And so 2007 comes to a close! How exciting that 8 years ago we all thought the world was going to end, planes would fall out of the sky and Stewie would become an octopus :/ I think my parents still have their emergency YK2 kit, gathering dust in the basement. I hope everyone still has theirs, or some sort of 'end of world' emergence kit of canned foods, can opener, tiny grill and shot gun. After all, zombies could happen any day now. EXPECT IT ALWAYS.
ALWAYS.

I attend no parties tonight. To be fair, New Years was generally 'rent a movie, stay up to midnight and then crash because none of us are late-night people' night at my family. Once again I fondly remember the eve of 1999 where we watched The Matrix and upon seeing the 'suck the bug from Neo's stomach' scene I fainted. (I was 13 at the time and very fragile) And it took me two years to even think of watching that movie again. I still close my eyes at that scene. Stomach wounds D:
Anyway, it's only recently that NY's stopped being a time of lame parties and instead inebriated giggle-fests of poker and nakedness. And since I am miles upon miles away from all of my closest friends, I'll instead be spending it with Kenobi, the rat brats, a delicious batch of brownies, hot cocoa and American Psycho. I'm sure to sleep well tonight.

So for all of you, wherever you may be this night, ring in the New Year safely and with excitement! Here's to 2008, a year of promise, excitement and great fucking movies.
Also a year of when I don't know when I'll get a job next, no TV due to a writer's strike, listening to Ron Paul '08! for fifty billion more times a day until Novemeber and sordid weather conditions thanks to Al Gore. But let us focus on the good, now shall we? YAY BATMAN.

And finally, the last of the linkspam for 2007.
Mysterious container found on beach
Girl won Hannah Montanna tickets with fake essay
Apple's earbuds don't suck that much
The cloud factory
The Evolution of Mario
Rowling hints at eight Harry Potter book
Asteroid headed too close for comfort
Sex with Robots not far off
In review, what's happened in New York since 2000
The top ten most laughably misleading ads
7 technologies that'll save Earth in 2008

Does it ever stop snowing here! D: I love snow as much as the next person who loves snow, but seriously, I need food! It was just consistent snow yesterday except for a little lull, which I used to managed to get outside and to the grocery store for essentials to restock the kitchen and then I was going to do the second round today but nooooo. About an hour after I wake up it's a total whiteout outside. And then when I think everything cleared up and it's cool to go outside and get food, I realize it's raining. MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND, WEATHER.
Otherwise the back still hurts but is clearing up. I'm now considering getting a Zip.ca account (the Canadian netflix) just so I can beef up my video collection and have many things to watch while I'm working. Could be good, would keep me less bored. I WAS planning on cooking to stay entertained but it doesn't look like that's going to happen what the hell.

And since it was requested:
RETURN OF THE LINKSPAM
Yep, since I now have all the time in the world on my hands, what better way to spend it than to write down all the weird and awesome shit I find and share it? I considered waiting until the new year, just to make the timing shiny, but ah what the hell. Live in the moment.
With that said, holy hell is it teeny!

New Cloverfield TV spots
9 amazing laser-etched laptops
Recycle your Christmas tree
City of Snow people Or, Mr Freeze strikes again! /nerd
Santa brings a mp3 player full of porn to a 10 year old girl
Top 6 worst food trends in 2007
How to not interview John Cusak

Aaahhh, it's so nice to sit back in my chair at my computer, while the cold seeps through my windows and the cat gnaws on my foot.
Home sweet home, that is.
Today was mostly 'adujustment day'. I spent most of it cleaning, putting all my new gifts away, restocking the fridge and sweeping and dusting and the like, to keep the place spic and span. Tried playing guitar, Guitar Hero or drawing and found all three impossible because the task of dragging my suitcase and guitar uphill last night pretty much killed all of my upper back and shoulder muscles. I am a stiff, sore wretch today.
Hopefully tomorrow, once I feel less exhausted and more awesome, I'll be able to sort out the online mess that is my friendslist of the past week, make sure all the Batmovie (and other movie) news is kept updated and then work on being unemployed. I need to set goals for myself in order to not go crazy.
I'm going to try to (re)learn guitar
I'm going to try to get awesomer at drawing.
I'm going to try to finish my short that I had planned for third year.
I have a week and a half of pretty much solitude, as all my friends are still off with their families in their hometowns which are not here. So until then I need a real buckling down to makesure I don't wake up everyday to flitter about and then go back to bad. That's just uncool.
So, while the New Year is still four days away, here's to the planning for the month of Januray! May I be able to keep a hold of myself.

