I Am Greg, Hear Me Rant

Bananas and all...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 05:10:00 +0000

Ok. Time to be honest here. After 7 years, my relationship with my girlfriend Hilary has come to an end. I don't really expect that we'll ever get back together (not that I'm saying I wouldn't love it, but it might just not have been meant to be a permanent thing - maybe it was something both of us needed to learn from).

That being said, after a few rough, emotional days, I came to a very important conclusion. Hilary and I had a great relationship for the factors of caring about each other and supporting each other. We both hit on some hard times during the course of the 7 years. Maybe they were too much to overcome as a couple, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to be a friend to her. Yes, it might be hard. There might be reminders that make me feel sad... but not having her in my life at all leaves a much greater hole to fill than knowing that she's there, still cares about me and wants me to be happy.

She will probably be with someone else... and that's good. I hope he can be good to her and give her happiness the way I might not have been able to. And some day, perhaps, I will find someone to be with as well. And I will trust that she will be proud of and happy for me.

It isn't easy to let go of a person in that way who you loved and cared about. It can hurt sometimes... but in the end, I'm reminding myself that just because romance and marriage might not be in the card for us, doesn't mean that love itself isn't.

And maybe, in fact, this will be even better for us. Hilary and I got to know each other very well in 7 years. We had struggles and difficulties, but ultimately, she helped me at times when I was down, and I'd like to think I did the same for her. Giving that up because we aren't romantically compatible would be squandering a very important gift, and I refuse to squander that.

Pain might come, but it can also go... we remind ourselves that love comes in many forms for a reason. And if we are hurt and down, if we are struggling, it's the love of someone like that which can see us through.

Thank you, Hilary, for having been my girlfriend. Thank you for having been there for me so many times. Thank you for still wanting to be my friend. It does mean more to me than you'd believe, and I want you to know that whatever happens for you in life, I'll be there for you.

Bananas and all...

Opportunity or sign of regression?

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:43:00 +0000

So a month ago, I moved down to the Southtowns, and went back to living with family, with the intention of saving money for a while and paying off some of the bills I've had for a while. Nothing horrendously drastic, but when you can save $500 + a month on rent and utilities, it sounds like a wonderful chance to improve yourself.

It is. It really is nice to be saving money again, catching up on things I was... well, not necessarily behind on, but not as far ahead of as I wanted to be.

But I had a fear when I made this choice - a fear that it would cost me something. And it has - it's lead to strained relationships with a LOT of people. For one thing, the teaching schedule I'd originally expected to have changed, at the last minute, and so now Mondays and Tuesday I am in the classroom both morning and night. Wednesday I spend usually recovering from that and then I try to get a workout in - by the time that's over, it's 11 at night. Thursday is more or less the same. Friday morning I teach, and technically that should mean Friday afternoon I'm free, but I've had to substitute one Friday, had to take care of family stuff on another... and the people I'd hoped to make plans with weren't available on others.

Sunday (yes, I'll get back to Saturday) I go and work out, then I am having to spend time getting ready for classes, and doing stuff for cleaning up my place (I don't want to seem like a slob to my family). End result - I have Saturday... after I teach, that is. And it seems like the person I'd like to spend Saturday evenings with is never available then anymore either.

My point is this: when I moved here, I did so because I saw a golden opportunity to build myself up financially, and yes, that is happening. I also saw the possibility that I'd find my relationships with people who are important to me straining... and that's happening, too.

I can't tell anymore, but was this a golden opportunity or a sign of regression? Because I frankly can't tell the difference anymore.

What's the difference?

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 22:23:00 +0000

Apparently intrigue (or whatever) is present for Facebook users of the Oregon Trail application, which will be replaced next week by a speed-dating application. People who have the Oregon trail application currently will find their beloved remake of the classic computer game gone and replaced by an on-line dating application.

See the link here. Of course, those of us who stop to think about it realize that there's no real difference: with both apps, the goal is to make it all the way without finding yourself wiped out by disease or financial hardship, and a lot of sacrifices end up being made. So in the end, I guess nothing will change with this application, except the name... and of course, the fact that this new version will have remarkable live-action sequences that could actually put you at risk of getting offed, financially and physically.

Great idea... really...

No, I'm not complaining...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:22:00 +0000

I've been neglecting this site... mostly because I haven't had the energy to do anything on it lately. Heck, I've got a ton of work to do on other sites, so keeping you up to date with all the details of my life (it's really boring) has been a bit low on the priority list. It's just not all that high up on my list of things to do. What can I say. Still, I felt compelled to write something here about what's been going on so you don't all think I disappeared (I know you'd all miss me just SOOOO much if that happened).

So the short version is that teaching has been pretty rough... not that I'm complaining about it, it's just a more hectic schedule than I'd originally anticipated. 4 classes Monday and Tuesday really drags me out, so that Wednesday morning I spend in recovery, and Thursday I'm trying to make up for Wednesday at REI. Friday morning I teach again, then I go to REI again, then I teach again Saturday, then I go to REI again... Sunday, if I have any energy early enough in the day, is the one day I actually have to myself, but it tends to be mostly me getting ready for the new week.

Maybe it sounds like a trivial change, but I actually prefer what next quarter is looking like: class spread out a bit more, and I can actually have a few evenings at home... well, not my own home... not quite. I'm staying in West Seneca for the foreseeable future, with my Aunt. This was a wise move, in the end, because I'm finally starting to pay off the last of my bills from school, save some money up, and even buy some things I've wanted to for a while... like power tools (ok, yeah, I'm sure that worries you, but I'm not turning into Tim Allen, I'm just getting stuff that's good for doing home repairs... regular drill, compound miter saw... eventually a table saw). I'm starting to put a bit of resources into re-building my model train setup. It's stress relief, what can I say. And I'm starting to work on a portfolio for my master's.

