The Hall of Mirrors

The Sudden Stop at the End

2010-06-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Well this is it. It looks like the Hall of Mirrors is closing shop and packing up. It's been nice, but keeping this blog alive is such a hassle. Between the long period I had to use to study all day long and the compounding amount of laziness, it's no wonder I stopped.

But fear not, avid reader! For your mirror based news will continue on... in The Scrying Pool, where I'll be doing pretty much the exact same things... just on a LiveJournal instead.

I hope you'll return to keep on reading!

Mirror out.

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning." - Winston Churchill

Moving on Up!

2010-06-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Err... I wasn't actually planning to write anything. But I just wanted to keep in touch since if I don't, I might forget about it. So I should be done with the LiveJournal move before Sunday. No problemo. I can do this!

Whoo.

Mirror out.

"The world is broken
And halos fail to glisten
We tried to make a difference but
No one wants to listen " - Muse, Neutron Star Collision (Love is Forever) [Just for the record, I had no idea this was affiliated with Twilight... I just like Muse.]

School Sorrows: Delays (The Worst!)

2010-06-01T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'd like to get some blog entries done; however, a large amount of schoolwork has been taking my time up recently. Therefore, I will try to post on time this week, but there are no guarantees. I should be able to get something by the weekend.

UPDATE: No such luck. Wait until Thursday! Maybe Friday. I'm sure you all can last another week without an update.

UPDATE 6/10/10: School is over for me! Happy days await. And of course, more blog posting! I'll be back to a regular schedule soon. But a surprise is in store for you all. Is it bad? Is it good? Do you care?

UPDATE 6/11/10: Why have I not updated?! The answer is, after not updating for the last two weeks, I've been both forgetful and lazy. Yes, that is no excuse. Meh, nobody reads this anyway. Maybe about 1-4 people daily. Oh yeah, and the secret is the LiveJournal thing, and guess what: I haven't even gotten started on that. But tomorrow will probably be a more organized day. Keep waiting and watching! I'm not letting this die... just quite yet.

Mirror out.

"I'm a cowboy
On a steel horse I ride
I'm wanted
Dead or alive" - Bon Jovi, Wanted Dead or Alive

Vidya Games: The Latest (But Not the Greatest), Epilogue

2010-05-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

Let's finish this up, shall we? Now I delve into the mystery of the future, and what awaits us in the next six months...

Summer 2010: Alpha Protocol tomorrow, which apparently isn't all too hot. We also have Backbreaker, and the next Sims 3 expansion pack, Ambitions. Plus we have Green Day: Rock Band, PoP: Forgotten Sands for PC, Sniper: Ghost Warrior, and MGS: Peace Walker. Later, Transformers: War for Cybertron, APB (maybe?), Singularity, and LEGO Harry Potter. Pretty good for June. July will see Crackdown 2, NCAA Football 11, Persona 3 Portable, a BlazBlue sequel, and... StarCraft II! The only reason I'm liking July. August will finish summer off with Madden 11, Kane and Lynch 2, Mafia 2, Metroid Other M, and Dead Rising 2. Actually, all of those are pretty sweet!

Fall 2010: Fall starts with Civilization V, followed by Brink, KH: Birth by Sleep, Arcania: A Gothic Tale, and Halo: Reach. Strangely, a Two Worlds sequel... weird. Test Drive Unlimited 2 will prove to be hopefully once again awesome, with RUSE and Playstation's Move on the way. Unfortunately, so is Saw 2. But Q3 is also time for L.A. Noire, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, Valkyrie Chronicles 2, Medal of Honor: Operation Anaconda, Victoria 2, Saints Row 3, F.E.A.R. 3, and Future Soldier (but I'm pretty sure that last one is postponed to 2011). Let's hope we don't see too many pushbacks. In October, we start off with Scribblenauts 2 and Fallout: New Vegas. Not bad. Also, Force Unleashed 2. Not much announced for October at this point. November will see Tron: Evolution, WoW: Cataclysm, and The Conduit 2. Also, returning are Call of Duty with Black Ops and Max Payne 3. Hopefully, we'll also see Fable III, Little Big Planet 2, Crysis 2, and Natal (eh).

Other unknowns to look forward to are HL2: Episode 3, Postal III, Epic Mickey, Elder Scrolls V, Hitman 5, Portal 2, Golden Sun DS, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood, Final Fantasy XIV, Arkham Asylum 2, RAGE, ACIII, Witcher 2, Dead Space 3, Killzone 3, Gears of War 3, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Bioshock 3, Diablo III, Fallout 4, GTA V, and so on and so forth..

Remember, all release dates are subject to change. ESPECIALLY that last paragraph. Hell, maybe half of that last paragraph is just speculation. But we'll just have to wait and see, right? Yes. Yes we will.

Mirror out.

"Get your mojo working now
I'll show you how
Dare to be stupid" - "Weird Al" Yankovic, Dare to Be Stupid

Dinosaur Debates: The Primordial Soup

2010-05-30T22:23:00.001-07:00

No... what's this? A Dinosaur Debates? Surely I jest! But no. I've determined that doing something periodically may be one of the only ways to keep myself tethered to this blog. So I'll be doing one every Sunday, just to keep on the updates. I might work on another comic later, but not for the next two weeks. I'm also taking out some of the preparation to save me some time.

#1719: Radness is in the eye of the beholder?

#1720: You know, I see nothing wrong with wanting to be Mecha-Godzilla in the next life.

#1721: Atoms can be so interesting when they pertain to your imminent death.

#1722: Because a little burger is within us all.

Wow, it feels so short now.. well, keep reading! Hopefully you haven't abandoned me just yet.

Mirror out.

"HELLO! I ATE THREE BURGERS TODAY!
'IT'S A START'" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Meticulous Mishaps: Chivalry Isn't Dead... and Neither Is This Blog

2010-05-30T22:23:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have noticed the lack of updates for the past four days. This was, as always, brought on by a combination of laziness and work. However, it was also influenced by forgetfulness. The ending of Dinosaur Debates basically cut my huge interest to the blog. But hopefully, I'll be pulling out some new schtick soon! For now, enjoy some soothing music.

Just kidding about the soothing part.

Mirror out.

"When I'm falling down
Will you pick me up again?
When I'm too far gone
Dead in the eyes of my friends" - Pendulum, Watercolour

Placeholder: Oops

2010-05-27T23:27:00.001-07:00

Wow, I totally forgot about my blog. I guess without something to pace myself, I'm drawing away... but no worries! Updates tomorrow.

Mirror out.

"" -

Webcomic Watch: Gone with the Blastwave

2010-05-25T21:34:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I could write for this, but a series of events have led to the point where it is late and I am busy.

Gone with the Blastwave

I will write more on this tomorrow.

EDIT: It is tomorrow. Or today. Whatever you want to use as a term. Anyway, Gone with the Blastwave is a fairly popular and one of my favorites. It's about a war. A lot of things are about wars, but this one pulls in off in a very comedic manner. It focuses on the Reds, and of course, there are also blues, greens, and yellows. From what I can recall, they all hate each other. It mainly just revolves around two guys trying to survive, find their own army, and understand WHY on earth are they fighting.

Also, updates are pretty much non existent now. It was a great comic, but it's not all that long. Anyone could probably spend maybe 20-30 minutes reading through them all. But it is interesting, if not a little cliche. But it doesn't really matter. Because war never changes.

Mirror out.

"Why do we fight?
To win the war.
Meh... works for me" - The Reds, Gone with the Blastwave

Vidya Games: The Latest (But Not the Greatest), Part 3

2010-05-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

So let's finish this series up with the last two months up to now, and maybe a little overview of what to expect for the rest of the year on Thursday, eh?

April 2010: Nothing on the first week, but soon comes the Borderlands: Add-On Pack & Lead and Gold: Gangs of the Wild West. Nothing too special. Various GTA releases for PC and PS3... and then Monster Hunter Tri (or 3) for the Wii! Yay! The Passing for L4D2. Pretty awesome. Dead to Rights: Retribution is meh, and the same goes for Nier, but FIFA World Cup 2010 isn't all too bad. Nearing the end of the month (already?), we see Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter, which is great for nostalgic value. Iron Man 2 comes out and sucks, plus another Age of Conan expansion. Yawn.

May 2010: Wow, that was a short release month. At the beginning of May, we had Picross 3D and the Stimulus Package for PS3 and PC. Lost Planet 2 is decent, but we also got 3D Dot Game Heroes and Skate 3! Batman GOTY but WTF ever. Bit. Trip Runner for WiiWare is good. Then... Split/Second, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, and Red Dead Redemption make it awesome. Oh wait, here also comes Super Mario Galaxy 2, UFC, Blur, and ModNation Racers! Great month, wasn't it?

Catch a Webcomic soon!

Mirror out.

"So whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your way to parts unknown, welcome to City 17. It's safer here." - Dr. Breen, Half-Life 2

Dinosaur Debates: The Aftermath (Epilogue)

2010-05-23T21:44:00.000-07:00

So, it's finally over. I've been writing up comments on Dinosaur Comics for about 4 months. Now, I have finished. But my job will never be truly over until Ryan North stops writing comics. I would be disappointed to see that happen though. Anyway, a friend recommended telling him of my exploits, and I might at some point. For now, just know that I won't be doing D.D. anymore... at least, not until next year!

What this just means is that for my schedule, I am now reverting back to a Tuesday and Thursday update schedule regularly, with only random articles every now and then. I will try to adhere more often now that I don't have to worry about Dinosaur Comics... but at least I can read them normally now.

Mirror out.

"There is a new shirt for you to be wearing!
And also horses!" - Utahraptor and T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Vidya Games: The Latest (But Not the Greatest), Part 2

2010-05-23T21:38:00.000-07:00

More video game recollection on the way. Today, I'll be going over the games released from January to March. Then, catch April and May on Tuesday.

January 2010: A new year, and we kick things off with Bayonetta, Darksiders, and Divinity 2. A pretty good start, to be followed by Matt Hazard (meh) and Darwinia Plus (yay). The next week, Army of Two: The 40th Day comes out to decent reviews, and Dark Void comes out another weak week later with Twin Sector. This is not a great month for games. Then there's Death By Cube and Blood Bowl. But fear not, for arriving are No More Heroes 2 and Mass Effect 2 (oh, and MAG). A month merely to look forward to the beginning and end.

February 2010: As the month begins we get the not-so great MMORPGs Global Agenda and Star Trek Online. Various games of okay-ness include White Knight Chronicles, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat, Chime, and Armored Core Silent Line. But here comes BioShock 2 stomping its way in, with the controversial Dante's Inferno following it. Another Sins of a Solar empire expansion, another Star Ocean, and another Aliens vs. Predator (technically the 3rd, and possibly the worst). Another EverQuest II expansion, Dynasty Warriors, Ragnarok Online for DS... yawn. Ace Attorney stars Edgeworth in its latest incarnation which does good, as well as The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom. Then Metal Slug XX, Heavy Rain, Napoleon: Total War, and SEGA All-Stars Racing. Not too shabby. And we fall with Risen for 360, Last Rebellion, and Lazy Raiders. A lot of okay games here with only two or three good ones.

March 2010: Mega Man 10 rereleased! Nice way to start off the month, as well as Silent Hunter 5 (which wasn't good, but began Ubisoft's stupid DLC scheme). Bad Company 2 comes out with Supreme Commander 2, MLB 2K10, and Toy Soldiers. Pretty good start this month. Then there's Yakuza 3, Assassin's Creed II, Final Fantasy XIII... which are all pretty awesome. The expansion to Dawn of War II finds life with a pretty good score. Metro 2033, Dragon Age: Origins Awakening, and God of War 3 just make this month a great one overall. C&C 4... eh. Add in Resonance of Fate, Infinite Space, a Perfect Dark remake, and Cave Story. The Settlers 7 follows, with the much better Just Cause 2 nipping at its heels, Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey right behind it, and Red Steel 2 in the mix. WarioWare DIY, Ogre Battle 64, the MW2 Stimulus Package, and a score of bland games ends this pretty good month.

Catch the end soon. Soon!

Mirror out.

"He's a Monday morning lunatic
Madman on occasion
Lost within himself
In his solitary shell" - Dream Theater, Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence: VI. Solitary Shell

School Stuff: The Art Show

2010-05-23T21:30:00.000-07:00

~~Update tomorrow. I do this a lot, huh?~~ Bleh, bleh!

So, the art show. As far as art shows go, this was not all too shabby. Of course, I've been to very few art shows in my life, so take me as a terrible judge. The first thing I noticed upon arriving was that the small gym looks way different without all those wrestling mats and with tons of art pieces.

~~MORE ON ART TOMORROW.~~ Yes, I know this is overdue by now.

Anyway, back to the art. Now that I really think about it, there's not much to say. You go in, look at art features for half an hour, and then leave. But there were definitely some cool pieces in there. There were sculptures, drawings, paintings, and the like. There were some reoccurring art project themes around, definitely from those in the art classes around. But of course, we had a number of quite talented artists. Two in particular were Elizabeth Li, a friend of mine, and Brandon Nguyen, who had some weird stuff.

Continuing on, I saw some other drawings that piqued my interest; usually ones that seemed well detailed and drawn. Also, the clay Cyndaquil and Gir were pretty awesome. However, there were those lame Photoshop'd dollar bills, which killed the whole nice art thing. There was someone creating some art right outside, which I did not see. At the end, some students started singing, which was only mildly interesting before I left.

You know, I could have just written this on Thursday. Whatever.... catch the video games and the dinosaurs soon.

Mirror out.

"Good day tomorrow
I think it was the village of greed
Sometimes times will start for you
Cause everything starts at the seam" - Polyphonic Spree, Section 18 (Everything Starts at the Seam)

Dinosaur Debates: Impact, Part 36 (#1651-1718)

2010-05-21T21:34:00.000-07:00

Here we go, guys. THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

Comic 1651: Welp, I guess that's why Batman haunts him in his dreams.

Comic 1652: I've been telling people this forever! The egg argument is just all scientific.

Comic 1653: Cold chicks are the worst!

Comic 1654: Future perfect continuous passive: sounds like something from the Hitchhiker's Guide.

Comic 1655: Want some scab flavored Roll-Ups? They taste like SHEER TERROR.

Comic 1656: Now if the hot tub itself was pink...

Comic 1657: I think this will be my new preferred marriage card!

Comic 1658: I find it hard to believe that Alexander Selkirk inspired Dinosaur Comics, but what the hey. Manliness!

Comic 1659: Even the typing of a keyboard can be bad-ass with some cool descriptions.

Comic 1660: The End by the Beatles quoted? Yeah!

Comic 1661: Life is all about waiting for that jerk who stole your girlfriend to die first. (This does not apply to me, but you never know.)

Comic 1662: What if the world spoke Scotlandese? WHAT IF?

Comic 1663: I read this one already when the front page news seemed interested in the code. Man, that was only two months ago! (Also, scientists plagiarized all the time until COMMUNICATIONS improved enough that people could snitch on them.)

Comic 1664: Captain Obvious to the rescue!... or not.

Comic 1665: Text overlap!e

Comic 1666: Batman fails to provide useful input quite often.

Comic 1667: 'Cuz he's the taxman, ohh the taxman...

Comic 1668: GOD IS SO COOL (Also, I still remember finding the comic in 2007 of Adventure Time! I forgot where it was though...)

Comic 1669: We'll ride our bikes hard.

Comic 1670: See we don't get snow here in California... but we've got some nice beaches!

Comic 1671: If only we could all be studentkapows.

Comic 1672: I do this a lot. Some would say too often... but not really.

Comic 1673: Time travel is such a popular topic in these comics, I've probably pointed it out before.

Comic 1674: Like how we call bandages Band-Aids! I try not to do that. Adhesive bandage!

Comic 1675: But being critical is in his blood! His Utah blood.

Comic 1676: T-Rex makes me think of Zaphod Beeblebrox sometimes. He's just this dinosaur, you know?

Comic 1677: The ethic of reciprocity has never done anything for me! And I.. I guess I've never done anything for it.

Comic 1678: But how about the second 1-UP hiding past the third pit over the pipe? (I'm just making this up... I think.)

Comic 1679: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE CURRENT ECONOMIC CRISIS AND ALEKSANDR SOLZHENITSYN'S PART WITHIN THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM?

Comic 1680: Is heteronormative a word? Apparently.

Comic 1681: I feel like all of the comics have been so informative lately. Where is my spontaneity?

Comic 1682: Batman is back on track!

Comic 1683: You know, I think this is the first time I've ever seen the footer. Stupid English words withstanding.

Comic 1684: We all make up groups. And without one, it all falls apart. (Like uh... AA meetings.)

Comic 1685: Just like how I hate Barry Pepper and somewhat dislike John Travolta.

Comic 1686: I wish I had better magical and whimsical mornings.

Comic 1687: SURGE!

Comic 1688: Will their relationship wane again? It doesn't matter!

Comic 1689: Shakespeare don't be so mad man

Comic 1690: Shoot, racism again!

Comic 1691: Like Bruce Almighty? Well...

Comic 1692: I think typewriters were cooler than these KEYBOARDS OF THE FUTURE.

Comic 1693: What is up with all the princess revival nowadays? Back to Star Trek with all of you!

Comic 1694: Which is why we have so many useless memes.

Comic 1695: Vampires are so overrated now.

Comic 1696: And so, there was said shirt.

Comic 1697: Wow, it's usually the other way around with these proposed experiments. (As in T-Rex is the happy one!)

Comic 1698: Cats did not turn out well in secret government programs.

Comic 1699: Sounds like a good date? I guess.

Comic 1700: Sitting in a hole with only twenty to go!

Comic 1701: Snow White? Humpty Dumpty? SCI-FI TAKES ON SUBJECT?

Comic 1702: Eww, fan fiction.

Comic 1703: Nostalgia kills me sometimes. Seriously mang

Comic 1704: IT'S LIKE BLOOD PUDDING BUT ON TOP OF THE BLOOD WE ADDED - WELL, YOU'LL SEE

Comic 1705: DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO KNOCK (I love these guys, ever since Comic... uh... I was going to look for it, but oh well.

Comic 1706: Goals are for WINNERS! Scoff.

Comic 1707: I read this earlier... 3 weeks earlier! We are so close now.

Comic 1708: I used to like those comics. Also, I read this one too.

Comic 1709: Quick, keep tripping on balls! Before it's too late!

Comic 1710: Mmm... hugs.

Comic 1711: My secrets are not for sale, mister bank!

Comic 1712: Fun fact: web cards have been in this comic for hundreds earlier. I... can't pinpoint the first.

Comic 1713: Like the marriage one all over again!

Comic 1714: T-Rex is always short on those goals.

Comic 1715: Emily?! THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING!

Comic 1716: T-Rex so gullible.

Comic 1717: We may never know who he was thinking of.

Comic 1718: ...Uh... "They MAKE IT UP!"

Ugh. Why did we have to end on Secrets of the Medical Profession? WHY?! Oh well. Catch the thrilling epilogue... SUNDAY.

Mirror out.

"IT CAN NEVER HELP US AGAIN" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Placeholder: The Laziness Strikes Back

2010-05-20T22:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah, I have no excuse for why I didn't post today. So to make it up to you devoted readers, here's a placeholder telling you I am still alive. It is stupid.

UPDATE: No updates. I got lazier. I'm not sure what's wrong with me this week. But expect normal updates on Sunday, along with the epilogue to my Dinosaur Debates.

Mirror out.

"And I almost had you
But I guess that doesn't cut it
Almost loved you
I almost wished you would've loved me too" - Bowling for Soup, Almost

Vidya Games: The Latest (But Not the Greatest), Part 1

2010-05-18T19:50:00.001-07:00

Alright, so the last few months have really been something. Some great movies have come out. Politics get heated and lots of good ad bad music is produced. One of the biggest things for me is that I actually began using AIM and Facebook more often as well as starting up this blog! I'm pretty happy that I stuck with it, no matter how much I sometimes wish I didn't have to write an article that day. Technically, I have no real schedule, but whatever. Let's get back on topic!

A major feature of the last few months, perhaps the last three to six, have been the amount of amazing video games released. So I decided to start from September 2009 and go up to the present day! Let's see how far we've come... in nine months.

September 2009: Guitar Hero 5 comes out with its Song Creator. Darkest of Days fails to meet time-traveling expectations while The Beatles: Rock Band incites another wave of Beatlemania. (Which is a word.) Scribblenauts and Bowser's Inside Story are released; both innovative, but only one lives up to expectations. Ultimate Alliance 2 and Need for Speed: SHIFT prove to be decent, when Halo 3: ODST comes out to blow them out of the water. Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days furthers the fanbase it still entices.

October 2009: Wii Fit Plus! (I don't care.) Saw the Game is terrible, and Operation Flashpoint 2 isn't all that great either. Demon's Souls for PS3 turns the tide with Brutal Legend following it up. (Mediocre games around this time include Lucidity, Cities XL, and another Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.) The Fallout 3 GOTY makes some happy and other pissed, but Half-Minute Hero is released on the same day! Machinarium is a pretty good adventure game, and Fifa '10 continues a successful trend. Borderlands finds its way into stores and my own hands. The end of October spawns DJ Hero, which unfortunately is not as interesting due to a music game overload. Forza 3 and Episodes from Liberty City make up for it.

November 2009: Rabbids Go Home emerges on the first. Good? Meh. But Dragon Age: Origins proves to be another Bioware amazement... which is saturated by the presence of Band Hero. And Lego Rock Band. All on the same day. But there is a huge wave of 'nobody cares now' because Modern Warfare 2 and CoD4: Reflex Edition are released just a week later. Sated by this, people ignore the new Lego Indiana Jones and especially Tony Hawk: RIDE. Well, the God of War Collection saw the light of the PS3 though. Neat stuff. But that's not all! Following are Assassin's Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2, Serious Sam HD, and... Karaoke Revolution. Well, you can't have good things all the time.

December 2009: The Christmas season means more money! Too bad Rogue Warrior and Avatar: The Game come out first. Zombie Driver is meh, and Spirit Tracks is another great Zelda DS game. The Saboteur comes out with decent scores, but soon becomes one of my loved games due to its awesome soundtrack and atmosphere. Too bad Pandemic Studios closes weeks later. PixelJunk Shooter is a nice little arcade memory, but then Guitar Hero Van Halen pops up in stores.

Well, this actually took a bit longer than I thought for just a long list. But hey! You can catch the next part tomorrow, if this proved interesting enough.

Mirror out.

"Once barely taking a break
Now she sleeps the days away
She helplessly stands by
It's meaningless to try
All she wants to do is cry
No one ever knew she was so sad" - Dream Theater, About to Crash

Webcomic Watch: Press Start to Play

2010-05-18T19:50:00.000-07:00

This is starting to get difficult. As I reach the point where I've run out of webcomics that I read through, I will hit more and more that I know very little about. Then I need to read them, and I lose a bunch of time. So, here's a comic. I skimmed over a bunch of strips first to get the gears working.

Press Start to Play

You'd be amazed at the number of comics that base themselves off the trend of "let's have some male protagonists and video games". In fact, I probably still have five other ones.

Anyway, once again, we have something akin to Penny Arcade. Which I need to talk about some time. There are comics about games, gaming news, these two guys who play games, and a short story arc where they get married in Vegas but the girls are never seen again after 10-20 comics or so. Well... not much to say here. Besides the face that the comic ran sporadically from 2005 to 2007 before a long period of nothing. A sketch comic was posted in March, but don't get your hopes up. If you have any.

Maybe next week, I'll actually go for something with a non-gaming related plot again! Like Girly or Questionable Content. Or I could just go with Ctrl-Alt-Del...

Mirror out.

"I understand about indecision
But I don't care if I get behind
People livin' in competition
All I want is to have my peace of mind" - Boston, Peace of Mind

Dinosaur Debates: The Meteor's Arrival, Part 35 (#1601-1650)

2010-05-17T21:13:00.000-07:00

Comic 1601: Man, I'm still mad they don't have Canadian restaurants or fast food in the States. At least not around here.

Comic 1602: Eh... still not a big fan of Morris. I guess it'll take another couple hundred comics before this bug stops bugging me.

Comic 1603: More like SO-CRATES, am I right?

Comic 1604: ...hypodermic stab wieners. (funny comic here guys)

Comic 1605: Mistaken identity never ends well.

Comic 1606: Just like vampire Lincoln, you know?

Comic 1607: Man, I hate it when I get stuff in my teeth and no one tells me.

Comic 1608: Maybe Professor Science is dead and we've been talking to a dead... uh... dinosaur. See, if I could have expressed the excitement buildup in this statement, Internet speech would be so much EASIER.

Comic 1609: The price on life will kill you.

Comic 1610: Why are famous people's lives more valuable after they die?

Comic 1611: I feel like we just went through a time machine myself.

Comic 1612: Man, that is a depressing way to look at things. MOVING ON!

Comic 1613: Many Generations Later does sound like a cool name for something.

Comic 1614: So... mot juste.

Comic 1615: So many things to talk about and not all that much time.

Comic 1616: Evil twins are always a nasty thing to look out for.

Comic 1617: The best will... OF ALL TIME!

Comic 1618: In order to inherit my fortune, you must defeat a shark in hand to hand combat within 2 days!

Comic 1619: Why answer useless surveys? Just wastes time, you know?

Comic 1620: HUGGA BUGGA YES!

Comic 1621: I am Hugga Bugga, badass of six states!

Comic 1622: If only Shakespeare had spelled it asume.

Comic 1623: Oh man, the whole universe thing comes back for winter break...

Comic 1624: But this time, there are no skipped comics. Damn. In other news, 2010 in the comics! We are drawing near...

Comic 1625: The Amazing Adventures of not living in a garden!

Comic 1626: But then you're dead, and that's sort of not the point.

Comic 1627: If only more people realized the bigger picture, we would all win medals.

Comic 1628: Utahraptor is pretty cool for an intellectual dinosaur.