So did everyone have a great and happy holiday? I sure know I did! While there's still New Years Eve to get over with, I'm all vacationed and Xmas'd out and can't wait until tomorrow when I can go back home. And hopefully it'll be good weather and no delays this time.
But it's been a great little visit. Eaten so much goodies and hearty Xmas meals, being broke next month won't be any problem at all. Got to see all the Mercury gang, spend some time with the kids, hang out with Steph and see my old cat Tama again. Plus, you know, the family. Today I might even get to see my friend Tori, although I won't hold my breath. Driving into the city on Boxing Day might not be the best of ideas anyway, if last year was any sign. Instead I'm going to spend the day surfing the Amazon or other websites and see what deals I can pick out. While this Xmas was a little sparse, mostly clothes and knickknacks though I did get JLU season 1 which is kickass, there's not that much I really want/can afford so I'm just going to pass the time with it.
So a merry rest-of-the-holidays to y'all! I'm going to enjoy my last day here and then begin the updates anew on Friday, when I'm all settled back home.

OMG I just saw the new Hellboy trailer and Johan is in this movie! I hadn't been paying attention before but OMGYAY.

And so the seeing of one group of friends is near over. Had a nice lunch visit on Wednesday with the Mercury crew, and we spoke of the things that have changed since I left, and the news of the future, plus Batman, Cloverfield and other such things. It was great being able to see everybody again and the studio which feels so corporate after working in Collideascope for so long. I was planning on going out to dinner with some friends that night, but the snow got too bad and I had to cancel. But at least I had the lunch, and next time I come visit it'll be in the snowless seasons and for much longer so there's no window of only a day.
Then yesterday I went out for a bit of shopping and then had a quiet night of food and gifts with The Kids (which, yes, I'm still calling you guys. I can't remember where it started but dammit, now it's stuck) Tom got me this adorable pillow and Jayme got me a little Treeson keychain, which I'm totally going to use for work, and the little Tokidoki Adios and CiaoCiao reaper figures. More delicious decoration for work! Overall it was a nice night and great to talk to them face to face again. I do miss you guys. :)
So today I'm going to see Sweeny Todd with mah sister! Hopefully it'll be good.

Totally off topic note: There's a commercial just on that had Ranjit the cab driver from How I Met Your Mother episode 1 in it. I LOL'd

Well, I'm in Ottawa now! I'll be living with the folks from here until next Thursday, so sparse internet usage. Thankfully the online buzz has dimmed down for the holidays and I can feel fine taking my well earned rest.
So flying is awesome, waiting not so much. My flight got delayed by two hours, so it was waiting, waiting, waiting. Stupid weather. But finally boarded, got to experience the speedy rush of takeoff and watched Transformers.
The snow here! Jeeze, it's all the way up to my waist. Crazy town! Time for some snowforts, methinks.

IT'S HERE AND IT'S AWESOME AND LEDGER OMG

Y'know, I was talking with a friend today about how much of an ubernerd I am, and I realized that 90% of my posts this month have been very Bat-centric.
...
Well, at least it's not Neopets or something, right?

Holy whiteout! It's snowing so hard I can barely see outside! It's insane, just a big wall of white. To be honest, I'm a little worried.
Almost all packed, almost all set for tomorrow's adventure. Just got a little bit left to do, and then it's off to work to drop off the key and finish any small revisions I have, and then off to the airport! I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I've never flown before, so that should be a treat! At least the weather is supposed to calm down by then, so I shouldn't have any problems at all. Woooo!