So I've been busy. But hey, it's life.

Anyway, I wanted you know that things are fine and I'm still here and eventually I will get back on target with the stuff I've been working on for here for a long time.

Incidentally, those of you who have 3D experience (with 3DS Max) might be interested to know I am putting together a website (and hopefully, eventually) a book on 3DS modeling and animation... yes, we need another, and yes, I think we need something with WAY more detail than what I've seen lately.

Anyway, watch for an announcement for submissions, probably around Christmas time.

For the time being, I gotta get back to work.

Content He Didn't Come Up With - #5

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:34:00 +0000

Here's another great one for those of you who've seen 'Coming to Alderaan', the parody of Star Wars using JEJ's lines from Coming to America...

Darth Vader being a smartass:

God will send me to Hell, Hell will send me back with a note: not enough postage in existance...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 20:13:00 +0000

So I had a thought... I'd say an odd thought, or a weird idea, but with me that's a given... so anywhere, here it is...

There's a church in my home town of West Seneca called 14 Holy Helpers. I'm not entirely certain what the name referred to. I always assumed it was the Apostles, plus perhaps Mary Magdelon and someone else. I'm not really sure... anyway, here was my thought... if it was a reference to the Apostles, what specifically is the image that title draws up supposed to be?

I'll tell you what comes to my mind. And frankly, it's going to get me in trouble with the big guy upstairs, but maybe, just maybe, He'll see the humor in this:

I imagine Jesus, wandering through the desert for 40 days, and the Apostles, out of boredom, start pulling the routine of the Dinks from SpaceBalls...

And Jesus, getting impatient and annoyed, keeps turning around and yelling at them to stop.

Has anyone ever had a thought like this?

Content He Didn't Come Up With - #4

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 13:57:00 +0000

Special thanks to Craig Chapman for making me fall out of my chair, laughing and nearly peeing my pants.

These are from a book called Disorder in the American courts, and are things
people actually said in court, word for word, taken down and now published
by court reporters who had the torment of staying calm while these
exchanges were actually taking place.

ATTORNEY: Are you sexually active?
WITNESS: No, I just lie there.

ATTORNEY: What gear were you in at the moment of the impact?
WITNESS: Gucci sweats and Reeboks.

ATTORNEY: This myasthenia gravis, does it affect your memory at all?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And in what ways does it affect your memory?
WITNESS: I forget.
ATTORNEY: You forget? Can you give us an example of something you forgot?

ATTORNEY: What was the first thing your husband said to you that morning?
WITNESS: He said, 'Where am I, Cathy?'
ATTORNEY: And why did that upset you?
WITNESS: My name is Susan!

ATTORNEY: Do you know if your daughter has ever been involved in voodoo?
WITNESS: We both do.
ATTORNEY: Voodoo?
WITNESS: We do.
ATTORNEY: You do?
WITNESS: Yes, voodoo.

ATTORNEY: Now doctor, isn't it true that when a person dies in his sleep,
he doesn't know about it until the next morning?
WITNESS: Did you actually pass the bar exam?

ATTORNEY: The youngest son, the twenty-year-old, how old is he?
WITNESS: Uh, he's twenty.

ATTORNEY: Were you present when your picture was taken?
WITNESS: Are you shittin' me?

ATTORNEY: So the date of conception (of the baby) was August 8th?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: And what were you doing at that time?
WITNESS: Uh.... I was gettin' laid.

ATTORNEY: She had three children, right?
WITNESS: Yes.
ATTORNEY: How many were boys?
WITNESS: None.
ATTORNEY: Were there any girls?
WITNESS: Are you for real? Your Honour, I think I need a different
attorney. Can I get a new attorney?

ATTORNEY: How was your first marriage terminated?
WITNESS: By death.
ATTORNEY: And by whose death was it terminated?
WITNESS: Now whose death do you suppose terminated it?

ATTORNEY: Can you describe the individual?
WITNESS: He was about medium height and had a beard.
ATTORNEY: Was this a male or a female?
WITNESS: Guess.

ATTORNEY: Is your appearance here this morning pursuant to a deposition
notice which I sent to your attorney?
WITNESS: No, this is how I dress when I go to work.

ATTORNEY: Doctor, how many of your autopsies have you performed on dead
people?
WITNESS: All my autopsies are performed on dead people. Would you like to
rephrase that?

ATTORNEY: ALL your responses MUST be oral, OK?
What school did you go to?
WITNESS: Oral.

ATTORNEY: Do you recall the time that you examined the body?
WITNESS: The autopsy started around 8:30 p.m.
ATTORNEY: And Mr. Denton was dead at the time?
WITNESS: No, he was sitting on the table wondering why I was
doing an autopsy on him!

ATTORNEY: Are you qualified to give a urine sample?
WITNESS: Huh....are you qualified to ask that question?

And the best for last:

ATTORNEY: Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you
check for a pulse?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for blood pressure?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: Did you check for breathing?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: So, then it is possible that the patient was alive
when you began the autopsy?
WITNESS: No.
ATTORNEY: How can you be so sure, Doctor?
WITNESS: Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.
ATTORNEY: I see, but could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless?
WITNESS: Yes, it is possible that he could have been alive and
practicing law.

A Dream Come True... finally...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:28:00 +0000

It's been 3 years since I started teaching at ITT Technical Institute in Getzville, NY. A lot of you new about me starting out there back in July of 2005 covering a single class on Director and Flash. Recently, and unfortunately, a few of the full-time instructors departed for industry jobs. The downside has frankly been the loss of some very talented, dedicated people who really cared for their students. I know I've been disappointed by those people moving on to new things, and I do wish each and every one of them well in their future endeavors.