Comic 1629: You gotta watch out for those chicken rights activists. They're everywhere.

Comic 1630: Yeah, Star Trek jokes!

Comic 1631: Missing? This messed me up for about 10 comics.

Comic 1632: You know those things you borrow and you never give back? Yeah... I might have a few of those.

Comic 1633: Speaking in Sea Mode? Affirmative.

Comic 1634: Fah-fah-fah facade of bluffing, Fah-fah-fah facade of bluffing... (Added bonus... South Park!)

Comic 1635: Echo... Echo... echo... (This clip from Battlefield Earth has nothing to do with echoes, but the movie has them, and the movie sucks, so I figure I should share it anyway.)

Comic 1636: Cookie equity is always something to look forward to.

Comic 1637: God is not amused by autotheism.

Comic 1638: Soviets sure gave up easy after their botched robot.

Comic 1639: Actually writing "my skin was purple" in autobiographies sounds hilarious!

Comic 1640: Attach buttered toast to back of cat. Drop from ledge. ??? PROFIT!

Comic 1641: This is just full of awesome invention combinations!

Comic 1642: We've talked about clean water in Africa before too. (So I recently said to a friend of mine that I would read through the entirety of Dinosaur Comics and provide proof... that's right, this comic came out the day I began writing debates! We are so close now.)

Comic 1643: What a weird web card to give to someone.

Comic 1644: STOP THE ROCK, CAN'T STOP THE ROCK. Shake that paranoia...

Comic 1645: Feces: not exactly what moon archaeologists expected.

Comic 1646: No matter what I did, this page would not load. So... (EDIT: Never mind. T-Rex is just being all street naming.)

Comic 1647: Woah. This naming comic makes no sense without the one before it. (EDIT: And it continues.)

Comic 1648: Woah! I remember reading this giraffe facts comic when it was on the front page on accident! We are getting really close now.

Comic 1649: Friggin' hydrogen dude!

Comic 1650: Reinforce EVERYTHING YOU SAY.

It is almost time... but watch for new updates tomorrow!

Mirror out.

"But isn't this just reinforcing your own opinions?
No man!" - Utahraptor and T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: The Meteor Approaches, Part 34 (#1551-1600)

2010-05-16T17:04:00.000-07:00

Comic 1551: You never know when 0.5 will come in handy.

Comic 1552: Skydiving... I couldn't think of anything else to say.

Comic 1553: What a terrible detective novel. Someone needs to die for this! In a unnecessarily complicated and hidden way.

Comic 1554: Progress is fueled by racism? Seems to be a trend in history.

Comic 1555: Because Back to the Future is good for anything quote-related.

Comic 1556: This comic freaks me out so badly.

Comic 1557: Now that's pessimism for you.

Comic 1558: When T-Rex talks to Shakespeare, is he in the past or the future? Hum.

Comic 1559: /THAT'S NOT POOP T-REX/ (Man, I've missed those crazy raccoons and cephalopods.)

Comic 1560: I wish I had retro goggles to wear all the time.

Comic 1561: See, this whole comic is about T-Rex's use of "bitches", so I can't really quote everything.

Comic 1562: T-Rex; more than poop jokes? Probably not.

Comic 1563: Like T-Rex would ever be kind, thoughtful, and let others get a word in!

Comic 1564: If you look closely, you can see when I commented on the Wargames reference!

Comic 1565: Provably hilarious. Wait, 'provably' is a word? SAY WAHT

Comic 1566: You solve problems, and sometimes you die. My new mantra?

Comic 1567: Having a tip calculator is extremely useful this day and age, you know.

Comic 1568: Tattoos aren't too hard to read into.

Comic 1569: God could just poof his tattoo away, so I guess he never really takes these things seriously.

Comic 1570: Stubbing a toe on accident is harder than it seems.

Comic 1571: GAMBOGE?

Comic 1572: Some dude who has just learned to press "play" on the VCR of modern [insert profession here].

Comic 1573: Mylings are just a reason to avoid Scandinavian countries.

Comic 1574: See, this is why you don't get late fees in the first place.

Comic 1575: While all this talk of infinity is intriguing, it seems like it's trying to teach me math. So....

Comic 1576: History sure has a lot of stupid people. More now than ever.

Comic 1577: Which is why T-Rex should really work on new jokes.

Comic 1578: Last panel disgusted me. Eww

Comic 1579: frig. that is all. (Wouldn't that be a neat name for something? frig)

Comic 1580: Everyone's noticed this before. Now focus on one word and say it a few hundred times.

Comic 1581: Because egoism unites us all together.

Comic 1582: Why is orange juice yellow?

Comic 1583: I wish I had more docile dreams sometimes.

Comic 1584: READ THIS ONE BECAUSE I FIND IT AMUSES THE SENSES

Comic 1585: I wish more people took the devil's advice. But sometimes remaking a game with new mechanics can work out. I'm too lazy to get any examples though.

Comic 1586: Old T-Rex, to the rescue!

Comic 1587: Retribution in the form of bird poop is not a pretty sight.

Comic 1588: I vow I will avenge you!

Comic 1589: Man, this reminds me of a Sims 2 family I had once. It was fun. Too bad I don't play Sims games anymore.

Comic 1590: T-Rex does bring up a good idea. If only walking could power portable audio devices...

Comic 1591: Woah... fourth wall breaking. Sort of? In comic though.

Comic 1592: Newton powers the world with his LAWS!

Comic 1593: This blog was inspired by a true story. Money now please

Comic 1594: Pulitzer prize, eh? I know what we can submit!

Comic 1595: How old is T-Rex again? ...Never mind.

Comic 1596: There's no time like the present, they say.

Comic 1597: There's been a paper snowman in one of my windows for a long time now.

Comic 1598: AND INSTEAD OF CAKE ON THE INSIDE, THERE'S REAL ORGANS!
SOME OF THE ORGANS ARE FULL

Comic 1599: I always thought husbandry was a weird word.

Comic 1600: Yeah, the whole personification thing can get weird sometimes.

Less than 120 to go! Victory is at hand.

Mirror out.

"I was thinking more like Brother Entropy or Uncle Everybodydies! You know?" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Music Madness: California Girls/Gurls

2010-05-15T21:43:00.000-07:00

I was bored and just found this, so I decided to make a blog post about it.

So here we have our popular song of the week (according to iTunes):

Katy Perry (feat. Snoop Dogg) - California Gurls

I can't help but feel like I've heard this concept somewhere before...

The Beach Boys - California Girls

Personally, I'm going to say it's the modern day interpretation of a pop hit. In a way, it really is, just from the other point of view. Though the end of "California Gurls" is a little nod to the Beach Boys. I hope.

Anyway, that's... pretty much it. D.D. tomorrow, Monday, and Friday. Normal updates on Tues. and Thurs. Keep reading.

Mirror out.

"I wish they all could be California girls" - now a quote of conflicting artists

The Switch

2010-05-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

I am considering the switch to LiveJournal. This is still a conflicting state for me, because I really haven't found any layouts that I like yet. Theoretically, I could attempt my own (which would probably end in a horrible disaster), or just pick one of the drab ones they usually have. Also, most of my blog posts are still over here. I will dwell on the switch and decide something after I'm done with Dinosaur Debates. However, don't worry! I'll still be updating at least twice a week, no matter where I am or what the hell I'll be writing about. That's just life.

Mirror out.

"Life is better without the mystery." - Me, a month ago

Dinosaur Debates: The Meteor in Sight, Part 33 (#1501-1550)

2010-05-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

Comic 1501: I'm pretty sure that those are conflicting factors, but T-Rex doesn't care.

Comic 1502: I think the alt-text song was just amazing.

Comic 1503: Because someone would name their kid Fartnoise in the first place.

Comic 1504: Time tourism sure would be a busy enterprise. (I feel like I've seen this before...)

Comic 1505: Dromiceiomimus made a Pangaea joke.

Comic 1506: That's right, bitches! (Behooves. What a funny word.)

Comic 1507: At this point I stopped noticing how many times racism has been used to explain a plot sequence.

Comic 1508: T-Rex can eat anything, so I don't know if it's really all that funny.

Comic 1509: Of course shifting the infinite skateboard idea to an escalator wouldn't work! But nothing stops T-Rex from his plans!

Comic 1510: Coming in 2011: Beach Bunny Churchill!

Comic 1511: What in blazes is a 3UP moon?

Comic 1512: Wow. The "profession members jokes" comic is so freaking old, I don't even remember when the original was made.

Comic 1513: I like Frosted Flakes! I also find God the God amusing.

Comic 1514: Party on, dudes!

Comic 1515: bleh

Comic 1516: T-Rex is just going to keep on learning.

Comic 1517: The middle of everything...

Comic 1518: Just as funny as blowing the dome? Maybe.

Comic 1519: Earth angel, earth angel, will you be mine...

Comic 1520: Toe the party line!

Comic 1521: I don't know... it seemed to be Arthur Dent's solution to traveling the galaxy for free.

Comic 1522: Horse Game 64 with more explosions!!

Comic 1523: We must do science and figure out why my glass is empty. Time to get some water.

Comic 1524: Satan talks about casual gamers while acknowledging their position in the Cretaceous period. Weird.

Comic 1525: Science!

Comic 1526: Rape is not an amusing verb!

Comic 1527: Once again T-Rex's scheme is foiled.

Comic 1528: Calendar discontinuities shock mankind! OH SHIIIII-

Comic 1529: Take a look at my girlfriend...

Comic 1530: Another T-Rex statue... just made of electronics this time.

Comic 1531: The aliens sent directed panspermia and lo, Earth was born.

Comic 1532: Don't incriminate yourself in my home please

Comic 1533: Planting the evidence before you need it. One of the smarter things T-Rex has done.

Comic 1534: Time for some more epitaphs, bitches! (I'M NOT BITCHES) ((But seriously, whenever you see "bitches" it's a quote))

Comic 1535: The 2000s will be known as the time everyone was depressing, whiny, and vain. Pretty bad mark we've left on the decades, huh?

Comic 1536: Who calls women 'tomatoes'? (Answer: Ryan North.)

Comic 1537: So much awesome!

Comic 1538: God sure agrees with T-Rex over this. But then again, God is a figment of his imagination. Hmm...

Comic 1539: Time travelers always seem to be a big topic here.

Comic 1540: And so distantly related incest was discovered.

Comic 1541: I can totally imaging Utahraptor doing what was foretold!

Comic 1542: T-Rex still owes him money? It's been a few hundred comics already.

Comic 1543: HE IS THE NIGHT!

Comic 1544: Like gas particles in a room, guys.

Comic 1545: Murder in space right now is way too obvious. Plus after you do it, they can just blow you up with some missiles or something.

Comic 1546: The only things that happen in my dreams have to do with horror games and terrible movies. All in a night's REM cycle.

Comic 1547: MIRROR: COOL GUY

Comic 1548: Oh, John Wycliffe. Why must your translations be so humorous?

Comic 1549: Utahraptor uses an acronym IRL? For shame!

Comic 1550: Damn coffee mug slogans.

More tomorrow. The last week dawns upon us all.

Mirror out.

"We want realist mugs! Mugs that say things like 'Maybe Mondays Aren't The Problem; Maybe I'm The Problem.'" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

School Stuff: I Used To Rule the World (Epilogue)

2010-05-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

So it's over.The long and winding road that we have walked since the beginning of the school year. But the WHAP test is over with, I don't have to write up any more reviews (hopefully), and most of the school day. So let's celebrate! And if you won't, I'll do it anyway! If you already have, do it again! If you currently are celebrating, grab a bottle of Leninade and kick it up a notch!

I was going to write some more, but I couldn't really think of anything. So here's a bunch of random songs.

Kool & The Gang - Celebration

Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight (Watch out epileptics)

Uhh... I was going to do some more stuff, but my mood sobered up in a few hours.

Mirror out.

"I am not in this world to live up to other people's expectations, nor do I feel that the world must live up to mine." - Fritz Perls

Wishful Writing: A Story?

2010-05-13T18:32:00.000-07:00

Just today, I was approached by an author asking me to help collaborate upon a short story collection she was working on!

Granted, she's not published or anything... and she's in my grade... but hey, you take what you can get. Anyway, it's about cities, so I should start brainstorming. This is a pretty lame excuse for one of my blog entries, but I work too hard on those. So here is my current premise for a story.

In the year 2012, the world’s greatest fears were realized. Rising tensions between the superpowers of the world had brought upon the final risk of nuclear Armageddon. Riots broke out in every city, in every town, desperately hanging on to a last shred of hope for survival. Efforts had been preemptively made to relocate to temporary conditions in outer space, but the ensuing panic left most of these plans behind and shut down. With events of this caliber, many disasters wrought havoc around the world. Power was shut down in major cities. Nationalists took advantage of the riots to attack their old nemeses. The world was in utter turmoil, and no leaders were willing to step up to take control of the situation. By the time the bombs dropped, it was too late for humanity and the coexisting species of Earth.

It turned out that some people had survived the nuclear holocaust, through either evolutionary miracles or sheer luck. Most of them perished soon after the world had been demolished. Without governments and order, many turned into savages. But all over the world, some life thrived and grew. In Illinois, a small community of people had created their own post-war town of “Rebirth”. It was harsh living, and especially due to the danger that lurked nearby.

The city of Chicago had been struck with more than just the terror of nuclear doom and overall chaos. The airlines had still been up to a point, and some carried shipments of animals ready for transportation to temporary living conditions in safety. Two major jumbo jets had been carrying large quantities of snakes. In the midst of confusion, these jets crashed into rural areas of Chicago, killing many, but worse, letting loose a concoction of some of the most dangerous snakes known to man. Chicago was plagued with reptilian death for some time before the bombs struck. But it turned out that snakes were, unbeknownst to humanity before, adaptive to radiation. Soon, the snakes grew larger and tougher. Ten years after the nuclear bombs dropped, Chicago became a snake-land. Colonizers would enter the outskirts of the city, and usually never come out. As people learned to live nearby, they avoided the dangerous snake-ridden wastes. But not everyone could resist the allure of New Snakeopolis…

That was a little long. Also, I know I stole a bunch of material, because this writing was satirical. If you ever expect a real story... well, maybe.

Mirror out.

"My face blew up at such a casual sight
The smattered colours of ecstatic fright
The rush above me to oblivion
Outlining wet sidewalks in halogen" - Passion Pit, Little Secrets

Audacious Audio: RiffTrax

2010-05-11T19:32:00.001-07:00

So you're watching a movie nowadays. Maybe you go to see it in the theater, and you think it's a pretty good movie. Or maybe it stunk. Whatever. So anyway, months later, the DVD comes out and you decide to buy/rent it. Whether it was good or terrible, you got it anyway and you watch it again. But then it strikes you: "this would be amazing with some kind of humorous commentary added on to it!" Okay, maybe you wouldn't think that at all. But that's not the point! This is.

RiffTrax

Now if you are awesome, you have heard of Mystery Science Theater 3000. It was this show that mostly aired during the 1990s. Starring some robots and a kidnapped astronaut, the show basically was about them watching terrible B-movies and the commentary they provided throughout the length of each episode. It was pretty funny, but maybe not for those who have little taste for things before 1990 or sci-fi B movies. Moving on. The show ended in 1999, leaving quite a bit of fans dissapointed and lacking the heckling of these fine comedians.

So in 2006, Mike Nelson (lead of MST3K) started up RiffTrax. On this site, he would once again provide commentary for movies... but this time, the focus was on more recent films. Later on, his buddies from MST3K would join him, making the legendary trio back once again to talk about films such as Spiderman, Transformers, Twilight, and many more.

The only reason I learned about it was due to an effort yesterday to find good reviews of Battlefield Earth (hated as the worst film of the decade). Being a fan of the legends of MST3K, I decided to write about it. And here you go! On the site, you can buy their commentary audio track, which is usually about $4.00 per retail film. I would recommend it if you are really interested, as it's an cool view on things.

If you want to see an example, here's a YouTube video of some of Twilight's "riffs":

Mirror out.

"I think it was a bear because it sucked all the blood from his corpse, you know." - RiffTrax, Twilight RiffTrax

Webcomic Watch: F@NBOY$

2010-05-11T19:32:00.000-07:00

If you've noticed these becoming more vague, it's because I'm reviewing ones that I read for a while, but never really obsessed myself with. At some point, I'll get to ones that I merely bookmarked but never read... and then this segment will be more of a link you get every week. But for now, we're still good! Sort of.

F@NBOY$

This comic is... partly about video games and other partly about fanboys. Originally it was about a Sony fanboy, a Nintendo fanboy, and an Xbox fangirl. While it derived from this later to focus on Lemmy (Nintendo) and Sylvia's relationship, it's an interesting comic. (Have you noticed I say interesting when I'm at a lack for words?) Anyway... I haven't read this for a while, and I don't have time to start right now. So... go and read it or something.

Mirror out.

"I don't know just what I should do
Everywhere I go I see you
Though it's what you planned
This much is true
What I thought was beautiful
Don't live inside of you
Anymore" - Guns n' Roses, Street of Dreams

Dinosaur Debates: You Don't Know That, Part 32 (#1451-1500)

2010-05-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

Real updates tomorrow. Dinosaur Debates today.

Comic 1451: Aren't they always naked? I guess you can substitute in humans, but I personally feel that makes it weirder.

Comic 1452: Personal taste changes so much over a lifetime. It's a sad feeling. So is getting a pound of cereal at your door.

Comic 1453: Icarus is one cool dude. Not all that smart though.

Comic 1454: Why does T-Rex always come up with weird names? The same reason he is a sexually charged racist dinosaur. It just is. (By the way, where have cephalopods been? They were my favorite characters! Oh well.)

Comic 1455: To effectively barbecue everything, just set the world on fire!

Comic 1456: Fried chicken is so disgusting nowadays. KFC Double Down? Why.

Comic 1457: OH SHIIIIII-

Comic 1458: T-Rex has very few ideas on his mind.

Comic 1459: Because nothin beats the thrill of Batman beating people up.

Comic 1460: Vegan T-Rex probably writes better than T-Rex.

Comic 1461: Sponsored by Nintendo!

Comic 1462: Yay, the cephalopods came back!
T-REX
YOU WILL

Comic 1463: I wonder... (Crap, I was ruined by the alt-text.) Also, T-Rex is 12? Or something.

Comic 1464: Robbin' Hood, am I right?

Comic 1465: This theory never works on relationships. FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN. Which is not much to boast at.

Comic 1466: I'll pheeze you, with Spider-man!

Comic 1467: Uh.. I pass on 'penis fencing'.

Comic 1468: I also pass on 'quantum erotica'.

Comic 1469: But Shakespeare invented so many literary tropes, someone else would have filled the gap for him anyway.

Comic 1470: "I need to drop a barf." Awesome.

Comic 1471: I say... fever? (Also what the crap pictures)

Comic 1472: Lord Britishface the Third? What.

Comic 1473: Because Batm

Comic 1474: Calories are amazing! And my understanding of thermochemistry helps.

Comic 1475: Another reason why we Americans should have switched with Britain to metrics. (Also I saw this one before. Why?!)

Comic 1476: Allergies are pretty terrible. Good thing I don't have them to an irritating extent!

Comic 1477: Polyamory is a delightfully funny word.
that's not meeeeeee

Comic 1478: I didn't know wind was a weather.

Comic 1479: Utahraptor sunscreen, go!

Comic 1480: T-Rex once again shows his bad apt for writing.

Comic 1481: His views in religion make me laugh. In the good sense.

Comic 1482: BOOM BOOM BOOM YUM YUM

Comic 1483: I don't know, poop jokes could be T-Rex's forte. Good going, Ben Driscoll.

Comic 1484: Wow! That looked so familiar because I read through some of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal's archive once.

Comic 1485: Pretty awesome art style, right?

Comic 1486: Ahh, Andrew Hussie just broke my head!

Comic 1487: Skipped...

Comic 1488: and skipped. This always happens after some special event.

Comic 1489: I tripped down south

Comic 1490: Eliza Bot obviously has got T-Rex down pretty well.

Comic 1491: Hmm... Daisy?

Comic 1492: Advanced AI always seems to mess life up.

Comic 1493: Wargames? Come on!

Comic 1494: I don't know. Porn is always used to mess with people. And shock sites. Also all those other people suck too.

Comic 1495: Interesting... I'm tired.

Comic 1496: That's a pretty bad beginning. (But I like the alt text one.)

Comic 1497: Utahraptor is a spy?!

Comic 1498: Frig!

Comic 1499: THERE ARE NO E'S!

Comic 1500: If only the past was that awesome.

Mirror out.

"Maybe in the past it was all hoverboards and space helmets and cavemen saying 'Hey, let's NOT write this down okay??'" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Yoo-Tah-Rap-Tor, Part 31 (#1401-1450)

2010-05-09T19:54:00.000-07:00

I'm too lazy/busy to pick which ones for you to read, so I hope some of you at least skim for interesting ones.

Comic 1401: A new meaning to drowned in sorrow.

Comic 1402: Being... smothered in joyousness?

Comic 1403: Man, how did they get to an interior wall in the first place? I wonder if there are dinosaur sized buildings.

Comic 1404: T-Rex always seems to be sexualizin' something.

Comic 1405: My Robot Suitte is top of the lineth.

Comic 1406: Utahraptor actually says something that sounds more like T-Rex. Weird.
I KNEW THE RISKS

Comic 1407: *I* bet that I could be an amazing - um, guy who walks around and talks shit up?

Comic 1408: HOW DID SOCIAL DARWINISM AFFECT EUROPEAN ATTITUDES IN THE 18TH CENTURY? (Mind on cruise control for WHAP right now.)

Comic 1409: How that had to do with a Friendship Team Essay, I'm not really sure.

Comic 1410: I think knowing the position of every air molecule is enough to make you crazy.

Comic 1411: Floating head Batman comes back for round 5. I think.

Comic 1412: I find T-Rex's definition of erotic highly amusing. HAR HAR HAR

Comic 1413: I read a sci-fi story about an invulnerable disease like that once. It was sad.

Comic 1414: Neglecting social and economic problems is bad.

Comic 1415: I'm fifteen for a moment, caught in between 10 and 20... (For Cure fans, it doesn't matter if we all die...)

Comic 1416: Because gimmick emails look good on a resume.

Comic 1417: That really boils my potatoes! (Anyway, all sorts of things make up their own verbs. I don't know about Interneting.)

Comic 1418: You're so fine, you blow my mind?

Comic 1419: If my dream world is real, last night, I was chased by some creepy vampires and then forced to walk through a long, dark, and dirty corridor with a freaky setting and some orangutans at the end. Is that not weird!

Comic 1420: Why is self-service so complicated and annoying? We all need some kind of universal ID. (Phew phew!)

Comic 1421: Cyborgs have always destroyed the world. Why start now?

Comic 1422: Eye implants would probably turn a generation into lazy people who don't have to actually use their hands for half of every day's tasks.

Comic 1423: Bloetry: something I hope I will never do. If I start posting self-written poems on here, please link me back to this.

Comic 1424: Life is a journey when you're a professional hostage. (Direction is a bucket that people keep sneaking into.)

Comic 1425: Forsooth, that's dumb! Lampshade hanging is also pretty awesome. (More fake racism ahoy!)

Comic 1426: Man, T-Rex is like a licensed professional. Also, Queen!

Comic 1427: Like peer-to-peer dating!

Comic 1428: Just sit right there...

Comic 1429: Death and taxes, my friends. Death and taxes.

Comic 1430: Hwa's that? We schelebrate ol' Patty's day with greneu!

Comic 1431: Daaaamn, that's cold? (White water rafting, right?)

Comic 1432: I can't see why he can't just start naming body parts or renaming them.

Comic 1433: That's a pretty lame way for the universe to end. "Congrats, you just used the word we've been looking for! Goodbye now.)

Comic 1434: If God revealed half of life's secrets, some people would just go on living in denial. (SOMEONE MADE A CHOCOCHOP CAKE WHY)

Comic 1435: Oscar Wilde is amazing and weird at the same time.

Comic 1436: AND THEN I SAID WHY NOT DO THIS TO EVERYONE IN DINOSAUR LAND

Comic 1437: The amygdala sounds familiar. Brain stuff is something I don't pay attention to.

Comic 1438: But have you leveled up, or are you Frankenstein?

Comic 1439: T-Rex: easily gullible.

Comic 1440: The real question is why poops are in your breakfast.

Comic 1441: Power ballads... totally better than other kinds of ballads? Probably so.

Comic 1442: IN-Corporeal sex sounds disturbing and peculiar.

Comic 1443: Hasn't T-Rex been using racism incorrectly for the last 1443 comics anyway?

Comic 1444: How old is T-Rex?

Comic 1445: By creating your own creation myth, have you effectively started a religion? This comic says yes. I will stop asking questions now.

Comic 1446: T-Rex's friendship with the God in his head is a real thing.

Comic 1447: T-Rex's second panel there is just priceless.

Comic 1448: Steak flavored spinach. Feast on that!

Comic 1449: All emotions can be explained with Mario somehow.

Comic 1450: A feel-good comic for anyone. Or is it? (Hint: it's not.)

More of these tomorrow. Only another 250-300 left! The estimated completion date will be Friday, May 21, 2010. Be there!

Mirror out.

"YOU ARE SPECIAL." - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Game Gauge: The Evolution of FPS Genres

2010-05-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

More lame placeholders. I sorely doubt anyone ANTICIPATES the next article anyway. My fanbase (if I ever had one) cut in pieces as soon as WHAP tests were over. In other news, I found my Guild Wars release promo T-shirt! They don't sell them anymore, so it's like a collector's thing. Whoo! (So nerdy, I know)

I've been playing too much Bad Company 2 and Modern Warfare 2. So I guess this article was to be predicted. So let's do a run-through of the FPS! That stands for first-person shooter, by the way. (You'd be amazed at how many people don't know this. Unless you didn't. Well there you go!)

