Some games just don’t seem to have a soul. It's difficult for a mere mortal to articulate, but if I had to grasp at a description, I suppose it feels like the game was created without any human spark. Not like some supercomputer designed it or anything, but as if the developers just sooooooo didn't want to work on it and thus gave it absolutely zero TLC. Instead they filled the game to the brim with a disturbing mixture of indifference, apathy and melena, with an aftertaste of mild resentment.

But to criticize Wolverine for this reason is both unfair and blatantly prejudiced, because it dismisses the needs and preferences of the game’s intended audience; those without souls. So in order to write this review in the proper context, I had get rid of my everlasting soul. Of course, I’m not so reckless as to just up and sell it to Satan; that sort of foolhardiness is entirely unnecessary since my need for a soul-free review is of a temporary nature. I simply rented my soul to Satan.

Of course, by merely lending one’s soul, you don’t have quite the same bargaining power as those who sell. So rather than becoming a melancholy millionaire or gaining an unearthly mastery of the guitar, I only received a small payment. It's not much, but my soul didn’t have much market value to begin with, so I’m pretty pleased with what I got; a six pack (with one missing) of IBC cream soda. Dee-licious. The Devil also gave me the squirming left arm of Hitler as collateral, but quite frankly it creeps me the hell out.

But I digress. I’ve promised you a soulless review and a soulless review you’ll get. Finally free from my burdensome quintessence, I shall begin:

The graphics are okay. The music is okay. The sound effects are okay. The playcontrol is okay. The gameplay is okay. It's an okay game, I guess.

I hope this has been informative, and I hope those in the soulless community appreciate me going out on a limb to cater to them. The mainstream gaming press has been neglecting you people for far too long (er… I don’t mean “you people” like that).

For my valued readers who do have souls, all you need to know about Wolverine is that it has awesome box art and music, and awesomely not awesome everything else.

Unfortunately I don’t think the devil returned my soul in quite the same condition as I lent it to him, but you live and you learn. And if seeing nightmarish visions every time I close my eyes is the cost of responsible and unprejudiced journalism, it’s a price I'll gladly pay. *WITH INTEREST* Whoa, who said that? Oh hey, take this arm back, will ya.

The others I am kinda lazy to upload.

:p

While for yesterday,went out to study with cousin and sis.We travel from yishun to ang mo kio ,then from ang mo kio to ang mo kio library(30 minutes is enough to drive you berserk + full of mugger),then decided to take cab back to khatib,then from khatib to khatib CC.THANK GOD! After 2 hours of searching high and low for location to study,we finally settle down...

Tomorrow shall be a pleasant day.NO P.E for meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! :)

It started when i lost my job. It wasn't even my fault. I was accused of things that they had no way to prove. And I got screwed because I couldn't prove otherwise. I'd thought about filing a wrongful termination suit but they told me if I took any further action they'd press charges. Now i can't find a job at all. I know it's luck even when the economy is in it's best state, and now it sucks which makes it even more difficult. I've had some jobs that looked good but in the end they didn't hire me. I honestly don't know what I'm doing wrong here!? I'm just getting so discouraged. I've been to a ton of places. I don't know where else I can go.

And if I can find a job, that means that I'm not going to be able to afford school in the fall. I have to be registered as a full time student in order to qualify for health insurance. So if I can't pay for school, then I don't get the health insurance that I really, really need. I'll have to pay $300 a month just to get coverage. And if I can't afford $996 for school, how am I going to be able to afford the insurance.

Then to top that all off I'm having serious issues with an ex of mine. He dumped me for his ex (who's cheated on him multiple times mind you) and proceeded to tell me that he was never really in love with me. In fact, I was going to go visit him and presumably to sleep with him because I really thought he was the right one. Well, his plan was to get me to spend the weekend with him so that we could have sex and he could then determine if he loved me or not. I dunno about you but personally, I think that you should have sex with someone because you already love them, not to fall in love with them.

