Category Archives: Hobbies

When my butt isn’t in this chair…

Saugatuck, MI

Hobbies, Personal Bits, Queer stuff, Travel

Five days roughing it in the wilds of Michigan!

“Roughing” is a cliché of course. Campit has heated pool, showers, family cabins and the prerequisite gay dance hall.

Our Home Away
Our Home Away

And the village of Saugatuck ain’t no slouch, either. I swear the value of holiday yachts actually increased despite the economy being toilety. The charm was still there and if I could, I’d retire there in a heart-murmur.

The Most Liberal Car in MI
The Most Liberal Car In Michigan

Things of note:

Evil Panda and Thor have a new dog that transcends “adorable”. Betty the Bulldog was well behaived and utterly cute with her lop-sided underbite.

Get In Close
Cuties!

Evil Panda and Thor transcend adorable together ( and on their own, of course).

Grand Rapids is a place i’d like to look around more. It has a cool university town vibe and that crazy sculpture garden is massive.
Art
Kinetics in The Sun

When you come across a five storey bronze statue of a replica of a Da Vinci horse maquette, you basically feel awe.
American Horse
Big Horse

Bronze horse gonads the size of a Mark V torpedo is awe inspiring, too.

That's Impressive

Drug deals outside your tent at 4 am is a good sign that culture lines are blurring (camping & raving collide). It also was a sign that we were going to get little sleep due to intermittent stupidity. I don’t blame the campground, just the shitdicks who think drugs while camping is fun.

And finally, I really need to learn how to knit. Thor made me a present of a tea cozy and I’m totally wanting to take classes this winter and knit a robot sweater…

Tea time!

My complete photo set is here.

SharkBoy’s amazing photo set is here.

Fan Expo 2008

Hobbies, Toronto

All the pics I took here.

This year I wanted to take a more subtle look at the Fan Expo (one of the largest Comic/Game/Fantasy/Horror conventions in Canada) as opposed to my usual freaked out, get-that-shot-now, kind of photo hunt. And I found it intriguing, humourous and somewhat unnerving.

Intriguing:
I Find Your Lack of Faith Disturbing

Raw Shark & Ozzy mandus

Intriguing in the sense that there are people who spend hours and hours on a single costume to wear maybe twice a year (three times if they’re trying to make a viral video. Some cases, these people are like-minded as myself – so in love with the culture that they need to express themselves in cloth and plastic, but I can only stare in awe at the detail, but then I thank god quickly that I have a life. Seriously, kudos to the great costumes out there.

Humourous:
Tired

Pose!

I mean come on. If you’re going to wear it in public, then you better be prepared for bitter, angry people like me to take your picture and post it to the web in ridicule. Chubby Vader? Cute! WTF-costume that makes me scratch my head, shrug and hit the shutter on my camera? I can guarantee there are 4 more like me just behind me with their cell phone cameras ready.

Unnerving:

IMG_1686

WTF?
Finally there are people who go to the Expo just to wear what they like and be “accepted” in a crowd. Much like wearing a tube sock over your dick at Pride. For the most part, we really don’t need to see your outfit, but hooray we live in a enlightened society. Case in point, first picture, can you find the odd princess out in the group of Disney heroines?

Epoch – A MiniBook Expo Review

Celebs and Media, Distractions, Hobbies

Epoch
By Timothy Carter
courtesy of Flux
Part of the MiniBook Expo for Bloggers (sign up now!)

Vincent is a worried pre-teen. He’s disqualified from the school science fair for helping with his best friend’s project as his devout brother hands out unsolicited religious pamphlets in front of his own display. Meanwhile the loathsome rich kid’s booth is rocking the fair with high end computer graphics and live actors. To top it all off, he’s just seen an apocalyptic elf hiding under a table.

Epoch accounts the last two days of life on earth and Vincent’s attempt to save as many souls as he can in the process. Ironically, hindering his challenge is his family, whose fundamentalists beliefs require that they spend their time shunning mostly everything. Carter has created an almost Pythonesque religion that, if it were real, I’d pay $1000 to see how it was created:

Vincent’s family were Triumvirities, a new branch of Christianity that had popped up fairly recently in the spiritual marketplace. Triumvirities believed that three characters from the bible – Jesus, Moses and Abraham – had banded together to produce a text that spelled out the definitive version of God’s divine plan for the universe.

Fortunately for us, Vincent has been questioning that of late which allows him to see the aforementioned elf. This mystery gives him an excuse to go talk to his secret crush, Chanteuse, ex-babysitter and local hippie, about other belief systems, and is introduced to a world where elves, pixies, demons and other fantastic beings roam hidden from sight. It’s then he learns that humanity has reached it’s epoch and needs to be cleansed of the earth by indestructible demons. Unless he can get his old and new friends and unwilling family to a hidden Portal Site, all will be eaten in demon feeding frenzy.

