Standby for a new direction.
If you are not automatically re-directed to the new blog page, please click here.
The changes are required due to Blogger not supporting FTP after March 2010. Because I didn't want my site to be under their jurisdiction like at Blogspot or using a custom domain that still contained items under their jurisdiction, I've made the switch to WordPress.
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Testies. Testies 1, 2, 3?
Major major work going on right now at pixiesticks.org trying to get past the FTP issue. Please excuse our mess. (And bring Kleenex.) Labels: blogger, personal, pixiesticks
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IMPORTANT: Blogger to kill FTP Support in March.
While I'm not completely freaking out about it just yet, I certainly am NOT looking forward to implementing any solutions I may find in keeping this website going the way it has for almost 9 years. Labels: internets, personal, pixiesticks
My webmastering skills aren't that great, so I'm not sure exactly what I will do, but I know that I want to keep doing this.
Pixiesticks.org has survived being removed from the internets twice, so I'm sure we will survive this too. But Google sure isn't making it easy. (They're complaining about resources? They're fucking Google, how many more resources do they want?)
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Music is the soul selector!
Alright, editing is underway! Yes, I finally said, fuck it, I have to dive back in. I have to see if what I wrote back in November as a sequel to my best selling novel "Later, Skater" is worth a damn. Labels: later skater on tour, music, personal
And wow, I got through the first sex scene and was reminded very strongly why I love to write. What? Is that shallow? Heck no! Kalki and Skittles are very darling characters who are about to gain a whole new layer of dimensions as they journey forward in their sequel.
So what inspires me? You do, of course. You freaky ass homosexuals out there that I love so dearly. I don't think I say this enough... I'm proud of each and every one of you that not only don't let your sexual identity define you, but also don't let others let your sexual identity define your place either.
And then there is music.
On the left hand side, below the Tag-Board you'll find that GrooveShark widget again. This time, I've loaded it up with songs that I would put currently on the "Later Skater: On Tour" soundtrack if I could afford the rights to such a thing. Enjoy and know that I am back on top of this beast, ready to ride it until it's released.
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Later Skater: Delay of Game?
So, here's the skinny, I haven't even started editing "Later, Skater: On Tour." Normally, I'd already be into the process preparing the novel for the April release, but I haven't even started. Part of this is because I wrote longer than I normally do, so I thought I'd take a little longer break. Labels: later skater on tour, personal, shotalicious
But that should have ended like two weeks ago.
And then there is that whole, "I'll killed shotalicious" thing which kind of messed everyone up, including me. It was a choice I wanted to make, but I didn't really think of the consequences of the fact that by killing that site, I was effectively killing a lot of the audience for my novels. I have this worry that now, no one will buy the new book whenever it does come out.
Some of you have followed me back here, and I totally appreciate that. But I'll be honest, I really could use a kick in the ass to get me started on the editing process. So, if you got a cattle prod hiding somewhere, lemme have it.
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Is that a lizard in your pants...
A German reptile collector has been jailed for 14 weeks and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine for plundering New Zealand's wild gecko and skink populations, a judge has ruled. Labels: animal news, bizzare news, crime drama, that place they filmed Lord of the Rings
Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, is to be deported to Germany as soon as he is released from prison, Judge Colin Doherty ordered Tuesday.
Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.
He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.
Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told Christchurch District Court that Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of 500,000 dollars and six months in prison.
Bodie told Doherty that the department sought a deterrent sentence for "the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more."
The geckos may have been worth 2,000 euros ($2,800) each on the European market, he noted.
"Internationally, this type of trade is prevalent and is on the increase worldwide and can be lucrative," he said.
Customs records showed that Kubus had also been to New Zealand in 2001, 2004, 2008, and 2009. In 2008, he had been with a Swiss reptile dealer.
Doherty said Kubus had come to New Zealand and set about poaching the animals in a premeditated way which would have had an impact on particular colonies.
There was a potential for Kubus to end up with far more animals than he could have housed in his own collection and the rest would have been sold.
"I don't think you necessarily came here to steal to sell, but I am sure the fact that you might have had excess was figured into your thinking," said the judge, describing the offending as "pretty close to the worst case."
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MomoReminder
This is a reminder that you need to pre-register this year to go to MomoCon over at Georgia Tech this March 20th and 21st. Registration is still free, though there are benefits to forking over some bucks. Labels: anime, local news, personal
If you're local and you're attending, shoot me an email or something. I'd love to get together and meet some of you loverlies.
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When banning books is not enough, schools now ban dictionaries.
Dictionaries have been removed from classrooms in southern California schools after a parent complained about a child reading the definition for "oral sex". Labels: bizzare news, school news, sex, youth news
Merriam Webster's 10th edition, which has been used for the past few years in fourth and fifth grade classrooms (for children aged nine to 10) in Menifee Union school district, has been pulled from shelves over fears that the "sexually graphic" entry is "just not age appropriate", according to the area's local paper.
The dictionary's online definition of the term is "oral stimulation of the genitals". "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature," district spokeswoman Betti Cadmus told the paper.