In other news, the newest Batman trailer is supposed to come online today, but it's nowhere in sight. I've been avoidingw atching the bootlegged trailer, because I want to watch the original for the first time in HD. My resolve is weakening though. If there's nothing by tonight, I'm just going to watch the bootleg. D:

I have seen it and it is glorious.
Went to the I Am Legend IMAX showing at 9:30. It quickly filled up, but we got there near an hour early, so it wasn't too bad. Managed to pass the time by talking with a friend about the marketing for the movie and he waxed poetical about the trailer which I still haven't seen yet! I am patiently, oh so patiently, waiting for the full, HD version to come online so I can enjoy it to it's fullest. Then the IMAX show starts and trailers begin.
First they play Spiderwick Chronicles. I get a little worried, and confused, since I don't think there's anyone under 20 here and why the hell would there be.
Then another trailer starts (I honestly can't remember what for) and I get nervous. What the hell, is this a repeat of Simpsons Movie where I go in excpecting Batawesome and get disappointment?
BUT NO. After the second trailer a blue smoke fills the screen. Logos WB, Legendary Pictures and then DC Comics. I make little squeaky noises.
Now, before anything else, HOT DAMN. I have only seen two IMAX movies previous to this. 300 in March and an ancient Egyptian documentary way back in 1998. YES THAT LONG. And while I remember the Egypt one being stellar, as it was clearly shot for IMAX, 300 was essentially just shown on a big screen. But these first six minutes were shot FOR IMAX and the opening shot is GLORIOUS. I Am Legend seemed so grainy afterwards.
I'm not going to spoil the prologue, not even under a cut. It's not something I can just tell, it's something I wanna discuss. Joker's in it very little, but his mind is all over the place and that makes it great. Acording to my friend Joel the trailer is much better because they show all these different scenes of Joker all over the place and freaky as hell, but I really liked the prologue for Joker being smart. I don't want a laughing maniac, give me a chuckling genius any day.
And Heath PLAYS it, let me tell you. That one last shred of doubt I had? GONE.

And on the subject of I Am Legend: holy movie promises, WB. Within the first few scenes I saw a giant poster for Legally Blonde The Musical and giggled. Then I started seeing posters for movies that ain't out yet or haven't been offically announced, even though they're to come out in 2009. Wonder Woman was one, though the woman's face was obscurred all the time. There was also Green Lantern. A Teen Titans (live action) poster that was colourful beyond belief. A Fred Claus 2. Yes. But the worst of the worst was one scene on the street that widened into a longer shot and big, bold and beautiful was a gigantic poster for SUPERMAN/BATMAN. The giant Batsymbol with the Superman 'S' in the center. I little choked on the water I was unfortunatly drinking at the time and went 'THE FUCK?'
Please, please, please for all that is holy, don't let that be a promise. Ever. Unless it's Superman VS Batman and Bats wins. Actually, don't even do that. If that is our future, I look forward to the sweet, sweet incoming death.
I Am Legend wasn't bad, by the. Much less jump scenes than I thought and Will Smith carries the movie pretty well by himself. Some of the camera work was awful, though, and they changed the ending. But otherwise I give it a 7.
The prologue was better though.
I don't know if I can wait for the trailer, though


ETA: Forgot to add the final highlight of the night. As we left the theatre, just near the parking lot a teenage girl had a box of balls, the kind from ball pits. And she was, rather poorly, throwing them from the box all over the place. We actually stopped and started at her it was so bizarre. She wasn't laughing enough to be drunk/high and she wasn't angry (or old) enough to be punishing a kid. In fact, she was pretty expressionless. After she emptied the box, she threw that too and then walked back into the theater. I grabbed a ball for the memories.