This is my first YA (young adult) book I’ve read since cracking open Lemony Snicket book to read to my niece about 9 years ago, and before that, Heinlein’s Have Spacesuit Will Travel, back in the early 70s. I have to say, YA books have become a hell of a lot more sophisticated and pointed since I remember them. With nods to a certain coming of age boy-wizard, this is a streamlined, cartoony, less-subtle Golden Compass kind of adventure. Epoch races to the end of the world at a speed that post video game addicts can appreciate. It’s skillfully written with word plays, reversal phrasing and clear action that makes it a good read.

However (cue ominous organ music)…

The rebellious theme that makes teen writing enjoyable for it’s pubescent audience is there, but in Epoch it seems to be laughable contempt for organized religion, while maintaining that your own beliefs and the beliefs of the ones you love are to be preserved at any price. Ironic? Yup. Funny ironic? Sort of. It didn’t anger me, but it did make me wonder if I was too old to get it. I found I was cringing at how Carter uses the convictions of others as a joke: Vincent’s family are repeatedly seen as finger pointing zealots who spend their weekends praying and protesting. Amazingly, Vincent never loses his love and acceptance for his family’s behaviour (though not without mild grumbling) while they constantly berate him for his religious disobedience. It’s a device seen repeatedly in Harry Potter (there, I said it!) which I felt was used a bit too much in both books. I’d recommend Epoch to a kid who wasn’t at all religious or mildly agnostic, but I would do so with a disclaimer that it was satire. One other moment I found questionable was this bizarre slang choice (I realize I’m nitpicking a seat-of-their-pants teen fantasy/adventure novel that makes me sound like an old coot – get off my lawn) I wonder why Carter chose “bum” instead of “butt” or “rear end” whenever a character fell on their ass, yet allowed the slur “jerkwad”, a clear reference towards a villainous character equaling an unexpected masturbatory result.

That’s pretty much the only disputable stuff I would alert a parent to, within the book, if I felt the need to. But I’d probably not. At 14, kids are already using the word “shit” in reference to the chores you give them.

While researching this book I discovered a curious fact that Flux is owned by Llewellyn, a 100+ year old Midwest publishing company dedicated to “alternative health and healing, astrology, earth-based religions, shamanism, Gnostic Christianity and Kabbalah”, so the fact that they can publish a book that pokes fun at their own core beliefs, makes me like the book more.

I give it a mystical 4 out of 5.

Tacky Website? Must be Gay

Distractions, Hobbies, Travel

Why are all the gay campsites we looked into for Long Weekend so incredibly hideous?

Well it’s bitter time here at Dead Robot Industries! I’m going to review them and hopefully give you, dear readers, insight as to why gay campsite websites are uglier than drag queens left out in the rain. (SFW means Ok to open. MNSFW means “maybe not safe for work” – Stay out of the “Gallery” sections. NSFW means don’t open it at work, ok? Just don’t)

The Cedars (SFW)
What? A nice layout? A picture that doesn’t shy away from showing the camp area? Photos that are up to date and actually show people having fun? Google Earth map link? On every page? I’m in shock! Oh wait. The Event’s page is fucked – I knew it was too good to be true. Clicking on a date gets you nothing. Nice that they have a Forums and a Guestbook right out there for all to see – very Web 2.0.

It gets a 4 out of 5. No crap and no animated gifs makes me want to visit!

Campit Resorts (SFW)
Okay first off: Frameset: the “Blink” tag of page layout. The Gallery page link at the bottom of the home page frame is dead so click away all you like, however the Gallery link in the nav bar frame leads to images 3 years old. Take that as you will. Table on the right side with the border set to “2”. Classy! The map is in the “links” section and buried within the About page. Whatever that means. I would think that you’d want your guests to find you easy.

To it’s credit, the site is packed with lots and lots of info (I dare to say “dense”). Other than the riot of things going on, I’d have to say I feel comfortable scooting around this site, but the layout is brutal. I’ve been to Campit, and I can say that the website is like your crazy cousin you don’t talk about: nice to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live with it.

I give it 3.5 out of 5. Lose the frameset.

Rainbow Ridge (SFW but rainbowy)
I… ah… oh god… My eyes… I’m blind… I feel sick! Okay enough. You get it. Like an aluminum bat to the bridge of your nose, we’re treated to rainbows on black throughout with white centred text that dissapears as you read on into the flag colours. Ow. Non-tiling backgrounds. Classy!

The site is entirely in long form: nothing in point form to quickly identify what you’re looking for. The photo gallery is a little app that pops up microscopic pictures of other people’s tents, with barely any of the facilities. Hrmmm… And what would a gay campsite website be without it’s own section dedicated to “dancing” (which explains their rec hall – isn’t that a “facility” feature?). The reservations form looks like it was laid out by Robin Williams on a cocaine bender. The Events section proudly announces no new events, sealing my non-desire to spend the $5 to use their rec hall.

I give it 1 out of 5. It makes me want to visit only to see if they’ve painted the trees rainbow colours.