I must say, however, that their leaving finally opened an opportunity for me, and as much as I wish I could still teach with them regularly, I am grateful for the opportunity presented to me, and I hope I can do them proud.

Officially, I will be starting as a full time professor (not a Doctor or PhD... yet, but a professor nonetheless) of Multimedia this quarter. This is the culmination of 2 and a half years of hoping and desiring such a position, so I consider myself very fortunate to have a chance to finally do this. I've sometimes heard the joke "Those who can, do, those who can't teach, and those who can't teach, teach gym." I don't agree. I've seen a number of very talented and skilled people come in from the industry, or go out to it, and I think that teaching is a very special and important part of building the future. I don't say that to sound all high and mighty, but only to point out that I have a great level of respect for teachers of all levels. It's not an easy job to do, and it's even more of a challenge when it becomes your primary focus, professionally. Still, I can but hope I'll be up to the challenge and that I'll bring out the best in my students.

It is a dream come true, and I hope that I can make it an exciting turn of events for my students... and something that can make my peers and fellow professionals excited for and pleased with me.

Congratulations and farewell...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:22:00 +0000

I find myself a bit contemplative, tonight. That might sound ominous, but it's because I have to say goodbye to 10 extraordinary individuals. Well, maybe it's not goodbye in a permanent fashion, but it is the end of something big. 10 of my students have completed their capstone projects and are, with the close of this week (and all going well) done with their Associates.

It's rather funny. I've heard some people say that in teaching you don't want to get too attached to your students, but it seems like that's the very thing that has allowed me to improve, persistently, as a teacher. So after the close of capstone class today, I bid a farewell and well wishes to some very special people, and I feel inclined to repeat that here:

To Jon, Kelly C., Karen, Sara, Nick, Kelly L., Chris, Gary, Brian and Andre, I wish you all the best and great success, though I know you will achieve it not due to luck, but to your own amazing skills and dedication. Take care, and please, keep in touch... even if you are calling me on a Sunday at 11pm...

Man, you could bitch about anything...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:41:00 +0000

Wow, is something drastically wrong or what? I can't tell which is worse... the fact that I'm considering seeing a movie like this, or the fact that it's only because of the rest of the CRAP that's coming out that I might consider this a highlight of the next few months of movies. And look, I'm not saying that this looks like a bad movie, but usually on my list of movies to see you'd find some mixture of action, adventure, comedy... and everything due out between now and November in those areas pretty much looks like CRAP.

And again, it's not that I'm saying that the above mentioned movie looks bad, but I tend to not be overly-wild about a lot of independent films because I've seen so many independent films that were a really lousy art student's idea of being mysterious or departing from the norm, or because they're trying to be surreal, and really what it seems like is that your average emo clerk at your overly priced coffee shop (I know they call themselves Baristas, but I don't consider a person who probably doesn't know the difference between Peru and Columbia, and who's got a body piercing count as big as their shoe size, and, whom I might add, probably makes $8.00 an hour to be deserving of what sounds like THAT important a title) shot a whole bunch of meaningless shit with ridiculous amounts of contrast and in a pathetic attempt of film noir to be worth my $9.50 plus drink plus popcorn plus the gas to get out to the theater in the first place. {SLAP}

Sorry... got a bit carried away there. What else is bugging me though?

Frankly, I could say a lot of things, but here's another good one for the world. And I'm not going to blame specific people, because God knows that the economy goes through natural cycles, but WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY'S ECONOMY? Christ almighty, how did we go from a surplus in the federal budget to a complete economic recession in just 4 years? Don't tell me that this is a natural cycle, cause I'll say, "You know, you're right. Every time in the last 40 years that we've had Republicans in control, we've had a natural economic cycle where the country ends up in the SHITTER". I read an article the other day on Google™ News that said, and I quote:

While Washington frets about a record deficit, Iraq has its own financial headache. It has too much money lying around, up to $79 billion in oil money expected by year's end.

The disconnect between red-ink Washington and cash-flush Baghdad gets even stranger - and infuriating for American taxpayers. While the United States pours money into rebuilding efforts, Iraq can't be bothered to spend its own money on essentials like water, sewer, power or road systems. The billions in petrodollars are sitting in the bank while U.S. taxpayers continue paying a long-distance infrastructure program that's cost $48 billion since the invasion five years ago.

The reasons aren't convincing. Iraqi officials claim their fragile central government isn't ready for the challenge of a major rebuild, an answer that's distressingly similar to excuses about why American troops are still needed to prop up Baghdad.

WHAT THE HELL?! I'm not saying America doesn't share some responsibility for what happened over there. But why are we still sending money over there at all when they now have their own surplus? Last I checked, any time we helped a country rebuild itself, they ended up at least for a while with a surplus that they could have used to start working on their own shit, and meanwhile, whenever we could then use a hand, nobody cares about what happens in the U.S. Excuse me, how many times are we going to do this crap? Our economy always collapses through stuff like this, and we see our job market die because we got stuck in some other countries business and took forever to help them fix their problems and then we give them our money, get them up and running and in the mean time our own economy ends up shriveling up like a grape in the sun, and the next thing you know, the only jobs for even highly qualified professionals is working in those stupid overpriced coffee shops next to your average emo clerk who probably doesn't know the difference between Peru and Columbia, and who's got a body piercing count as big as their shoe size, and, whom I might add, probably makes $8.00 an hour and for God's sakes I went to college and I worked my ass off and I didn't need to get enough metal shot through various parts of my body so I'd be setting off metal detectors at LaGuardia when, in fact, I am standing in line for my baggage and FREAKING LAX. {SLAP} Sorry... I don't know what's getting into me tonight... I promise, I won't do that again.