Oh shit Thursdays!
Three more days, THREE until I head back to my place of origin to meet with friends, visit many a gettogether and have many happy times! Recieved presents and head back home to a month of unemployment!
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Tomorrow is the last day of work. Point final. I finish the scenes I have left (which is the oh-so-not-very hard work of tweening) and then enjoy what hopefulyl few revisions I have to do. Then it's a Beer and Pizza Last Hurrah, where everyone who's left enjoys greatly in intoxicating and fattening food and drink. Stupendous!
Then after B&P is the main event, that which I've been waiting for since the summer, that most important event in December, screw you Christmas, I Am Legend on IMAX. Will Smith yeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssss.
But really, we're going to go and see the Batman prologue which is apparently kick ass. I'm not sure how kick ass, since I've been avoiding most everything Batman until I can see this prologue and not be spoilered, but I've been told that ass is kicked and it is glorious.
I've also been watching Freakazoid! online while doing my work. Man, is that show even dated. All of the Speilberg WB cartoons, really. Way too many 'current celebreties' and such. No wonder I never got half of the jokes, I still don't understand some of the references. In another ten years my generation will still wax poetical about Freazoid, find an episode, watch it with the kids and, when the kids ask why it's funny, say 'No idea. Just remember that it was.'
Also, there's an episode where Freakazoid goes back in time to Pearl Harbor and stops the bombings, thus preventing WW2. This is the exact wording and it is never corrected or used in any wording or voice to make it sound like satire. The entire episode carries on like this is truth. I know Pearl Harbor is what brought American into WW2 but the war had been going on, like, 3 whole years by then. WHAT THE HELL, 90's TELEVISON.

SNOW!
It's been snow covered since the snowfall last week, but what a surprise to wake up today to another two or so inches of powdery, fluffy white flakes? This is going to be the best last day of work ever.
That is all. I'm just that excited about it.

It's 11pm on a Saturday night!
I'm doing my laundry and I'm feeling alright!
I spent ALL DAY today cleaning. It was pretty invigorating. Scrubbed down the the kitchen, the 'living room' and computer desk area, plus the rattie cage and did half the laundry, because I have a lot of fucking clothes and laundry takes forever so I only managed half. Stocked up on the little food I'll need for the next week and then relaxed and watched some movies. Totally awesome.
Checked up on the cat kennel and it's predictably full. Not that I would've used it anyway, it;s over 200 to board for 10 days. I'm still hoping that I'll get a response to the ad I put up in the laundry room, but if not it's giant bowls of food and water and hoping she don't die. She shouldn't. If a plump wild cat and survive ten days with no food or water and a jar on it's head, a healthy cat should be able to survive ten days with food, water and litter. And maybe the TV on to keep her company.
Man, I can't believe it's one week until I'm in Ottawa! That's crazy! I'm don't know what I'm waiting for most this weekend: seeing the Dark Knight prologue or taking my first flight ever omg on Monday.
Yeah, I'm probably more excited for the Dark Knight XD

Oh Thursday. Yesterday was long and boring and stressful and really took too much out of me. I had one scene to do and couldn't actually do anything with it because I was missing a background and some elements. So after waiting and waiting for that, I get the goods and hand them in and wait for a revision. And wait and wait. I get a revision, fix it and hand it in and wait some more and wait and wait. I spent my entire work day yesterday working on a Christmas pictures (hey, at least I got something done) while waiting for approval on a 1 second scene that I was only bothering with because it was due that day. If I had had the background from the start I could've handed it Tuesday and taken all of yesterday off.
So I went home last night, played some GH fiddled online for a bit and then went to bed early. 'Twas poopy.
BUT TODAY. Today I felt even WORSE and at the same time better. I gelt drained of energy and sore and headachy but once I started walking to work it was all 'zippeedeedoodah' and then halfway through work it was BLARGH and then once I got home it was all snowflakes and rainbows again. Weird weird weird. But I'm catching up on Pushing Daisies and listening to Christmas music and I'm feeling better.
Still haven't found a sitter for Kenobi though, and that's starting to worry me. I'm going to ask my landlords tomorrow and if they're a no go then the kennel on Saturday and if THAT'S a no go it's panic in the streets. I have one week before I go and the last thing I want to do is leave her and hope for the best. I put an ad up in the laundry room, but haven't recived word from anyone yet. Worrisome worrisome. I with I knew more people who actually lived in Halifax. Everyone's from other places and have gone there. It sucks.

http://www.whysoserious.com/steprightup/register.aspx

I have screamed. I have litterally put my face into a pillow and screamed.