Also wearing on my mind, the lady i shot the bar mitzvah for in May was unhappy with the watermarks and low-res files I gave her as proofs. She said that's not what we agreed upon. So I sent her an email telling her that $100 is not what we agreed upon for my services. So after playing phone tag for a few days, she caught up with me and I was tired of the whole thing by then so I just told her I'd give her the disk with the hi-res files if she signed a waiver saying that I could use them as I wanted. So, the day after this conversation ensued, I get an email from the lady that was referred to me by my unhappy customer. She wanted to let me know that she'd be canceling my services and I should refund her deposit as soon as I could. Now, I want to believe that this is just a coincidence but I really think the two events are related. And I'd be happy to be rid of her but I'm NOT refunding her money. She should either use me for $200's worth or just get over the fact that she's a bitch and is afraid to use me. Plus I really can't afford to refund her money. But I guess we'll just have to wait and see where it goes.

And it also seems that I've offended our old man cat as he's been letting me know by using my bed as a litter box. I've had to change my sheets four times this month and it's only the 19th! So now I'm always totally paranoid whenever he's in my room. And I can't just shut the door because my little girl kitty needs to come in here to use her own litter box and food dishes. I'm so sick of it I could cry...oh wait...I did.

I was ok with all of that. I handled it with strength and courage. No crying here...and then came the straw that broke the camel's back. The used bookstore called and told me they could give me $8 for the books I sold to them. People wouldn't think this would be a big deal but I told them to donate the rest of my books because I thought I'd get more money for them. Not a big deal, call them back and tell them to wait. Can't. They called a few days ago and I didn't get the message until tonight. So now I don't have enough money for even one new book and most of my book collection is gone. I bawled my eyes out about that one.

So anyway, that's been where I'm at lately. Right between shitty and crappy and trying to find a way out. Thanks to Pete for cheering me up, Bradley for asking me out again and making me squeal, Jarett for talking some sense into me and making things not seem as bad, and Jordan for doing what he always does. That is All.

Me: “I just got this really cool image in my head that I feel like dra…”

Bitchy Voice In My Head: “Nope! You can’t draw, you suck! And so do all of your ideas.”

[sad face]

Sometimes I’ll draw something, and I’m actually really happy with the result. Other times I hate how something turns out, and when that happens I feel like giving up completely.

So, I guess in a roundabout way, I’m saying at the moment it’s down to confidence. Well not just that. I can’t seem to come up with good ideas on the spot either. Aren’t “creative” people supposed to be good at that sort of thing?

Remember that 8 foot Alice in Wonderland project I posted last year? That assignment was late. I went through a few ideas before I settled on that one. 4 that I can remember, one of them being a different version of the Alice in Wonderland theme. But I remember all the ideas I tried before I finally got it right actually seemed like pretty good ideas, but I was having trouble executing them I guess. Nothing was turning out the way it looked in my head, which often seems to be the case.

My favorite radio show “This American Life” is having a t-shirt designing contest, and I can’t even come up with anything. I suck. I’m not creative. Maybe I should just quit studying art and go to librarian school.

UPDATE: Okay, so I guess I have an idea now, but the question is can I actually get it to look good on paper?

I'm worried about Tweak, he has been acting different lately, it's not just the heat in here either. Granted it's been damned hot and he's damned fat, but who knows. I don't think my cat food comes from China. Just looked, Thailand... so maybe he's just high. Speaking of food, I'm hungry. I still have my clown nose (nariz de payaso). I'll probably take Kathy's computer back today.

I could use the money, but I don't know if she'll pay up or not. She is known for not paying for stuff. I have a migraine... so maybe not, who knows. I'd like to get some food, but dunno if I will. I haven't had any coffee in 3 days... tired of waffles. I'm going back to bed...

I'm now really looking forward for my week off and then going to Teenstreet in Oldenburg (Germany) for 2 weeks. I wished my mood was better as in this moment but I put my effort into improving it. The last preparations for Canada are finished as well, just the issue of buying a car gives me some sort of stress in mind, but that's o.k.