So, the first-person shooter. Today's RPG, really. Before the 1990s, first person was for flight simulators, tank simulators, and maze games. But then came Wolfenstein 3D and the arrival of iD. Suddenly people realized that you could use 2D pictures to portray a 3D world! This revelation was amazing, and cake was probably had. Then there was this game, Blake Stone, but no one cared because DOOM came out a week later. By adding height, lighting, and multiplayer, Doom became the real father of the FPS, and Wolfenstein 3D was the grandfather that no one cared about. iD software had essentially created a whole new method of gameplay.

So then LucasArts makes Star Wars: Dark Forces, adding in crouching and a y-axis for looking. Imagine playing BC2 or MW2 without these abilities. It'd be terrible! Descent came out, a space shooter with six degrees of freedom and the first real 3D polygons. Duke Nukem 3D came out a bit afterwards, and was the last of the great sprite shooters. A world of crappy 3D models was beginning. Quake came out and revolutionized multiplayer. Goldeneye 007 gave us aiming reticules and stealth elements. While this was all happening, of course, other genres were beginning to apply 3D graphics, and new offshoots of the FPS grew (stealth games, TPS...).

Up until the, the majority of these games were science fiction. Half-Life in 1998 was an obvious example of that. Another was Starship: Tribes, which introduced the idea of classes and team based large scale online gameplay. But the tactical Rainbow Six series began in 1998 also, starting the long line of awesome Tom Clancy games. 1999 rolled around, and some of today's common trends began. Medal of Honor became the second to be set in World War II (next to Wolfenstein). Quake III Arena, Unreal Tournament, and Counter-Strike (originally a Half-Life mod) all came to be examples of how the FPS was now more popular for online gameplay.

The last decade has seen more advances in video games and FPSes than ever before. The Halo series became extremely popular for its engaging storyline, graphics, and later, dual wielding. Deus Ex combined the ideas of RPG leveling with the FPS gameplay. The Metroid Prime series combines platforming with 3D views. Battlefield goes on to reinvent massive gameplay with BF1942. Planetside becomes the world's first MMOFPS; Doom 3 is acclaimed for its horror and graphics; series such as Penumbra and Thief put much more emphasis on stealth.

Half-Life 2 creates amazing physics while the System Shock/Bioshock series is a hit due to horror and story/ Crysis and Far Cry 2 have high graphics environments with open levels, but games such as Call of Duty and Resistance stick to linearity. Timeshift allows users to rewind and fast forward their game. The Medal of Honor series dives while Battlefield reigns strong. FPS gamers debate over consoles vs. PC. A long tradition of World War II shooters evolves into a long tradition of modern day shooters. Online FPSes work into this, especially in the growing SEAsian market (Combat Arms, Battery, Soldier Front...) Fantasy RPGs and post-apocalyptic FPSes see their way into the market. And now, Singularity will allow even more time muck ups, Inversion will mess up gravity, and Medal of Honor will be in Afghanistan.

The laundry list goes on and on. But just know that the FPS has gone a long way from the days of Wolfenstein 3D. In the current time, many FPSes look for a gimmick to get you to play. Why? Because a run n' gun FPS got boring years ago. For multiplayer ones, it's usually easier to incorporate a level system that just rewards playing. I'm looking forward to Singularity though. Maybe it'll be better than Timeshift, which was just an FPS where I could kill the same guy 5 times in a row.

Man, I wrote a lot.

Mirror out.

"She's got her halo and wings
Hidden under his eyes
But she's an angel for sure
She just can't stop telling lies" - The Killers, Under the Gun

Dinosaur Debates: The Dawn In the Middle of Time, Part 30 (#1351-1400)

2010-05-07T19:39:00.000-07:00

Due to comments made about the dull nature of Dinosaur Debates, I've decided to do absolutely nothing to spice it up. Except that when there's one that I really like, I'll just go ((READ THIS ONE)) in order to catch your feeble attention.

Comic 1351: So that's what happened in the Bermuda Triangle!

Comic 1352: By not dwelling, T-Rex deals with life easily.

Comic 1353: Again with the racism.

Comic 1354: Deus Ex Machina can be funny or lame, depending on how it's pulled off.

Comic 1355: Man, that's like the best sci-fi interpretation of King Midas ever! ((READ THIS ONE))

Comic 1356: Occam's razor is sweet. Though I've talked about that before.

Comic 1357: Preemptive plagiarism's a bitch.

Comic 1358: Song titles. Funny.

Comic 1359: We sell bodies here!

Comic 1360: GUESS TWO-THIRDS OF THE AVERAGE!

Comic 1361: Didn't God say he knew all the other guys anyway? Proof! ((READ THIS ONE))

Comic 1362: The criminal thing is pretty awesome.

Comic 1363: Man, Canadians sure are up to a lot. ((READ THIS ONE))

Comic 1364: Zombie vampires are the new menace to society!

Comic 1365: I don't think a society where more people heard God in their head is a good idea.

Comic 1366: Where does he get this stuff?

Comic 1367: WHAT THE HELL AHHHHH ((READ THIS ONE))

Comic 1368: Man, it's like Indiana Jones.

Comic 1369: That's just how holidays work: they manipulate and make money.

Comic 1370: Whoo ASCII!

Comic 1371: Woah. I feel like I've read this comic on Wikipedia before. Is this when I first saw Dinosaur Comics?! Or something.

Comic 1372: Crazy duck is more like it. A jerk too. I mean, did you see that Christmas episode? Or Duck Rogers? Or any Daffy Duck cartoon? Seriously.

Comic 1373: Huh. Missing comic.

Comic 1374: ...Another one?

Comic 1375: What is this madness?

Comic 1376: WHAT HAPPENED TO THESE COMICS?!

Comic 1377: I guess the New Year was more important.

Comic 1378: ...But why are the numbers off? Another mystery unsolved.

Comic 1379: 2009 hits Dinosaur Comics. Just a year and a half to go for me. (Also T-Rex has weird Science questions)

Comic 1380: Frigorific dude. Just... frigorific.

Comic 1381: Ambisextrous? ((SORTA READ THIS ONE?))

Comic 1382: I try to be nice, but I'm not sure if my intentions always translate well.

Comic 1383: Man, some jobs have it easy.

Comic 1384: Does this oil really work if they're IN the age of dinosaurs? (Alternate universe, yadda yadda)

Comic 1385: Death by extreme loss at chess. Sounds like a humiliating way to die!

Comic 1386: Damnit, I failed the challenge. ((TEST YOURSELF BY READING THIS COMIC AND THEN DOING THE ALT-TEXT))

Comic 1387: I have refutable evidence that civilizations require sandwiches to survive. Just see the Hitchhiker's Guide. (Book 5, Mostly Harmless)

Comic 1388: Being all-knowing is difficult, you know. (hur hur I made a funny)

Comic 1389: Then Captain O' Spaceships shuts off the music and is all, "Full speed ahead"

Comic 1390: My Other Ride is A Light Cycle The future is upon us!

Comic 1391: T-Rex is a terribad writer.

Comic 1392: CHEST'D! ((READ THIS))

Comic 1393: T-Rex manages to take on a whole new meaning for plagiarism.

Comic 1394: I guess Doctor Who is the center of the universe then.

Comic 1395: Comics about painting. Yep.

Comic 1396: A T-Rex with wings may have been as improbable as a bumblebee. Hmm...

Comic 1397: God just rolls with religion.

Comic 1398: But the lovers of the past will always exist, especially for food. ((READ THIS FOR SENSE))

Comic 1399: We'll be skateboarding in dough!

Comic 1400: Adults have it lame. I can't wait.

Mirror out.

"...That one made me sad." - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Interesting Internet: Amazing Collections

2010-05-06T22:21:00.000-07:00

It seems like all my blog entries come from the recesses of my hundreds of bookmarks. Anyway, being bored, I decided to go over some of the interesting links I've accumulated. I might have done TV Tropes already though... oh well. (I just checked and apparently, I haven't. Moving on!)

TV Tropes is an awesome website that may or may not suck you in for hours. it is a compilation of every cliche, trick, and overdone idea in the book. Or rather, the TV. A trope is basically something that's been done before, like the silent protagonist, the friend who's sometimes a jerk, the spooky castle, and so on. TV, however, is not the only thing it covers. Books are usually the next best place to find tropes. Anyway, you might be surprised at how many of these you've seen before. Just read and find out... but try not to lose track of time!

Internet Archive also is an interesting collection site, but in a different manner. Instead of tropes, this hosts a large number of videos, books, and other media now unavailable. This mostly includes old TV shows and songs and such. It's pretty neat if you're in the the early 1900s-1950s or so. There's a lot of neat stuff.

That's all I'm going to say. Not a long entry, but hopefully it will sustain some of you. (Like anybody reads.)

Mirror out.

"She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything was as fresh as the bright blue sky
Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry" - Guns N' Roses, Sweet Child O' Mine

Randomosity: The Cure

2010-05-05T21:12:00.000-07:00

I'm bored, and I like this song. That should be reason enough to post this. (Whoo, The Cure!) Somewhat more depressing than "Friday, I'm In Love".

Let's see... expect some random updates tomorrow, and Dinosaur Debates on Friday and Sunday. And then the cycle will repeat until May 21, 2010... when I will finish Dinosaur Debates once and for all. (At least you won't be seeing those anymore. Just means I have to find something to fill that gap, especially in the summer.)

Mirror out.

"Whenever I'm alone with you
You make me feel like I am whole again" - The Cure, Lovesong

Webcomic Watch: Dueling Analogs

2010-05-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

Ever since Last Thursday (actually it was Tuesday but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say that), I began on the next section of webcomics: the ones I began reading after sticking to about 10-15. This started the journey that would bring me to collect a selection of way too many links. There are a few older ones that I haven't talked about yet, but I'm debating whether to share them or not. So to stick on the safer side, I chose a level two comic, one with a similar reign to VG Cats.

Dueling Analogs (PG-13... though I hope that nobody under 13 reads my blog. Ugh.)

Dueling Analogs. A comic based on video games and their related protagonists, usually in a humorous manner. Sound familiar? While it wasn't exactly a new premise, the comic had some things going for it: good graphics, good artwork, and good jokes. (I recall the website being less blue at some point...) I don't remember how I came across this, but it was probably some forum post. Which was the way I found a lot of these.

Anyway, back to the comic. Not much to say here. There is sometimes this one guy named Harvey that basically serves as the Author Avatar (well, sort of). As for the rest of the comic, it's hilarious, updates more often than VG Cats, and often uses unrelated real life examples to explain video game ideas. So what are you waiting for? Read it! Read it now!

Mirror out.

"I believe in a thing called love
Just listen to the rhythm of my heart
There's a chance we could make it now
We'll be rocking 'til the sun goes down
I believe in a thing called love
Ooooh... Guitar!" - The Darkness, I Believe in a Thing Called Love

Dinosaur Debates: The Dawn In the Middle of Time, Part 29 (#1301-1350)

2010-05-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

Comic 1301: Just in case someone gets confused, tomorrow is Tuesday. Don't listen to that dinosaur!

Comic 1302: The real question is how T-Rex fits into a restaurant. Unless it's for formal dinosaurs?

Comic 1303: Taxman! (Also, date of the on of the LHC! Professor Science sure does get around.)

Comic 1304: The One Perfect Thing trumps all subsets of Perfect Objects!

Comic 1305: That would be crap if someone dropped something on your foot. Pow! Right in the kisser. Maybe the solar plexus.

Comic 1306: So are all the other gods like subgods?

Comic 1307: Obviously they get stuck on some problem every time. Like their engines are out or some green alien babe is seducing Kirk again.

Comic 1308: I don't know, recent TV shows have ruined 80's references for me. Except good music and Back to the Future.

Comic 1309: Tropes, eh? (TVTropes that is!)

Comic 1310: Man I just get up and grab some more mashed potatoes because potatoes are the secret to life! Look at the population expansion of the 16th-18th centuries! But they aren't the answer to life...

Comic 1311: T-Rex missed a somewhat awkward and funny joke. Right there!

Comic 1312: How does one make an asterisk sound? It seems like it would be disturbing. And not a good date at all.

Comic 1313: So does Dinosaur Comics take place in some alternate comic where humans evolve on a similar path to dinosaurs and lived with them in harmony? Aside from the frequent yet accepted stompings?

Comic 1314: Midichlorians: so many... atoms or something.

Comic 1315: Seeing into the future sounds like the kind of thing that makes you insane. I mean, look at fortune tellers. Weirdos.

Comic 1316: Fubsy!

Comic 1317: The unfortunate downside to communications.

Comic 1318: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have a hilarious play centered around them rather than Hamlet. See both!

Comic 1319: If we had a renewable, clean, and eco-friendly energy source that cured cancer, everyone would be blown up by nukes. Think about it.

Comic 1320: Gump sat alone on a bench in the park...

Comic 1321: Frig! Polygamy!

Comic 1322: SNES and Sega Genesis! But for every good console, there were 3 bad ones. Just go watch Angry Video Game Nerd.

Comic 1323: Hey, the T-Rex statue is back!

Comic 1324: Thos Rex, Esq.! (Also I looked at Kate Beaton's Comics [Now Hark, a vagrant?] and laughed for a minute)

Comic 1325: All these friendships ending?

Comic 1326: Dinosaur Comics is just like that. All the time.

Comic 1327: Drawn by that Nedroid guy. Yep.

Comic 1328: For a second there, I was confused because it seemed like a normal comic. I guess Randall Munroe of XKCD is just good at things.

Comic 1329: Of course T-Rex denies the inevitable.

Comic 1330: The anti-illegal advertising vigilante strikes again. "Really? That's the third time this week. What a kook!" (I imagined that in Brooklyn cop voice. Try it!)

Comic 1331: Euphemisms are those things that you don't want to overuse or else you SUCK

Comic 1332: I've found that T-Rex makes up what he knows about racism as he goes.

Comic 1333: He's really gotta watch out for those crazy cephalopods. Actually, it's not capitalized, so I guess they're just cheap creepy bidders.

Comic 1334: I have a suspicion Batman doesn't mean superhero in Turkey. At least not in that city. Am I right?

Comic 1335: Casual Frigday? Expect a lot more puns.

Comic 1336: I think of Our House! The actual song, not the Maxwell version.

Comic 1337: He should have been a hacker, because this is the 1337th comic!

Comic 1338: Road rage hits the best of people.

Comic 1339: Ron Paul 2012! (He can't win, don't jizz yourself!)

Comic 1340: Pranks.

Comic 1341: Sounds like a fun game... until you fight each other for the money or something.

Comic 1342: That darn T-Rex! Anthropomorphizing Christmas!

Comic 1343: Blow up pollution! Save our world!

Comic 1344: Couldn't you just SAY you were a patron of the arts and go research some paintings? Oh wait, that's what T-Rex half-did. Never mind.

Comic 1345: Fuck, it's strawberry cake (For the record, I like strawberries, I'm just quotin')

Comic 1346: Mosh pits much?

Comic 1347: Drive through grocery store, may I take your order?

Comic 1348: Dinos got some weird ass dreams.

Comic 1349: Whew! Another murder not to be accused of!

Comic 1350: More euphemisms...

No more of these until Friday.

Mirror out.

"Mega Man doesn't have a two-player mode.
Not for us, Utahraptor! Not for us.
*sigh*" - Utahraptor and T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Randomosity: Mentos!

2010-05-03T19:02:00.000-07:00

Do do do doo, do doo, do wah!

Mirror out.

"Nothing gets to you
Stayin' fresh, staying cool
With Mentos fresh and full of life!" - Mentos, THE FRESHMAKER!

Dinosaur Debates: Dinosaur Says 'Rock and Roll', Part 28 (#1251-1300)

2010-05-02T22:50:00.000-07:00

Comic 1251: Cool guys don't look at explosions... they blow things up and they walk away!

Comic 1252: Yeah, I was going for that too.

Comic 1253: I've got opinions, too. They're usually not as funny though.

Comic 1254: Pun overload!

Comic 1255: It was humans all along. Now where have I heard that similar phrase before?

Comic 1256: A law on life? T-Rex is nuts.

Comic 1257: As if Lolita wasn't already a creepy book.

Comic 1258: Loheta? Come on! (Began reading Minus. It's a humorous kind of depression. Like the Calvin and Hobbes comics where they contemplate on life, but all the time.)

Comic 1259: Yeah, it still hurts like a bitch. Can I say bitch?

Comic 1260: Utahraptor travelled through time! What happened to all of those discussions? (Retconned!)

Comic 1261: They're in our homes... and they're decorating!

Comic 1262: Sinkytowne? Why does every town need an 'e'? Oh, what's the use. Embrace Ye Olde English-e!

Comic 1263: Man, I hate That Guy!

Comic 1264: Ye Olde English returns for round 2.

Comic 1265: And so T-Rex's shortlived dreams became just that: short. And lived.

Comic 1266: Why is it that the Seven Wonders of the World pretty much were all destroyed? They were epic!

Comic 1267: God needs to get his priorities straight.

Comic 1268: Transitive pants.

Comic 1269: I attribute that to basically every song I've ever heard somewhere. It's great! You just pick a song and be all like "that can be the time where I stub my toe while walking down the street".

Comic 1270: Man, classic Star Trek was awesome. Mostly because of William Shatner.

Comic 1271: FIVE. Look at my hand? See those fingers? THAT'S HOW MANY GIRLFRIENDS.

Comic 1272: Paul Grice sounds like he was just pointing out the obvious in fancy terms. That's science for you!

Comic 1273: Eww. Reminds me of "I Have No Mouth, And I Must Scream." (It's a short story. Read it and feel repulsed and horrified. Perhaps somewhat frightened.)

Comic 1274: Spark plugs!! In other news, out-of-place artifacts are froody. I mean, they made an astronomical computer in 100 BC!

Comic 1275: Because death is all in the mind.

Comic 1276: Have you lost weight? Oh wait, lemme put on my contacts.

Comic 1277: Which is why we need some kind of consumer's Wikipedia. Hmm....

Comic 1278: T-Rex misses another opportunity. WHY?

Comic 1279: What has Shakespeare thought he was talking to? Giant lizard?

Comic 1280: Text message breakups are terrible. It's never happened to me (on account of not having a relationship in the first place [laugh/pity here]) but I hear it's bad.

Comic 1281: God is insane. Unless that's just some narrator. Which explains why Utahraptor can hear him. Why doesn't Dromi talk more?!

Comic 1282: Guess what? I got a hunger; and the only prescription... is more sex!

Comic 1283: Time traveler reference? Hum.

Comic 1284: "Shit, T-Rex?" Heh. Custom-made T-Rex bicycles.

Comic 1285: Emotional calendar? Some people do this every day of their lives, but they probably have some mental disorder.

Comic 1286: Whoo, LAN parties! What, too geeky for you? Get outta here!

Comic 1287: T-Rex will never stop the puns. NEVER!

Comic 1288: T-Rex has complicated feelings, I bet. Always with the stomping!

Comic 1289: Clarke Kente and Louise Laan? Come on! Just... come on!

Comic 1290: Turing Test. Breadmaker.

Comic 1291: Time traveling T-Rexes somehow have not yet mucked up history.

Comic 1292: None of them can write!

Comic 1293: Thus invigorating you to search for free ice cream!

Comic 1294: Passive aggressiveness is the coda of many.

Comic 1295: Whoo, Archie comics!

Comic 1296: As if gambling isn't already soulless? Eh? Eh?!

Comic 1297: Badabingo!

Comic 1298: So... dinosaurs are talking about fossils? Really.

Comic 1299: Late to the party, Slowpoke?

Comic 1300: Utahraptoré!

Can you believe it? I hardly can. We're at 1300, just about another 400 from the goal! Also, the last 650 comics were done in about 2 weeks! I started this in January. However, I accomplished more in the last two weeks than I had in the last 4 months! It's amazing what a deadline can do to you. Catch another 50 tomorrow before I take a bit of a rest. I mean, gimme a break. For the last two weeks, it's been "crap, dino debates to do later". However, do expect

Mirror out.

"Frig, it's actually Tuesday!!" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics (also, not really)

Book Bin: The Dresden Files

2010-05-01T22:48:00.000-07:00

Ok here we go. Introducing the SECOND book review I've done. This is also an article that has nothing to do with webcomics for once! For some of you, this provides a break for the terrible monotony I have plagued upon this blog for the last two weeks. That, unfortunately, is due to bad planning and laziness. But let us move on, and read something more interesting.

This time, I'd like to cover one of my favorite book series of all time, by one of my favorite artists (a direct consequence). It is The Dresden Files! By Jim Butcher.

The Dresden Files is a series of novels about Harry Dresden. Harry is a modern day wizard, and he works as... well, a wizard. He's in the phone book, after all (something mentioned each time in probably the first six books). The series is currently at book 12, and another book is definitely on the way. In fact, Jim Butcher wants the series to go for another 7 to 10 novels! Obviously, this does not always happen or turn out well, but some authors have pulled it off.

In the stories, the majority of the action takes place in Chicago. The Dresden Files incorporates a lot of old folklore and such: a mysterious other realm called the Nevernever, fairies, wizards, trolls, werewolves, vampires, and more. But in a gritty, dark, more evil way. Not like Twilight. Though romance and sexuality are often seen throughout the series. Let's shy away from that subject. Harry lives in a dumpy apartment with his often seen cat named Mister and later on, a dog named Mouse (who is a large, magical foo dog). He's often short on cash because making a wizard isn't exactly easy. I mean, who would believe that?

But he gets into supernatural situations often, and he usually gets into a big one once a year (both in terms of the novel releases and the in book time). He's fought vampires, werewolves, abusive wizards, ancient demons, evil spirits, fairies (including queen Mab [sound familiar?]), twisted movie villains... the list goes on. Interspersed with these mysteries are the problems he has with his family and friends, as well as his own life. The novels come off depressing, but invoke lots of black humor and gallows humor.

So, as for my own look on it? I really enjoy reading it and waiting for the next novel to come out. The characters are witty, the plot is morose yet mysterious, and the connections made between books (I often find myself searching back for old references) are a fun tie back to the old. The next book is actually a collection of Dresden short stories that Jim Butcher wrote in other compilations or online, so that will prove an interesting read. For more by Jim Butcher, he has written the Codex Alera, a fantasy series. If anyone wants to read either of these series, just ask me and I can lend you the book. I recommend it. But nowadays you just don't see as many people reading. So it goes.

Mirror out.

"Poo-tee-weet?" - Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five

Dinosaur Debates: The End of an Epoch, Part 27 (#1201-1250)

2010-04-30T22:16:00.000-07:00

And the last minute laziness strikes again! If you were expecting this to happen at some point, here it is. Friday updates are uncommon, you know. So expect more dinosaurs and an insane wizard tomorrow. On the plus side, I got to my Spring Break goal a week late. So... at least that's over with. Expect another 150 over the next three days before I take a break for a week.

Comic #1201: First I was like "someone actaully said TBS!" Then I was like "what's IF"? (Interactive fiction... meaning awesome text based adventures!)

Comic #1202: Ermeswindis is like if your parents decided naming you after root words was a good idea. (Apparently it's German and IT MEANS NOTHING)

Comic #1203: George Clooney is a pretty cool guy. ...Mmhmm.

Comic #1204: If you don't enjoy Seinfeld, you should just shoot yourself.

Comic #1205: God is a huge jerk, yeah?

Comic #1206: I'm the goddamn Batman! Crikey!

Comic #1207: I figuratively read a book today. It was good.

Comic #1208: Secretly hiding the terrible things that could happen doesn't make things right.

Comic #1209: MAH BOI, THIS PEACE IS WHAT ALL TRUE WARRIORS STRIVE FOR.

Comic #1210: Tableau? Sounds like a good photographic scene!

Comic #1211: Friggin'

Comic #1212: Nowadays they just give you bad grades for everything.

Comic #1213: The best way to tell someone they're wrong is to knock them out first. Then flee the crime scene.

Comic #1214: I read through the Japanese dino comics. (Commercialize songs? Interesting but probably leads to complaints of sell-outs.)
People is sometimes kind.

Comic #1215: What a depressing man who cries all the time.

Comic #1216: What exactly are these answers? And do I really want to know?

Comic #1217: Man the last few comics have been pretty down. I better see something more joyous soon.

Comic #1218: Not again! Also, yay! Five years of comics and 1218 comments down the drain.

Comic #1219: It explains everything.

Comic #1220: I have to agree that dreams in books are usually vague and boring. Unless they themselves are part of the story. Like the Mage Tower in Dragon Age Origins!

Comic #1221: Shakespeare was such a perv.

Comic #1222: I have an irrational annoyance with Mr. Tusks.

Comic #1223: Man T-Rex is always racist against something.

Comic #1224: Doctor Doctor!

Comic #1225: Man, Batman Forever pulled it off with a new, more stylin' Batman.

Comic #1226: T-Rex comes up with the weirdest theories! I like that in a dinosaur.

Comic #1227: What about robot horses, huh?! WHAT THEN?! (with little wheels for hooves)

Comic #1228: What a great game to play. I will remember this for later (potentially awkward or amazing) use.

Comic #1229: The world withoutm backspace would be horrible, I mean , you would just be making greammar and sapelling errors EVETYRYWHETRE!!

Comic #1230: I try not to acronimilize but I usually end up loling.

Comic #1231: Have I just murdered someone? Oh wait, my nose is bleeding. Drat! (Because of nosebleed, not because of avoided murder scene)

Comic #1232: Heaven is like God's somewhat faulty attempt at programming.

Comic #1233: I WANT ME INSIDE OF YOU? (...too far?)

Comic #1234: T-Rex should be credited with "best amount of bad ideas in least amount of time".

Comic #1235: The party van is always watching. ALWAYS! (Also, I found a flickr group based around Dinosaur Tattoos. I was like "what")

Comic #1236: Suicide is just selfish.