ETA: I'm feeling better now. I guess it's only a week of select few that I have to avoid the preview from. Also: poster! I like it. I love simple posters.

It's snowing! Our first big snow of the season. Started about 11 and was well on it's way while I walk to lunch, with BIG HUGE fluffy snowflakes. I doodled the Stitch at work. It seemed relevant.
I love winter. Winter is my favorite time of year, regardless of the cold and short days. Nothing compares to the first real snowfall of the year, and walking home across the park to a white landscape with the big fluffy flakes falling down, you could tell me my mother was dead and I'd still be gleeful. I may have skipped a little and I definetly whistled on the way home. I love the sound and feel of snow underfoot, the way it looks on trees, the cold you get in the tips of your fingers, the way you warm up once you get inside. Forget Christmas, just winter is awesome.
So after a fairly regular day at work, I'm now sitting at home in a comfy sweater, with hot cocoa and marshmellows with Christmas music playing and gingerbread scented oils going while the cat snuggles on my lap and it's all white outside. This week is going to be good, I can tell.
The Joker Viral's slowed down this weekend. After a little mafia side-story with cops and a stakeout, we're now all waiting for the next big thing, which will hopefully happen tonight, but might not happen until Friday. With the trailer premering in theaters in a few weeks it's unliking that's what we'll get as the reward, so now I'm hoping poster.
I've been really wanting to play Portal again, but I've not the money to get Orange Box right now, so I'm trying to keep myself happy with Guitar Hero 2. Haven't touched Halo in a while, so I should try getting on there before I get too rusty and start to suck way too much.
The rats are still being shy. People keep posting in ratties about theirs playing and running around and being visible in the cage and everything and I'm sitting here all :( The most I'm getting is noses poking out, but I'm starting to think they'll never be good pet rats. The onlyl way I know they're not dead is I can hear them drinking every once in a while. Stupid rats.

I love it when the first staying snow of the year is on the first of Decemeber.
The Joker viral's coming to a head. In the next few days we should be getting 'our final task' which will hopefully lead to a prize, like a trailer. Oh man do I hope for a trailer. But, really, if we don't get anything at the end of the game I'll still be happy. This is an awesome way to keep the interest going while we all wait around for the movie. And all the recent pics released are still awesome and enough for me. I can wait until the proglue release, even if there's gong to be no trailer before hand.
The prologue I'm iffy on. I don't want to see I Am Legend, it's not my kinda movie and all reviews so far say it sucks. But I don't want to spend 15bucks to see 7 minutes on footage on IMAX, but I also don't want to download a crappy cam version. I'd prefer to not watch it alltogether and just see it when the film opens in July, as the prologue's just the first few minutes of the movie, but there's no way I'm going to be able to avoid spoilers for that long of time. Just no way.
But there's still days until it's released, so I'm going to wait anyway.
IT's been bright and sunny this weekend, with exceptions to spots of snow. I went on a walk yesterday and the weather changed at least five times from bright and sunny and clear skies to overcast, grey and blowing snow. Totally bizzare, but now there's a nice white layer over the ground and I'm giddy. Today's been all sunshine and I'm happily spending it with cocoa and movies and kitty cat. The house is clean, I'm doing well with work, everything's hunky. And I just downloaded about 10 days of Christmas music.
Life is good.