Last days were quite funny, doing a lot of things with my friends - that's how it always should be and I try to keep that going (at least until I leave on 24th Aug.). If you want just take a look at some shots on my website: www.gergi084.com/gallery

Cu and keep peace in mind,
Gergi

Cardcaptor Sakura cosplayer

Lovely right? How about this?

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Wah piang! chio hor?LOL.

I laughed my ass off upon seeing this absurd pic.

How do you get viruses on dial-up? How do you get viruses from checking your email once a week from people you know? Oh, I can imagine Jeff and Sue (cousin and cousin-in-law) have a virus and just pass it around. I wouldn't know, they don't email me. Maybe they read my blog? Anywho, why are people so evil? What's the point in ruining some old crippled woman's (or crotchety old man's) computer? What's the point in ruining anyone's computer? Why? I don't get it. Being evil just to be evil doesn't make sense to me... I should go to bed.

Remember the last time i blog about how useless mum's laptop is? well, it turns out to be a Toshiba brand and not really useless.. the only reason I'm using it again is due to it can be smuggled into my room for surfing and blogging purposes... Yes. indeed in the middle of the night andthe problem with me now (yala i many problem wan) I'm having headaches... really bad ones as in, you can feel you brain thudding in and out for the pass 4 hours... tried sleeping but apparently I've slept the whole afternoon(stupid habit).. tried reading but I'm in pain.. (did manage to read something though)... Aikes, i need pain killers.. this 10 inch (damn small) Toshiba screen is giving me more headaches plusthe very GL space bar(you can see why).. Can't believe mum can work with this laptop....

*change topic

Everytime i mention, "i have a DSLR" people will respond " har, what is it?!" then i have to explain " neh.. it's the big black type of camera pro use.." then only they'll know what time hell i'm talking..LAME LAR!  

Anyway, main reason to blog is I've been clicking a lot and wanna post something up ever since.. but just couldn't find a time(now i do).. so, embrace yourself with some boh skills photo taken with the D40 (still in learning process) not all the photos were taken by me.. so not my fault if the picture is horrid...

Change of plans.. internet connection is too bloody slow..shall post it in flickrs soon...

PS:HAPPY 17TH B'DAY LOKE EE LING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ^.^

Maybe today it's a green day for me,hmmm,i should go and eat some grass.Which is better?Soccer Field's grass? Or....? Drop a comment or suggestion which patch of grass taste tastier because I don't wana taste dog's shit or whatever crap.Man,I gona be Incredible hunk.

Right now:
Headache is torturing me
I've no idea for gp project
46.10kg??!! My gawr,I've have to shake the fats and oil off man!
Opera is much more better than internet or mozilla firefox.I still getting used to it.
My head is leaking brain juices..

When I first found out about the anniversary edition (VIA Kongregate's badge system) I was really excited 'cause I really liked I2T and was hoping that this version would be even better, sadly I was disappointed.

The first flaw in indestructotank AE is the camera, as you get higher the camera zooms out which can make it harder to continue your combo especially when you come back down, I think it would have been better if they had stuck with the Indestruc2Tank camera where it doesn't zoom out it just gives you a (fairly) exact idea of where abouts you are.

The next thing that kind of annoyed me about this game was that Armor Games has attempted to make indestructotank AE look more "realistic" as a result the graphics are more bland (but realistic) but I suppose that may appeal to some people...

It seems that the fuel in your indestructo tank is used up faster, I suppose this make it more harder then I2T (which is good) but it goes so fast I almost wish there was a way to get fuel back.

It would have been nice if the experience could have been automatically added to your experience bar as you were making these combos as opposed to getting added after you've finished the combos as I was getting more then a little ticked off about the way I had to end combos as I was nearing low fuel just to see if I'd got enough experience to move onto the next level.

If this game wasn't a special edition then I would have have liked it much more, if the graphics weren't so realistic I would almost dare to say that this game was put together on the spur of the moment...