Comic #1237: Because the first step to war is choosing a religion. Then a political view!

Comic #1238: Can T-Rex write anything else?

Comic #1239: I love that shit!

Comic #1240: See. T-Rex reverts back all the time.

Comic #1241: Cool theory dino. Now add in some vampires. It's what all the cool kids do these days.

Comic #1242: Sawesome dude.

Comic #1243: That seems like a sawesome apocalyptic dream indeed. Also because of 60's lightning effects.

Comic #1244: ...I keep dulling on this comic, so here's Hot Hot Hot by The Cure. (It's about René Wellek and T-Rex or something. The comic, not the song.)

Comic #1245: God amuses me greatly.

Comic #1246: Wargames is one of those epic movies everyone should know about/watch.

Comic #1247: Creepy.

Comic #1248: Awesome! I have a new analogy. Fascism is like the guy who is micromanaging his zergs or whatever.

Comic #1249: Thanks, Captain Obvious! (Which had nothing to do with this strip, but I wanted to say it.)

Comic #1250: What is up with Mr. Tusks? I don't like him. Damn you micro-elephants!

Mirror out.

"Oh, Mr. Tusks! I should call the police. You're so cute it's illegal!
T-Rex I am also a vice mayor" - T-Rex and Mr. Tusks, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 26 (#1151-1200)

2010-04-30T22:15:00.000-07:00

Comic #1151: I totally forgot about Zach the ghost. Who is he? Seriously.

Comic #1152: How can someone NOT know what America's Funniest Home Videos are? (I known Ryan North lives in Canada, don't worry.)

Comic #1153: 27 already? Looks like his dreams keep fading away.

Comic #1154: Boxing kangaroos and a Monocle Guy? WE MUST SEE IT!

Comic #1155: I'm not sure if spilling stuff that smells like corpses on your bed is such a good idea.

Comic #1156: The beauty of a world abandoned and destroyed. It-it brings a tear to my eye.
Just kidding, let's move on.

Comic #1157: How low our expectations fall as we grow older.

Comic #1158: I don't like medical secrets anymore.

Comic #1159: Sound advice is not common with a T-Rex.

Comic #1160: Wow, a movie summary. Haven't seen this one in ages. Unfortunately, I've never seen Casablanca.

Comic #1161: And thus, Customers Suck was born. (There are others but I bookmarked this one ages ago.)

Comic #1162: Just goes to show that Shakespeare was just interested in writing. And bosoms.

Comic #1163: I'm not sure if sufficiently-advanced parties will ever catch on in popularity.

Comic #1164: Don't get me started on the N-Gage, people. Or should I?

Comic #1165: I've liked that song ever since Spaceballs. But Michigan J. Frog is cool.

Comic #1166: "I like that flavour."

Comic #1167: Synesthesia sounds like it would get annoying sometimes. You're trying to do some math homework and you start thinking of blue or something.

Comic #1168: You never forget. NEVER.

Comic #1169: Why isn't this HTML working?!

Comic #1170: Voyeurism taken to an extreme.

Comic #1171: I can't help but think that besides breaking the awkwardness by smooching someone, you'll also be breaking a friendship. Or get punched/slapped. And PROBABLY get punched/slapped.

Comic #1172: Terminal Velocity Skateboard Simulator Extreme!!

Comic #1173: T-Rex has two states of mind. I'll leave you to guess what they are.

Comic #1174: I'm sure the raccoons and cephalopods will not be amused.

Comic #1175: Ahappiness. Isn't that more like just being neutral?

Comic #1176: Having a resume where you punched a bear is way cooler than going to school for 10 years!

Comic #1177: Best combo ever. "It's time to kick ass and repent the murders I have committed to become king, and I'm all out of repentance."

Comic #1178: "Hey, here's a tip! Crawling sucks!"

Comic #1179: You could keep it for another few years and find some neo-Nazis or something.

Comic #1180: I wonder who has all the Allied memorabilia then.

Comic #1181: I put the wrong em-PHA-sis on the wrong sy-LA-ble.

Comic #1182: Vacuum bot directive three

Comic #1183: Not again!

Comic #1184: It's like Rashomon or Vantage Point now?

Comic #1185: But westerns are the best!

Comic #1186: Those are some classic songs, man!

Comic #1187: I love this song SO MUCH. Also Surf City is by Jan and Dean, but written by the Beach Boys!
The MORE YOU GODDAMN KNOW

Comic #1188: What is with all the froody songs lately? And what is up with "Total Eclipse of the Heart"? It's sort of creepy.

Comic #1189: How do you pick up a job as a florist on accident? Wait, never mind.

Comic #1190: I, for one, realize the usefulness of Sylvester Stallone.

Comic #1191: The disease of forgetfulness strikes whenever it is most unpleasant.

Comic #1192: Splinter taught them to be ninja teens! (He's a radical rat!)

Comic #1193: Oh wait, I hadn't noticed that T-Rex said that. Damn. >_> Either way, TMNT! Yeah.

Comic #1194: A bird riding a panda sitting on the shoulders of a bear riding a unicycle on a highwire above a flaming landscape! Awesome tattoo, am I right? (The answer is yes.)

Comic #1195: Shakespeare is such a drama king. In many senses of the phrase. I'm sure this has been said before.

Comic #1196: That actually sounds really depressing.

Comic #1197: Back to the old laundry bag with the dollar sign, eh?

Comic #1198: Act like Dromi day is celebrated in an entire era of dinosaurs (maybe over 32 states)!

Comic #1199: Alack!

Comic #1200: Impersonating God: good idea? Apparently.

More to come soon!

Mirror out.

"WHY ARE WE TALKING LIKE THIS T-REX
UTAHRAPTOR IT IS BECAUSE WE ARE PRETENDING TO BE GOD
RIGHT ON" - Utahraptor and T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Randomosity: It Begins

2010-04-29T20:37:00.000-07:00

I'm getting bored of serious articles. Let's just go over some random things that I've been thinking of lately.

Super Mario Crossover is the best game ever! I mean, who doesn't want to play Super Mario Bros. with Bill O'Reilly of Contra, Simon from Castlevania 2, Samus Aran, Mega Man, or Link? NOBODY!

I need to do some sort of artsy picture at some point with a cool slogan. Maybe I should make a banner for this blog. If anyone has a suggestion, speak up now.

List of Things I Say On This Blog Too Much

Seriously.
Obviously!
Or is it?
So...
Anyway...
...or something?
Best ever
Rhetorical Questions
Hitchhiker's Guide references

Ever wanted to know how you can sleep for only 2 hours a day and still feel ready all day long? I'm sure this would help out some of the people who don't get enough sleep.

I'm here to help. How To Hack Your Brain

Random Song Time!

The Four Tops - I Can't Help Myself: Everyone should know this one. A classic.

The Bouncing Souls - Sing Along Forever: Ah, the days of Burnout 3: Takedown and living with the pressure of school on your back. Those were the times!

Cage the Elephant - Ain't No Rest for the Wicked: Borderlands just made it better than it already was.

Mystery Jets

They are awesome.

Two Doors Down

Half in Love with Elizabeth

Also, another name-based song by a different artist!

Boston - Amanda

The 1250th D-Comic tomorrow and a little review of a man named Harry Dresden as a special bonus.

Mirror out.

"And maybe I should call her up
And buy her a round
And one day we could move to another town
Cos when I hear those drums late at night
I know I'm in love
In love with a girl who lives
two doors down" - Mystery Jets, Two Doors Down

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 25 (#1101-1150)

2010-04-29T17:36:00.000-07:00

More comics for you. Catch more tomorrow as well as an extra blog entry to make up for last week.

Nothing like a nap and a song to give you a mix of grogginess and pessimism.

Comic #1101: This seems like those Subway commercials where the kid asks for stuff and their parents are all like "no" but the Subway clerk is like "sure"

Comic #1102: Hallowe'en. Why? Also, no BOOb jokes?

Comic #1103: I'm not sure if T-Rex's dinner parties are all that great.

Comic #1104: Isn't that just words with different definitions? Why is the English language so COMPLICATED

Comic #1105: Woah. I have weird familiar memories of that.

Comic #1106: Hey, wasn't that a movie? Oh, it was a self-help book. Hey, that explains everything!

Comic #1107: The antics of dinosaurs never ceases to amuse me.

Comic #1108: Particle Man, Particle Man...

Comic #1109: Some hobos can be pretty cool. I've never seen a cool one, so I wouldn't know.

Comic #1110: Proverbs that stink universe more like it.

Comic #1111: Sounds like a sad thing to happen to someone.

Comic #1112: That would be a terrible movie.

Comic #1113: I thought it was the Colombian exchange. I guess explosion does sound better.

Comic #1114: All the aliens I know are butt ugly

Comic #1115: T-Rex has bad subject ideas.

Comic #1116: Couldn't God just poof up some women or something?

Comic #1117: Golly, I just despise this 24" LCD monitor. So sleek and wide and perfect for video games

Comic #1118: Interrobang? What.

Comic #1119: We're just two guys and we're having a good time.

Comic #1120: Seems like a good combination! Wait, no it doesn't.

Comic #1121: Isn't that determined by how many girlfriends you've had and how strong they were?

Comic #1122: HE SLUMBERS STILL?!

Comic #1123: That's a pretty stupid error.

Comic #1124: Just like friendly parties, it all goes to hell in front of the stage.

Comic #1125: Weird name confuses me.

Comic #1126: I do this all the time. Sometimes I get depressed and then I think selfishly and it's all better

Comic #1127: Interesting. err... Friggin' interesting! There we go.

Comic #1128: How's your relationship going?
Pretty Okay

Comic #1129: Whenever I see panacea, I think of pancreas. Then I think of Pangaea.

Comic #1130: Like ludicrous speed?

Comic #1131: I feel like T-Rex knew this already.

Comic #1132: You can't control what your body needs, even if it's some more donuts.

Comic #1133: Blame it on The Office/Wayne's World, but that's what she said!

Comic #1134: But then they all died?

Comic #1135: Segue the word into the next scene. Good one.

Comic #1136: I was about to yell in surprise when I realized he reposted the punch line. Silly me!

Comic #1137: Snowbody loves me either

Comic #1138: Is it a good deal?

Comic #1139: This makes me want to read Shakespeare. Everything needs alcohol, explosions, and nudity to increase the readability factor. (Readability is a word? I didn't know that.)

Comic #1140: I don't know if this is all that off of the truth sometimes...

Comic #1141: Considering how commercialized we are now, even horse Barbie wouldn't be all that strange.

Comic #1142: So remember, whenever you buy something, all your problems will revolve around using it as a solution.

Comic #1143: Word.

Comic #1144: Sometimes he forgets it's all in his head.

Comic #1145: Actually, that's kind of interesting! I gotta try the reverse light bulb joke sometime.

Comic #1146: Everyone should have a little T-Rex journal.

Comic #1147: It's amazing how many ideas still exist for several hundred more comics. (Argh!)

Comic #1148: God likes messing up human history. I guess it doesn't matter to him; he can make some more later.

Comic #1149: Social lubricant?

Comic #1150: The future is the present of today!

Business continues. Above, so it seems, with some blog entries.

Mirror out.

"It's much more likely that all creation is running in the background of some future dude's iPhone 3K!" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 24 (#1051-1100)

2010-04-28T19:26:00.000-07:00

More comics. This is slowly turning into a chore, but what do I care.

Comic #1051: When erotic fiction GOES WRONG

Comic #1052: McDonalds! Globalization! Argh.

Comic #1053: Now that God mentions it...

Comic #1054: The Capgras delusion seems familiar. I wonder if all my friends are just REPLACEMENT FRIENDS.

Comic #1055: Ah, drinking. I haven't had the feeling.

Comic #1056: PARTY HARD! Looked up the song and lol'd. Then went to go listen to Andrew WK.

Comic #1057: I try to stay eloquent. Except in instant messages. I mean they need to be fast, you know?

Comic #1058: Dino babies! Yes.

Comic #1059: I know someone named Elizabeth. Does that count?

Comic #1060: God sure is a jerk sometimes.

Comic #1061: Sounds like a good plan(e)!

Comic #1062: Man, running into someone wearing something made sounds awkwardly awesome. Also, God continues to avoid the questions to life.

Comic #1063: Whoo, three ring binders! Just kidding, you all know they suck.

Comic #1064: Jennifing? Dromi?!

Comic #1065: Tarbosaurus!!

Comic #1066: Forsooth!!

Comic #1067: Take that!!

Comic #1068: What's with all the mini-heads recently? Not cool gais.

Comic #1069: He's Batman! And now he's here to protect... something. Is Gotham a real place? (It's a nickname for NYC! Though that's less Victorian era and Batman-y to me.)

Comic #1070: After sex cards? What will they think of next.

Comic #1071: You can commercialize anything nowadays.

Comic #1072: My email addresses are boring. I gotta do something cool sometime.

Comic #1073: All T-Rex needed to keep going as a kid.

Comic #1074: When your voice can move across time and space, you might want to get it checked.

Comic #1075: Sounds like a good story! (This is probably the fifth time I've said something like that. But seriously, it does.)

Comic #1076: I'm sure people have had worse reasons for investing money.

Comic #1077: Past successes are the best kind!

Comic #1078: It's all fun and games until the dwarf elephant poops and you don't know where it is.

Comic #1079: Let's go the way of the dodo! ...maybe not.

Comic #1080: Bowler hats: best.

Comic #1081: Ethics and morals are too complicated. Just gimme your money.

Comic #1082: Chaotic personality changes. It's a fun idea. Like the Sims.

Comic #1083: Dweeb is such an outdated word now.

Comic #1084: How does T-Rex get all these authors to speak to him? Must be part of the instant publishing deal.

Comic #1085: Cool story bro

Comic #1086: Back to the chocochops. WHY?

Comic #1087: I've had it with these mf'ing bites in these mf'ing animals!

Comic #1088: They had a good thing going until the cop flick.

Comic #1089: Novelize anything and everything!

Comic #1090: But if we never believe things that can't be verified.. bad things will probably happen.

Comic #1091: God doesn't pay attention to T-Rex sometimes. It's okay.

Comic #1092: Math is consistent, but it was made to frustrate.

Comic #1093: What a delicious cake flavor! Second only to "personal acceptance" and "I heard you're married?".

Comic #1094: Depressing stuff. Get it over with and move on!

Comic #1095: His own grandma stands him up? That's cold. (Unless she can't walk or drive or something.)

Comic #1096: I have no doubt that T-Rex would punch a bear.

Comic #1097: This made me smirk in appreciation. Or humor recognition.
Oh, were we dating? (daaaaaamn)

Comic #1098: I bet this is how ghost stories get started. Like Indian burial sites.

Comic #1099: Everything is for the pun, T-Rex.

Comic #1100: Voyage sucks

Mirror out.

Expect me to reach 1300 by the end of this week.

"It's a very particular sense of crazy but I'm feeling it right now!" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Webcomic Watch: Looking For Group

2010-04-27T22:24:00.000-07:00

We haven't seen one of these for a while. Another issue of Webcomic Watch. I actually skipped a few of my "originals" due to the fact that I don't feel like writing long articles about why I read it and why they are sort of creepy. So here is a fairly famous webcomic that will be well known to most people who play World of Warcraft.

Looking For Group

It's about some horde guys and these crazy evil undead warlock named Richard and they do stuff. I only read maybe 100 comics (because that's how many there were when I was reading them - quite a long time ago). Now there's 600 and some. But uh... it's neat. And then there's this.

This will explain nothing, but it's so entertaining to watch!

Mirror out.

"You've nowhere to hide! Nowhere to run! Your village will burn like the heart of the sun! With infinite glee, it's going to be me: that slaughters the world!" - Richard, Looking For Group

School Stuff: Civilization Is Staying Right Here (Ch. 36 Bonus Review)

2010-04-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

This is the second-longest chapter in the book. Luckily, it's probably the easiest chapter in the book. So why did I make a review? I don't know, a habit by now I guess. Here's a review for anyone who wants to know the answers... before you need to look up the answers.

Disclaimer: If you don't trust this review, go open your book up tomorrow and search for it yourself.

1. Over 100 states were admitted into the UN between the 1960s and 1980s.

2. The working class and rural people worked in sweatshops and assembly lines to further consumerism.

3. The cold war lasted 30 years.

4. The demise of communism was brought on by the success of the western economy, a tightening of U.S. foreign policy, decline in leadership, a rise in Islamic fervor, and a change in Chinese policy.

5. The name of the strategic arms treaty in 1979 was SALT II.

6. Chinese policy in the late 1970s focused on more participation in the world market.

7. The U.S. protested against the Soviet invasion by not participating in the 1980 Olympics held in Moscow.

8. The Russian leader who significantly altered policies after 1985 was Gorbachev.

9. Perestroika was economic restructuring under Gorbachev.

10. In Romania, violence led to the overthrow of a communist leader.

11. Stagnation of industrial production in the Soviet Union were due to forced industrialization, disease, and slowing economic growth.

12. Gorbachev reduced nuclear armament, relaxed press restrictions, and ended the war in Afghanistan.

13. The name of the new parliament by Gorbachev in 1988 was the Congress of People's Deputies.

14. The Communist Party renamed itself Socialist in Hungary.

15. Bulgaria pushed for economic liberalization, but was held back by the Soviet Union.

16. Poland installed a non-communist government in 1988.

17. German reunification occurred in 1991.

18. The minority nationality regions in the former Yugoslavia were Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

19. The Baltic states were Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

20. Boris Yeltsin emerged as head of Russia in 1991.

21. The former Soviet Union became the Commonwealth of Independent States.

22. The concerns of the former Soviet Union were the economy and military possession.

23. Vladimir Putin took over after Yeltsin as leader of Russia.

24. The trend in the world following end of the cold war was multiparty democracy.

25. Spain, Portugal, and Greece experienced democratic restructuring in the mid 1970s.

26. Cuba did not adapt to democracy in the 1990s.

27. Nigeria is the heaviest populated country of Africa.

28. The U.S. remained a superpower after the end of the cold war.

29. The United States were excluded from the UN Human Rights Commission in 2001.

30. Iran, Iraq, and North Korea were identified by the U.S. as potential nuclear threats.

31. The Persian Gulf War of 1991 was a response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

32. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center occurred in 2001.

33. The common currency of the EU is the euro.

34. NAFTA joined the countries of Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.

35. The Second Gulf War in 2003 led to the U.S. and British invasion of Iraq.

36. Czechoslovakia has now split into... well, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. If you seriously couldn't figure this one out...

37. The Russian military has put down revolts in Chechnya during the 1990s.

38. Globalization is the increasing interconnectedness of the world in every manner of culture and technology.

39. The globalization of the Earth came with less international conflict, more technological developments, and global communications.

40. The most important technological innovation regarding global communications is the Internet.

41. The VW Bug is produced in Mexico.

42. 25% of American households in 2000 did not speak English as their primary language.

43. McDonald's has been the most striking international cultural influence since the 1970s. (Introducing... McWorld)

44. All Saints' Day in Mexico has begun to play the role of Halloween.

45. Political institutions globalized less rapidly compared to technology, business, and even consumer goods.

46. Issues raised against economic globalization pertain to the inequality of wealth and the poor majority of the world.

47. Trends that are running counter to globalization are nationalism, subnational loyalties, religious revival, and ethnic competition.

48. Protestant fundamentalism spread rapidly in the 1990s throughout Latin America.

49. Growing opponents of the ideals of globalization are religious fundamentalists and international terrorist groups.

50. By the end of the last century, about 20% of humanity consumed 4/5ths of all marketed goods and services.

And so an era is over. Goodbye, and good luck!

Mirror out.

"The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow." - Bill Gates

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 23 (#1001-1050)

2010-04-27T20:02:00.000-07:00

~~I'm seriously rushing this here.~~ Well, not anymore, but I try not to unwrite stuff.

Comic #1001: More people need to know about applied richology.

Comic #1002: T-Rex's advice fluctuates in terms of usefulness.

Comic #1003: I wish I could get stories published in less than a day.

Comic #1004: Who could the mayor of dinosaurs possibly be? Also, T-Rex is great at naming.

Comic #1005: He also had a rule to find the zeros of a polynomial!
The more you-

Comic #1006: So that's how shoving things into your mouth proves existence.

Comic #1007: William Shakespeare was known to be a little crazy and conversed with dinosaurs in his spare time

Comic #1008: Remember this joke. REMEMBER IT

Comic #1009: Nerd goggles. You must wear them!

Comic #1010: Rock stars are too common nowadays. Oh well, one of the things of advancing civilization. He's just this guy, you know?

Comic #1011: Zombie whales are serious business

Comic #1012: NEW READERS: go back to the beginning! Or read Dinosaur Debates, Part 1, for somewhat humorous comics starting from when I didn't know T-Rex from Utahraptor. (Just kidding, that's pretty obvious.)

Comic #1013: Math jokes. Do you have them?

Comic #1014: Jerks sure can be jerky sometimes.

Comic #1015: Old age is the age old problem.

Comic #1016: From love to sexual congress: the life of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.

Comic #1017: Your mouth is full of cockroaches. There is a mailbox.

Comic #1018: Checkhov's gun is a million times more interesting when said thing is something inconspicuous like a piece of jewelry that someone dies on.

Comic #1019: By now the Wii had been out for half a year. I guess his expectations were met?

Comic #1020: Meat party!
BULL SHIT

Comic #1021: If I had one wish... (Argh song stuck in my head now)

Comic #1022: Man those comics sure got more boring.

Comic #1023: Steganography is probably everywhere. Just look at your pictures!

Comic #1024: How does T-Rex make all of these books? Better question: do people buy them?

Comic #1025: I messed up decimate once and I felt bad afterward.

Comic #1026: When it doesn't happen... write some fan fiction and pretend it happened! Then cry deeply and swallow sadness.

Comic #1027: That was the worst advice ever. I'm not kidding guys.

Comic #1028: There is a lesson to be learned here kids. Take showers daily! Like you should.

Comic #1029: Sign language is just too cool!

Comic #1030: Woah, a graphic. Also, Professor Science again!

Comic #1031: He returns... and is promptly ousted. Whatever.

Comic #1032: Life... uh.. lost track here, one second. What am I writing? Who am I?!

Comic #1033: Scary undertone to a comic about chickens! Read now.

Comic #1034: We're all going to die! But meet me at Milliways.

Comic #1035: Weiners?

Comic #1036: What the hell does God do after everything is dead? Also, why am I asking so many rhetorical questions? I don't know!

Comic #1037: Australasia sounds way better than Australia. Why have you forsaken me, arbitrary naming systems?!

Comic #1038: Keyboard solo... wait, wrong thing. Alternative bases!

Comic #1039: We should all listen to Utahraptor's advice (not pictured).

Comic #1040: Sure are some idiots out there... in Greece!

Comic #1041: A third religion. T-Rex is like the uber-messiah now.

Comic #1042: King's Quest Horse: now with 100% more horses!!!!

Comic #1043: HTTP error code jokes are the BEST jokes, silly.

Comic #1044: Life Without People - plagiarism?

Comic #1045: If hip hop was popular in Mozart's time... hmm.

Comic #1046: I'm sure everyone's felt protonostalgia before.

Comic #1047: Chuck Norris jokes in popularity. I list off these IMPORTANT Internet events!

Comic #1048: Cool guys don't look at explosions?

Comic #1049: I was sort of weirded out by this, and then I was all like "eggs"

Comic #1050: Uhhhh... whoo, thermodynamics!

Whoooo

Mirror out.

"Dromiceiomimus, I'm turned on by scrambled eggs spontaneously climbing back into the shell!
More so than usual!" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Virtual Videos: Nobody Takes Chances Anymore!

2010-04-26T19:42:00.000-07:00

It would be amazing to get a bunch of people you know and reenact this. You know you want to!

Mirror out.

"(Surrender)
Every word, every thought, every sound
(Surrender)
Every touch, every smile, every frown
(Surrender)
All the pain we've endured until now
(Surrender)
All the hope that I lost you have found
(Surrender) Yourself to me" - Billy Talent, Surrender"

Game Gauge: Beat Hazard

2010-04-26T18:41:00.000-07:00

So I haven't done a real article in a while. Chalk it up to laziness, lack of inspiration, and busy work in real life. I still try to be as frequent as possible, however! I have decided to review another video game. Yes, because it is very cool. It is called Beat Hazard. I suspect that anyone owning an Xbox 360 or a PC should know what this game is. If not, shame on you! Go watch this video. I'll wait. For better effect, watch it in 720HD! I don't care if your computer can't handle it, wait a couple of minutes and do it anyway.

Alright. You have to admit that was awesome. Yeah!

'Kay, let's get down to business. And by business, I mean a short game summary and my review on playing the game. Beat Hazard is an indie game made by Cold Beam Games that uses your music to fuel its gameplay. If this seems familiar to you, recall Audiosurf, another indie game that used your music. Back on track (heheh on track) here...

If you haven't watched the video, brief summary. You are a spaceship in a screen quite similar to Asteroids. Things that will go by your screen are asteroids (duh), varying small ships, and some giganto miniboss ships. To defeat them you shoot them. A lot. But the power of music is on your side! Your attacks are stronger and cooler looking when your music is pumping at its best. Collect volume and power powerups in order to make your attack stronger and reach Beat Hazard, when you gain a laser beam of blowing upness. However, it's the type of game where you die in one hit, but you have lives. Still very cool.

By winning (or losing) tracks, you'll gain points that ups your rank. Each time you gain a rank, you get more awesome benefits such as extra lives or starting powerups or multipliers. It also works with your own music, giving it a life that lasts as long as your song collection. My ad impersonation is over.

So, you ask, what do YOU think about it? I can't say much because it's pretty much what I just described. It is quite fun and addicting sometimes, and I can vouch for it working with mp3s. The longer the song, the harder it is. There's an insane mode but I haven't tried it yet. Also, songs by the Beatles are really hard because they're usually so mellow. A warning to weak music lovers. I've decided that Beat Hazard has a slightly longer addiction rate than Audiosurf due to the exp system. In the end, it's another music gimmick game. But it's fun for a long while.