So ok, things have just been getting to me on a lot of levels, lately. I guess, in the end what I'm saying is that it just is frustrating to think that you're mere weeks away from really starting to get ahead in life, and have things start falling apart for like the 5th time in at least one part of your life because of the bloody economy, or some other such thing.

When my personal life and my education is going great, my job and finances are going to hell.
When I get my education and my job / finances running smoothly, my personal life tanks.
When I get my job / finances and my personal life in order, something comes up involving my education.

It leads to this thought that keeps running through my mind today... and it might be defeatist, or pessimistic, but I have to think of it as experience-based...

Making plans is futile; I can never rely on the thing that will allow my plan to bare fruit, and I can never expect change from the way things have always been.

Yes, I am cynical... and I'm sure some of you out there are probably thinking "Christ, this guy bitches and whines about everything". I know I just ranted and rambled on for a good long stretch... but you know, if you didn't feel the same way in part, you probably wouldn't have stayed to read this whole thing, would you?

Yeah, I could bitch about anything... frankly, everyone else does... I just chose to do it on my own website.

Not bragging here, BUT...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 03:00:00 +0000

I feel loved... really. Wanna know why?

That's why.

Yeah, maybe I'm tooting my own horn on this, but I am proud of that... I hope I can be that much of a positive influence all the time for the students I have.

Incidentally, I did see The Dark Knight, so I will do a movie review, but probably not tonight, and it might have to wait til Tuesday, frankly. Keep checking back.

Update to Social Networks - I swear I have too many already...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:50:00 +0000

Just a brief update to the post I had back on June 5th, 2008. I have added in one additional Social Network to my list, so I have them all listed now for your convenience (or whatever) on the right column to my site. Feel free to add me if you really want to, but please do NOT have really annoying music on your profile if it's a MySpace account.

I now have LinkedIn in my list. If I ever get around to working on my own network again I will add that in as well, but really, this is it... please, no more of those invites to ReFriendz and MyYearbook and Classmates and everything else. I'd like to keep it to just these.

Weird week? You have no idea...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:31:00 +0000

It's been one of those weeks... it's had it's ups and downs like most weeks, but I find myself needing more and more to try to sort out all sorts of changes that have come on suddenly... and the fact that there are issues I never really put to rest before these things came up.

It's rather odd to go through changes sometimes. I'm not sure if anyone else ever experiences this, but have you ever found yourself thinking you have closure on something only to find out after a long period of time that you don't? And then something comes long that means you need to either get closure very quickly or risk that things will get FAR more confusing and conflicting than they already are? Yeah... that's the last two weeks in a nutshell. I keep turning around to find myself in more and more awkward positions and less and less clear on what to do or how to deal with things.

I'm not mentioning any of this looking for pity, incidentally... I'm mentioning it only so you are aware, if you see me, and I seem VERY distracted, that I've got a couple things on my plate I"m trying to sort out... and I'm trying to do it fast enough to not screw up anyone's life, and properly so as not to end up making things more complicated than they already are. Do don't be surprised if I'm not all here lately.

Not that I have been in a long time...

Wall-E Review

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 02:11:00 +0000

Note! Make sure to look at the video FOLLOWING the trailer at the end of this post. It's cute!

Wall E, Pixar's 9th animated, full-length film for Disney, is an incredible demonstration of how far the fledgling animation company has come since their first film, Toy Story, back in 1995. Of course, it's easy to look at films as they come out now and shrug off the animated films with a comment like "so they used computers to make a film... big deal".

Frankly, it is a big deal. A lot of companies are starting to do full-length feature films using 3D packages these days, and we see products like Shrek, Monster's Inc, The Polar Express and Horton Hears a Who. But in the end, it's Pixar that has continuously set the bar to higher and higher levels with their film. It's rather funny, but in 80% of the films that Pixar does, the names of the voice actors is rarely mentioned in large print. Why? Because Pixar hasn't needed to use a name to sell it's movies, maybe aside from Toy Story. It's not to say you don't recognize the names or that they don't lend to the characters, but Pixar's films have always been about a story, with people helping to tell it... rather than about people trying to tell a story that really wouldn't be anything to tell otherwise.

And they keep coming up with new films... aside from Toy Story 2, there have been no sequels to any of the full-length Pixar films. Why? Because they can keep developing new stories that are fun and exciting and will appeal to a large number of people. Even for some detractors, the two lowest point movies from Pixar are probably sited as "Cars" and "Bug's Life". And even there, it was more a matter that people just weren't as interested in that one particular story due to it's generating point. Some people just aren't into NASCAR... so cars will be of little consequence to them. But did it stop it from being a good film? No. Did it stop it from being a success? No.

And Wall E is no exception. What it is, as usual, is exceptional.

Wall E is the story of Earth, love, and the ability to open our eyes again. Due to rampant consumerism, the largest corporation on the planet, Buy & Large, creates a heavily polluted environment, and sends all of humanity on what's supposed to be a 5 year intergalactic cruise (my boss sometimes needs to take those himself, so he's said). While everyone is going to be away, specialized robots, the Waste Allocation Load Lifer Earth class (WALL E for short) are supposed to work on restoring the environment of the planet. When we join our hero, we see a cute little robot, hard at work doing his job of cleaning by compacting and compressing the garbage to clear away areas so humanity can come back and continue the process. One robot to clean up a planet?! No! We start to see other WALL E robots stuck in the junk piles, and we're left with the very certain realization that something went wrong... and indeed it did.

WALL E, who has developed a personality in his time alone, has become quite lonely. He keeps a small cockroach as a pet, and collects all sorts of unusual knick-knacks he finds (a Rubix Cube, Lighter, Egg Beater, Trophy) and stores them in his home, one of the trucks that was used to transport the clean-up robots like him. We realize he is the only robot left functioning anywhere on the planet, and still is working on his task all alone. And as a result, he's become VERY lonely. He obsesses over a tape of Hello, Dolly. He is especially intrigued by the dance numbers and, most interestingly, scenes of two people holding hands.