Oh damn, I knew this was going to be a bad day when I woke up at 5am to the scratching and scrabbling of baby rats gone free. So I get up, do the usual ritual of preparing the cage to get them to run back in and the collapse into bed. Through this I notice that it is pouring rain outside. Awesome.
Wake up again at 7:30, rats are back in the cage and it's still pouring rain. As with every rainy day, I wake up to feel crappy. I bum around my usual morning chores only to halfway decide fuckit and take a nap for another few hours.
Try to do work at home, but find I don't have the sound for the dialogue in the scene, which also means that I can't put in some acting that's dependent on voice cues. Give up and watch Buffy.
Rain lets up but it's 3pm by now, no point in going to work. I decide to head to Canadian Tire and pick up some chicken wire for the rat cage to stop these break outs. It's a half-hour wait for the chicken wire before I realize that it's sharp pokey metal and the holes are too big. I feel bad, though, and decided to try it anyway. Also pick up the new Futurama DVD. Have yet to watch it, as I want it to be the last thing I see.
Try to wire-up the cage. Fail specacularly due to not having proper equipment. Flail online and come to conclusion that if twistties don't fix this problem, I'm going to have to get rid of the babies.
Sad feelings. Also, house is a mess again even though I just cleaned it yesterday.
On bright side, I have new furniture thanks to Morgan and Trevor moving, including a vacuum and drawers for artside. Plus new Joker Viral going down that everyone's in the passionate theros of solving.
Also, new Futurama.
AGH TUESDAYS HATE

So, really, I'm horrible at trying to work on the weekend.
I brought some scenes home, figuring I'll work on them sometime in the free hours I have Sat/Sun. But what do I do instead? Watch the Buffy DVDs I got with my birthday money instead. I've watched nearly the entire fourth season now, though I have managed to clean up while doing so. Man, I love this show.
And I now have new furniture, thanks to Morgan and Trevor and their moving out!
Unfortunatly, it looks like they're going to get a bigger UHaul and the furniture they were leaving behind (namely the giant aquariam/terrarium they use for their geckos) they'll be taking with. I was going to grab that tank and use it for the baby rats, so I can stop worrying about spending an hour a day locating them after their little escapedes and putting them back in the cage. But alas! Not to be. So right now there's a giant maze of connected boxes and the like in the cage, all squished together with pressure and science, with little holes throughout for the babies to run through and get their food/excercise. It's fairly fool proof, since I've worked that thing until it's impossible for little ratty pressue to break out. Tomorrow I'm gonna buy wire mesh and wire the whole thing up so that if they do break free of the maze, they can't escape the cage. And then slowly break down the maze until there's more open space and they can start feeling safe with me. PLANS!
It's only 7, I could still do my work if I really wanted to. But that special awesome part of my brain says that it's better to just sit tight and have fun and work super awesome hard tomorrow, because finishing Buffy is a better plan. You know special awesome part of my brain? YOU'RE RIGHT.

Firstly, I just got back from Enchanted, the new Disney movie that's part animated and mostly live action. It's spectacular!
Firstly, this is clearly a Disney movie, musical numbers, cute animals, happy endings ect. But regardless of being usual family movie fare, it's a great treat for anyone in the nineties generation (meaning born in the eighties and kids in the nineties; I have no idea how to label these things) who grew up with the Disney films. From the very first scene it's a callback to the original classics and there's lots of references from subtle to tongue-in-cheek. I don't want to spoil anything, but one scene is shot for shot referenced from one of the Disney greats.
Animation wise, it was stellar. There was less of it than I would've liked, but considering how much there was and how much time they would've had to work on it, it came out great. Not only was the animation smooth and fluid but the detail was incredible. Every character had soft subtle shading and the dresses Giselle wore were frilled and ruffled and flowy. And the designs, while still Disney-esque, were nicely updated to a clean, more angular look. The only thing that was bad was the dragon. And that was cringeworthy. The design was awkward and for some reason was given a horse-like mouth instead of a crocodillian one, making the lipsync look awful and the dragon much less threatening.
I still loved the movie though. Great callbacks, cute musical numbers, everything I love in a Disney movie. Recomended for any Disney fan!

My birthday was equally stellar last night. No big parties or to-dos, just some friends over for burgers and snacks and we played some Orange Box. I finished Portal and had cake. It was the best day ever. Yay 21!