If you want it, I'm sure it's on XBLA and Steam for 10 dollars. Get it now, and fight in space to the power of your tunes!

Mirror out.

"Come on baby
(Don't fear the reaper)
Baby take my hand
(Don't fear the reaper)
We'll be able to fly
(Don't fear the reaper)
Baby I'm your man" - Blue Oyster Cult, Don't Fear the Reaper

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 22 (#951-1000)

2010-04-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

If you actually read this often, you should know by now that delays are part of the everyday life here at the Hall of Mirrors. Overall exhaustion and laziness hit today, so I ended up doing nothing. Also, I will be gone for most of tomorrow for some family time, so I won't be able to get much done. However, I do promise this: I will at least get to 1200 by the end of this week. The map for Global Crisis will be finished. And two normal non-comic related entries shall be posted! One of those will probably be the Ch. 35 WHAP study guide. I guarantee that all of these will be done for sure! Seriously. I'll repost this little paragraph later, but keep watching for updates, my friends!

If I was a politician, I would have been killed by now! As you can see, I usually never live up to my promises. I've only reached 950. The map for Global Crisis was barely started on. And I only posted ONE non-comic related entry. What can I say? I'm a failure. Anyway, new promises to break! In the next five days, I will reach 1250 comics complete. I will also be posting an extra article on Wednesday and either tomorrow or Friday. The map for Global Crisis will be finished this week. Why did I guarantee anything? I never live up to it.

Comic #951: Just an ordinary story of a boy meeting a plant. And then they fall in love! But then robots come.

Comic #952: Tuggy is everyone's new Superman!

Comic #953: The age of the flappers was a great time. So is the Charleston! Whooooooo

Comic #954: SLLLOOOOWWWMMMOOOOOSEEEXXXUUAAALLL

Comic #955: At first I was like, "Woah, did this get reposted?" Then I realized I read it before. Failure is just success rounded down, my friend! Celebrate Pi! (on July 22nd.)

Comic #956: Sounds like a good date! Yes, I know I've used this one before. Reminds me of Star Wars.

Comic #957: Eeyyyyy! Also, skin sign? Eww.

Comic #958: And it twas said that Shakespeare did indeed rock.

Comic #959: They've talked about this before? When? Somebody go look for me.

Comic #960: Elepheo and Juliphant. They die

Comic #961: If I had a dime for everytime T-Rex's eyes turned into hearts, I'd have... probably a dime.
Synecdoche? Bleggh

Comic #962: The Persians were cool bros, man.

Comic #963: Dying in a bog, eh? I guess he'll still be shakin' with all the dudes.

Comic #964: Because the first things sexy babes pay attention to are your spelling errors.

Comic #965: BUCKAZOIDS

Comic #966: Buddhism 2 also now comes with a free trial of "enlightenment"! Be the envy of all your friends! Call now.

Comic #967: Unfortunately, I could not find a cover of the Cheers theme song played on steel drums. But that would be amazing!

Comic #968: Good advice. But likely to be taken? If only Dinosaur Comics was in some high-rise woman's magazine. Hmm...

Comic #969: I just noticed the Cheers cover on the blog post. Holy crap.
Where everybody knows your name...

Comic #970: I vaguely remember the strawberry thing. Looks like T-Rex is amazed by anything.

Comic #971: Kelsey Grammer is amazing, but I wonder how many jokes people have made about his last name. How unfortunate.

Comic #972: Antisolipsism? Sounds fake.

Comic #973: People should read more Kurt Vonnegut books.

Comic #974: When did we get to the point where he just defines words and comes up with funny examples? A long time ago.

Comic #975: When you can't find the missing sock to a pair, God took it.

Comic #976: I keep a journal. Hah! Also, nobody dances anymore (nobody takes chances anymore) [How many sound references will I make?!]

Comic #977: Life is depressing. Now you can be too! Order the "My Life Sucks-O-Matic" now and we'll give you some cyanide pills for free.

Comic #978: I love you
and if you don't believe that
then what the hell

Comic #979: Famous characters tend to talk to T-Rex. I wonder if T-Rex is just insane.

Comic #980: It fails to take into account the implausible.

Comic #981: Horse racism and Star Trek in the same comic? Blasphemy!

Comic #982: So now we know that Stegosauruses do not wipe their feet. For shame.

Comic #983: Seems like a boring book. Seriously.

Comic #984: Don't forget your dirty-ass shoes! Also, Facebook reference? Woah.

Comic #985: Vegetable steamer. Note to self: Dromiceiomimus's supposed birthday. Remember for next comic on this date (April 30th)

Comic #986: Futurism is the future!

Comic #987: Arbitrarily-large terror is now possible.

Comic #988: IT'S LIKE LICKING A MIRROR

Comic #989: 4 years of comics. A long, long time, eh?

Comic #990: The 10 to 1000 await you. And get this: I'm on a boat!

Comic #991: The unfortunate truth about smart people is arrogance. Wars get started that way! Not over RAM though.

Comic #992: AR sounds way cooler than that REAL3D stuff in the theaters right now. Sign me up! But no life-threatening experiments.

Comic #993: Woah... I just read all of these theories in "The Physics of Superheroes!" Informative and witty. On topic, awesome guest comic.

Comic #994: I have to admit T-Rex looks pretty badass here.

Comic #995: Interesting... also sort of creepy.

Comic #996: Nice. Distracted right now.

Comic #997: T-Rex sure has destroyed everything. Literally. Har har har.

Comic #998: Ahhh it's like on acid

Comic #999: Hey, I mentioned this before! And Batman is still awesome.

Comic #1000: This better be a good comic.... rotflmao

Yay! Comics.

Mirror out.

"I guess, if that's how you want to spend your life.
IT APPARENTLY IS" - Utahraptor and T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

School Stuff: It's the End of the World As We Know It (Ch. 35 Review)

2010-04-25T19:13:00.000-07:00

Hello folks, and welcome once again to a review for WHAP! This will probably be the last one due to the little need for a Ch. 36 one. We're close to the end! Read on, and don't forget to catch Dylan's review later at his blog or this one!

Disclaimer: Do not solely rely on any review for answers. It is suggested that you should read the chapter or do the online review found here.

1. China and Vietnam suffered heavily from imperial powers, had to deal with underdevelopment, overpopulation, poverty, and environmental degradation. However, these changes came during the collapse of their long-standing patterns that would lead to revolutions.

2. General Douglas MacArthur headed the American occupation government of Japan.

3. Americans disbanded Japan's military, gave women the vote, encouraged labor unions, and abolished Shintoism as a state religion. They also broke up landed estates, the combines, and introduced a new constitution. Political prisoners were released and the emperor became a figurehead.

4. The Liberal Democratic party monopolized politics from 1955 to the 1990s.

5. The American occupation of Japan ended in 1952.

6. The restoration for an independent Korea was complicated due to the split and sides taken during the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.

7. The political leader of the (Soviet-dominated) People's Democratic Republic of Korea was Kim Il-Sung.

8. The political leader of the (U.S.-dominated) Republic of Korea was Syngman Rhee.

9. The conflict between North and South Korea came to an end in 1953 with an armistice.

10. The UN troops that participated in the Korea conflict were under an American "police action" led by President Truman.

11. Following the Korean War, both sides of Korea began separate development. North Korea was under a one-man isolationist rule, and South Korea saw an authoritarian rule until 1961, where it was taken over by the military. Economic change also allowed more impact in South Korea.

12. The Chinese leader that established an autocratic government on Taiwan in 1948 was Chiang Kai-shek.

13. Hong Kong remained a colony long after World War II. Britain specifically, until 1997.

14. Singapore remained a large British naval base until 1971.

15. After 1955, Japanese politics was kept in hold by the Liberal Democratic party, with no shifts until 1993. They were willing o consult opposition to reinforce unity.

16. The only weakness of the Liberal Democratic party in the 1980s was the evidence of corruption in the ranks of leadership.

17. The Western label "Japan, Incorporated" referred the the coordination of government and business.

18. The government actively campaigned to promote birth control and abortion. The industry soon saw many changes, such as managers taking employee advice, a willingness for collective decision, and a reflection to older traditions of group solidarity. Independent unions were not seen often.

19. Japanese culture in the postwar era often preserved traditional elements such as tea ceremonies, theater, flower arrangements, and poetry, while infusing the new Western culture in music, writing, art, and film.

20. Japan's rapid economic growth was due to active government encouragement, educational expansive, foreign policy, and Japan's labor policies.

21. Japan's distinctive economic culture came from the incorporation of tradition and group loyalty in the workplace and labor unions.

22. Japanese women did not follow Western patterns and focused more on domestic duty and child-rearing.

23. This isn't really a question, but in the 1980s the Japanese invested considerable money into teaching children to use chopsticks.

24. The most obvious example, according to the book, of the spread of new economic dynamism to other parts of the Pacific Rim was South Korea.

25. Between 1960 and the late 1980s, South Korea was led by the military and two generals, one of which was Park Chung-hee.

26. Korean economic growth after 1950 was the primary emphasis, and huge industrial firms were created by a combination of government aid and active entrepreneurship.

27. Hyundai exemplifies the economic growth and political influence of Korean corporations.

28. In 1978, the United States government changed its relationship with China by severing diplomatic ties to Taiwan, while keeping unofficial contacts.

29. Taiwan's greatest trade partner is Japan.

30. The Chinese Communist takeover of China did not have years of civil war and foreign intervention before it like the Bolshevik Revolution had.

31. Chinese foreign policy during the 1950s and 1960s usually involved repressed secessionist movements, and intervening militarily in countries at the borders, such as Korea and India. China ceased collaboration with Soviet powers.

32. I have no idea which statement is most accurate, but the landlord class was eliminated between 1950 and 1952. The five-year plan was introduced in 1953, but the growing elite and technocrat class forced a change towards the Mass Line approach.

33. Mao's 1958 economic programs were preceded by the Mass Line approach in 1955 to collectivize farming. In 1958, he began the Great Leap Forward, which was to revitalize the revolution using industrialization in small-scale projects integrated into peasant communes. It did not work all that well, and caused famine.

34. China responded to its population problem in the mid-1960s by limiting the number of children an urban couple could have to 2, and that of a rural couple to 1. This was later changed to 2 for either in the 1970s, and 1 for either by the 1980s.

35. Mao lost his position as chairman by 1960 due to a loss of productivity in the agricultural and industrial sectors by as much as 25%.

36. The pragmatists that came to power following Mao's fall were Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqui and Deng Xiaoping.

37. The Chinese Communist party gave women to opportunity to work in many jobs for the revolutionary cause, and received equality to men, for "women hold up half of the heavens."

38. Mao's last campaign, launched in 1965, was known as the Cultural Revolution.

39. The "Gang of Four" were Jiang Qing and her three allies that contested power for Mao, who was aging. They were later arrested when they plotted to seize control of the government and put to death.

40. During the 1980s, the Chinese government allowed more Western influences and capitalist development, as well as private enterprise. There has been a decent standard of living and many sectors are better off than the pre-revolutionary era.

41. The French intervened during the 18th century in Vietnam by missionary work, trade ports, and a political gain through Nguyen Anh.

42. The Tayson Rebellion of the 1770s resulted in the elimination of the Trinh dynasty and the near extinction of the Nguyen.

43. By the 1890s, the entirety of Vietnam was under French control, with the Nguyen dynasty as a line of puppet princes.

44. The early nationalist organization in Vietnam (known as the Vietnamese Nationalist party, or VNQDD) was similar to other Third World Nations due to its violent resistance? I'm not sure.

45. The Communist-dominated nationalist movement in Vietnam during World War II was the Viet Minh.

46. The Vietnamese nationalists in 1954 decisively defeated the French at Dien Bien Phu. (Dien Bien Phu falls, rock around the clock...)

As always, make corrections to help me out! And for those who don't just read my blog for this, keep watch for an update on Tuesday!

Mirror out.

"I change shapes just to hide in this place but I'm still
I'm still an animal
Nobody knows it but me when I slip
yeah I slip
I'm still an animal" - Miike Snow, Animal

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 21 (#901-950)

2010-04-20T23:10:00.000-07:00

Oh man, we're so close to 1000! A time of triumph. Comments will be restored to normal lengths, as the 5 word thing cut into my comments too much, and I quote random crrap. Crrap. Crrap. Cr-rap. I'm not frustrated. It's just that I mispelled crap and then crrap sounded so interesting. Also, i think my hit counter resets every day or every IP address. Either way, it makes more sense to me.

Comic #901: Dude Scrubs is awesome! But Will and Grace is too! I've watched too much of both, really. Mostly the second.

Comic #902: That's sad man. Wait, Nobel Oscar Prize?

Comic #903: All I know about archaeology is that it's full of adventure, damsels in distress, and holy artifacts.

Comic #904: Everyone's out to get you, man.

Comic #905: Cockfighting and relationships go hand in hammock.

Comic #906: The Relationshop! A series of puns

Comic #907: Forsooth makes its return!

Comic #908: Who is Zach Morris? Not as cool as John Galt, that's what.

Comic #909: I once saw that in a terrible study booklet for a test for simpletons.

Comic #910: To be continued with disease and FOP! Yeah... okay then.

Comic #911: They can fire you for that? Seems unfair.

Comic #912: Apparently, even when you can do anything, you can still be bored. Happens to me ALL the time.

Comic #913: That's so... informative. Nice idea for a superhero, am i rite

Comic #914: "Also: your religion is made of sand." Best quote ever? Yes.

Comic #915: Anthrax is not cool, man.

Comic #916: RIP Patrick Swayze. Live long and prosper, Patrick Stewart!
CAPTAIN JEAN-LUC PICARD OF THE USS ENTERPRISE

Comic #917: God doesn't really have to try to steal stuff, does he?

Comic #918: Professor Science is back! He must help us with weaponizing the power of photons!

Comic #919: Throw your antennas in the air and wave them like you just don't compute!

Comic #920: I would look at the back cover, check the inside cover, and then either throw it out as fanfiction gar-bage or buy it for a timely sum. Yes?

Comic #921: Daaaaaaamn.

Comic #922: Welcome to ye olde Failure Towne!

Comic #923: Why are they always missing the final piece to the ultimate device? You'd think you would buy it in advance.

Comic #924: I'm actually a big Guild Wars fan. Not so much on the watermelons.

Comic #925: Go drown in inspiration! And golf balls.

Comic #926: Dude, cannibals on bikes? Crazy. Also, make note of that sandwiches filler because it will probably work at some point.

Comic #927: Hehe, Intellevision. B-17 BOMBER! (BEE-SEVENTIIIN BAWMOURRR)

Comic #928: Hey, I'll hug for free!
Come on

Comic #929: He sure gets sick with the weirdest stuff sometimes.

Comic #930: Mmm... dull, grey burgers.

Comic #931: That sure was interesting about Mount Everest.
The more you know... and knowing is half the battle!

Comic #932: The Everest Eliminator 2: The Iceman Returneth!

Comic #933: I'm not sure how you can describe a mountain anyway.

Comic #934: That was hilarious! I wish Bible II existed so I could laugh at it and then get pelted by stones.

Comic #935: Morris returns, though I skimmed through the earlier comics with him. Whatevs, man!

Comic #936: The moon should be visited more. Like we have the money for that.

Comic #937: Whoo, Beach Boys! I Get Around? Wouldn't It Be Nice? Good Vibrations? Kokomo? Seriously, awesome.

Comic #938: Utahraptor creeps me out sometimes.

Comic #939: Chinese Queen Victoria? Hmm... Also, ftw for the lunar new year!

Comic #940: ..... daaaaaaaaaaamn!

Comic #941: How punny. Seriously. I used to have a Game Boy. It was badass. Mario and Tetris all the way.

Comic #942: Science fiction is an amazing genre, but easily mixes itself up with fantasy. Books!

Comic #943: That's the best poker face I could ever see.

Comic #944: HAH HAH HAH
EWWWWW

Comic #945: That seems like a neat superhero concept to me, but is it original?

Comic #946: Sounds like a good date!

Comic #947: Commercials have taken over our lives! See!

Comic #948: Nazis winning World War II would have bee terrible. Or would it?

Comic #949: Friend simulators are the wave of the future!

Comic #950: Full-potential happy sounds kind of awesome.

It is also demanded that words should now somehow work in 'flux' and that killcore should be a genre of music.

Mirror out.

"I should get some friggin' groceries!" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 20 (#851-900)

2010-04-20T20:59:00.000-07:00

For my next batch, I am going to cut down each comment to 5 words or less. This is really difficult, since I usually need extended opinions. But I don't have to write that much anyway, I'm just proving that I did it all. This is a crazy feat (the whole thing in general) and I doubt anyone has tried to do this before. If they have, speak up now.

I thought so. You know, if I started making a webcomic, I bet I would be just as famous.

Err, maybe not.

Comic #851: Inspiration by cheeseburgers, dudes!

Comic #852: Cool beans!

Comic #853: Reality TV needs more moustaches.

Comic #854: AIs passing Turing Tests.... scary.

Comic #855: Unpopular philosophers like Heidegger are

Comic #856: Epitaphs should always rhyme. Forsooth!

Comic #857: Schwarzenegger is apparently in dictionaries.

Comic #858: Don't think God likes helping.

Comic #859: Everything relates to games, Devil.

Comic #860: Too much salt and crackers.

Comic #861: Intercourse ensues!

Comic #862: Uh, what?

Comic #863: Asexuality is bad advice. Boats.

Comic #864: Hmm... disturbing is all.

Comic #865: Comments much faster now. Party

Comic #866: More boring though. No random.

Comic #867: Also nonsensical and bland. Freefalling

Comic #868: Push It returns. Batman play?

Comic #869: Sexually attracted... in reverse.

Comic #870: Knuckles and Chuckles. CHINESE BUFFET!

Comic #871: Half a problem is better.

Comic #872: I drank too much

Comic #873: Shakespeare prequels...! Terrible idea.

Comic #874: Sexy ape suit

Comic #875: What a nice pun.

Comic #876: I WOULD love hearing oatmeal jokes! (Revised: I WOULD love oatmeal puns.)

Comic #877: T-Rex sure fails quickly.

Comic #878: Hehe that was funny

Comic #879: It doesn't happen that often

Comic #880: Sounds like a good date!

Comic #881: Science, personified!

Comic #882: Leprechauns wanted it that way!

Comic #883: I wish for awesome duplicates.

Comic #884: I lose at sex

Comic #885: Sounds like a bad plan.

Comic #886: Busy not falling in love?

Comic #887: Liquid nuts.

Comic #888: WE NEED YOUR TORSO?

Comic #889: Trying to evolve so hard!

Comic #890: Operas are totally classy works.

Comic #891: Lemme clean your dishes... hehehe.

Comic #892: That's pretty weird man

Comic #893: Why always bad ones?

Comic #894: What a tough call.

Comic #895: Never happens here. Oh well.

Comic #896: you all suck

Comic #897: Telegrams should be in style

Comic #898: Talking is like hunger.

Comic #899: This I claim!

Comic #900: Ewww.

That was so dull.

Mirror out.

"T-Rex: dinosaur, protagonist, erstwhile smoocher" - Ryan North, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 19 (#801-850)

2010-04-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

You know what's awesome? Music from the 1900s-1950s era. You know what's even better? Anything by the Ink Spots! And recently, Jeremy Soule! Epic composer.

Kill me now!

Comic #801: Breakfast pleasure: probably a good band name.

Comic #802: Colonization on a grand scale... probably will never happen.

Comic #803: I treat all my gendered friends the same, and you should too!

Comic #804: Whenever I see something in real life, I immediately try to find a connection to a past cliché. True story.

Comic #805: That'd actually be a great read if it turns out well. Which it probably wouldn't...

Comic #806: What is this video game you speak of?!

Comic #807: Hmm... hobosnacks! Intriguing tale, brethren!

Comic #808: I don't know, I crash helicopters into things all the time and it seems to give the same effect as stomping.

Comic #809: Chartreusey shade of puce?

Comic #810: I wonder if this is some kind of personal joke?

Comic #811: ....
fhqwahgads? Yes! Awesome reference, right guys? High five!

Comic #812: In case of zombie attack, never attribute problems to oneself.

Comic #813: Uh... eggs! Wait, wrong comic. Russian roulette! That idea would destroy all of humanity. Or at least the people who play MMORPGS or gamble. However, I think they already do this, and life hasn't collapsed yet. We good.

Comic #814: Ironic sexism!

Comic #815: Punch of FLAVOR! Also, rim shot for the punch line.

Comic #816: Irish evil? I concur on the awesomeness.

Comic #817: So cowabunga is only allowed usage by ninja turtles now?

Comic #818: Today is the greatest day I've ever known
Yaaaaaay!

Comic #819: I know a lot of Benjamins but I don't think very many of them jam. Also, cyber bullying is retarded.

Comic #820: Being a web cartoonist doesn't seem that hard when you make 'em like this

Comic #821: But if you saw yourself in the future, wouldn't that destroy the near future? I mean if you can't time travel into the past, but you can see into the future... man, time travel sucks.

Comic #822: Tge kiaded fyb? Wait, that came out wrong. The loaded question!

Comic #823: You're lame! This comic revolves around poo bugs and kissing.

Comic #824: There are other words than "bitches"! Daamn!
(I quote every time he says bitches or fuck in a comic. Why? I don't know, it seems so out of character.)

Comic #825: Only... BIGGER!

Comic #826: The Devil never fails to make me think of things I've read before.

Comic #827: Watch your alternate universe's life seems atrociously dull.

Comic #828: Sweet ads!

Comic #829: This is no accident. - Spoken by any character who discovers some kind of mysterious cover up. Or T-Rex nude on a beach.

Comic #830: I'm awesome! My text is awesome! Give me 60 dollars so I can buy Splinter Cell Conviction! I feel like not enough people care about it.

Comic #831: Overseas Correspondence by Post... for Teens

Comic #832: Divorce is just what happens when you loosen up on old social issues.

Comic #833: We should all learn Zulu so we can speak in a language no one else will understand! Unless Google Translate has Zulu now. Hah, it doesn't!

Comic #834: Back to the kitchen! And make me a sammich!

Comic #835: I've got history and Batman can prove it! He's Batman.

Comic #836: Like... Hitler?

Comic #837: I shower every day to stay clean. Also, God apparently is lesser than Utahraptor. The true messiah!

Comic #838: Lie serum, eh? Seems dangerous.

Comic #839: Perhaps he will be like Arthur Dent and use sperm donations to travel the Galaxy

Comic #840: What a shabby riverboat!

Comic #841: Waste reclamation is definitely the ladies' choice.

Comic #842: When did I stop using my friend, my friend? By the way, Colonel Sanders should be on everyone's revenge lists because of the new heartstopper they released.

Comic #843: Oh man. God is opposed to video games. It all makes sense now! Religion is all based around dinosaurs and video games!

Comic #844: Butterfly debt is nothing to scoff at!

Comic #845: It began with dentists and ended with the loss of innocence. Life stinks.

Comic #846: Che-que? What is this Canadian madness

Comic #847: I've noticed that when T-Rex wants to be famous, immortal, or wants to travel in time, it never works.

Comic #848: Ahh... video games actually show this off more often than movies imo, because movies tend to want to keep it cartoonish whereas video games go to the extent of extreme realism. Mass Effect 2 and Bad Company 2 are good examples.

Comic #849: Less hilarous, more mind-shattering and psyche-twisting.

Comic #850: Jacques Esqueleto! Who?

Yay.

Mirror out.

"Dude, road trips rule!" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 18 (#751-800)

2010-04-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

For those who care, Ecliptic Times has moved to a LiveJournal. The new site can be accessed on the top of my blog. This leaves me as, I think, the only one of my friends in "real life", to maintain usage of a Blogger. This does not concern me. I would jump on the LiveWagon, but I can't seem to find a good layout, so let's leave things be, huh? I can be the "special" one! This is dripping with sarcasm... but I really don't care.

Moving on from my pathetic woes! Dinosaur Debates continues! The secret past of the dinosaurs will be revealed! Watch as they talk and sometimes sing but usually just say random things! Exclamatory remark!

Comic #751: T-Rex just can't get away from the rip, riptide of lies.

Comic #752: Car alarms sure are annoying! Also, how do dinosaurs wear swimsuits? Nobody knows!

Comic #753: Embarrassing failure. Take the drink a gallon of milk challenge! (I am not responsible for what might happen. Namely the throwing up.

Comic #754: Man, that sucks for the puppy. Who lost his job and his marbles and has a broken leg and is very sick and has a mobile IV.

Comic #755: Just how he rolls.

Comic #756: Gender rolls were not successful due to the growing number of pro-gender rights. Now replace rolls with roles.
Mayo
Comic #757: Mayonnaise is always a problem. I don't particularly enjoy it and can't understand the appeal of it on burgers.

Comic #758: Battletoads speed run? If the Devil likes games so much, I wonder if Hell is a gamer's paradise.

Comic #759: He was an unstable guy, always playing loose and fast with language. All of his problems were easily solved, however... by dinner invitations.

Comic #760: I always sleep with my window open, but my window doesn't lead outside... so I guess there's nothing to fear.

Comic #761: Springtime is in the volcanic air, and we need snacks!

Comic #762: T-Rex always seems to hope for the best in people. Or at least his girlfriends.

Comic #763: Whoop whoop just going around slapping people. Also, technically since this is written, it is libel! But since Utahraptor is speaking it, in that context, it is still slander.
The More You Know

Comic #764: Because prejudice is always funny.

Comic #765: Another shirt origin comes to fruition. I would honestly wear a shirt that says that, but since it would be so against my natural character, people would just look at me weird.

Comic #766: Go to Global Crisis for more nothing going ons! Map to be done soon!