GRAPHICS: 8/10 (very realistic but not my style...not for this game anyway)
MUSIC: 2/10 (annoying and no mute button, I wanted to listen to some music but it wasn't possible)
REPLAY VALUE: 3.4/10 (go play indestruc2tank insted)
ALL IN ALL: 6/10

Click here to play IndestructoTank AE

I didn’t know I’d so much shit in my pc until today.

Cute stuff cheers people up

Click here for larger view.Zoom in if you can't have a good view.=)

Nothing much is up lately, it's July now.. gosh June was fast.. July will be faster.. and sooner.. SPM will be over.. I actully agree to what my chem teacher says.. "it's okay if you suffer now with studies, because it's only for a few months.. by the end of the day, you'll have no regrets..." For once he says something useful instead of how many puppies he owns..

(okay i dunno what the rubbish m i talking but i'm gonna continue writting anyway to kill time)

Cut it short.. i don't wanna regret holding that slip of paper by March next year wondering why must i be goddamn lazy (now).. Homework is piling up like crazy, add maths to be exact.. my weakest subject..(besides Chinese).. Can't find any love for the subject....

*tried very hard to phrase what am i suppose to say but failed*

Ok.. it's been crap writing this post.. but i dun feel like deleting it..  who cares it's my blog anyway.. There.. done.

The whole bimbo gimmick. pffft. Did she just woke up one day and went like..."ohhh my gawdd! I'm soo gonna dye my hair blonde! It'll match my boobs which are so hottt. don't you love ittt!!". Kinda unsurprising though. If she didn't do this whole bimbo turnover then she would probably disappear into the abyss slowly just like that. 2 album she sang about hardship and teen angst. do you really need another? Though the lyrics to her songs now are definitely not as sincere as it was before. The only thing stopping me from changing the channel is Avril herself.

Seriouslyy..did she get implants or something? Or did she finally realize she had envious boobs because recently it seems as though she's taunting us with her cleavage everywhere.

ohh well. I'll just mute her crappy music and just watch the videoclip. Everyone wins.

-vuxpyra//

(From left to right: New York Goes to Hollywood, I Love Money, Rock of Love Girls: Charm School)

As if VH1 couldn't do any worse, their anticipated line-up of "celebreality" shows looks seriously dismal.  For the love of god, we hope that you're not stuck at home and forced to watch these train wrecks in progress, let alone, go online for the exclusive web content.  And it seems that central casting has had a very hard time finding new camera whores participants, mostly because almost all of VH1's new shows feature people we've seen before.

After The Jump: The Full Rundown

VH1 is doing a great job proving that it's damn near impossible to make trashier programming than they can (and notice we said near impossible).  The recently unveiled summer-into-fall lineup of its celebrity-themed reality programming is less than impressive and in the least bit, uncreative.  It's sort of been the theme at their network lately: trying to use the same formula and apply it to every piece of programming they got.  Of the three shows getting a shout out, one features a gaggle of sorta-kinda-famous reality show participants who vie for cash performing crazy stunts wearing little clothing (sounds familiar?), one features a loudmouth bumblehead who only became famous after getting rejected by a shriveled prune TWICE and then used VH1 to launch her own career, and the other...well, its just dumb.  But we'll explain them all....right now.

I LOVE MONEY: In this reality show competition, rejected contestants from such memorable classics like Rock of Love, I Love New York, and Flavor of Love compete in physical challenges to win the ultimate grand prize of $250,000.  That's weird, because this site just shows a lot of half-naked contestants C-Listers posing happily with wads of fake cash (kinda like this guy, who was Aleksey Vayner'ed on Gawker a couple weeks ago).  According to the synopsis, over 100 people's lives were ruined on VH1 reality dating shows, and that the fifteen selected to compete on this one were just money-hungry fame whores.  No way!  However, we couldn't stop laughing at this blurb

A Survior-esque spin on the "of Love" format gives a single cast member each week the power of deciding who goes home. It will be a cutthroat competition as cast members sharpen their backstabbing skills in the fight for their fortune.

