really! It's weird and awesome.

Science News Cycle

The awful truth.

Wonderful!

L.A.B.W. has trailer goodness.

There Are No Words To Describe The Pure Awesome

SyFy makes me either giddy or mortified. This? So. Freaking. Giddy. I might even watch the movie.
Mega Python vs. Gatoroid - Sneak Peek

*added* I mean, what's better than a cat fight between washed-out pop starlets?

And Then There's This

While we're on the subject of Comic Con, I feel I would be remiss if I didn't point out that Fred Phelps took his trashy ass act to the convention- or rather the street outside of the convention, and Comic Con responded the way...well, the way only a bunch of geeks can:

I Will Go To Comic Con...

...at least once in my life. I will go because things like this must be seen live and surrounded by fellow geeks.

It's A Step

Anticipating Californians' passing of a law permitting casual marijuana use, Oakland (a "wretched hive of scum and villainy" to be sure) is working out how to tax it. My dig at Oakland aside, that's some rare good news to come out of Cali.