Comic #767: Occam's razor is up there on the "Cool facts of life" list along with Murphy's law, Einstein's theory of relativity, and how to fly according to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

Comic #768: Dinosaurs are descended from a woman! Also, chat up? Eh?

Comic #769: SPOOKY PUBES?

Comic #770: True love needs more umlauts.

Comic #771: The world is designed for the average. Get used to it.

Comic #772: Two girls... uh... for the sake of some of my viewers, I won't continue this.

Comic #773: Even chicks are subject to entropy.

Comic #774: I sleep on my back! And kisses being related to amniotic fluid is disturbing.

Comic #775: COMICS!

Comic #776: Ryan North sure is a tall guy with short hair. Also, T-Rex's scheme seems sort of messed up.

Comic #777: The Gambler sure is a good song. Does God know not of what goes on with grape juice? Also, 777 and God appearance! The trend continues.

Comic #778: Obviously this game would be very loose with word syntax.

Comic #779: Woo! New Bike Day!

Sexual Intercourse: The Bike. How quaint.

Comic #780: Extreme seems to be a common trend in the Dinosaur world.

Comic #781: I had a weird dream last night where I was in a truck with some friends and then we flew over the Golden Gate bridge and then crashed into the ocean. Strangely, I watched 2012 a mere 2 hours later. Coincidence? Probably!

Comic #782: Turkeypuncher!

Comic #783: Writing these isn't that bad if you're comfortable and you pay no attention to numbers. Uhh... dogs. Hey look, the under construction symbol! I read up on that once.

Comic #784: More regret comics? Regret indexes sound fun.

Comic #785: Stories with morals are boring. Nowadays people want books to be like movies. Packed with action, little to think deeply about, and preferably 2 and a half hours long or less.

Comic #786: Hunger should be an emotion. Seriously.

Comic #787: Apparently we'll all die soon, so does it matter?

Comic #788: Truths are nice. CHILLAXING

Comic #789: Man, I wish people still used shortwave radios. Badass.

Comic #790: Weaponized kissing is too dangerous to be applied!

Comic #791: Capes are pretty dangerous you know.

Comic #792: God don't make his own sandwiches when his disciples can do it for him.

Comic #793: Just gross man.

Comic #794: Wet salad?

Comic #795: Top comic was sorta lame. Second comic? Funny. Also... log stacking?

Comic #796: Your mom! I tried to find 200 year old jokes but apparently the only things they saved from that time were important historical documents.

Comic #797: Future T-Rex has aged well.

Comic #798: I don't really like that song, but whatever.

Comic #799: Woah, special effects.

Comic #800: I pity the person that suffers from rampant murderism.

Alright, moving on. More to come.

Mirror out.

"THINGS THAT NAY COST YOU A LIFETIME OF FRIENDSHIP: rampant murderism, incurable stealie-o-holicism, terminal punchiness" - Ryan North, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 17 (#701-750)

2010-04-19T20:05:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of the first DD update. Sometimes I wonder why I'm doing this, but things like this are best left without thinking. Like flying. You just avoid thinking of the ground and miss!

Comic #701: Something like transitive incest. Disgusting. Or is it?

Comic #702: T-Rex sure has some weird analogies. At least he doesn't have nightmares.

Comic #703: Sleep in on weekdays! Recipe for disaster! I can't seem to wake up later than 7:00 though.

Comic #704: Vegetarians are way too complicated.

Comic #705: Like waking up being covered in someone's blood, but in a good way.

Comic #706: Pick a line, any line! Then write your own story from it.

Comic #707: Chlorine smells disgusting to me.Vote for the guy that smells like lemons and springtime!

Comic #708: I think T-Rex spends half his day making up conspiracy theories for everything. That and stupid jokes.

Comic #709: I find the Devil more interesting than God because I, myself, am a video game connoisseur. (Which is just a fancy word for geek.)

Comic #710: The friendship crush: sort of creepy.

Comic #711: How can you be reborn in something that was never alive?

Comic #712: The unblinking eye of madness!

Comic #713: Criminal negligence applies to getting people sick? Meanwhile WE'RE getting disease all up in our trouser shorts.

Comic #714: Phone breakups used to be the worst, but with all of our technology nowadays, it seems like there's many more ways to break up without eye contact.

Comic #715: Man, I tried to take the Myers-Briggs personality test once, but I had to go write comments abotud inosaurs. Actually, that was yesterday.

Comic #716: Seriously who did invent the fire extinguisher

Comic #717: Socialism is fun... to poke fun at.

Comic #718: Don't be lactose inconsiderate! Drink that milk. Try not to die too much.

Comic #719: Whatever happened to the summaries that the Dinos did? Oh well.

Comic #720: Go read the tropes on High Fantasy and Low Fantasy and then read Low Low Fantasy. TVTropes! You must do it!

Comic #721: Chocochops also sound disgusting. Seriously, what?

Comic #722: Amnesia sounds like a great way to not care about anything. Until someone tells you what's wrong with your life. And gives you the hospital bill.

Comic #723: Take more steps on the moon! Be a man!

Comic #724: Catch-22! Read it! It's a book about a guy named Yossarian or something.

Comic #725: How depressing. Also, no alt-text! What is this sorcery?

Comic #726: Pine Cone Jr.! Let's go Utahraptor that tree.

Comic #727: Dromi wins at regret!
Fuck me!

Comic #728: T-Rex tries to avoid sexism by using terrible words!

Comic #729: Globalization sure kicks you right in the gonads sometimes.

Comic #730: Being the Antitime would be so awesome.

Comic #731: Those sure are some neat poetic verses!

Comic #732: Not enough planning

Comic #733: Global standards are everywhere now! I mean, even polygamy is going out of style! Like true love, but diluted by the number of wives you have.

Comic #734: Life-Destroying Machine: WMD. Also, twincest makes a return! Uh.. sort of.

Comic #735: Hurt by Johnny Cash. 'Nuff said. Though the video definitely increases the sadness.

Comic #736: This thesis has never worked unless you have results

Comic #737: Sounds depressing. T-Rex doesn't seem able to write wholesome stories.

Comic #738: Weaksauce. Be buried in the famous cemeteries with the famous peeps.

Comic #739: I'd want to go to that school

Comic #740: Friends... urgh, I'm getting tired.

Comic #741: Sounds turrible. Chicken masala, you say? I AM DEFINITELY FLIRTING WITH FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!

Comic #742: T-Rex can make up the weirdest analogies and metaphors.

Comic #743: Sleep on your back! Diamonds are forever... at least a few million years. Then you'll have a nice lump of graphite. Just skip the waiting, save yourself some cash, and buy your girlfriend a 12 pack of pencils instead. "That's a diamond ring right there!"

Comic #744: Canada's finest resource?

Comic #745: Batman carries kryptonite on his person at all times. Fact.
I'm the goddamn Batman.

Comic #746: Sexual basketball. Heh.

Comic #747: I wonder if he imagines what he speaks of all the time.

Comic #748: Replace 'grow up' with 'pay for' and it already exists! Actually that would be sort of cool but totally weird.

Comic #749: Never trust R-Re with anything.

Comic #750: Back to the poo bugs, huh?

Batch 2 done. Another 100 to come... hopefully. This is tiring work.

Mirror out.

"A lot of people believe that if you're bad in this life, you might come back as a lower animal the next time, like a sucky dog or a poo bug." - Dromi, Dinosaur Comics

Dinosaur Debates: Springtime Is in the Volcanic Air, Part 16 (#651-700)

2010-04-18T21:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally spring break time for me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to slack off on my blog! (too much.) This is a perfect time for me to get way more comics done. My goal for the completion of Dinosaur Debates is May 22. This is crazy at the pace I'm going at right now (only 650 done, but there's about 1700 total!). If I did 50 a week after this week, I would have to do 800 comics! If I do 100 a week however, I can get it down to about another 650 or so. This would be an amazing accomplishment on my part, since I usually don't have the attention span to do more than 50 of these in a day. If I can manage to do 100 per day, though... let's see how far I can get, huh?

Comic #651: That's a weird thing to hope not to happen to yourself.

Comic #652: I wish I learned what autodidactic meant at school! Damn the man!

Comic #653: Supply and demand doesn't really work with kissing (These comments sometimes seem better without periods, and yet I can't bring myself to use the incorrect grammar.

Comic #654: What the hell did I just see.

Comic #655: The third "replace dinosaurs with HUMANS" comic. It's been a while. Plus self-placement! (but it's a guest comic, so it's like third-person self-placement)

Comic #656: At first I was like, The Cure? Then I was mildly disappointed. And then Robert Smith was mentioned!
But seriously, cancer sucks.

Comic #657: Toon dinos! T-Rex is possibly more nonsensical than ever.

Comic #658: I hadn't realized T-Rex could program and was made of plastic.

Comic #659: These were pretty good and stomping was the main focus (cool beans)

Comic #660: T-Rex mistook Dromi for a Pterodactyl? And T-Rex is totally... bi or something. Obviously someone has not read the earliest comics.

Comic #661: Ryan looks like a chick now! Does anyone know what Ryan looks like?
DOODLE OODLE OOP BONG BONG

Comic #662: Reality 2.0: something catchy goes here. Sorry, inspiration faltering.

Comic #663: Svelte?

Comic #664: The sudden jarring of being back to normal was frightening. EXPERIMENT: APPROVED?

Comic #665: How the Internet has become a part of necessity in the last few years.

Comic #666: Will something devilish occur? Oh man, the Devil is in this comic! perfect timing. Also, DnD 4e. And the Dresden Files RPG. I need to find more people who do this.

Comic #667: Walt Disney's head! That guy was really thinking about the future.

Comic #668: We was gonna make zombies.

Comic #669: Too bad you can't do that anymore since they wipe everything every day.
"What is this emotion called 'regret'?"

Comic #670: IT'S TOO LATE (Bread Ones)

Comic #671: More like, murder is awesome! Virtual murder, that is. Remember kids, don't kill!

Comic #672: The house of someone's dreams would be terrible if you ever wanted to do something productive. Unless you are a boring dreamer, in which case you should be shot!

Comic #673: 60mg of nicotine can kill you! Remember this. And don't rub your face on the carpet because you'll probably get RUG BURNS.

Comic #674: Morris the bug sure talks a lot.

Comic #675: Sounds oddly familiar as a premise. Friggin' cheeseburgers.

~~Bleh, first attempt ends in failure. Due to painful circumstances, I'll hopefully finish this tomorrow. If you actually get 175 comics tomorrow, be amazed!~~ Here-a we go!

Comic #676: Pooty pooty?

Comic #677: Learning is always a competition. They should have competitions to see who can LEARN THE MOST!

Comic #678: I also hate trees and hospitals. But I don't hate valves.

Comic #679: Somewhat weird when I live in a place where Asian people are the norm. I guess if you switch the racial roles...

Comic #680: Proof that parties are 100% better with girls. Or female dinosaurs.

Comic #681: Back to the drug thing? Also, cephalopod/raccoon comics are the best.
HA HA HA
WHAT ARE THE ODDS

Comic #682: Who suddenly reveals they are a crazy racist? I know I wouldn't. Not that I am or anything. Races are merely a set of prejudices and stereotypes placed upon the different evolutionary lines of the human species. Oh no, religious nuts! (Just kidding.)

Comic #683: I find God to be one of the most amusing characters in the comic. Considering there's less than 10, that's not saying much.

Comic #684: Catchphrases are cool beans!

Comic #685: Marrying a robot seems so... bland. And cold.

Comic #686: Pooched! Obviously in times of Christmas crises, you give your friends toasters.

Comic #687: T-Rex's monologue scares me sometimes. It rarely happens too.

Comic #688: Chuggy G and Cheeseball in the house!

Comic #689: That's an awesome metaphor. CHECK HERE FOR COOL METAPHOR ABOUT GARDENS OF REGRET

Comic #690: It seems like that's all they do anyway. What will ever change?

Comic #691: Did somebody say... hommophobs? Oh wait, nevermind.

Comic #692: Anti-dollars: ruining the economy more than it already is.

Comic #693: Fallacies: are they right because they are true?

Comic #694: When you show no gratitude to water, go work in sub-Saharan Africa! I always thought that term was too general for basically 80% of Africa.

Comic #695: Never leave someone hangin' for double high fives!

Comic #696: God bets on T-Rex doing stuff? I wonder how that turns out.

Comic #697: And now he's a creep.

Comic #698: Extreme!! adventures are the only adventures!

Comic #699: Well that sucked.

Comic #700: Ah, the 1900s. Such an enlightening, revolutionary, and destructive time. The 1800s were considerably more oppressive and boring.

Batch one complete.
Mirror out.

"BASICALLY YOU DIE OF SYPHILIS AT 30 BUT YOU LEAVE THIS TOTALLY HAIRY CORPSE" - God, Dinosaur Comics

Game Gauge: The Starcraft Legacy

2010-04-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

I got lazy because of spring break. ~~Update tomorrow!~~ Sunday. For sure because even if I get lazy for normal updates, Dinosaur Debates will always be on Sunday. And so this too shall be updated. I'll probably cover both Starcraft and Starcraft II. At this point, I don't know who reads this, so keep watching!

Ok, let's get to business. I've been pretty lazy in the last few days, but it's time to get back on track.

Starcraft. Undoubtedly one of the most famous and popular PC games of all time, and the one of the three legendary series from Blizzard. For those not in the know, Blizzard has created Diablo (I and II), Starcraft, and the Warcraft series (RTSes and the famous MMORPG, World of Warcraft). Supposedly Diablo III, Starcraft II, and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm are to come out sometime this or next year. I don't know. Blizzard isn't a fan of release dates. Like Valve!

Let's get to the main subject now. Starcraft was an RTS released in 1998 that became an immensely popular game for PC gamers (and later N64 gamers). Its revolutionary gameplay methods and engaging story saw approval from many. But the multiplayer became the most popular feature, and many still play it today. Many joke/obsess about Korea and the fact that many Korean players are extremely skilled at SC.

To give a brief summary, you pick one of three races: Terran (humans, Protoss (enlightened alien race), or Zerg (destructive alien parasites). In the single player, you play through campaign missions that all show the stories of the different species and how they tie together.

In the multiplayer, you use one of these races to wreak havoc on your opponents. The gameplay mostly focuses around micromanagement of units and resources to victory. The graphics are mere sprites, but this was made in 1998, and the sprites give enough detail to play. And there's lots of blood and gore for a game that's rated T.

So anyway, more than 10 years have passed since SC came out. Lots of people expected Blizzard to release another in the series. After all, it was their second greatest hit! (WoW has addicted too many at this point.)

In 2007, development was announced and a slow stream of trailers, trials, and screens were released until now. And on February 17, 2010, the closed beta was launched. Many once again enjoyed their favorite race with new graphical updates and balances. Some complained. Others heralded the new game. Patches have been on a steady release though, and those who manage to get in probably are having fun. Like me! Not that often though, I don't play that much.

Are you in the Beta? Send me a friend invite! My SCII is a little broken right now, but I'll add you as soon as I can!

IGN: Mirror.image

Mirror out.

"You must construct additional pylons." - Aldaris, Starcraft

Cool Stuff: Totally Swank!

2010-04-16T22:00:00.000-07:00

EDIT: Some additional info for those not in the know. On the 10th grade STAR ELA examination, a question was proposed pertaining to a report about the Terra Cotta Army discovered in China. This question searched for a word that meant "super fancy" or "glitzy". And thus, "totally swank" was born.

Also, I (sort of) made this design myself. Technically you can buy it, but it costs $22 to manufacture. Is it worth it? You decide. (I say go for it)

Mirror out.

“Is it weird in here, or is it just me?” - Stephen Wright

School Stuff: Wake Me Up When the World Ends (Ch. 34 Review)

2010-04-15T20:01:00.000-07:00

EDIT: Check Dylan's blog for a more detailed version. Another WHAP review for the people, complete with corny title, lots of information, and cheesy end quote. Amazingly, over 70 people have visited at least once now. Why? I don't know. It's sort of creepy.

Ch. 34 getting you down? Then this review will alleviate your fears! Maybe. Disclaimer: Do not solely rely on any review for answers. It is suggested that you should read the chapter or do the online review found here. On with the writing!

1. In the new nations created after the withdrawal of European imperialists, problems occurred including the unfavorable world economy, failed social reforms, and old class, religious, and racial divisions that worsened after independence.

2. Ethnic rivalries have been endemic in decolonized African states because of the arbitrary boundaries that grouped together hostile ethnic and religious groups.

3. In 1972, Bangladesh was created due to the fragmentation of Pakistan.

4. The Ibo people attempted to secede from Nigeria by creating the state of Biafra in 1967. This led to a three year war that ultimately failed.

5. No African leaders have seriously suggested altering the unnatural boundaries established in the colonial era, even with severe conflict issues.

6. The most formidable barrier to economic growth in post-colonial Africa is the consistent and spiraling population increases that overwhelmed economic advances.

7. European colonizers contributed to African population growth by reduce local warfare and preventing the spread of epidemic diseases and famine. This allowed the death rate to decreased while keeping the birth rate the same.

8. Birth rates were generally highest in the continent of Africa.

9. The factors that contribute to the high birth rate of third world nations include old traditions, religious beliefs, and much lower death rates. Also, infant mortality was greatly reduced.

10. The chief by-products of the population boom in the 3rd world are a large number of children under 15 and most importantly, mass migration to urban areas.

11. 3rd world cities lacked the rapidly expanding industrial sectors that made migrant absorption possible in the West.

12. The urban poor are a volatile factor in the elite political struggles, and they live in slums.

13. Countries are heavily parasitic and encounter problems of soil depletion and deforestation.

14. These countries are heavily dependent for survival on food and resources from their own countryside or abroad. Real answer: they depend on the sale of cash crops and minerals to finance industrialization.

15. The export commodity that has been used to improve their roles is nothing specific, but usually the primary products of each country. These are usually food crops and raw materials.

16. Neocolonialism is the dominance that industrialized nations have upon the world economy, therefore still controlling third world countries indirectly.

17. The drawbacks to accepting investment capitals are major concessions and conditionalities that force situations onto third-world countries.

18. Kwame Nkrumah's response to the failure of his programs was to reinstate authoritarian and dictatorial rule.

19. Nkrumah's Ghana is in what used to be part of the Gold Coast colony. However, the original Ghana is further north and not part of that area.

20. Nkrumah's governmental and development plans often failed miserably because of limited resources and mismanagement.

21. One of the most common elements of African and Asian governments since decolonization is military takeover.

22. While the book doesn't specify (to the best of my knowledge), four that did were Uganda, Myanmar, Congo, and Egypt. Some that did not have ones were India, Kenya, and Zambia. India is the most prominent and most likely answer.

23. Factors that led to the military takeovers were usually due to the advantages the military had in crisis situations (better technical training, more likely to use force, anticommunist, repressive).

24. The worst examples of military regimes were Uganda, Myanmar, and Congo.

25. The Muslim Brotherhood was led by Hasan al-Banna.

26. Their philosophy was a revivalist approach to Islam and sweeping social reform which became politicized by the 1930s.

27. The Free Officers movement, made up of military troops, overthrew Farouk in 1952.

28. Gamal Abdul Nasser emerged as the head of the Egyptian government following the coup.

29. The reforms of the military government after 1952 included land reforms, state financed education, state subsidies, and stiff restrictions on foreign investments. Many of these reforms misfired.

30. The Egyptian government forced the British and French out of Suez in 1956.

31. The cornerstone of Nasser's development drive was the Aswan Dam project.

32. Anwar Sadat altered Egyptian policies of military government by favoring private initiatives, cutting ties to the Russians and opening the country to Western aid.

33. India was similar to Egypt following decolonization due to the emphasis on socialism and state intervention in the economy.

34. Following decolonization, India was governed by Jawaharlal Nehru of the Congress party..

35. The successes of India included the Green Revolution, industrial and agricultural growth, family planning, literacy, electrification, and high-tech sectors.

36. Ayatollah Khomeini was brought to Iranian power in 1979 through radical revolution.

37. The Iranian revolution of 1979 was similar to the Mahdi revolt of the 1880's.

38. Iran was unlike the other areas of the Third World because of a lack of formal colonization. Instead, it was under a sphere of informal influence divided between Russia and Great Britain, and little infrastructure was built.

39. Development schemes were forestalled in Iran due to Saddam Hussein and his efforts to take advantage of oil-rich provinces. The ensuing First Gulf War swallowed up Iranian resources and energy.

40. Portugal was able to hold on to its colonies in Africa in the mid-1970's.

41. From 1948, the Nationalist party dominated the South African government.

42. The homelands in South Africa furthered racism and separation by designating poor lands for the main ethnolinguistic (tribal) groups.

43. In order the suppress dissent, the South African government prohibited all forms of protest and nonviolent resistance. Organizations such as the African National Congress became illegal, and African leaders were thrown into jail or killed.

44. Nelson Mandela was freed in South Africa in 1990, ushering in new change in South Africa.

This review was pretty easy. But questions are still floating around. Will the next one be easy? Will there even be a Ch. 35 review sheet? And will I post a real update anytime soon?

I don't know about the first two, but a Starcraft II feature is set for Friday (that's tomorrow!). Keep watching, and have a pleasant tomorrow!

Mirror out.

"All around the world
You've got to spread the word
Tell them what you heard
We're gonna make a better day" - Oasis, All Around the World

Webcomic Watch: Planet Zebeth

2010-04-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

At one point, I couldn't think of any more comics... and then I thought of one! What an amusing story. Okay, here's another issue of Webcomic Watch! It is only mildly interesting, because I am tired, busy, and bored.

Planet Zebeth

So the story is about some of the characters from the well known Metroid games (woah cool!) and their strange adventures in Zebeth! Ridley owns a bar, Kraid is stupid, Samus is... Samus, and the random monsters are all extremely quirky. The plot usually isn't that serious, and the author himself (Kabutroid) is crazy. It's a sprite-based comic and pretty funny. You should check it out. And maybe check this blog out tomorrow, when I will write more about it. Continuing: hey, it's me again. I'm not sure what else to write now. Um... Kraid is in love with Samus and pogs. I really enjoy reading this probably for the humor. This comic made me listen to "Umbrella" (seriously!). I think I'm just babbling by now. For those of you who read this for school, study guide coming tomorrow.

Mirror out.

“It's a Casio on a plastic beach
It's a Casio on a plastic beach
It's a Styrofoam deep-sea landfill
It's a Styrofoam deep-sea landfill
It an automated computer speech
It an automated computer speech
It's a Casio on a plastic beach
It's a Casio" - Gorillaz, Plastic Beach

Dinosaur Debates: The World That They Stomp In, Pt. 15 (#601-650)

2010-04-11T21:43:00.000-07:00

Mirror in.

DISCLAIMER: Anything I say here is merely a matter of false opinion and regulated jokes. Do not take any of this seriously, for it is merely amusing to relate to the comics.

Comic #601: How's the weather up there? Hahaha

Comic #602: I'm sure somebody doesn't like it when I voice my opinions, but do I care? Naww.

Comic #603: Crazy headphone burger girl would be a cool name for something. Also, the only way to go: big band/50's ditties. Yeah!

Comic #604: What do dinosaurs understand about entropy? Why am I questioning dinosaurs that constantly speak on a daily basis?

Comic #605: This comic made me laugh. Usually I feel slight humor or confusion. Don't worry champ, you can do better!

Comic #606: In some place at some time, a version of you is doing what you're doing right now. EVERYWHERE.

Comic #607: Man, this one time, I did something cool! Yeah.

Comic #608: GIVE ME A HUG.

Comic #609: Grammar nazis PUSH THE ENVELOPE.

Comic #610: No way man! Some of my best friends are [insert stereotype here]!

Comic #611: Rawr, movie plots, rawr!

Comic #612: Man, the devil is a cool guy. He likes vidya games and speaks out on the ethics of emulation.

Comic #613: They totally read this before making Bioshock. And The Fountainhead.

Comic #614: How does one's comic become cerebral? And how can I get in on that action

Comic #615: Name jokes seem less funny when you're a recipient.

Comic #616: Life goals... good things to have. I blanked out here.

Comic #617: It's time... to fletcherize.

Comic #618: It's very embarrassing and sometimes I require medical attention.

Comic #619: Words can be fun!

Comic #620: Movie Title: The Perfect Prank

Comic #621: Feelings are for chumps!

Comic #622: Panhandling is also something for people who do things for little reason!

Comic #623: All I get free in the mail is mail. LAME.

Comic #624: It sure is funny to see the start of fads portrayed here.

Comic #625: It's only trespassing if you get arrested!

Comic #626: This is what happens when you don't sleep enough, my friend.
"Last night I ate lots of pears by mistake."

Comic #627: I like the comics where T-Rex asserts something in the second panel. It is quite humorous.

Comic #628: Do people like me

Comic #629: What a crappy rule.

Comic #630: Like NASA will ever get enough money to go to the Moon again.

Comic #631: Confucianism: long standing social guidelines and butt of jokes.

Comic #632: Are poo bugs some new dino fad? I guess it's funny to God too.

Comic #633: Live and learn, bitches! This is the second time I've quoted a comic with "bitches" in it. Entirely coincidental!

Comic #634: Documentaries are often created and loved by extreme film enthusiasts. Not my cup of beverage.

Comic #635: God doesn't really care what we think as long as he can dance in his underpants.

Comic #636: So that's where that T-shirt came from. Nice.

Comic #637: Man, these are lame universes. Either you want to/don't want to and yet don't have to/have to. We need better universes!

Comic #638: SUDDENLY YOU ARE NOT SUCH A GOOD DUDE.

Comic #639: My English teacher always says that, and I found it strange until I looked it up right now. Shawshank Redemption? Awww yeah.

Comic #640: Tenet you man!

Comic #641: Mainstream music is all about the 50% generic sound and the 50% depressing lyrics.

Comic #642: So remember, don't eat 10 chickens in one night or pretend you're deaf, because that first thing is stupid and the second is usually a failure.