Then, one day, while working, WALL E is caught in the landing blast of a space ship loaded with probes. The probe that is set out starts searching for signs of vegetation. After a short while and a few misunderstandings while WALL E tries to get close enough to introduce himself, she (yes, it has a feminine personality) asks for his name, which he pronounces with a digitally synthesized voice. She introduces herself as EVE (Extra-Terrestrial Vegetation Evaluator). While she is obviously there for classified purposes, she shows some signs of friendship to her lonely counterpart, and he quickly shows her his collection of odds and ends, hoping to ease her frustration about finding any vegetation. However, the last item he shows her is a living plant - a sign that life has begun to rebuild itself.

From there, the probe ship soon returns to take EVE back to the Axiom, the command ship of the human fleet, which has now actually been away from earth for MUCH longer than a 5 year period. WALL E tags along and a quest begins to bring humanity home, to finish truly rebuilding the earth... and for WALL E, a quest for the one thing he really wants - to hold EVE's hand. It was a touching story, all the more because it doesn't try to be sappy. It's moving and emotional in a way that many live action films never reach. And it's frankly amazing that an animated film about two objects who should be without personality or emotion can teach us about the importance of love, commitment, and true communication. It's a valuable reminder of how much we have to do as a culture to give up the very impersonal nature of communication with cell phones and instant messages, and start communicating face-to-face, and to learn to hold our hands out to each other.

The film is also a major step in the continued evolution of the technical side of animation, with new approaches taken into camera work, lens effects such as motion blur and focal effects.

The only real down side is that it does take a few minutes to really get moving. However, in the end, the story is wonderful, touching, and truly has the ability to be a classic long into the future for it's many positive, inspiring messages.

I give 4.5 out of 5 stars. The .5 is because of a new technique where they tried to use a bit of live footage in the film that I think drew away from the overall feel. Not that I begrudge Pixar for trying new techniques, I just think that it's unnecessary in this case and detracted a touch from an otherwise amazing film.

By all means, whether you have kids or not, SEE THIS FILM!

You know what...?

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:57:00 +0000

I had a post up here earlier... it was a pretty scathing rebuke of someone... but I've decided I'm not going to bother leaving a post like that up. That's not what people come here for. They come here for humor.

So to hell with it. I'm just going to say to heck with that and move on. If anyone has already seen that post, just ignore it.

We'll do something more fun after tonight.

Content He Didn't Come Up With - #3

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:29:00 +0000

That's right, it's time, once again, for another exciting (or something) edition of "Content He Didn't Come Up With", the special segment where I take credit for someone passing along to me the work of a person who probably had too much time on their hands.

Tonight, I bring you a piece, sent in by Craig Chapman, my boss. The Colbert Report recently featured their John McCain Green Screen Challenge, from the day that Senator McCain appeared at a rally and was standing in front of a green screen. For those of you who aren't as familiar with movie production, green and blue screen systems are used to do digital editing of footage to add in effects and backgrounds for live action films. For whatever reason, McCain's staff had him presenting in front of a green screen that made it a piece of cake for anyone with a bit of skill and a little time to kill to edit the background from his presentation. Stephen Colbert issued a call for ways to make McCain more exciting following the Tuesday, June 3, 2008 broadcast.

The responses were overwhelming. Here for your pleasure (and so I don't have to do as much work as I normally would to pump out an article) are three of the resulting submissions:

Oh yeah, you want it...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:37:00 +0000

I really am rather confused by this. I realize my Google ads are set up all over my site for context-sensitivity, but really... why is there an advertisement that says:

Find Greg on eBay Motors. Test drive and buy it locally.

Now I'm not saying that I have a problem with this on a theoretical level, but for practical intents and purposes, I don't want any guy to try test driving me... sexy, unattached women between the ages of 25 and 29 yes... any guys, no.

Ok, so putting that aside, it's time for me to get to the meat (ha ha) of this post. Obviously by now you should have seen the new ad listed on the side that says "The Apple / Wacom Fund Drive", and a few people have asked me what's involved. Well, first, if you click the link, you'll find that the only requirement is to click the ads on the site if you find one that's interesting, and tell other people to visit as well. I'm working on these funds in the hopes of resurrecting my old comic project, and the Mac and Cintiq tablet would go VERY far to making it easier to do these regularly.

I also have had a few people say "what about donation?" Yes, people have asked me about it. I'm not looking for you having to donate money to my project. I'm not saying I wouldn't take the donations, but I don't want you to have to feel like I was begging for money. Traffic, maybe, but not money. Still, I guess I see the reason people have asked me about it. Sometimes people just don't bother clicking such ad links, and I can respect that decision.

So I will be adding a link in the very near future to allow people to make direct donations, and if the project goes well enough, hopefully my comic will eventually be available in a book form for sale. I'd like to say I'm doing the project without ANY goal of making money, but when you get into it, my goal is to use the comic as a partial entry point into more media related work. If the comic is good, it might get some attention. If it gets attention and develops a reasonable following, it might get serious traffic. If it gets traffic, word might get to some media exec somewhere who likes my work, and maybe I might get a job in the media industry, or at least have something more to show for it... and of course, some text ads can't hurt for generating the additional profit.

So watch for a link in the near future (whatever the heck that means) and of course, if you are a hot, single woman, age 26 - 29 in the Buffalo, NY area, you can find Greg in East Amherst. You can give it a test drive, and maybe you'd consider getting it for yourself. Ok, I can dream, right?

