Category Archives: Celebs and Media

Where Deadrobot brushes up against celebrities

Losing Face(book)

Celebs and Media

I’ve “deleted” my Facebook account.

I was never really on this trend, in fact, I was resistant towards it because of the amount of personal information is shunted between individuals (this coming from a guy who’s had a personal vanity blog since 2004). I was never comfortable with the amount of “work” it felt like just to maintain your profile. And on top of that, I don’t want to go to a hugely public website to find out that a family member, albeit a distant cousin or someone I knew when I was regrettably young and without sense, is in mourning for losing a pet or is celebrating the removal of their 11th toe. There’s something cold in that. Honestly, I could get more fulfilling online interaction from a Party Bingo chat room. I originally started into the site out of curiosity and then used it as a big old RSS feed for this blog, which, by the way, didn’t increase my page visits.

The thing that made me snap was my last “friend” confirmation. I got a message from the guy I use to verbally berate and call “fag” in high school. I see this guy around the village every so often and try really hard not to make eye contact. My behaviour back then was cowardly and stupid and the weight of embarrassment is too much to bear. So instead of accepting his “friend request” in what might have been a hand reaching out as a symbol of forgiveness I hit “delete”. Apparently I’m still a coward and a homophobe.

That’s why I hate Farcebook. Some things should stay unmentioned and in your past.

Meanwhile, Farcebook’s Beacon proves difficult to say “hey stop it” to. (via Mathew Ingram)

Keep Feeling Fascination

Celebs and Media

Human League Mirror ManBack when I was growing up in Brockville (a dickless, backwater, podunk town on the edge of the St Lawrence River half way between Toronto and Montreal) I use to tune my crappy radio into CHEZ106 to record songs on my tape cassettes (yes, it was in the late 70s) from great artists like Rough Trade, The Cars and The Buggles. One particular song I wanted really bad was “Don’t You Want Me Baby?” from Human League. So desperate was I that I would fall asleep in my bed with my finger still on the record button, waiting for the song. I’d wake up in the morning with “RADIO SHACK” indented into my cheek, backwards.

I gave up at one point and went to the local Sams The Record Man on the main drag. The guy behind the counter wasn’t all that helpful because the Human League wasn’t heavy metal and was fairly popular. He went to his large index book (pre-computers, kids!) and found only one Human League album: Mirror Man, a extended play record a couple releases back from the hit I was looking for. What the hell, I ordered it.

It came in a few weeks later . When I entered the store, the guy behind the counter made damn sure I knew that he was disgusted in my musical choice, based solely on the fact that one of the male band members was wearing high heeled boots on the cover. While the song has warm connotations today of my budding love for Nu-Romance new wave, I’ll never forget the clerk commenting on my liking “those British fags”.

Post Shooters

Celebs and Media, Hobbies, iPhone

Last night at the gym I had to work out beside two women who just would not stop talking. Trapped! They went across a wide spectrum of topics including spiritualism, dating, hair, dating, best friends boyfriends, psychics, cuteness, masculinity and dating. Best line: “He was French. So you know he wasn’t super-masculine.” Thank god SharkBoy didn’t hear that. Nearer to the end, the most talkative one asked “What’s your name again?”

I got a movie from a bin at my favorite video store called “Flight of the Living Dead” and thought “With a title like that, I am pretty sure that Meryl Streep wept when the script passed her by.” The tag line was “Outbreak on a Plane” and I think pluralizing the “outbreak” would have been a bigger wink to Samuel Jackson. For a crap zombie flick with all the quality of a made-for-SciFi-channel movie, it was a-fucking-mazing! It was as bad as you expected and yet so much more! All the cliches were there: a nun, a skanky air hostess, a good air hostess, a cop and his prisoner doing their best Odd Couple shtick, a “last flight before I retire” pilot, a mile high club scene interrupted by a zombie attack and marital drama saved by death. Please. Rent this movie.

I walked into my local pizza joint and the guy behind the counter says “Hey! iPhone guy!” That kind of freaked me out because I didn’t have it on me at the time.