Comic #643: Cryptology is interesting, but it's one of those things that you're never likely to do. Unless you're in the military or something. As a desk jockey.

Comic #644: Labeling someone 'not necessarily racist' would be somewhat amusing and also likely to get you hurt.

Comic #645: Charleston! Yeah!

Comic #646: That alt text is a great idea! Except for the getting a tattoo part. That I don't like so much.

Comic #647: Sorry, I got distracted at this point. Hahaha [insert dry and lame joke here]

Comic #648: Cheese it! Stalking is bad kiddos.

Comic #649: How do some kids manage to trick T-Rex out of his costume? ...Eh, it's plausible.

Comic #650: It seems nowadays that yes, you can have too many friends. I don't think the social networking trend hit it off back in 2005. Facebook me! Follow my Twitter! Read this blog! Oh wait.

I am done. And that is NOT opinion!

Mirror out.

"I was like 'hah hah, what?'" - T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

School Stuff: Are Elections Pointless?

2010-04-11T18:33:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted anything since Thursday, and nothing more casual since Tuesday. Well, here we go. Let's discuss some more things to do with our school, because it's such an interesting topic, after all. /sarcasm You know, talking with emotion over the Internet is impossible without some sort of notice or smiley. I guess that's why they called them emoticons! Ahahaha. Don't worry, I won't have any more posts dedicated to bad jokes. They'll just appear every now and then. After all, we're all busy with school, so why not have a laugh? Alright, back on subject.

One thing I want to talk about is the futility I have encountered with the elections we have at school. Obviously I've been inspired by the elections we've had recently. I have to say, I'm not too impressed. First of all, how does this affect us as a student body? Are we just going to get half-decent rallies, "on the green" events that are watched by maybe only half the masses? After all, I doubt they can affect the school budget. But that's looking at us as a whole. The people in command, of course, get a nice little thing to write on their college applications. I guess it works out for someone.

As many may have noticed, the sophomore/next year's juniors are always the most competitive. This is due to the condition of being at a point where you're experienced enough to really assimilate, but not too late for affecting things. Like going into a college. Anyway, it was interesting how for us sophomores, there were at least two choices for each. Unlike the earlier ASB elections or whatever. Voting for one possible candidate sure is fun, right?

Also, I've walked through the propaganda corridor as I deemed it. You all know the little walking area with the roof that gets you from one side of the school to another without getting soaked in the rain? Each of the columns holding it up has (had) at least two "vote for me" posters on them. And ant least 99% of these were by soph-jrs. I made that up right now, it's stupid, moving on. Not like it matters, because half of the elections are based on popularity, and the other half is based on bribes. Tasty, tasty, bribes.

Well, that's all I have to say about that. School ranting is easy to write. Keep reading for a Dinosaur Debates later today. Or don't. I think 95% of my viewers only came for the study guide anyway.

Mirror out.

"It might not be the right time
I might not be the right one
But there's something about us I want to say
Cause there's something between us anyway" - Daft Punk, Something About Us

School Stuff: World is Running Out of Time (Ch. 33 Review)

2010-04-08T19:29:00.000-07:00

I have to say, this is one of the shortest, weirdest, and quickest AP World History reviews I've probably done. I've only done less than 10, so I guess that's not saying much. Tell me of any errors. I had some nuisances with this one:

a. It's unnumbered, which is annoying. Numbered, it only has 35 questions.
b. It is badly formatted, and some of the questions are secondary parts to primary questions.
c. The test is on a Friday.

But I figure this will be useful for some people, so I'm doing it anyway. Plus it counts as one of my semiweekly blog entries. It will be here soon... hopefully before 8:30 PST. EDIT: Here it is!

1. Third world societies were different from other societies due to lack of industrialization.

2. The term first world applies to the capitalist industrial nations, and the second world consisted of the formerly communist industrial nations. The third world was made up of developing nations, often varying but united by issues of economic development and economic inequality.

3. Many of the Western European and North American countries had a place in the first world. The second world mostly had the Eastern European countries. The third world was most of the countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

4. Latin America changed in the 20th century in many ways. Countries varied in adoption of different political and cultural forms. Small industrial sectors grew, and the economy and politics alike saw a series of broad shifts.

5. Juan José Arevalo began a series of programs deemed “spiritual socialism” that included land reform and workers’ improvements.

6. The organizations that cause disputes between the US and reformed Latin America governments were often foreign interests operating within them, such as the United Fruit Company.

7. The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency working with a dissident military force instigated the revolution in Guatemala in 1954, and a pro-American regime took over after, renegotiating terms favorable for U.S. companies.

8. About three-fourths of Cuba’s imports came from the United States.

9. The government run by Fulgencio Batista from 1934 to 1944 created a democratic constitution in 1940 that promised many changes. However, his reforms were marred by corruption, and he later grew into a dictator by 1952.

10. The leader of the revolution overthrowing Batista was Fidel Castro, his group was called the barbudos, or “bearded men”, and they referred to the revolution as the “26th of July movement”.

11. Ernesto “Che” Guevara assisted the overthrow of Cuba. He and Castro arrived in Cuba in 1956, and gathered strength up until 1958.

12. The final result of the Cuban Revolution was a major overhaul towards Marxist-Leninist ideas, and Cuba’s economic dependency changed as a nationalist and anti-imperialist foreign policy was put into place. Relations with the U.S. were broken in 1961, and it relied on the Soviet Union for many economic reasons.

13. Castro made reforms in large social programs, such as education, health, and housing. Near the introduction of the new regime, foreign properties were expropriated, farms were collectivized, and a centralized socialist economy was created.

14. Besides Cuba, there are still other communist countries today. These include China, North Korea, Laos, and Vietnam. Other countries still contain some communist populations, and revolutionaries still conduct insurgencies.

15. The organizations and environments that helped speed up reform in the 1960s and 1970s were political stability and the church.

16. The doctrine the Church followed in undertaking reform was liberation theology, which refers to the combination of the Catholic theology with socialist principles.

17. To gain personal salvation, liberal religious people stressed social equality.

18. Officers in the LA militaries began to see themselves above the selfish politicians and, by the 1920s and 1930s, believed they were best equipped to solve their nations’ problems, even if martial law was needed.

19. The countries that experienced coups in the 1960s and 1970s were Brazil (1964), Argentina (1966), Chile (1973 to Salvador Allende), Uruguay (1973), and Peru (1968).

20. Argentines opposed coups by attempting violent opposition, and many were killed in the “dirty war”.

21. Between all the military coups, they were all nationalistic. However, Brazil and Argentina wanted development, Peru tried to create a popular base, and Chile and Uruguay were anticommunist.

22. The military juntas after 1960 first intervened often in leftist governments. However, they loosened their grip after the 1980s.

23. The presence of democracy in LA in the 1980s was growing, due to the higher interest of the United States, the populist parties were less of a threat, and civilian leaders were getting better. However, some places such as Peru and Nicaragua still had governmental issues.

24. The problems that LA governments faced in the 1980s and 1990s were large foreign loans, high inflation, social instability, and international drug commerce.

25. This is a weird one, because one of the true/false questions online is wrong. The answer is that the U.S. intervened over 30 times before 1933. Afterwards, programs such as the Good Neighbor Policy and the Alliance for Progress wanted to relieve tensions. The Panama Canal was ceded to the Panamanian government in the 1970s. In 1990, the Panamanian government was overthrown by U.S. forces. Go figure.

26. The politician in Nicaragua that opposed the U.S. government until his assassination in 1934 was Augusto Sandino.

27. Governments established after U.S. intervention were called banana republics.

28. Franklin Roosevelt introduced the Good Neighbor Policy, and it promised to deal more fairly with Latin American countries and to halt direct intervention.

29. The methods the U.S. used to intervene in LA after WWII were more occupied to defeating communism, and they became more aggressive because of the attempts to limit communism in Latin America.

30. U.S. policy towards LA in the 1970s and 1980s was pragmatic, which means that they accepted LA as it was, and dealt with military dictatorships on friendly terms.

31. The 1970s president that took action in LA was Jimmy Carter, and he ceded the Panama Canal, as well as made an initiative to deal with LA and influence civil liberties.

32. The position LA women had in society and politics changed in the later 1900s in politics, suffrage, and early textile work. They mostly gained the vote in the decades after WWII. By the mid-1990s, women in LA were closer in position to Western Europe and North America than the rest of the world.

33. Population growth in LA was tremendous and much higher than that of NA. The movement of populations in the late 20th century was large due to the lack of jobs in LA; many fled to the US or other Latin American countries. Urban population density grew at a rate three times of the population as a whole, and new cities often contained slums or shantytowns, such as favelas.

34. The religion that is most common in LA is Catholicism.

35. The important LA literary figures that emerged in the late 20th century were ones of magical realism, such as Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Marquez.

Watch Dylan's blog at Ecliptic Times for his study guide!

Mirror out.

"The world I love
The tears I drop
To be part of
The wave can't stop" - The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Can't Stop

Webcomic Watch: Count Your Sheep

2010-04-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

At this point, I've found it difficult to tell which comics were my old ones, so I'm going to make guesses. Welcome to another edition of Webcomic Watch, the weekly tradition where I give you a crappy summary in order to force you to go look at badly drawn pictures! Just kidding, I like all webcomics equally. Today we'll take a drastic turn from the weirdness of last week to a sweeter and more innocent one: Count Your Sheep!

Count Your Sheep

Count Your Sheep is a pretty basic webcomic. Unlike many of the ones I've gone over before, it does a lot of random comics combined with usually overarching storylines, rather than focusing on one or the other. The main characters are a young girl named Katie, her mom Laurie, and an imaginary lamb (sheep) named Ship. Creative, I know. From what I recall, the comic starts out focusing on sleep, as the title is aptly written about, and later just shows the adventures Katie and Shep go through (rather everyday life), and her mom worrying about everything. it often mixes cheerful tones with more somber themes. In a way, it reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes, just more blue. It's the sort of childhood innocence kind of thing.

This was also one of the few comics I actually remember stopping at. I vaguely remember sometime in February of 2008. So it's been over two years since I've truly read any of these, except for maybe a re-read of Bob and George. Of course, as you can tell, my updates tend to lack substance. Stay tuned for Thursday, where hopefully I will not get tied into a two-hour long conversation and write about one of the many topics I decided to write about instead.

Actually, I just read the wiki article, and it seems that Adrian Ramos (the creator), did get many influences from comic strips such as Calvin and Hobbes, Mutts, and Peanuts. Go figure.

Mirror out.

"They don't like me. Don't they know what they're missing?

I want your self esteem." - Katie and Ship, Count Your Sheep

Virtual Videos: So Many Lies!

2010-04-06T21:19:00.000-07:00

Here's your inconsequential update of the day. Random music videos, go!

The Beatles - Abbey Road Medley Pt. 1 / Abbey Road Medley Pt. 2

The Beatles - Oh! Darling

Gorillaz - To Binge (feat. Little Dragon)

Vampire Weekend - Giving Up the Gun

The Pretenders - Brass in Pocket

The Chemical Brothers - Setting Sun

Razor 1911 - Voyage (Chiptunes are sweet.)

A Cool Guy - A Cool Song

If you think my taste in music is strange, you're absolutely correct! Now go listen to these while I write an article. Shoo!

Mirror out.

"Constant repetition carries conviction." - Robert Collier

School Stuff: Early Birds Get the World (Ch. 32 Review)

2010-04-04T19:51:00.000-07:00

I figure Dylan's not on, so for anyone that wants to get the review earlier (Ha ha, yeah right), here are my answers. I will probably take this down when Dylan posts it on his blog. Weirdly, this was deleted earlier, and yet it still says I posted it. Go figure.

EDIT: You can now catch this at Ecliptic Times.

1. The 1956 Crisis was presumably the decision to nationalize the Suez Canal by Egypt. Britain and France attacked Egypt over this issue, but they were promptly stopped by the U.S. and Soviet Union.

2. Charles de Gaulle negotiated for Algeria’s independence in 1962.

3. The French relinquished Vietnam in 1954 following major defeats.

4. Winston Churchill used the phrase “iron curtain” to describe the division between Western and Eastern Europe.

5. The focal point of the C.W. immediately after WWII was Germany and the partitions done.

6. The member countries of the Eastern Bloc were Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary.

7. The Marshall Plan was created in 1947 by the U.S. to give loans to Western countries for the purpose of rebuilding. It was seen as a vehicle of U.S. dominance and anti-Communist movements.

8. U.S. opposition to Soviet aggression was based on the spread of communism and the struggle between that and U.S. economic ideals.

9. The NATO attitude toward U.S. protection was on varied accounts. On the one hand, the military and nuclear protection stationed around the world kept much of Europe safe from Soviet assault. However, France was put off by the Anglo-U.S. dominance, and withdrew from JOINT COMMAND after 1958. Many of the eastern countries were part of the Warsaw Pact instead.

10. U.S. military spending was stable from the 1950s to the 1980s. The spending increased afterwards, with the average spending the highest percentage of all countries after WWII.

11. Christian Democrats were a new current people wanting democratic institutions and moderate social reform.

12. The new governments in Europe post WWII were more democratic, discredited many rightist movements such as fascism, and brought new regimes and constitutions.

13. After WWII, Germany had new regimes that would split Germany. France, Britain, and the United States merged zones of occupation to become the Federal Republic of Germany, with a better constitution. The Soviet Union controlled the eastern portion, later called East Germany.

14. A welfare state increased many social measures that depended on government spending. This was instated in order to support the poor class and reduce economic inequality.

15. The welfare state brought a new definition of government functions, helped citizens against expenses, improved health, and increased government contact. It did not rearrange social structure, but initially won wide acceptance. However, it also greatly increased taxes and spending.

16. An increased government role in economic planning paralleled the welfare state, such as industrial nationalization and planning offices.

17. The book does not seem to specify, or the website. However, it says most European countries, so maybe it is the U.S.

18. The technocrat was a bureaucrat with intense training in engineering or economics, and was devoted to the power of national planning.

19. Student protests in Europe and the U.S. upset the pattern of political compromise in the 1960’s.

20. The Green movement took place in the 1970s and signaled a new political tone hostile to uncontrolled economic growth.

21. Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Ronald Reagan in the United States marked the returned of conservatism. They were members of the British Conservative and U.S. Republican parties respectively, and diminished the power of the welfare state.

22. West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands were the first members of the European Economic Community, which later was called the European Union and created a single economic entity. A bureaucracy was established in Brussels.

23. The European economy of the post 1950’s surpassed even the growth of the U.S. economy.

24. The peasantry was furthered affected by consumerism. Some earlier social conflicts were resolved, but some distinctions remained with the middle-class, and crime rates increased.

25. The rights received by women in the West in the later 20th century included more jobs and widely accepted suffrage. Divorces also increased, as well as birth control. Family goals became less important.

26. Simone de Beauvoir wrote The Second Sex, and promoted new ideas of feminism. The Feminine Mystique was written by Betty Freidan of the United States.

27. Western culture during the late 20th century often proceeded along established lines in science and modern art. Popular culture in music and fashion grew to new heights, and more creativity was shown.

28. The Eastern European nation that developed advanced industrialization was the Soviet Union.

29. By 1948, many border countries were under direct Social control. The three that weren’t were Albania, Greece, and Yugoslavia.

30. The policies of Soviet sponsored regimes in Eastern Europe centered around the attack on the church, mass education movements, more industrialization according to five-year plans, and a trade system in the Soviet and East European areas.

31. After Stalin, Soviet domination continued through a single party, police action, and a large alignment of diplomacy and military powers.

32. In 1956, collectivization in Poland was halted in favor of widespread peasant ownership. Also, the Catholic Church gained new tolerance. A new movement emerged called Solidarity.

33. Under Stalin’s regime, the Orthodox Church was at war with the government. By the 1950s, only the elderly seemed to still go to church.

34. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wrote The Gulag Archipelago, a trilogy of books on Siberian prison camps that got him exiled to the United States.

35. Typical aspects of the Soviet economy included being fully industrial, having few consumer goods, and bad agriculture. Later on, the lack of consumer goods led to more alcoholism and less work output.

36.The sources of pressure on the Soviet family came from industrialization, and caused more people to move to the cities, as well as focus upon nuclear family units.

37. The industrialized Soviet Union resembled the West in the similar work rhythms and outings for leisure.

38. By the 1970’s, the Russian rate of population growth was as stable as the West.

39. Most women in Russian industrialized society worked for a living, and had more equality. However, many were not helped by their husbands at home and their jobs were demanding.

40. After Stalin’s death, a ruling committee was established that balanced interest groups, such as the army, the police, and the Party apparatus.

41. Nikita Khrushchev took central power in 1956 over the Soviet Union.

42. Soviet successes under Khrushchev included less political trials and police repression, as well as highly increased economic growth. More competition grew in categories such as the space race and the Olympics.

43. The Soviet military steadily built and competed against the U.S. Later, Mikhail Gorbachev wanted more Western reforms and change in social and economic means.

Dinosaur Debates coming up soon.

Mirror out.

"We learn from history that we learn nothing from history." — George Bernard Shaw

Dinosaur Debates: The Speech Within, Pt. 14 (#551-600)

2010-04-04T19:50:00.000-07:00

Some people may ask me, do I get tired of doing this. My answer: it depends on how my day has gone. Of course, nobody ever asked, so I guess it doesn't matter.

On with the program!

In a past where dinosaurs roam the earth... where T-Rexes stomp on humanity, and Utahraptors philosophize on every topic. Welcome to... the Dinosaur Zone!

Comic #551: I actually had wondered this before. Now I know. I guess I'll also be spelling it 'wheirwolf' from now on.

Comic #552: T-Rex shows his weird, creepy guy nature again. Maybe he likes eating certain people.

Comic #553: I don't know about staring at other people's fingers. Also, I usually read or play something. Staring is boringsauce.

Comic #554: Expiry Dates, the action-packed flick of the summer!

Comic #555: That's some good pretension. Whatever.. that means.

Comic #556: T-Rex sure is a cool guy who totally understands racism.

Comic #557: I just learned about semiconductors! As for a cardboard car... uh, no.

Comic #558: Man, that's crazy. Your best friend could be a philosophical zombie... and you might never even know it!

Comic #559: Competitive eating is disgusting. How those people live with themselves, I don't know.

Comic #560: Whether this relates to the awesome T-shirt is unknown. Also, time machines sure come up a lot with dinosaurs. Weird.

Comic #561: These martinis are more like... marTINIES! Cool enough for you?

Comic #562: Pulling off song lyrics as a conversation sounds fun. I need to try this sometime.

Comic #563: Why travel across the world? You're closer to outer space! After all, the only bad thing that could happen is ADVENTURE! Woah, just realized that banner actually changed the comic for once.

Comic #564: Birds are sad, sad creatures.

Comic #565: Asexuality sounds boring.

Comic #566: Gender based nouns just complicate things. But then again, adding person to everything is really annoying and it sounds stupid.

Comic #567: So how can dinosaurs be pedophiles? Their ages work differently too. You know what, screw it. Obviously these are people in dino suits. Maybe they crush action figure people, which would explain the repetition of things to stomp on. Or maybe they're all action figures! *dun-dun-dun*

Comic #568: Lying to your diary seems counterproductive. Maybe just sad.

Comic #569: For some weird reason, I always thought Dromi looked like a Brontosaurus or something. Huh.

Comic #570: How uncomfortable

Comic #571: This looks like the start of a beautiful friendship.

Comic #572: I fucked up Canada!

Comic #573: Man, that could be an actual plot. Though I don't think Batman would be stupid enough to bring zombies into the Batcave. That's why you always check for bites!

Comic #574: Phlogiston, bitches!

Comic #575: What is bhangra? Punjabi dance. Yes! However, no!

Comic #576: Little lower, little slower. Not exactly a great conversation starter.

Comic #577: MY current understanding of physics says that's impossible!

Comic #578: I assume past T-Rex would probably always agree with future T-Rex's spontaneous plans.

Comic #579: Depression is not a thing to joke about people. It's an actual DISEASE OF THE MIND.

Comic #580: T-Rex likes putting stress on everybody else around him with his crazy ideas. One day I'd like to see a comic where he's just thinking normal stuff and then Dromi/Utah comes out with a weird theory.

Comic #581: So when somebody's breaking into your house, don't worry. The police will call you!

Comic #582: Holy crap man, Ron went to the moon? I don't even remember this or the vampire revelation. Damn you spoilers!

Comic #583: All films need at least two explosions and some cool guys walking away from them.

Comic #584: Eh? Eh? T-Rex sure likes egging people on.

Comic #585: I wonder if any revolutions have ended before due to lack of interest. I guess it wouldn't be a revolution then.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Comic #586: He's pooched. Sometimes people say screw the pooch, and suddenly nothing makes sense.

Comic #587: No, T-Rex, nowadays all the adults keep secrets about that stuff. Then they charge you for it.

Comic #588: So if everyone went back in time... I guess nothing changed. Weak.

Comic #589: Crazy paradox time comic time.

Comic #590: Getting all up in my fries today?

Comic #591: T-Rex - purveyor of the sexy bits.

Comic #592: Oh shit - THE INTERNET JUST BURNED DOWN!

Comic #593: I guess God never worries about indecency.

Comic #594: The laws of science cannot be budged! Unless you wanna explode while eating a sandwich or something.

Comic #595: The manliest man known to man and womankind

Comic #596: Substitute, and I think the jokes actually get less funnier.

Comic #597: Are your womanly characteristics pretty okay?

Comic #598: Solipism sounds like a whole bunch of arrogance mixed in with revelation of being the most important person in the universe.

Comic #599: Utilitarianism - not as interesting as 'pleasure calculator'.

Comic #600: God always knows when there's a cool party going on.

Party hard!

Mirror out.

"Well take me off the shelf and put me in a plastic bag, because I'm sold!
Okay!
Wait, what?" - Utahraptor and T-Rex, Dinosaur Comics

Informational Pics: Facial Hair

2010-04-03T22:05:00.000-07:00

The name says it all.

Mirror out.

"You know what's not cool, Bobby?
Hell." - Hank Hill, King of the Hill

Gauging Games: Pokémon

2010-04-02T21:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry I didn't update yesterday. For some weird reason, as soon as I was about to update, my browsers stopped loading web pages. This was even more bamboozling due to the fact that I could still use Steam and AIM. So to make up for yesterday, here is an article about a game. I have not decided on this game yet.

So I decided to do it on the long running Pokémon series! Words to be coming up next.

So, Pokémon. A long running fad that children, teenagers, and adults have all partook in. One that began over 10 years ago and is still going strong today. Few things can compare. I myself have played many of the games and watched much of the TV show. So let's go back in time, to a time when pop and boy bands were merely starting their new found popularity, video games were way better looking, and the best cartoons were upon us: the late 1990s.

In 1996, Satoshi Tajiri evolved a premise that would be extremely popular: capturing monsters to use them as slaves for animal fights. And thus, Pokémon was born! The craze began with Red and Blue in Japan, and its spread to the U.S. was inevitable. Something even more popular then supplemented its popularity: the anime! With memorably dumb characters such as Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak, kids all over the world were sucked in. And then Yellow was born. The 150(1) pokémon, however, were not enough! Gold, Silver, and Crystal brought in generation II, with new places to go to, a new anime to fit it, and more money for Nintendo.

Generation III came out a few years later with Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. Even more pokémon were introduced, with new mechanics being introduced. At some point, battling became a rigorous and statistical endeavor. The ones who loved the classics were now embittered nostalgiacs. After all, some wanted simplicity. So Fire Red and Leaf Green remade the original games with new mechanics. A fourth generation of Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum followed another 3-4 years afterward.

Finally, the latest additions have arrived. Remakes of Gold and Silver were released, and old and new alike once again played. The anime has been going for over 10 years as well. Video games, action figures, manga, anime, clothing, and many more have been affected by this tree.

So how come this mere game of having creatures beat up other creatures is so popular? Perhaps it is the thrill of discovering strange monsters in new lands. It could be the colorful cast of characters and quirky personalities displayed. Maybe it is the adrenaline of pressing attack buttons on a virtual screen. Some might say that it is the strange addiction to seeing numbers go up to beat up other high number objects. It is probably some weird combination of all of the above. Either way, Pokémon has left a lasting impression on many who lived their youth through the late 1990s to the present day.

Time to go beat up some Gym Leader's pokemon.

Mirror out.

"I wanna be the very best
Like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To train them is my cause" - Pokémon, breaking hearts and making millions

Entertaining Entertainment: More Internet Fun

2010-04-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

The world is full of strange and funny things, and there are times where I feel like documenting them. So here are some random games, videos, and other things to keep you sated for another few days.

Nile Online: A cool online strategy game. Do not play if you have little patience. Also, this is basically the online version of an RTS called Immortal Nile or something.

Dead Frontier: A online zombie MMORPG, as you can see in the name. Do not play if easily spooked or have slow reflexes. By the way, if you play this, tell me.

Global Crisis: My zombie RP. Join! Because I said so.

Onestop.mid: One of the best things Microsoft managed to do. A song!

Star Fox in Iraq: Do a barrel roll!

Hawk Town: This is a really funny video and it's almost TV quality. The humor is decent. Watch, but don't if you have problems with gore or swearing.

Computer Monsters: Flash drives meet Pokémon.

LIST DERAILED and Trololo'd!

A review coming up soon.

Mirror out.

"I'm gonna sue, sue
Yes, I'm gonna sue
Sue, sue, yeah I might even sue you!" - Weird Al Yankovic, I'll Sue Ya

Webcomic Watch: Misfile

2010-03-31T20:35:00.000-07:00

I'm sort of worried that if I don't do this often enough, some of my archived comics will go kaput and there will be less for you to read. Welcome to the weekly edition of Webcomic Watch! I am late, but my computer is lame. So here is yesterday's update: today! I will be covering another one of my top 8-10 webcomics that I started with back in the day. Once I'm done with that, I move on to season 2 (another 10-20 I got caught up with), and finally season 3 (comics I've merely skimmed but not read through). So now let's go to a little fantasy world, one where gender bending takes a dude's life a long way. I might be saying that a lot, because I have 3-5 of those bookmarked.