Boy, here's a record...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 06:30:00 +0000

Well, this is post 50 on the new blog. I have some more plans about expanding this site in the near future, but right now I just figured I'd write the post to get me to #50 and then go to bed. I have only one brief thing to mention, but it was a night of accomplishments for me, so what better way to celebrate than to brag?

Some of you know I started working out again in October of 2007 in an effort to try to undo some of the damage I've done to myself with a bad diet and as a result of the car accident I had back in 2003 that later lead to me having a bone lesion resulting in my broken arm in Spring of 2005.

After seeing my friend Jeff (from SUNY Fredonia's CS department), I decided I needed to try to give working out a serious go again. Jeff offered to join a gym with me and we did a bit of research. We ended up setting on a place called Terry's Workout Center on Hertel Rd. in Buffalo. At a price of $225 a year, it seemed like a great deal (it is). Of course, my teaching schedule at the time made it difficult to get more than two workouts in most weeks, but as it turns out, this was more of a benefit than anything else, since I started working my way in gradually and I didn't have the typical one month spurt most people do, followed by severe discouragement and just giving up. Instead, the first 3 months were 1 - 3 workouts each week, and starting to rebuild the energy and strength I'd had back towards the middle of college, and to a certain extent in high school.

In February, my new teaching schedule took effect and I found myself able to work out more or less 3 times a week EVERY week, with some chances for a 4th workout. Up to that point I did some ok stuff. I was able to do maybe 2.8 Miles Per Hour on a treadmill, and I was working on my heart (which had gotten to be in not-so-great shape), and doing some weight lifting (my max bench press was a mere 75 lbs, which some people see as decent and other people might laugh about). But I was starting to work my way up, and Jeff's encouragement and constantly calling me on workout days kept me going. Some people can't workout with others because of discouragement. I've found working out with Jeff to be the precise opposite.

In February I managed to put up 105 lbs on the bench for the first time in half a decade. Considering the broken right arm a few years before, that was a good sign. We started doing longer stretches on the treadmill; 20 minutes, hill climbing, and something called fartlek, which is a form of endurance / cardio training.

By the end of March, I was able to do a consistant 3.8 on the treadmill, was lifting 105 lbs as my regular weight on the bench, working in another form of press (the Military Press), was able to do 115 lb forearm squeeze exercises, and was getting up to 90+ lbs presses on my hamstrings. And from there, we've added in more exercises, we've added in different routines, and we've started putting in some cardio using elliptical machines.

Two weeks ago, I completed what I'd describe as a fairly advanced version of the fartlek training. Followed a week later by a repeat of that routine on my own, when Jeff and I weren't able to meet up due to scheduling conflicts... I've becoming more and more motivated about this.

And after tonight? I am blown away! When I started this, I was 330 lbs, would see my heart rate go shooting through the roof after less than 5 minutes on the treadmill. As of today, I am able to do an average of 4.1 MPH on the treadmill, not needing to use the console hand bars for balance, and can go for 15 minutes at that pace. I've done several hill climb exercises that wouldn't have even been worth thinking about a year ago. I've managed to do a full hour and 40 minutes on the treadmill, most of it at a 4.0 MPH + pace. I've done 45 minute + elliptical training sessions on a few occasions. My weight has gotten down as low as 313 lbs on a few days. It's around 316 on average right now. I can hold the plank position for 2 minutes if I'm fresh, and even for at least a minute after a longer workout. I can do assisted pull ups on a gravitron machine (I need an assist boost of 245 lbs to do it, but that means I'm lifting the rest of that weight with shoulders, or my biceps or triceps... something that wouldn't have been possible at the start - I know, I tried). I can do a mid-back row at over 100 lbs and do it 30 or more times in 3 sets. I have found myself avoiding most colds and flus, and haven't had a real serious problem with my typically difficult, somewhat acute bronchitis problem.

And finally... that bench press? Yes, as I said, I started at a pretty low amount - a max press of 75 lbs... maybe 85 if I was VERY well rested and it was the first thing after a warm up. Tonight, after warm-up, I managed to get off two individual lifts of 195 lbs. That's right, in 9 months of working out, only 6 of which have been really regular (where I can manage to do them regularly), I've more than doubled my original max press. I can do 30 lifts in 3 sets of 135 lbs, and I can even manage intermediate sets of weight like 155 lbs 6 times or more.

I've got a ways to go, but for the first time in years, maybe for the first time in my life, I'm starting to really feel great, physically... I feel in shape, energetic, alive... and I feel a sense of dignity about my body that I never really experienced before. I've had pride in accomplishments, yes. And probably, I've been a bit arrogant on some of them. My body was never one of them for me, until now.

So, thank you, Jeff. Thank you, also, to everyone else who has known and supported me in it. I'm not going to give this up or let it go again. After realizing how great it feels, I couldn't imagine letting it slide again. In a few more months, when a bit more of the fat comes off in the mid-section (it'll be the last place to go, I'm sure), I'll post up a picture. And I'll find a picture that shows, as much as possible, how I looked at the start. I think it'll be surprising. I think it'll be something I can really be proud of... and I hope it'll be something that encourages other people to make healthy choices. I'm grateful so many people encouraged me to do it. Maybe I'll really be able to live my life the way I've wanted for so long. Finally!

And happy 50th post to me!

The Incredible Hulk Review

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:06:00 +0000

Marvel is now two for two this summer season with the release of the Incredible Hulk staring Ed Norton. Standing entirely apart from the version of the Hulk done in 2003, staring Eric Bana, Marvel has demonstrated that their first success with Iron Man is no fluke. Ed Norton plays Bruce Banner, a former research scientist and bio-chemist who worked at a Virginia university performing research into the United State Military's Super Soldier program.

