The Madman Diaries IV

Yes, I'm mad. And with good reason.



This. It's pretty damn horrible--the actions caught in this video are ranked within the same level of atrocity as the Abu Ghraib photos and the My Lai Massacre. Among the people killed were a journalist and a driver, and some children were wounded. It sickens me. Just because they were brown people does not mean that they were terrorists. Well, it's easy to mistake a camera for a weapon, but goddamn. Trigger-happy, much? Just like in My Lai, the party responsible for the killings pretty much got away with it.

Is there no justice in the world? Apparently.

The Internet's become pretty lame. YouTube has a new, horrible format that is less "You" and more "advertiser-friendly Facebook ripoff", and net-neutrality is going down the shitter. Parliament recently passed the Digital Economy Act, regulating how digital media will be distributed in the UK. Meaning, if you like piracy and you're British, well...you're boned.

On the subject of controversial things relating to the Internet, hentai in my CNN? It's more likely than you think. Kyung Lah, a Korean reporter who is CNN's Tokyo-based correspondent, reported about Japan's controversial eroge (erotic game) market. Among one of those games is "RapeLay", a 3D rape simulation game for the PC. Now, last year the game garnered a lot of negative attention internationally and the publisher, ILLUSION, pulled the game from the shelves after several groups were enraged about the game's subject matter, with even some special-interest groups wanting it and similar games banned entirely. Just last week, there was a report on CNN about "hentai games" and the game featured was "RapeLay". The problem with that report is that it's 1) old news, 2) not relevant to the interests of the world, and 3) harbors anti-Japanese sentiment. The latter can be blamed on both Kyung Lah's suspected bias against Japan (sadly, Koreans and Japanese in general hate each other, for obvious reasons) and the fact that a neighborhood of perverted otaku in Akihabara is now a representation of Japanese people as a whole. I am also bothered that people find eroge bothersome but do not find violent video games equally as repugnant. I mean, murder simulators are just as bad as rape simulators, right? I kind of expected this type of reporting to be found in Fox News, rather than CNN. Then again, cable news is quite sensationalist.

Also, psst, Kyung Lah had an affair with some other dude at KNBC before she got fired and then started working at CNN. Pass it on.



In lighter news, MTV's "Jersey Shore". It's full of guidos and cancer. Seriously, orange skin doesn't look healthy at all. And stop making those duck faces.

You know what else is cancerous? The Tea Party movement. Protesting against the establishment for a cause is awesome and all, but if you're among one of the many teabaggers out there reading this, stop being a tool. Seriously. Do you know anything about health care reform? Or do you just protest because you blindly follow whatever these talk-radio fascists tell you to do and sincerely believe that "socialism" is this great evil that will ruin America forever? Go read this and this, calm the fuck down, and think for a change.

Oh, and Sarah Palin is an ignorant trollop. 'Nuff said.

You'd think with all of this negativity surrounding me that I'd go mad...well, even more mad than before, but I've found something that has mellowed me out:





UKULELE = LOVE ♥♥


C'est la vie,



SOURCES: CNN, Sankaku Complex, Wikileaks, /a/, YouTube, Wikipedia.

MomoCon 2010: A Journey in Pictures

I have returned to reality from the Land of Madness. MomoCon 2010 was a neat, if not tiring, experience and this year I was available for both days (unlike last year, MomoCon 2009, in which I was available only on Saturday). Lots of interesting chaps, cute girls, and lovable weirdos this year, which is strange because cons usually have ill-fitting misfits, freaks, and fatties who have no business cosplaying littering the place. However, the crazies were still present, such as a few furries, teenage girls advertising free hugs and kisses via signs before they got confiscated, boys-love fangirls who would strike the ass of anyone who asked about their yaoi paddles, and even a schoolgirl who was selling used panties in some corner somewhere.

I did get some neat things this year, mostly doujins and minicomics, and someday I might review them after I've read them all, but for right now, here is a slideshow of people and things I found interesting in MomoCon 2010.

Create a Free Slideshow

Enjoy,

Meet Ray N. at MomoCon 2010!

Another year, another con. I hope that there's some good (and cheap) merch this year. Would be nice to pick up some more mini comics and doujins. If anyone is interested in hanging out with me or just stopping by to say "Hello", then use the information posted above. Photos and a written experience of the con will be posted next week.

Adios,

Life is Strange 5

"Life is Strange"

Observational true-to-life tales by The Lone Observer

Encounter 5: Saturday night at a family sports bar, January 2010.
Subject: "Drunken Karaoke"

Hello. I am simply a lone observer in my 20s who happens to encounter strange people, intentional or not, for my amusement and for yours.

This encounter happened at a family-owned sports bar somewhere in the South.

In this life, I have met some strange and scary people. As bad as they are, yaoi fangirls, nymphomaniacs, manchildren and even furries weren't enough to unnerve me 100%. But, one Saturday night, I've encountered a dangerous group of people: alcoholics.