Misfile (PG-13: you have been warned! Though I might give this warning out a lot, making it useless. Oh well, I'm not responsible for any trouble you might get into with your parents.)

So it's a basic story. Boy turns into girl, boy/girl has problems with life, makes friend who lost 2 years of her life, maybe some bi undertones, and sometimes fanservice. Sounds like an anime or something. Let's get into detail.

Misfile is one of two comics I read (i.e. past tense) by Chris Hazelton. Going back after a year or two, I immediately noticed that the art style hadn't changed that much since I had been reading it. That's cool, it's weird when you see extreme art discontinuities. So here's how the story goes: a deadbeat angel in heaven named Rumisiel smokes and drinks on the job. These are also looked down on when you become an angel, apparently. According to the comic, the way life on Earth is governed is through file cabinets... and some angels are the file sorters. That's depressing, but what can you do? Anyway, Rumisiel manages to bork up and misfile some information. Hence, the name of the comic.

What happens is that a boy named Ash is changed into a girl, and a girl named Emily loses two years of her life (and right before college. I think.) So Rumisiel comes down from the skies and tries to help them get their lives in somewhat decent shape. There are a bunch of side characters and later the comic focuses a lot on the racing that Ash did before being girlified. That's... pretty much all I can say. Read it or not, I don't care because I never forced any of you to read them either way.

Mirror out.

"" -

Epochs: They're Cool

2010-03-31T19:53:00.000-07:00

Yeah.

Mirror out.

"It is not a pleasant epoch in one's life - the first forty eight hours at a large public school” - D.H. Lawrence

Placeholder: Computer Failure

2010-03-30T21:18:00.000-07:00

Graphics card is busting out on me. Posting this from mom's laptop. No issue until tomorrow.

Mirror out.

"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." - Oscar Wilde

Dinosaur Debates:The Future Ahead, Pt. 13 (#501-550)

2010-03-28T20:40:00.000-07:00

The masters of past
Converse for you once again
Why read this haiku?
(Remember people, this is contemporary haiku. Or prehistoric.)

Comic #501: Everybody knows the man problem is unsolvable.

Comic #502: Wikipedia. The beginning of a long to come information site.

Comic #503: Apathy: it's okay. What?
AAAAAAAAHHHHHH-hhuuh-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Comic #504: So, so very sad.

Comic #505: I wonder if this happens all the time. HEY YOU! I LIKE YOUR FRIGGIN' HAT!

Comic #506: The Jendrassik Maneuver should be a band.

Comic #507: History is never a good judge. Especially if it has to do with race, gender, or economics.

Comic #508: What does the second one have to do with optimism? Also, internet diaries are 50% of the online soup nowadays.

Comic #509: The lack of words is merely a bouncing board for your own thoughts. Reprise... everybody dies!

Comic #510: I don't have enemies, just really bad friends.

Comic #511: Holy shit dude, a backside lipside 50/50 fakie? That's EXTREME! OUT OF A HELICOPTER! EXTREME! That T-shirt is pretty neat too.

Comic #512: Nude sub sandwiches is always the first step to an interesting life. The second is public indecency. And then... jail.

Comic #513: Aww, how nice. Will Tom die a terrible death three years later, leaving Mary in the throes of despair- oh wait, he was kidding.

Comic #514: Aaaahh, Achewood. I love you too.

Comic #515: Hmm.. letters. Yep.

Comic #516: Who invented the Internet in their universe? Or do they just have giant dinosaur computers or something with cool dino keyboards and mice?

Comic #517: The World Revolves Around God sounds real. And bigot like.

Comic #518: So... light verb constructions are good, right?

Comic #519: I checked the last comic and his thigh is the same. So.. yeah. I guess God can be as fit as he wants. That reminds me, where'd Satan go?

Comic #520: You have no idea how much money those people make.

Comic #521: Life would suck. And overcrowding would happen sooner or later, because all these ALIVE people would take up space. Maybe if suddenly birth was impossible..

Comic #522: Man, sour cream and onion is awesome, huh.

Comic #523: Speak of the devil! Quite literally. He's the epitome of geeky fat guys everywhere. But what does he REALLY look like? I mean, he probably eats bags of Doritos and never gains a pound.

Comic #524: I JUST WANT TO TASTE YOU

Comic #525: This has been proven entirely wrong, starting with Britney Spears and continuing with drinking, sex, and drugs.

Comic #526: I'm a loose cannon! CRAZY!

Comic #527: This time travel stuff is annoying sometimes.

Comic #528: What's with all the emoticon use lately? Also, POLITICS ARE UNAVOIDABLE! Look at health care!

Comic #529: Global warming is always more important than looking good. What will fashion do for you when you've BURNED TO DEATH?

Comic #530: The bases are so disputed, nobody even thinks the same thing when you hit one nowadays.

Comic #531: Ah, duck hunt. Good memories.

Comic #532: If life was a sitcom, it would be hilarous! We'd make bad jokes all the time and get into insanely unfortunate situations that end up with bitter okayness in the end.

Comic #533: Senual Sensation - also good band name?

Comic #534: Sexual congress? Sounds kinky.

Comic #535: A comic that had both God and Satan in it! Except they were separate comics. Damn.

Comic #536: But the interests and habits you pick up in life totally affect smooching skills!

Comic #537: I don't feel like looking for cool songs... so...
Chim chimi chang chim chimi chang chimichangas!

Comic #538: I thought he stepped on stuff to stomp out anger. ZING!

Comic #539: That would be amazing, and yet very strange at the same time. Food for thought, anyone? *ba-dum, pssh*

Comic #540: So does everything happen between panel 5 and 6? What a gyp.

Comic #541: Deep and important friendships are pretty okay. Life advice here, guys.

Comic #542: T-Rex has realistic expectations, ALL THE TIME. This ex-girlfriend topic sure is dragging on.

Comic #543: Advertisements: THEY MISLEAD

Comic #544: I have self-doubt quite often. It makes me sad. And then I think about how good I have it and move on, twice as arrogant!

Comic #545: DAYYY-O

Comic #546: Oh man, this is awesome. READ THIS ONE JUST FOR KICKS.

Comic #547: Is it BITCHY in here?
I mean witty?
I mean what?

Comic #548: Programming in the '05 was different, my friend. And yet still the same. You know?

Comic #549: So why is graffiti illegal if these public institutions belong to nobody/everybody?

Comic #550: My God! We've completely misunderstood what dinosaurs did. What other calculations can we find?

Your family is made of meat.

Mirror out.

"History does not record, unfortunately, what must have been a stellar report on the part of T-Rex. Of this, we can be certain: he was an awesome dude.

One is advised to tell one's friends!" - T-Rex, an awesome dude on Dinosaur Comics

School Spirit: The TO Rally

2010-03-26T22:20:00.000-07:00

So we had our school rally today. I have to say... actually, there wasn't much to say. After all, these are less of rallies and more like time wasters with failed humor and sexual appeal. But that seems like what life is full of nowadays, especially in the media. Anyway, here's my short and somewhat informative memory of the event. I spent most of the time dealing with something else though.

First of all, the rally was supposedly a promotion for the Trojan Olympics, which I assume ended not long ago. This didn't really work... in fact, the activities made me want to avoid it even more. Then there was the people for the ASB elections, the people for fighting cancer... it seemed like the whole point of the rally was just to tell us a bunch of things. It sucked. They even set up a screen. What was that for? I didn't see it doing anything.

Also, does the band keep changing? One thing that they can't seem to fix is getting a better than decent singer. Look at the talent show people! They could sing. That also reminds me, Team Blackout did their Single Ladies dance again. I still have to admit it's really well choreographed, but it was nothing new to me. All in all, it was a waste of an hour. There.

Mirror out.

"Stress is when you wake up screaming and you realize you haven't fallen asleep yet." - A crazy person

Preventing Piracy: The ACTA Treaty

2010-03-25T21:56:00.000-07:00

So I was outraged yesterday by something I should have heard of years before. This is the ACTA, the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. You're thinking, "an anti-counterfeiting document? How could that possibly be a bad thing?" After all, nobody wants to get scammed. And the people that don't want to get scammed the most are the ones who can lose the most... the big companies. This basically affects those who cheat anyone out of the money in many countries, such as those who sell counterfeit goods, generic medicines... and the rise of Internet piracy.

Internet piracy is a hotly debated topic. For anyone under the age of 30, it's probably already a part of their lives. Who hasn't downloaded the occasional song or two without paying for it? Some take entire albums. Why watch a movie in the theater, when you can see it online in admittedly worse quality, but much sooner with more convenience? Buy a book... or download a book? Extremely popular computer programs are pirated all the time. Windows 7 is a big one. If you miss an episode of your favorite TV show, will you wait for the collection to come out, or find it posted somewhere on the Internet? Everywhere you look, piracy is rampant. YouTube videos do it all the time. And there's little doubt that, for many teens and young adults, it's just what you do. You know?

So, what the hell will ACTA do? In short, it will deem you guilty until proven innocent. It will let you be arrested on suspicion of illegal downloading. It will allow and force ISPs to shut down your Internet if they even THINK you're torrenting something. The legal barriers increase, and so do our freedoms. But the ACTA has been in the works for 4 years, and another meeting over it takes place this June. So any person who's done any of these things, don't sweat it. At least, not for now. The corporations and the government will have their way sooner or later. Just maybe, the Mayans discovered a end to the world. Not a world of physical means, but of digital ones. Dwell on that. (Don't, I was joking.)

Mirror out.

"I know but one freedom, and that is the freedom of the mind." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Reasonable Readers: A Look into the Future?

2010-03-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

So I've been wracking my mind for some topics to write about, but not many came to mind. So I decided, why not allow the readers to decide on something? I guarantee that less than 3 people will post here, if not merely 1. But it would be nice to see what the reader(s) decide. And it would save me from posting a terrible joke or a stupid video. If I decide to use your "mirror", then... nothing special will happen. I mean, what could I give you? A pat on the back and a "keep reading" to boot. But uh... keep doing that.

Mirror out.

"867-5309" - Jenny (867-5309)

My Music: The Top Ten (Played)

2010-03-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

Here's my small update of the day: a list of the most played songs I have on my iTunes. Granted, none are played more than 70 times, but a diffusion of song plays tends to happen when you have over 1500 of them. Keep in mind that I don't listen to most of them anymore, but they mean a lot to me. Probably because I heard them so many times.

1. Brandtson - Earthquakes and Sharks: I've listened to this song so many times, I end up reciting the lyrics every time. And I didn't even memorize them on purpose. I still love this song; after all, I live in California, so some of it is true, huh? I think this played with the fact that I used to fear all the stuff in the song too. Either way, it's catchy, and I love it.

2. Brandtson - Nobody Dances Anymore: The first song I heard by Brandtson, and one of the first 50 songs I ever got. I think. I actually saw the music video in a store once, and thought it was so awesome, I had to get the song. I never regretted it, and the song itself is just great in meaning and sound.

3. Flobots - Handlebars: This one is pretty popular nowadays. I first saw the music video, decided to look too deep into the meaning like everyone does, and then couldn't stop listening to it for hours. I do that with a lot of my songs, actually. But watch the video, and you'll see why I like it.

4. Barenaked Ladies - One Week: This song is pretty old now, but everyone knows it, right? I probably heard this first in Digimon: The Movie (Oh yeah!), but didn't get it until... well, it wasn't long after I started my interest in music.

5. Good Charlotte - I Just Wanna Live: Out of my top ten, this is the latest one; I got this 9 months after my music interests began. I most clearly remember this because of two reasons: a) I was playing Battlefield 2142 at the time and thought about making a cool music video to it; and b) this was (maybe) the first song I actually decided to take to memory. Out of the 10 songs on this list, it's one of the few I'm sure to remember all the lyrics for.

6. Beck - E-Pro: It was extremely popular in 2005 and then later on in 2008 (2007?) when Rock Band 2 came out. I got it off the Grammy award winning songs album of 2006, and it's really nostalgic to listen to. Also, the music video is crazy.

7. Brandtson - Here We Go: As far as I can tell, this song has no reference on the internet besides lyrics and one video of a live concert in Germany I can't even load. I got it at the same time as Earthquakes and Sharks, and yet that one has more plays.

The Caesars - Jerk It Out: This one is also very famous for its constant use in commercials and video games. It's not really one of my favorites, though. I think it just came up often in my music list.

8. Weird Al Yankovic - I Think I'm a Clone Now: The second song I ever got. It was because I had watched a flash video using the song, with the same "Clone Wars" premise. I tired of it soon afterwards, but it's an okay listen.

9. Panic at the Disco! - Time to Dance (Album) / Panic at the Disco! - Time to Dance (Demo): It was extremely difficult to find the album version of this on YouTube, so I brought along the often picked demo version. This is also because I used to listen to the demo until I got the real one and realized it sounded different. In the end, I got rid of the demo... but if you combined the play count, this one easily surges to number one or two on the list. It was addicting. I have to say though, I like the demo better.

And since I was missing one...

Bowling for Soup - High School Never Ends: A song that is true to the core. I may still be in high school, but I don't doubt the trends of humanity and the cliques that form until the end of time.

A good ten (eleven) songs of nostalgia, truth, humor, and emo tendencies. Ain't life just grand?

Mirror out.

"This one goes out to the boys and the girls
You know, who just don't feel like they fit into this world
Here we go!
This one is for all the lonely souls
That know that everything is spinning out of control.
And it goes a little something like this,
As simple as it is,
You just gotta say 'Hey, na na.'" - Brandtson, Here We Go

Webcomic Watch: 9th Elsewhere

2010-03-23T21:08:00.000-07:00

Whoo! Once again it is Tuesday, and we go over what is probably my most popular and informative (eh....) section: Webcomic Watch! Today I'll be going over another one of Mirror's Classics (as I now call them), back to a time where I used to devoutly follow these small updated pictures that provided me such humor. So here is an oldie: 9th Elsewhere.

9th Elsewhere

Once again, a word of warning: I have not read any of these comics in a long time, and it's really hard to describe the ones with storylines because I don't remember most of the story. Alright, let's take a crack at this with some help from the comic itself and my faltering memory. Let's see... the comic began back in 2002, and focuses around a girl named Carmen. She is apparently moody and bipolar. Something happens, and a muse named Eiji comes to take her to a magical land. A land where she will hopefully be inspired by wondrous things! This plan ultimately backfires due to a bunch of things such as Carmen being a hopeless downer and Eiji or whatever not being an official muse. Then she gets a new muse, there's a bunch of drama, and the comic stalls in 2008 with no conclusion or word of haitus.

But I don't know. I don't think I actually missed anything for this one, I just don't remember most of it. Read it anyway. It might inspire you.

Mirror out.

“The most potent muse of all is our own inner child.” - Stephen Nachmanovitch

Dinosaur Debates: Continuing Conversations, Pt. 12 (#451-500)

2010-03-21T21:55:00.000-07:00

Text starts here.

Comic #451: Ah, plastic bags. Mankind's greatest invention that will outlive all of us.

Comic #452: My life is like this every day.

Comic #453: I hate nostalgia. It makes me wish for better days.

Comic #454: Wouldn't it have been some much simpler if the Donner party was rescued two days in?

Comic #455: His attempt to stop the word blog was a terrible failure.

Comic #456: T-Rex was a good dinosaur. He remembered that we can be sexy.

Comic #457: Welcome to Canada, where MILK COMES IN BAGS!

Comic #458: Great. Now I'm going to be wrongly prescribed next time I see a doctor that actually checks my pulse. "I am an agent of CHAOS!"

Comic #459: I thought chicks dug guys who threw their food away.

Comic #460: Being an elitist snob doesn't make you too cool for school. In fact, it makes you pretty lame.

Comic #461: I always eat too much bread. Damn you, restaurants! Why you would cook food for full people, I don't know.

Comic #462: Pretty Fly for a Rabbi is where it's at.

Comic #463: So does he break the fourth wall in real life? Woah.

Comic #464: Thermodynamics are INSANE!

Comic #465: The devil is a pretty cool guy. eh counters god and doesn't not own everything

Comic #466: Real friends criticize your rhyming poetry!

Comic #467: My life is a whispered apology.

Comic #468: For some reason, I found the fourth panel hilarious after reading the whole comic first. "We'll all be dead soon!"

Comic #469: Purely psychosomatic.

Comic #470: Fascism made some successful nations, you know. They worked until they decided to take over everything.

Comic #471: "I AGREE!" I love his little catchphrase now.

Comic #472: Thanks for the advice, devil of T-Rex's brain! I'll remember that one for later.

Comic #473: Have you ever witnessed a female pillow fight?

Comic #474: Once again, immortality proves a bad decision.

Comic #475: Need to learn French. SO BAD

Comic #476: I always put the seat down my friend. Also, airline food? Yeah.

Comic #477: God sure is talking a lot lately.

Comic #478: Spring break: da bomb!

Comic #479: The liar reveals himself! Is this really new?

Comic #480: I like how he says "Today I believe in..." It really shows the fact that T-Rex just sorta changes his opinion every day.

Comic #481: Man, that sure is a jerky thing to do.

Comic #482: I am truly resisting the urge to post a bad joke right now.

Comic #483: Man, he really understands the motorcycle enthusiast.

Comic #484: EVERYONE YOU KNOW WILL ONE DAY BE DEAD. YOUR WHOLE FAMILY IS MADE OF MEAT.

Comic #485: Who is Allene and when did she become important?

Comic #486: Woah, Questionable Content guest strip. Looks like it's moving up in the Webcomic Watch roster.

Comic #487: Goddamn ninjas.

Comic #488: Holy shit! Suddenly half the comics make more sense! Or less sense.

Comic #489: Watch out for Space Rex guys. He changes the comic!

Comic #490: That wasn't half bad dialog wise.

Comic #491: The last time they became humans, a cat was kicked. Now a root beer is spilled. Oh, the inhumanity!

Comic #492: Raccoons will take over the world, my friend! Just you wait!

Comic #493: Man, he really hates cuttlefish. I still remember the cuttlefish IMAX thing I watched.

Comic #494: OH GOD THEY'RE ALL OVER ME
PREHENSILE TENTACLES AND SMALL TEETH EVERRYWWWHEEEREEE

Comic #495: I've been documenting this comic for a while now. It hasn't gotten any less confusing.

Comic #496: Being sad on the inside is depressing. So you put on a fun exterior until the time comes where you snap and murder some people. Oh man!

Comic #497: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: HEROES IN A HALF SHELL!
TURTLE POWER!

Comic #498: Meh, I ran out of time to play MMORPGS.

Comic #499: Hehe, email verification. As if THAT will ever catch on.

Comic #500: That's actually pretty freaky.

Text ends here.

Mirror out.

"COME BLEED WITH US, T-REX" - Raccoons and Cephalopods, Dinosaur Comics

School Springtime: Dracula Arises

2010-03-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

So I just watched my school play a couple of hours ago, and I'm dead tired by now. So I'm just going to jot down notes and flesh it out when I don't feel like falling asleep. If you have any problems with this, fuck off.

Story

- Dracula torturess some guy in Translyvania

- Then he comes to London, eats some chick

- Renfield, crazy guy

- Some holy doctor (Van Helsing) and another doctor (first guy?), plus asylum head

- Uhm... girl becomes vamp

- Another girl reads journal of first guy with Helsing

- First girl killed

- Second one bitten... crazy guy dead

- Kill Dracula, happy times

Actors

- Pretty good

- Girls were very... seductive, to be nice about it

- Steven was awesome... so was Khoa

- Vamp did not get enough good lines imo

- Side characters were dull, but they usually only had 2-10 lines

- Doctor was loud, asylum head eh

Music

- Good music

- Piano/organ stuff

- Some classic Dracula feeling stuff definitely good

- Own compositions?

- At one point, a choir sounded too modern

Sound/Stage Effects

- Sound effects sort of... bad

- Fog and strobe lights

- Strobe lights seemed unnecessary at some points; just darkness would have be cool

- One door slam was epic; another was terrible

- Backdrops were dull due to repetition, but multi action stage use was nice

Pacing/Lines, Audience

- Maybe 3 or 4 line mishaps; second day play

- Second half was somewhat rushed

- Murder scenes were too quick, agony and pain not well shown in any scene

- Audience was stupid and didn't seem capable of distinguishing dramatic flair and insanity... from humorous comedic effect. More likely do to parody influence and long term play

Yep, that's my review. Nice, huh? I might flesh it out tomorrow or Sunday. Don't get your hopes up.

Mirror out.

"The play was a great success, but the audience was a disaster." - Oscar Wilde

Complicated Culture: Internet Anonymity

2010-03-19T23:08:00.000-07:00

Quite a late update for any of you that actually read my blog, but I was watching a school play. If anyone wants to know more about that, it'll take half an hour. Before I move on though, I'd like to talk about the effects of anonymity on the internet. To tell the truth, I don't feel like writing this, but I try to adhere to a schedule as often as possible.

So, the internet. First, it was for military use. Then the public got it. Most of this public were middle aged computer nerds (I am assuming), who thought that this was a great way to share files. Soon, more people got access, but it still was not a big thing yet. If you watch TV shows and movies filmed during or before the early 1990s, the "Internet" wasn't a big thing. Then it was unleashed unto the masses... and changed into something never seen before.

In the first 5 years, people tested. They tried to see what would happen and what could happen. By 2000, there were many trying to cash in on the web boom, which would later drop drastically later on. Some sites such as Yahoo and Google live on today, still providing old and new services known by many worldwide. But it wasn't until 2004 that things really hit it big.

A growing youth had been increasingly drawn towards the home computer, a field many praised and used often. It comes to no surprise that this youth would been more drawn in, especially in the prospects of things adults didn't enjoy as much, such as games and social networking. Soon, things like Neopets, Runescape, and Myspace were big. Google rose sharply in the search engine competition, MMORPGs continued to grow in fun factor and technology (2004-2005: Releases of World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Maple Story in North America) and would last to the present day. Small sites such as Wikipedia and 4chan would gain immense popularity. Video sharing sites like Youtube were not far ahead. The years of 2004-2006 made huge advances in what the Internet could provide for us.

2007 and 2008 onward were changing times. Over a decade since the Internet became popular, companies began redesigning their products and websites.With new art movements, especially in the "modern" style, software had to come with it. And so the Internet 2.0 design plan came out: the shiny pictures and the rounded corners. Websites such as Facebook and Twitter showed the adoption of this new design combined with a place in the social network. Large companies like Google began buying out many sites to further their massive empire... like Blogger. But I'm getting way off topic. I'm here to talk about the effects of the Internet and being anonymous.

Early on, many users tended to put their real information online. This stopped when smart bastards realized they could steal things extremely easily. Security also tightened due to potential pedophiles. But internet anonymity was tough to stop. Kids pretended they were adults, adults pretended they were kids, and soon paranoia was commonplace. With the introduction of simple social networking, this paranoia loosened up.

Nowadays, we rely on websites to protect us from crazy serial killers.

I just figured out that I basically outlined the Internet, and avoided the actual topic. Hmm... expect a part 2 on Sunday?

Mirror out.

"I’m on fire and now I think I'm ready to bust a move
Check it out I’m rocking steady
To the beat in my head
It goes oh, oh-oh-oh
I know that she’s the only one
I’d rather waste my time with her" - Motion City Soundtrack, The Future Freaks Me Out

Placid Placeholders: Friday

2010-03-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, you know what this is. Get ready for a special update... tomorrow! Who says I can't take a break every now and then? I'm not getting paid for this, and I update more often than most people I know. So while I be lazy on Thursday, let's see what's in store for you... tomorrow!

Not today!

- A feature on the school play, "Dracula"
- A topic covering the effects of anonymity on the Internet
- My Top 10 Most Played Songs
- Maybe cats

While I'm at it, do you like zombies? Do you like role-playing (the nerdy type)? Do you like typing? If you said no to any one of these, leave now. If not, then join the WIP forum Global Crisis. It has all of these. This ad is mainly aimed towards people I know in real life.

Have fun not reading my blog!

Mirror out.

"Racy days
help me through the hopeless haze
But my oh my
Tragic eyes
I can't even recognize myself
behind" - The Killers, Change Your Mind

Vivid Videos: War of the Servers

2010-03-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

An epic of classic proportions. Really interesting if you've ever played Garry's Mod. A parody of War of the Worlds. Really long. Totally worth it. Check out other Lit Fuse Film productions, too.

Mirror out.

"Organized slaughter, we realize, does not settle a dispute; it merely silences an argument." - James Frederick Green

Webcomic Watch: VG Cats

2010-03-16T19:57:00.000-07:00

Before I unleashed some of the more risqué webcomics I read, let's start with something a little more simple. Something that was released to the world several years ago, and now posts with irregularity. Something that needs no introduction: VG Cats!

VG Cats

I am under the fallible impression that everyone knows what VG Cats is. If you don't... seriously? VG Cats is one of the most famous webcomics to grace the internet. It is about two cats that play video games! If you could not tell this from the title, I pity you. Often, it is satirizing or parodying different facets of well-known games. In the earlier days, there were also random comics about side characters. All of this stopped happening when the author decided to draw comics with no schedule. As everyone knows, if you don't have a schedule, you are 5x less likely to do something! According to my bookmarks, it used to be every Monday. He posts like one comic every few months now. Some of the earlier ones were pretty good, however. Because this is a webcomic with no linear progression, there is not much to say about it. It is random and funny. And short. Read it!

For my next issue, I'm tied between Misfile and 9th Elsewhere, but don't look them up because that'll spoil it all. Also debating whether to write a Thursday issue of this stuff because I love writing them.

Mirror out.

"Oh good. Shit in a box." - Gordon Freeman, VG Cats