The Hillside (MNSFW)
Oh another black and rainbow motif. How clever. Okay people there’s a lot of stuff to get through here so lets… No… Wait. It’s crap, you know that just by the home page. I’ll save you the trouble and just jump right to the batshit crazy:

Houseboy Needed!
TO APPLY send an e-mail with the requested information & picture(s)…
A slim GWM between the heights of 5’4″ to 5’11” is a plus. This doesn’t mean men with other physical descriptions won’t be considered, however height and weight are important.

Include work and personal qualifications including age, height, weight and full physical description. A photo is a must.

…it’s faster to reply by clicking on the button below to send an e-mail that includes complete qualifications (note above) and photo(s) if possible.

THE MORE INFORMATION YOU CAN PROVIDE THE BETTER.

One word: Yikes.

But it gets more batshit as you go deeper: on the Camp Map and Security Section:

HILLSIDE CAMPGROUNDS DOES NOT INCLUDE A CAMP MAP ON ITS WEB SITE FOR SECURITY REASONS. HILLSIDE’S OWNER DOESN’T WISH TO SHARE SUCH INFORMATION WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT AT CAMP. ANYONE WHO VISITS HILLSIDE CAN SEE A HAND-DRAWN MAP IN THE REGISTRATION OFFICE. HILLSIDE IS A VERY LARGE CAMP WITH MORE THAN THREE MILES OF ROADS WITHIN ITS GATES. WE INVITE YOU TO VISIT HILLSIDE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CAMP’S LAYOUT.

Uh. Okay. If I want to visit, I guess I just use a psychic tuned to batshit crazy? Where the fuck is the logic in that? What the hell happened that the owner doesn’t want to divulge to new clients where to spend their money?

0 out of 5. As inviting as going to a creepy, sweaty co-worker’s halloween party by yourself.

Bye Bye Crumberland!

Distractions, Hobbies, Toronto

Torontoist reports (sadly for them, happily for me) that the Cumberland 4 up in Yorkville is closing their doors.

Boo hoo.

I’m all for independent cinema, it keeps the crap at bay and makes Hollywood look like a bunch of money hungry assholes they generally are. But do thoughtful, creative movies have to be shunted to a theatre so god awful that the experience of seeing the film detracts so much from the movie that it becomes just as easy to go rent it at home (and cheaper)?

I was much more sadder when the Uptown shut down, even after the hack job they did to it to keep it afloat.

MiniBook Expo On Again!

Celebs and Media, Distractions, General, Hobbies

Lex, over on Unsweetened.ca has fired up her magical blog MiniBook Expo! Go claim your absolutely free books. The catch? You gotta blog about the book you choose. Choose wisely!

Claim It.
* watch for a book you want
* click through to claim it
* make sure it’s not already claimed by someone else
* leave a comment to claim it (max 2)
*
Get it.
* we’ll confirm you claimed it in the comments.
* then email you for your address
* send me your address
* Canada Post will bring you your book.
*
Read it.
* can you really say anything if you haven’t read it?
*
Blog it.
* Post something about the book within a month of getting it
* include a link to the publisher and the author if possible
* if you don’t have a blog, send me your review & I’ll post it here for you

My past books were:

The Grays – Whitley Strieber:
…there are moments of incoherence where you shake the book to see if pages have fallen out from it.

And

Relentless – Robin Parrish:
Relentless is written in a more looser, somewhat melodramatic style, all the while watching it’s language: the strongest curse word in all of it’s pages is “damn”

What Looks Goregeous?

Hobbies, Tech

Spore, that’s what! Like millions others, I’m on the edge of my bum waiting for this since they announced it about a year (two?) ago. This video looks a lot less polygon-blocky since the first teaser release (and Matt Powers is a hottie):

And in a brilliant move, they’re releasing the Spore Creator as a freeware program 2 months before the game is released. Get prepped for the game by making the best possible microbe you can!

Yet Another Grand Theft Aut–

Hobbies, Tech

Uh oh… Looks like some people are getting the Ring of Death after some freezing issues on GTA IV. Most likely from hard core gamers overusing their consoles for hours on end, breaking the “cold solder” connections on their motherboard. Not that I’m surprised. On the weekend, I flipped on my XBox 360 after a few hours of Wii and had forgotten how loud the fan/HD operation is in comparison. WHAT? ARE YOU PLAYING HALO 3? I SAID “HALO”, NOT GAYLORD! I mean come on, how much power/heat does the console generate? How much does it need to generate?

Truly a testament to Japanese manufacturing compared to American. Cheaper, smaller, faster, less obtrusive and better designed. Curiously there are no entries for “Wii Technical Problems” on Wikipedia, but there was that whole “toss your Wiimote into your new flatscreen TV” thing. Oh sure, I hear you say “But the Wii is a lower processor/graphics intense game play than the Xbox!” I am sure if you were to make an equally graphic machine like the Xbox in Wii size, it would have a big wind tunnel sized fan on the back and heat sinks larger than the tubes coming out of the Alien’s back.

Regardless, I’m having fun will Bully still. I’m beating up Greaser kids over in Coventry!