From an exchange over MSN the other night, a game with endless replay value and destined to be fun for all the family:
X: # Vintage tournaments (see Rule 801) have restricted this card since 1999/04/01.
# Legacy tournaments (see Rule 802) have banned this card since 1999/04/01.
# Extended tournaments (see Rule 803) have banned this card since 1999/07/01.
# Standard (Type 2) tournaments (see Rule 804) have banned this card since 1999/04/01.
# Urza Block Constructed tournaments (see Rule 806.6) have banned this card si
X: since 1999/04/01.
Me: lol the obvious candidates r gone
X: orly?
Me: one must've slipped my mind lol
X: common
Me: i know it's full of brokenness
X: its easy!!!!
Me: lol... will?
X: uh
X: no
Me: not yawgmoth's will? hmmm...
X: nope
Me: haha monolith?
X: nope
Me: key?
X: nope
Me: am i even in the right zone?
X: not at all
X: do you want a hint?
X: its a sorcery
Me: hmm
X: it has some moons in the picture
X: and lightning
X: at least i think its lightning
Me: lol
Me: damn i was gonna go for windfall
X: lol
Me: begin again...
X: thats broken
Me: it's all broken
Me: it's saga
X: you get 1 point
X: cause its pretty broken too
Me: hehehe
X: but common
X: theres 1 more sorcery
X: the one that rules them all
Me: tinker?
X: nah
X: another point
Me: lol
X: for another broken card
Me: getting there...
Me: time spiral?
X: correct!
Me: lol
X: here that sound?
X: its the sound of the game snapping in half
*SNAP*
In a completely unrelated incident, Rickrolling took another step to outstaying its welcome (if it hasn't already) when someone synced words from speeches by presidential hopeful Barack Obama with the now famous song. It does get tired real quick but it's kinda fun the first time you watch it.
Why is Ellen DeGeneres always dancing on that show of hers?
Just a quick one for today that I might actually deliver upon. Today was 'Sorry Day' and the Rudd government finally did what so many governments before them failed to bring themselves to do. Many might argue that the move is largely useless as it happened such a long time ago and we are not directly responsible for the actions of those before us. But really the move is symbolic of the present day to acknowledge the mistakes and sins of the past in order to allow everyone to move on and attempt to rectify the awful situation the Aboriginal population are in compared to the rest of the population. Saying sorry does not make it all better right away, but at least it's the first step in the right direction.
The only reason I felt compelled to write something is because of the reaction the apology got in certain quarters. Listening to Nova at work, I was led to their site (don't know how long this page will be up for... look for post 154. It summarises what's wrong with everyone there) where they had a forum going on. Reading the reaction of people there made me think there are too many bogans with access to a computer. Bigoted comments from people with a stereotypical impression of the Aboriginal community as lazy drunk dole bludgers really make me wonder if we've suddenly gone back to a less inclusive society over the course of the Howard years.
Are people that selfish that they shudder at the thought of using "our taxpayer dollars" to fund projects that improve their way of life? Someone there even cited the "upward turn on inflation" any compensation or addition funding for projects might have. Obviously nothing else matters when you're overextending your budget to pay off your mortgages, plasma TVs and private school fees. If I was a hyper aggressive person I'd tell one of these forum posters to take their next tax cut and shove it up their arse. The black man won't get your precious money as long as it's up there. Oh look, I've resorted to generalising too. Hush, while no one else is looking...
Strangely looking at the comments made on The Age, the comments are largely in favour of the apology, regardless of its merits. I'd look up the Herald Sun page but I'm afraid I have a good idea of what I'd be getting there.
If nothing else, today we should be sorry for people who think like the typical Nova listener.
The other night I had the horror of watching Four Corners (there was nothing else on and I like the left leaning bias) and witnessing the idiocy of a group of undecided swinging voters diddle doddle over who to throw their vote away to. For those who don't live in these parts, there is an election campaign between two parties whenever there is a slow news day: the Labour Party led by ear wax aficionado Kevin Rudd of the "New Left" and the incumbent Decepticons led by the evil Megatron, ahem... John Howard.
For about half an hour the reporters followed these people who would possibly have difficulty deciding between watching paint dry and subscribing to the Paint Watching Network on Foxtel (with a government rebate of course). The reporters took their voting intentions and opinions week by week as the campaign went on, and to no one's surprise the result was about break even. Some remained unimpressed by either side while others began to swing one way or another. The worst part of it all was watching some bogans on TV forming their opinions based on policies that did not exist anymore, in this case the private school hitlist as well as repeating the Liberal slogan of interest rate doom. I imagine it must be real hard to read a paper or two to try and look a little further than the propaganda (not that papers are completely free of it, but it's still better than just listening to campaign catchphrases).
With the weather here in Melbourne going out of whack every single day of the week, things really do get thrown into chaos. Crazy heatwaves followed by torrential downpours sounds like something out of an overproduced Jerry Bruckheimer film but the reality is not so far off. Luckily for us, this year being an election year we have a solution to the problem of these winds gone wild. Under a Rudd government, wind speed would be reduced by 40%, and rainfall would be increased to levels unseen since the 70s. Everyone knows rainfall has always been higher under Labour anyway, and now that Peter Garrett is on the scene he can perform some sort of rain dance to rob the heavens of that sweet sweet water.
While it may be pretty clear by now whom I intend to vote for this coming Saturday, I guess even if I thought otherwise there'd be no real point as I live in the safest Labour seat in Victoria, Batman. Did I also mention it has the coolest name? Up yours, Eden-Monaro. You can't really beat the electorate where Stately Wayne Manor is located. No one quite knows where the entrance to the Batcave is, but I'm sure there's a no go barrier painted in red and white to stop you in your tracks. Watch out for Martin Ferguson and think about why you've never seen him and Batman in the same room. Busy schedules for both involved or something more sinister? Ferguson has said that come each election someone managed to come along and draw a cowl and bat ears on his campaign poster in his office... an alert member of the public is obviously trying to tell us something here.