And what a coincidence, the spitting girl from Flavor of Love is like, the poster-girl for the show.  The only possibly redeeming quality for this show would be to see if she spits on Midget Mac after a painful elimination.  Spitting + Midgets + Fighting = Awesome, no matter how you slice it.

NEW YORK GOES TO HOLLYWOOD: Arguably the most fame-obsessed reality alumna of VH1, Miss New York (neé Tiffany Pollard), with her fake tits and all has always set her sights on being Flavor Flav's woman finding true love becoming an actress, so she's leaving her home state of New York to go west to California to find fame and fortune in the glitzy streets of Hollywood...and she had to bring VH1's cameras along with her, of course.  For fans of I Love New York 2, no, she will not be bringing her lapdog boytoy with her (he claims he is too busy working at Mark Ecko and spending time with his daughter...and New York has no time for office careers...or children).  We're still not really sure what to expect from this show, as VH1 is keeping pretty mum on the details, but we promise that when it premieres in August, expect a lot of shouting, "bad weave" jokes, and people being swallowed whole by staring at her tits.  It's also probably a safe bet that her equally fame-grubbing mother, Sister (or is it Sistah?) Patterson will probably make an appearance...or three.

ROCK OF LOVE GIRLS:  CHARM SCHOOL: Last summer, a bunch of has-beens from the Flavor of Love series were thrown into a house in order to help improve their own womanhood.  With Mo'nique at the helm, we watched as these former rejects turned from intolerable skanks to sorta-tolerable people.  Well, since everybody knows that Rock of Love is Flavor of Love for white people (otherwise known as "Nillas"), there had to be a contestant-themed spin-off to go along with it.  This time, former reality show subject, talk show host, and recognizable celebrity Sharon Osbourne will host the girls from Rock of Love as they pretty much do the same thing as those Flavorettes from last summer.  Like New York, not much press has been released about the show since it's slated to debut in the fall, but we really, really hope that the foreign chick with the big floppy lips from Season Two is selected to be on the show.  We just feel sad everytime we have to look at her.  And god please let there be stripper poles!

So there you have it:  Three trash-tastic reality shows slated to debut on VH1.  For those interested, the other mind-numbingly reality yet-sorta-scripted show EVERYONE loves premieres in a month and a half on MTV.

(Images via Spare Room Knits, Flavor of Love World, and Photobucket)

My back, however, is not simply a matter of stress. For about ten years, my upper back has been a mess of knots, pulls, and strung out nerves. It could have been the car accident in 2001, when my best friend flipped her tiny Mazda over into a pile of rocks, or the time in 1994 I fell out of that same friend's second floor window onto a hard pile of mulch. It could be the double D's I carry on a five foot three frame, or the posture I've taken on to hunch over. There's the way I slump over the ubiquitous keyboard that has been under my hands since my first hp 386, or the handbag that must, absolutely must, carry reading materials.

More than likely, it's my desk job: the crappy, wobbly chair that was built to comfortably seat a 250 pound 6 foot two man, the crappy 14 inch monitor, the keyboard raised so high it strains my wrists...

So I've been in pain for years. How shitty is that? I rarely have a day my back doesn't hurt. Maybe it's why I drink as often as I do. I shudder to think the amount of times I've gladly gone for happy hour after a particularly painful writing session. I have no problem popping muscle relaxers or vicodin or ativan -- anything to help calm my back. I will melt into putty the second a boy offers me a massage.

(Too much back story, I know.)

Today something snapped. The pain is radiating from my back, starting at my shoulder and sending shock waves down my arm, snapping into my wrist, and pooling in my thumb. The whole hand is pins and needles, half numb, weak, and somewhat burning.

It hurts to write, which is unfair and cruel and bullshit. That's my job. And it's my fucking love. Take it away, and I am useless. I am the other kind of putty.

The agony is embarassing, because you can't even see it. I wish body pain were bloody, because I think my coworkers think of me as a whiny brat. And I am. But I usually only tear up when things get too excuciating to bare. And I've hit the breaking point.

It's taken too long to write this. It's taken hours, tiny little bursts, which has made this fragmented and lame.  Moreso than usual.