An experiment gone wrong testing a syrum meant to increase the strength, healing factor and agility of soldiers results in Banner running from the law. A fugitive from the military, he fleeas to Brazil after killing several other people on university grounds, and badly injuring his project partner and girlfriend, Betty Ross, played by Liv Tyler. Working remotely with another biologist who he has never met, Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) who goes by the alias Mr. Blue, he tries to undo the damage to his body, which he describes as an unusual case of Gamma radiation poisoning. Unusual indeed, for if his pulse reaches 200 beats per minute, he changes from the quiet and reserved Banner into a huge mound of muscle and energy, the Incredible Hulk.

After running out of options to try to effect a cure, he decides to return home to the site of the incident. Betty, now recovered and seeing psychologist Dr. Lennord Samson (Ty Burrell), recognizes Bruce from a distance and reunites to help him. Bruce must still stay hidden from the director of the Super Soldier program, Gen. Thaddeus 'Thunderbolt' Ross (William Hurt), who is the father of Betty. The General, though, already knows that Bruce is back, having tried to apprehend him with a special forces team lead by Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth), a special forces trained officer from Britain.

Blonsky uses a sample of the same syrum that converted Banner, and after a military operation devolves into a brawl betweeen Blonsky and Banner (in the form of the Hulk), Blonsky is nearly killed, his bone broken into what a doctor describes as "gravel". However, the syrum causes his bones to regenerate, his body to repair itself, and he soon recovers. Once again he joins in the mission to recapture Banner, now running with Betty Ross. Blonsky has taken an additional dose of the syrum, and after another sample, derived directly from Banner's blood, transforms into the terrifying Abomination. The stage is set for an all-out brawl. Can Banner control the beast in him to stop Abomination after he loses control and starts wreaking havoc?

You'll need to see the movie. Solid acting from a terrific cast. Ed Norton plays the mild mannered Bruce Banner, trying to surpress a raging inferno of energy and strength. The story is not a cartoon or joke, and reaches far greater levels than it's predecessor from 2003. Once again, Marvel has outdown itself and proves that if anyone knows how to adapt a comic book for the big screen, they can.

And at the end of the movie, a surprise appearance is made by Tony Stark, played by non-other than Robert Downey Jr. Now apparently a part of an attempt to assemble a team of superheroes, the alter-ego of Iron Man indicates there might a solution to dealing with the Banner situation. So now we can confirm it - an Avengers movie IS forthcoming. Will it be the Avengers vs Hulk? Or Avengers with the Hulk vs something even greater? Nobody on the outside of Marvel knows for sure, but one this is for certain: if Marvel keeps putting together solid films like this, the genre of the comic book action-adaptation will continue to grow into something that is exciting and enjoyable to people of all ages, comic fan or not.

Excellent performance, and worth seeing (though careful if you have young ones are there is a bit of violence, and some sexual references are made in the movie). 5 starts out of 5 for the second Marvel film of the year!

Is this brilliant? DAMN STRAIGHT...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 04:41:00 +0000

Ok. I have odd ideas from time-to-time. I'll admit it. But I KNOW that I've also had some really amazing insights and concepts come up, and I think this could be one of them. A magazine dedicated to IT / DBA workers. How could this possibly miss?

This is pure genius! Why hasn't anyone else hit on doing this idea before? Ok... probably a lawsuit... but this, notice the appropriate differences to help people see that this is NOT the outdoor magazine (see? Fields and Streams). Pure brilliance! I am ahead of my time! Or my watch is set too slow again.

Passing of a legend...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 15:25:00 +0000

This will be brief. If you hadn't heard the news as of yet, I'm sure you will have by now. Comedy great George Carlin passed away on Sunday, June 22, 2008 from heart failure. Carlin was 71.

Obviously, I never got to meet the man in person, though I was fortunate enough that in 2004 I got to see him at Turning Stone Casino, courtesy of my girlfriend at the time, Hilary. I won't say a lot about him... not because there isn't a lot to say, but more because it would be trite, and given everything in life, that's the last thing I would want to do to the memory of such a man. Still, I felt the need to say at least one thing here:

Thank you, George, for everything you've said and done to open our eyes, make us stop to think, and most importantly, to stop and laugh, even if it's at ourselves and our own inconsistencies. It was worth every bit of it. And if there is such a thing as heaven, regardless of how you felt about it, my hopes is you'll end up there - your legacy of humor and how much you showed us we need to think about things carefully earns you a place there in my mind.

R.I.P.
George Carlin
May 12, 1937 - June 22, 2008

I think we got the @#(*ing point, Adam...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 01:09:00 +0000

WARNING:

You may found the following article to seem very offensive. Rest assured, this article, which briefly mentions Judaism, is NOT meant as an assault or even a slant against Jewish people, either from a Religious or Ethnic stand-point. I expect that you'll understand that by READING this article carefully. It's entirely meant to point out how that shouldn't NEED to have anything to do with the other focus of this article, which is comedy in movies. If you can not approach what I am about to say with an open, understanding mind, please leave and come back in a month or so when this article is no longer on the home page or in the quick links... in the mean time...

I'd like to ask a very serious question on a very serious topic (comedy - yes, it can be serious). Since when is it funny to make a joke about your own ethnicity / religion, when it doesn't really make a difference to the nature of the joke you're trying to present?

I'm going to present a few examples here:

Mel Brooks' Spaceballs - in a scene staring John Candy and Bill Pullman, they've just rescued Princess Vespa from the planet Druidia and she immediately begins to berate them by saying "I will NOT be rescued in such filth. I am Vespa, daughter of Roland, King of Druidia." Pullman rolls his eyes and says "That's all we need... a druish princess." Candy, in an example of breaking through the fourth wall, turns to the camera and says "Funny... she doesn't look Druish." This is a classic example of a joke about the line "Funny, she doesn't look Jewish." It's not funny because it's about Judaism. It's not funny because it's insulting someone's ethnicity or looks. It's funny because it was delivered at an appropriate time, and it speaks to how a person can't always be identified with their ethnicity or religious background by how they look. And it's funnier because it proves that humor comes from the unexpected quip that is a very clever play on words.

