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Fantasty Deathmatch # 1: Ash from Evil Dead vs. Hitler

2007-08-04T13:20:00.001-04:00

I'm so happy that MTV brought back Celebrity Deathmatch. That show was the SHIT, and I can still remember the first time I saw Marilyn Manson literally beat the brains out of Garth Brooks, on that shitty old RealPlayer window with my 56K connection.

My only little quibble is that watching celebrities beat the crap out of each other gets a little old. As much as I enjoy watching Paris Hilton die, I'm a lot happier simply pretending that she doesn't exist.

One epic matchup I'd like to see would be Ash from Evil Dead vs. Hitler as portrayed in Wolfenstein 3-D.

Okay, clearly everyone knows who Hitler was, and for the noobs that don't know who Ash from Evil Dead is: go away and don't come back until you've seen Evil Dead, Evil Dead II, and Army of Darkness. Pfffft...noobs.

Name: Ash
Weapons: the killer chin, the chainsaw for a hand and the boomstick
Previous Kills: 2 of his possessed ex-girlfriends, 6 of his possessed cabin mates, the Deadite army, countless heinous horror hags and his evil alter ego, Bad Ash

Name: Hitler
Weapons: the 'stache of mass destruction, chainguns, one hell of a bad temper

A Fond Farewell to My Friends

2007-08-02T02:26:00.000-04:00

A small selection of pictures from my last day in SL ^_^
It's just a shame that more people weren't online and for those of you who weren't, I still lubs ya!

Just me, enjoying the scenery one last time

From left to right: Nihil, Tatsuki, myself, Aimee

My onee-chan Daekar and myself!

From left to right: Shika, myself, Xena, and Moondance

From left to right: Shika, myself, Xena

From left to right: myself, Doll, Nihil, JilQun, Aimee and Zen

From left to right: JilQun, Nihil, Aimee, Ghostdogg, Tatsuki

From left to right: Moondance, Nihil, Tatsuki, myself, JilQun

From left to right: Moondance, Nihil, Tatsuki, myself, JilQun, Aimee

Here at the End of All Things

2007-08-01T20:40:00.001-04:00

I guess all my friends know by now why I've left SL - unfortunately there's just too much emotional baggage and drama to deal with . I'm just going to try to remember all the awesome friends and fun times I had in this virtual world, particularly in the Combat Samurai Island community. Like all the fighting lessons I had with Jane, my crazy Yakuza clan family, my crazy SL family (although watching an SL pregnancy come to term was surreal to say the least), or the time a bunch of us got Sailor Moon AVs and terrorized Shrouded Isle and the insane free-for-all fights I participated in.

I'm going to miss having a fun creative outlet for art. I'm going to miss the redneck shotgun weddings, the cute (and sometimes creepy) tiny AVs, the crazy characters of CSI and I might even miss getting AFK humped (you know who you are noob!).

I saw beyond the pixelated avatars and formed real friendships with real people and as for those who say that is simply a game, they're wrong. SL isn't simply a game, it's a community and it was my online home for quite some time. A very warm and heartfelt thanks to all of you for making this place feel like my second home.

Real life calls though, as do real life friends and real life responsibilities. School is just around the corner and I'll have to tackle with some heavy subjects in the next month. So much love and best wishes to you all. Good fight!

T-minus 32 Days Until School Starts

2007-08-01T12:38:00.000-04:00

*Note to self: make sure that I'm still in the "Who Needs Sex? U of T F$cks Me Everyday" Facebook group*

Honest to God, I love being in school. I love learning, I love meeting new people, and I love getting involved with various social movements on campus. Yet at the same time, I'm really not looking forward to the back to school rituals, particularly here at U of T. In my opinion, the only other time of year that sucks even more is the pre-Christmas rush. On a happier note, at least I won't have to take any more classes with 1400 other students at Convocation Hall anymore (pictured above)

The U of T Bookstore is a NIGHTMARE throughout the month of September. It's like a Boxing Week blowout sale that will easily cost you $1000 or more depending on the subjects you're taking. Even if you have the foresight to pre-order stuff online, you have to wait in line for close to an hour to pick up your order.