While some parents have praised the move – "[it's] a prestigious dictionary that's used in the Riverside County spelling bee, but I also imagine there are words in there of concern," said Randy Freeman – others have raised concerns. "It is not such a bad thing for a kid to have the wherewithal to go and look up a word he may have even heard on the playground," father Jason Rogers told local press. "You have to draw the line somewhere. What are they going to do next, pull encyclopaedias because they list parts of the human anatomy like the penis and vagina?"
A panel is now reviewing whether the Menifee ban will be made permanent. The Merriam Webster dictionary joins an illustrious set of books that have been banned or challenged in the US, including Nobel prize winner Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, which last year was suspended from and then reinstated to the curriculum at a Michigan school after complaints from parents about its coverage of graphic sex and violence, and titles by Khaled Hosseini and Philip Pullman, included in the American Library Association's list of books that inspired most complaints last year.
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Avatar continues world domination tour for 6th week.
LOS ANGELES — James Cameron's "Avatar" is on a course to sink "Titanic" at the box office. Labels: movies
No. 1 for the sixth-straight weekend with $36 million, the 20th Century Fox sci-fi spectacle lifted its domestic total to $552.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Avatar" raised its worldwide total to $1.841 billion. That's $2 million shy of first place behind Cameron's last movie, the 1997 shipwreck epic "Titanic," at $1.843 billion.
"It defies all superlatives," said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for Fox.
The studio said "Avatar" has hit $1.29 billion in international ticket sales, passing the $1.24 billion mark set by "Titanic." The saga set on the alien world of Pandora is also enroute to overtake "Titanic" in domestic sales. After 37 days in theaters, "Avatar" soared past "The Dark Knight" on Saturday to become the second highest grossing film.
"We're witnessing box office history," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "We're watching all of these big records fall, and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight. 'Avatar' is dominating at a time where it has no big summer blockbusters to compete with it. It's perfectly poised to keep breaking all these records."
"Avatar" is also positioned to win acclaim during awards season. While the computer-assisted performances didn't earn any honors at Saturday's Screen Actors Guild Awards, it captured the best drama and director trophies at last week's Golden Globes and is considered a likely best-picture front runner when Oscar nominations are announced Feb. 2.
Screen Gems' apocalyptic thriller "Legion," featuring Paul Bettany as an Armageddon-fighting fallen angel, debuted behind "Avatar" at No. 2 with $18.2 million. Fox's family fantasy comedy "Tooth Fairy," starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a hockey player who spreads his wings as a magical deity, took flight in the No. 4 spot with $14.5 million.
Warner Bros. grabbed the No. 3 position with "The Book of Eli" at $17 million in its second week, despite three other films debuting in wide release this weekend. The post-apocalyptic action flick stars Denzel Washington as a traveling prophet who battles a villainous gang leader played by Gary Oldman while protecting the last known Bible.
The medical drama "Extraordinary Measures," the first film from new distributor CBS Films, opened with a disappointing $7 million in the No. 7 position. The film features Harrison Ford and Brendan Fraser as a doctor and businessman who collaborate to develop a drug that will treat a rare genetic disorder affecting children.
"It did well in middle America," said Steven Friedlander, head of distribution for CBS Films. "This is not a shoot-'em-up or fantasy film. It's the true story of people doing courageous things, and it's building good word of mouth. This is the kind of movie that plays well to a family friendly crowd who doesn't need to see the movie the weekend it opens."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "Avatar," $36 million.
2. "Legion," $18.2 million.
2. "The Book of Eli," $17 million.
3. "Tooth Fairy," $14.5 million.
5. "The Lovely Bones," $8.8 million.
6. "Sherlock Holmes," $7.1 million.
7. "Extraordinary Measures," $7 million.
8. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," $6.5 million.
9. "It's Complicated," $6.2 million.
10. "The Spy Next Door," $4.8 million.
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Drive Thru Diet?
If you are anything like me, you're all about some Taco Bell. Where else can you really pig out for less than 5 bucks? It's also a great option when Courtney (Elf) comes over because she's not so into eating the flesh of animals. Personally, I'd just rather her eat me, but that's beside the point. Labels: Elf, food, health news, personal, television
Well, none of us really ever thought eating at Taco Bell was ever very healthy right?
Now they got this Drive Thru Diet, which they claim is NOT really a weight loss program. Um... DURR!! But what it really got me wondering, just how bad IS what I eat at Taco Bell.
Turns out, it really isn't the fat nor the calories that will kill me there. (Unlike McDonalds or whatever when I have big beef filled meals.) At Taco Bell, I typically have nachos and cheese and a volcano burrito.
What does that get me? SODIUM!
Together my meal has:
1130 Calories. Not too bad. I mean if you're going by that 2,500ish number per day.
63 grams of fat. Quite high. In fact, this one meal is over what I should have a day.
2520 grams of sodium. Oh boy is that a doozy of a number! The recommendation is 1500 per day and I'm well above that just with one meal.
So what *could* I eat at Taco Bell and swing under the recommendations?
The answer really is pretty much nothing. While the Frisco menu does have lower content in fat and calories. You're still going to get screwed in the sodium catagory.
But is sodium really that bad? I rather like having deer come up to me and giving me a little lick lick.
Here to explain sodium is Mike and the Bots. Afterward, go play around with the Taco Bell nutrition calculator and see just how unhealthy you're eating. (But goddamn does it taste so good.)
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