Hmm, one more Batman joke then. If Batman was caught street racing a bunch of teens after hours, would the Batmobile be impounded, confiscated, used as a crash test then returned to him in cuboid form as part of the anti hoon legislation? Alright, I'll level with you - I'm withholding my A-Grade material as part of the Writer's Guild strike. Even bloggers with heads filled to the brim with pickled molasses deserve residuals from online media. Even if I have to miss my favourite episodes of Letterman, it'll be worth it.
Oh, and one more thing... Costello would make an excellent Starscream. I can see him dumping Howard's body into deep space before proceeding to throw himself a kickarse coronation ceremony. That brings our obscure Transformers reference count to three... thank you, good night and may you throw away your vote wisely.
And now for the most superfluous segment to hit publication since the "Rudds v Howards" segment in The Age, which polls the electorate for indecisive people who share the names of our political leaders on who will win the upcoming election. It's a wonder why they didn't come up with this sooner... cos everyone knows people with similar names are more in touch with each other... right? Last week the Rudds and Howards were in Rudd's favour 5 - 3. With bated breath, I wonder what will happen this week. You can smell the enthusiasm from my feet a mile away. What do you say to that, Mister Rudd?
Herald Sun (of course), 13/10/07, 'Rudd tells nation to fuck off"*Anyway, I was promising a segment of sorts for all you loyal readers out there, and I shall not renege on said promise like a politician flipping the bird. It's now time for another of my random photos from the life of such and such and the weird world I view them from. Before I begin, firstly I have to ask the following question: how do you know you've become dependant on caffeine in your daily existence?
Originally I was hoping to have the cups fill up to the top of the bin, but then recycling day hit two days later so alas it was not to be. That exposes a harsh reality that us photobloggers face from time to time, do we bother doctoring the photo or not? I mean it'd definitely look funnier if it was completely full... so do I go and line the bottom with chunks of polystyrene spray painted to look like coffee cups? Do I go and steal used cups from other people so it fills up quicker? Or do I go out and get a life?
Speaking of a life, don't go about judging me about that Diet Coke in the bin. It was being given away at the station or something, plus I was performing my very own Coke test where I compared Diet Coke, Coke Zero and that weird drink from Singapore I got in a show bag at Uni open day 4 years ago (Go Sursi!). It can only get better with age, right? I find it odd how they can market two lines of product that are effectively the same thing but in different packaging. It's like one is targeted towards women who are health conscious and the other is orientated towards guys who want to drink Diet Coke but are scared their mates will accuse them of being so very in touch with their feminine side. I bet they both come out of the same pipe too...
So stop badgering me about the Diet Coke. This isn't the segment where you go and critique the contents of my workplace bin, though that post will be coming along later when I go raid the trash of the rich and famous on bin night. First stop: Mel and Kochie. They can't look that happy all the time without some sort of illicit drug or the essence of several small children before each broadcast. After all the children are our future, and then breakfast, lunch and tea.
Flinders Street Station, stairwell to Platform 8/9 (Elizabeth St End), 12/10/07At this point I may as well go and take another pot shot at the state of public transport in this city. When that new fancy timetable of theirs was put into place last month the people running the joint were so out of sync that they apparently didn't know what to do and everyone was left stranded in stationary carriages in the rail yards outside Flinders Street for minutes on end. They eventually worked things out after a week or so, but really if they can't handle a few additional trains here and there, what makes them think they'll be able to handle the new trains due to show up in the next few years? For shame. I'm Alan Jones.**
*May not be real headline. Though I did say it was from the Sun, so you would've been well within your rights to believe it was true. The Rudds and Howards out there would not have been impressed.
**May not be real name. For the record I have no interest in coaching a rugby side or cavorting about in public toilets. I will take sponsorships any day though, for I am a sellout and would like a shiny new car to avoid the public transport I so sorely deride.
In a blatant move to pander to my burgeoning audience, I took a little something known as the Political Compass Questionnaire. In other words, it will tell you if you are politically dangerously unstable and should submit one's self to a mental asylum. The test itself is not overly complex, and only takes a few minutes, but you might find yourself wasting precious minutes thinking or laughing at the odd questions presented to you. Here's a couple of questions for your consideration...
- No one chooses his or her country of birth, so it's foolish to be proud of it.
There's a tough one to start off with, as I thought it raised an interesting question. Patriotism is something that is instilled into us a lot more than it used to nowadays, and there are times when I do feel a strong love for this wide brown land of ours... But it is not necessarily true for each individual. - Our race has many superior qualities, compared with other races.
Hmm... if you put down 'Strongly Agree' on this one, make sure your cloak and pointy hood are brightly bleached fresh out of the wash, there's another clan meeting in your local cell, I'm sure. - All people have their rights, but it is better for all of us that different sorts of people should keep to their own kind.
Ah, more redneck propaganda. Sadly, this kind of talk is not new among certain corners of politics. - People with serious inheritable disabilities should not be allowed to reproduce.
You wonder how many people actually found it in their cold soulless hearts to tick the 'Strongly Agree' on this one. As soon as someone manages to argue being ugly is a disability, then you're in trouble... - Mothers may have careers, but their first duty is to be homemakers.
The term 'Deliberately Barren' comes to mind in this instance. - It is important that my child's school instills religious values.
This happens to be an argument for some parents to send their kids to private religious schools, since all secular government schools are bound to be void of any moral foundation whatsoever. After all, the leader of our country attended a public school, so by extension he must be one of the most immoral people around. Strangely some people might happen to agree with that one...