Speaking of iPhone, Normlr (who like me, is a bit strapped for time to post. Pity), sent me screen shots of his new Crackberry. Too Cute! Yes, that is a screenshot of Kath and Kim. If you don’t know who these two are, I feel sad for you.
Blackberry 1
Blackberry 2
Blackberry 3

I’ve finished my first Xbox360 game: BioShock. In terms of engine, it’s uses the Unreal Tournament style of third person shooter, but for graphics, Hol Eee Poop! I loved how the story unraveled and the twist near the end came at a perfect time – not too close to the end to be a buzz kill and not too close to the middle to deflate your interest.

Futureshop store at Yonge and Dundas? Zzzz. We went on opening night and there were no visible deals to be had. They did have a special on product security alarms because they were going off every few seconds. Best Buy, despite their dubious business practices, is still a better store for gadget-gasms.

On a sad note, John, one of the owners of The Point Campsite died last night after a long struggle. He will be missed. Especially the many outrageous outfits and catty comments he would display behind the bar at the campsite.

Currently Watching…

Celebs and Media, Distractions, iPhone, Tech

On my iPhone:
Crazy Rulers of the World – The Men Who Stare at Goats: a three part documentary aired on Channel 4 in England about the infiltration and misconstruction of new-age beliefs into the US military and beyond. The first episode is baffling funny – we search for the man who can stop goat hearts just by thinking about them and wind up with a video tape that isn’t quite the same caliber. The second uncomfortably funny – going further into the conspiracies, we find that the “Earth Battalion” methods of combat are being used with horrific results. The third makes you feel guilty for laughing. Conspiracy theorists will use this as porn. The narrator is Welsh (I think) and has a rather distracting accent, but creates a compelling argument that there actually ARE crazy people who wield power today.

BoingBoingTV: They’re not using Xeni Jardin so much as presenter these days, which is a shame, because Mark F. makes me think of a creepy science teacher who’s just asked you to stay after class to clean erasers. The content of this podcast is 90% weird and wonderful (The plushies episode still makes me want to wash my eyes).

CuteWithChris.com: He’s becoming unapologetic to dissatisfied parents who poo poo his show as being dirty, taunting them into admitting that “what they had to do to become parents is dirty”. Fave character on any show to date: Pervy the Horse. Predominantly a teen viewership, but he did have a nice shout out to hairy bears who watch his shows a couple episodes back.

On my PVR:
Sarah Silverman. Doody. Rob Schrab directs and produces (creator of Scud the Disposable Assassin and Robot Bastard). ‘Nuff said.

The usual array of reality TV that I can’t seem to shake like an addiction to bed time chips: Amazing Race (Go Goths!), Survivor (ho hum), Dancing With the Stars (anyone notice that they’ve started to use a “camera shake” effect every time they show Marie Osmond hitting the floor in her infamous live faint?), Miami/LA Ink (not so much these days, it’s becoming as set up as The Hills, which I DO NOT WATCH), and of course, Miss Tyra Banks and her lovely gaggle of goosey Glamour goddesses, America’s Next Top Model.

Heroes: After a slow start, last night’s episode was like a defibulator to the series. Wham! Thank god Hiro is out of feudal Japan. That was getting a bit drawn out.

Movies:
Very dry this year, you may have noticed. Shelly is pouting. We did see Superbad (laughed), American Gangster (liked it), and uh…others. But nothing has compelled me to write about them. We’re going to see No Country For Old Men this weekend, by order of SharkBoy. I expect it will be good.

Wizards, Cats and Wands

Celebs and Media, Queer stuff

From Newsweek:

One fan asked whether Albus Dumbledore, the head of the famed Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft, had ever loved anyone. Rowling smiled. “Dumbledore is gay, actually,” replied Rowling as the audience erupted in surprise. She added that, in her mind, Dumbledore had an unrequited love affair with Gellert Grindelwald, Voldemort’s predecessor who appears in the seventh book. After several minutes of prolonged shouting and clapping from astonished fans, Rowling added. “I would have told you earlier if I knew it would make you so happy.”

LOLCats erupted too:

funny cat picture

Good lord. A gay wizard teaching small children how to use their wands! (waa waaa waaaaa!)

Funtime Tune Whistle Time

Celebs and Media, Toronto

Rollercoaster from Major Maker. They made 1/4 of the song for a candy commercial and found they had a hit.

What I like about this cheesey cheap video is that it really reminds me of Martha and the Muffins: a band on the rise, unabashedly in love with Toronto.

Bet you thought I was going to post Echo Beach, eh?