As if the pain wasn't bad enough.

Having said that, yes, I've been reading, and these are a few of the choice -- and not so choice -- cuts of late:

Paradoxia: A Predator's Diary, by Lydia Lunch -- recommendation: avoid. Non-stop dismal sex, drugs and the fringes of rock'n'roll. Autobiographical, I believe: I'm surprised she didn't kill herself. Reminds me of Ken Russell's Whore.

Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail '72, by Hunter S. Thompson -- I wanted to see the inspiration behind Transmetropolitan and its Thompsonesque protagonist, Spider Jerusalem. After I'd finished this I felt a bit sad, to be honest. I like Transmet, but there's so much of Fear And Loathing... in it that it goes well beyond what I'd consider homage towards a rewriting. This book is good -- it made me interested in American politics, which is well-nigh bloody unbelievable -- and exceptionally written (except for the last 50 pages or so, when Thompson was so drugged out he had to dictate everything and the climax came across as a series of less interesting interviews rather than his lyrically malevolent prose) but it threw Transmet up in a bad light. An overly derivative light, I'm afraid. In that regard, I wish I hadn't read it; I could've kept the magic of the comic series alive a little longer.

The Ushers, by Edward Lee -- short, brutal horror stories. Nihilistic, unrelenting and about as far from the mainstream as you can get. Breath of fresh air, frankly, even thought said fresh air in Lee's world is sprinkled with bodily fluids, unnatural sex acts galore, horrific torture and endless monstrosities. Cost a packet: it's a specialty thing, well well well out of print, but worth it. I'm constantly re-impressed with Lee: yes, he's probably one of the hardest of the hardcore horror writers and the majority of his work would never get published in the mainstream, but his stories are genuinely clever and information-filled as well. From detailed Civil War history through the detailed workings of police forensic and detective departments to (accurate) musings on philosophy a la Kierkegaard and Nietzsche... it's all there amongst the blood, guts, strange new orifices and psychopathic rednecks.

What else?

Gardens Of The Moon, by Steven Erikson -- first book of a projected 10-part epic fantasy series. I wanted a new long-form series to devour, and some completely dead time working in Goomalling (population 600, four streets and seeing a tumbleweed was one day's highlight) allowed me to finally give this a shot. Was slightly discomfited when the first thing I read in my edition was an introduction from the author saying that roughly half the people who read this book gave up halfway through; the others perservered and are now lifelong series devotees. Unfortunately, although I finished it, I fell into the first bracket and have no particular urge to continue. It wasn't because it was too dense, or there were too many characters, or the world didn't open up quickly enough, which seem to be the major bones of contention for most reviewers. For me, characterisation was flat and I was bored by the thus-far less-than-epic story. If I'm ever in Goomalling again (and haven't offed myself from boredom) then maybe I'd look at the next book, Deadhouse Gates, but otherwise -- life's too short.

Sex, Drugs And Power Tools, by Edward Lee again -- paid a stupid amount of money for this simply because it has the rarer-than-hen's-teeth short story 'Header' in it. The titular concept is a particularly tasty aberration practised by those good ole boys from the deep hills that Lee is so fond of; I won't spoil exactly what it is. And the money was well spent on this one. >:)  (Apparently they've made a movie about it, but can't find distribution because of the, er, subject material. Not surprised, personally!)

Dogwitch Volume III: Mood Swings, by Dan Schaffer -- FINALLY I get to find out whether Violet Grimm ever gets out of the Banewoods, who or what the serial killer Elastic Head is, see the clockwork sex-doll cheerleaders in action and... you don't know what I'm talking about, do you? Go buy all three volumes of Dogwitch and find out. Dark and unquestionably brilliant graphic novel storytelling.

'Nuff now. Let's see if I can get back into it on a more regular basis, hmm?

[Oh yeah, and sorry for the quality/layout of some of the images. Wordpress appears to have made an unneeded 'improvement' to the image posting system which renders them in a shiteous fashion, sigh]

Well am Chetan from a Small town in Tamilnadu, This is my First Blog ( Well, Sitting in my company and created this one:) ), Thank god my manager is on vacation.