Larry David' Curb Your Enthusiasm - in a fairly funny scene, Larry David and his friend Richard come to visit Richard's girlfriend, who has gotten sick from an allergic reaction to (I believe) peanut oil, just before she's supposed to go with Richard to an award's show in Hollywood. The result is that she looks horrible from the puffiness and bloating resulting from the reaction. She refuses to take medication for it because she is a member of Christian Science and believes that by praying God will grant her a healing. Larry and Richard, meanwhile, are trying to convince her to just take some Aspirin which should reduce the swelling in no time, but she keeps on refusing. Larry replies (approximately) "So when your stereo doesn't work, do you pray to God to fix that too, or do you call a technician to look at it?" The delivery of the line was excellent and while it poked a bit of fun at the religion of Christian Science, it was done in a way that keeps within the general rule of thumb for an acceptable joke about any religion - every religion looks silly when viewed by someone from the outside, and everything you do involving it is something you take on Faith, because of your experiences.

Adam Sandler in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - After arranging to have a ceremony in Niagara Falls to have the paperwork proving they have a legally binding gay marriage to cover up for insurance fraud, Kevin James and Adam Sandler are getting ready, and in the process, they're discussing what they're going to do in the ceremony, Adam Sandler mentions that he wants Kevin's character to wear a yarmulke because "I'm Jewish. I don't want to piss my mother off." to which Kevin James replies: "Yeah? Well, I'm Catholic. I don't want to piss Mel Gibson off."

What do the first two examples have that number 3 doesn't? A way to enhance the humor of the show. As I said - this is not about Judaism, it's not about religion at all, and it's not really about ethnicity either. The question I have is, "Why is it that EVERY Adam Sandler movie, song, skit, etc in the past 5 years has NEEDED to include at least 1 reference every 10 minutes to the fact that Adam is Jewish?"

Does Adam Sandler think there's anyone who hasn't figured this out? Is he saying it because he needs validation for his ethnicity or religion? Is he saying it because he thinks that if he doesn't we might suddenly forget? Is he doing it because people thought the Hanukkah song was kinda funny and that every time he does anything he can bring up his heritage and that will automatically make whatever he's doing funny as well?

Here's an answer: he's doing it because it's the only thing in his identity that he can use to promote himself. And that's only because for a Comedian (and understand that I mean this sincerely, and honestly, and that I am only stating my opinion which just happens to be held by the majority of the Western world... and all of the Eastern one now that I think of it)...

ADAM SANDLER ISN'T ALL THAT FUNNY!

It's not because of his ethnicity, it's not his religion... Mel Brooks is Jewish. So is Larry David. I'm not a huge fan of Larry David, but he can be funny sometimes, with or without use of Jewish humor. But Adam? He seems to have a need to stick it in every 5 minutes, thinking it'll make a difference. The fact is, it doesn't. And in the above example, it doesn't make a difference to the enhancement of the story in any way. Neither does Kevin James' line, in all reality, which goes to prove a subsidiary point to this: if some actor went trying to throw into every one of his movies "Hey, it's because I'm Episcopalian" would it be funny? In all likelihood, unless there is a GOOD contextual reason for it, probably it won't do anything at all.

So my point is this, Adam Sandler can let go of making that joke and maybe take the time to develop some comedy that will be funny. Because I sure as hell don't want to see an Adam Sandler movie like this:

We understand Adam... you're Jewish... when you can actually tell us what's funny about being Jewish, I'm sure we'll all break into spontaneous laughter... in the mean time, how's about some jokes that are funny?

Content He Didn't Come Up With - #2

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:18:00 +0000

Content He Didn't Come Up With

Part 2

Warning: Some of these may be offensive.

Thanks to Cassy for this: Science Fair Gone Wrong

More at http://www.somethingawful.com

Content He Didn't Come Up With - #1

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:39:00 +0000

Tonight we have a new special:

Content He Didn't Come Up With

Part 1

In an effort to put up content without doing any actual work, I present offering #1 of my new segment: Content He Didn't Come Up With:

No, I don't hate you...

noreply@blogger.com (Admiral Wolf) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 05:56:00 +0000

This is just a short note to everyone out there who contacts me, asking me to join yet another social networking site:

Don't ask. It's not that I don't like you, it's that I don't care for the majority of those social networking sites that are out there. Frankly, you can find me on only two of them at this point:

MySpace - Which has turned into SpamFest in my opinion. I would drop this one, but I do have a number of very nice friends and such on there, so I won't do it... but I don't tend to spend a hell of a lot of time on there.

FaceBook - Which I prefer because it's generally been spam free so far.

So if you want to have me on your social networking, you'll need to be on one of those two. And bear in mind, I don't just add everyone to my list of friends. I either need to know you fairly well, or you have to give me a really good reason to add you. And please, don't be asking me to be part of your network if you're just looking for feedback on your band. I'll give it a listen, and if I like what you have to offer, I might add you, but don't expect it.

And to all you God-awful spammers: please find some new pictures to use of hot naked chicks before you mass-invite people to be your friends. I'm tired of seeing 12 different invites from people who all apparently look the same... I realize that Britnism seems to be going around a lot in recent years, but you don't all wear EXACTLY the same clothes (or have the exact same lake thereof) and you don't all have chests that extend 30 inches out... get some new photos so at least there's something different for me to see before I hit the SPAM button.

Thanks.