It also bothers me that certain professors will come out with "new up-to-date" versions of their textbooks every 2 years, though the new version is much the same as the old one. In fact, the majority of the content is the same - it's only rearranged (i.e. what used to be on page 172 is now on page 180) - and most of the new content is simply stuff that you can easily look up online. For instance, charts and tables from Statistics Canada. My tax dollars already pay for this stuff, why am I paying for it again? Oh riiiiiight, my professor is taking home a 20% cut of the book sales.

In fairness, the publishing companies are the ones who set the prices of textbooks, but even used books are way overpriced (i.e. my heavily abused anthropology textbook that was only $20.00 less than the regular retail price of $96.00). Even for classic readings, say Plato's Republic, the professors seem to prefer that students only buy certain, obscure editions rather than something you can easily get for dirt cheap at Chapter's.

I do have to say though, there are some cool profs who ask that students to pick up their books from other stores, such as my history professor last year, who had us go to the Toronto Women's Bookstore for the bulk of our readings. In addition to this, he actually selected books that would be interesting and relevant to read further down the road. I didn't mind, because I'm a huge fan of the wonderful activist women who run the store, and I like supporting my local economy. Dammit Professor Greer, why don't you teach any other undergraduate courses?! HIS106 was the best!

Then Frosh Week rolls around and virtually everywhere on campus, various corporate sponsors try to woo you into buying even more crap. Isn't it bad enough that the average debtload for an undergraduate student in Ontario has already tripled since 1993? (See the figure on the right, from the Canadian Federation of Students). Mastercard certainly doesn't see it that way, and perhaps that's why they set up several card application tables in a bid to add to your debt. In exchange for applying, they give you some cheap trinket. I love getting free stuff as much as the next person, but the problem is, these things aren't really free. Most students don't realize that continuously applying for credit looks bad on your credit rating in the long run. Personally, I'm worried enough about my debt as it is. Thanks, but I'm not going to make it worse by applying for more debt that I don't need in exchange for a cheap water bottle, flashlight or knapsack.

Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for the opportunity to study at one of the most well recognized and respected post-secondary institutions in the country, but like all mega bureaucracies, U of T is a giant, faceless, poorly run organization. Quite frankly I can't help but feel ripped off when half of the buildings are falling apart and they can't even be bothered to fix seats in the lecture halls. Especially considering that the school itself has nearly $1 billion in reserve funds, and much more invested in the likes of companies such as Wal-Mart, McDonald's, Lockheed Martin and Phillip Morris. Why are we, the students, still paying for maintenance and capital construction costs out of our ancillary fees? ($853 per student last year and rising). The governments are screwing us over too, by lifting our tuition freeze in 2006, and by cutting core funding for post secondary education.

Well tens of thousands of us got mad enough about it and decided to let them know (Left: National Student Day of Action, Bloor and St. George, 02/07 2007). The Arts and Science Students' Union sums it up perfectly though:

Don't let university get in the way of your education

And I don't intend to let that happen.

#$%! School...

2007-07-31T20:49:00.000-04:00

I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate
I will not procrastinate

At least, not until tomorrow...

Illegal?

2007-07-31T19:45:00.000-04:00

Did you know that it's illegal to say...

It was perhaps a tad ironic that a friend sent this link over to me when he did because I was rediscovering Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 411 just a few days prior.

Aside from this skit being ridiculously funny (and getting turned on to an awesome new comedy troupe), it's compelling evidence that Bradbury's prediction of bleak future where all aspects of education and the mass media are forcibly controlled by the government, is still a ways off.

I'm inclined to be more optimistic, and as a great man once said, "You can lock up a man, but you can't lock up an idea". And yes, I'm a Tommy Douglas groupie, check out the famous Mouseland speech this quote came from. He was a damn cool guy.

This skit is proof that civil society is still alive and well in a post 9/11 North America since Trevor Moore, thankfully, hasn't been shipped off to Guantanamo Bay or a country that has absolutely no regard for human rights.

As much as I despise George W. Bush and the policies of his administration, the last thing I'd want would be to see him assassinated. This would make Bush a martyr for his insanely wrong cause and the last thing I'd want to see is him becoming immortalized as a hero. Besides, wishing for someone's death isn't very cool at all. At the same time, I always love outlandish statements such as these, because they generate controversy, which in turn will hopefully generate a well informed debate from both sides.

So sic semper tyrannis! See you there Trevor!