To be sure, This blog will turn out to be a Crappy one, But i am a MBA aspirant and will surely try to make this one a Professional Blog.

Hey i said about MBA , but where???? Dont laugh i am putting lot of efforts to make it to IIM ( ABC ???? )

But I really need to write a page a day or else the terrorists win.

 well it is cheating to use things i already wrote but i am tired as hell so here is something old I wrote...

DiOlectiC

Trace Platts stood on a balcony.

The sky was a fantastic tint of green. Two glinting mountains took up most of the horizon to the north and south, with an unobstructed view of a great plain a thousand feet down. The plain sloped out and downward to a colossal beach; the sunset was perfectly framed in the midst of the mingled natural and man-made glory of the view.

The ocean breeze caressed his face, bearing the thousand smells of the things mankind has deemed to represent the oceanside. Turning away from the balcony, he faced the robot.

"It's not right." He put his monacle back on and folded his arms . He was young, tall, slender, and serious; he had dark hair and bright eyes, and was cleanshaven. His attire was of his own design; based originally on the fashions of the wealthy of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, every proportion was exaggerated or downplayed to more closely match the fashion and functionality of his own time- the year 2076.

"What isn't, Mr. Platts?" His mechanical servant replied in a vaguely European accent. The robot was a smoothly contoured contraption, highly polished, with a dull pewter faceplate, green-glowing eyes and a small rectangular opening whence issued the machine's voice. It wore clothing suitable to a butler.

The robot held out a plain black top hat made of a special material- where the sunlight touched the hat directly, its shade altered slightly, flickering subtly, and made it appear slightly two-dimensional. The effect, when applied to all of one's garb, was a very close simulation of the black and white films of the early twentieth century.

"The smell. It's not natural." Platts took the hat and walked briskly to the door of his apartment. Most of the furniture was wood or a reasonable facsimile, uncommon for contemporary furnishings, and smoothly curved- uncommon for furnishings of any time period.

"Sir, very few smells are, these days. If you could give an example or a sample for chemical analysis-"

"J-3, You know as well as I do that there is no sample you could analyze. We're just going to have to keep trying until we get it right. I'll know when." Adjusting his flickering bow tie, Platts slipped on a dinner jacket of the same curious material, and picked up his walking stick.

Platts looked closely at the end of the walking stick. While he had been away from it, it had continued to research issues he had begun to investigate earlier in the week. At his touch, it synchronized with his monocle. The monocle displayed the results of the walking stick's work; as his fingers lightly tapped the stick, it skipped forward to the piece of information he wanted immediately.

"J-3, tell no one who calls of my whereabouts. If my father tries to contact me, tell him I am in an important meeting and cannot be reached." With a wave of his hand, Platts transferred the information the walking stick had gathered to the wall of his apartment. He gestured languidly at the information sprawled across the wall, and the interface tracking his motions responded by selecting certain files and setting them apart from the rest.

"You may direct him to any one of these corporations' earnings as evidence of my productivity. While I am gone, feel free to make any dealings in my name that would be beneficial to me." Platts put on a white pair of gloves and raised his eyebrow at his robotic servant.

"I understand perfectly, Mr. Platts. Good luck in your dealings with Y. To what degree would you like me to increase your total wealth in your absence?" The robot's face showed no expression; it could not. The statement, however, was a joke between the servant and its master.