Yes, drunks. The very people that litter bars, a place I was at during this encounter, scare the living shit out of me. You would think that they are amusing when they go up on the stage and perform drunken karaoke, and that is true. But, that's only one side of the matter. Give a person enough liquor, and they will lose all inhibition and common sense, and may God help you should the person get violent or needy.

Anyway, I was there on my own, eating a plate of hot wings (I do admit, the place has really good chicken wings) and drinking glasses of sweet tea, sticking around for karaoke. I used to go there almost every week for a while to eat good food and to participate in karaoke. I never drank due to myself being the only one who can drive myself home, but despite that, it was all in good fun.

The emcee during those karaoke nights was a man we called "Coach". Nice old fellow. Nothing negative about him. Neither were most of the chaps and ladies around, such as a child who wore a cowboy hat and usually covered country songs. He was pretty cool, especially his cover of "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" in the style of The Charlie Daniels Band.

I usually go up for about 3 to 4 times and sing my songs when it was my turn during the rotation, and I've always ended each night with a Blues Brothers cover, along with dancing. Tonight seemed to be a normal night, save for the influx of new people who wanted to watch a football game that was on TV. The last time a game was on when I visited the bar, it was the game between UGA and GA Tech and the majority were UGA fanatics. Not just UGA fanatics--drunk UGA fanatics. I was quite afraid, but not because of their drunkeness, but rather that I almost walked in with my GA Tech cap. I left it in the car that night because the night was quite warm and I didn't need to keep my head from getting cold. Had I worn the cap, I'd probably wouldn't be around to write this entry.

Ok, enough derailing.

As I ate my wings, an aged woman with a pale complexion and short hair emerged from a group of women who sat together at a table across from mine came up to the stage and sang some songs. She had a nice voice. After she sat back down to her table, she knocked back a few beers along with her friends. Thought nothing special about it.

Ok, now this is the part of the story where shit gets ugly.

As I sang, I heard cheering from someone in the back. When I discovered who it was, I thought to myself, "Oh no. Why him?"

This dude was someone I met in the bar weeks earlier. A tall, shit-faced Caucasian dude appearing in his mid-to-late 20s with a red nose went up to me and always asked me for $5. Presumably, he wanted to buy more drinks, despite the fact that he staggered around, had slurred speech, and smelled like beer. He would come towards me and offer to sing with me if I gave him money. I told him I don't carry cash (a lie) and that he should leave me be. Still, he'd ask me and like 2 other people for cash until I decided to just leave out of frustration. And now he's back. Fuck.

He spots me and says that he likes my voice and wants to duet with me. He is still piss-drunk. Fearing for my life, I comply, and he picks a song. He still smells like beer, but at least he's not hitting me up for cash this time.

I eventually sing two duets with him. One of his choice (I had to wing it since I was unfamiliar with his song choice), and the other being "Soul Man" (which he surprisingly did great backup vocals for). After the latter song, I sat down and I ended up talking to the old woman I mentioned earlier. Note that she is also drunk--she knocked down quite a lot of beer when I last saw her. She then initiates conversation with me.

"Hi...you have a nice voice.", she says to me.

"Thank you, ma'am", I reply. "You do too."

"You know, I usually spend my time on the Internet, looking for someone. I'm with some family and friends, having some fun. Looking for a younger man...I'm 67 years old, you know."

I freeze. "Why, Lord?"

She continues, "You have a very lovely voice..." She giggles as she leans towards me and reaches her hand towards me. "Fuck this!", I thought, and promptly got up before she got a chance to reach for my disco stick.

As I escape, the drunk white guy from earlier hugs me really hard, thanking me to sing with him and smelling like beer, and shouts "I LOVE YOU, MAN!!!"

Awkward moment.

To add insult to injury, the old woman looks on and says, "Aww. Such a nice boy.", referring to the drunk.

I call for my waitress, asked for my bill, paid for it, left a tip, and got the fuck out of there.

I climbed into my car, started it, and drove back home with just enough speed to not get a speeding violation.

I learned that night that people can be very scary and immoral creatures once alcohol drowns away their inhibitions and moral conditioning. Also, alcohol is one powerful truth serum. Just ask Mel Gibson.

-Encounter 5: END-



FOOTNOTE: I did go to that establishment one week later. Slow night, with just the kid and his folks. Sang my throat raw and my voice gave out. That was the last time I went back there, for I decided that my karaoke career should come to an end. I miss those delicious hot wings.

FreeRice.com

Another week, another website.

Unlike ChatRoulette!, this site is actually humanitarian and safe for work. My friend "Bunny" referred me to this site earlier today, and I actually like its approach. FreeRice is a website that has its sponsors donate rice to needy people across the world, and in order to help, you just answer vocabulary words correctly.
It's awesome in two ways: you can help feed hungry people, and you can also increase your vocabulary skills. If you really want to help out, just grab a dictionary (or access to the online equivalent) and start playing!

http://freerice.com/ Tell a friend!



PS: "Life is Strange" #5 will be posted next week. I'm 90% sure of it. Maybe.