The economy was such that any person who could afford his own robotic servant could, in effect, do whatever he wanted. Most such people opted to live in a manner frankly beyond the means of the wealthiest individuals of the twentieth century. The most impoverished human beings lived in approximately the same amount of space Trace Platts did: infinitely renewable energy, cheap robot labor, and the eco-friendly superstructures which the human race had constructed in the 2050's meant that no human being starved or went homeless. Platts, the son of one of the last great entrepreneurs, had been imbued with a sense of responsibility, and the desire to make his way in the world as his father had. He did not style himself as a businessman like his father, but still denied himself the opulence he could have merely by renting out the processing power of his butler J33-V35. Rather than simply exploit the new economy, Platts preferred to seek out the more interesting opportunities he could find- opportunities that steadily trickled away as mankind became more and more content with its state. Hence, his reply to his metallic servant:

"Only a percent or two today, J-3. Try not to triple my net worth again, alright?" With a wry grin and another gestural command to his wall, Platts conjured a 'mirror' application that allowed him to review his appearance. He nodded in approval. "I'm going to meet Hector and Ronaa first. I'm determined to go through with this, but just because I'm not going to tell my father doesn't mean I'm going to ignore any and all advice. Call me if there's an emergency."

"Of course, sir." The robot held the door open.

"Wish me luck?"

"May the least probable of positive outcomes befall you, sir."

"And you, old friend." And with that the man left.

Sawaariya is one long song with some breaks for dialog. And by dialog I mean girly giggling by the chic and some punch-me-in-the-face expressions accompanied by pig-like grunting by the hero. One wonders if all the actors are the props and the set is the real star in this movie. I came really close to concluding that the bridge-over-the-fake-river is the central star of the movie, because everyone of the other actors looks like they were made of rock. And the rocks had moss growing over them. And the rocks were painted blue!

To say Saawariya is a crappy movie would not be correct. Horrendously Ridiculous comes close, but it doesn't really capture the essence of the absurdity that this movie is. After watching this movie I felt like
tying up Sanjay Leela Bansali alone in a room, forcing him to watch a cockroach chase a spider round-and-round a water fountain for 3 hours.
That too in blue light. Because seriously, that's what this entire movie is. It's two grossly untalented kids, who probably got kicked out of college for lack of attendance and ended up on this set to spend the
rest of the day.

And for the love of God, I can't figure out why the whole movie is in blue! Maybe the director was trying to get every frame half-black half-blue so that the WinZip compression would work better to save some electrons, what with all the global warming and all. That's the best explanation I could come up with, because nothing else can explain the lack of daylight (or plain light, for that matter) in this movie.

Today I've had a case of the Blahs. You know those days. Don't know what my problem is, but I'll snap out of it. I hate it when I get like this. I lose my energy and spunk, and feel pretty much like I have been zapped of life a little. I think I've identified the cause of my blahs, but  unfortunately, it is something I can do nothing about.  To be totally honest, I'm still struggling to adjust to the sudden change in pace of our lives, in particular struggling with dealing with the fact that my husband now works ridiculous hours with lots of forced overtime, while being a full-time student. Not to mention, you wouldn't even wanta see my agenda of must dos for the next two weeks. All of which are really blessings.  So, since I'm home alone at 11:30 p.m. again, whining, I must encourage myself. So, in my quest for always being real, I invite you in on my self-help therapy session.

I can't always change my circumstances from day to day. What I can do, is choose my attitude. I've found that snapping out if it has a lot to do with my mindset. On days like this, what Pastor Ron talked about in church yesterday will chase them away if I choose to allow it. He talked about being joyful people. Not having joy, but living joyfully. There is a difference. No matter what is going on in our lives, we can choose to live joyfully. Life isn't always a bed of roses as they say. It IS totally what we make of what we are dealt at times.

So, I ask myself. What kind of attitude do people see reflected in my life on the good days and the bad? I think some days they see strength, some days they see my weakness, imperfections, and faults. And that's OK. But my goal is for one thing to remain constant through it all. I want them to see an imperfect woman, with struggles and hard knocks just like them, but with a little something weird on top of all of that. A joyful spirit at all times. No matter what. I choose to be joyful on the worst day of my life.......(which I don't think I've even had yet.) .....Hey! There's something to be joyful about.

How about you? What is it that you are going through that you have seen no way to be joyful through? Remember that as Jesus carried the cross He counted it all as joy to do the will of His Father. I don't think any of us has ever literally carried the weight of the world on our shoulders as He did, nor will we ever. Shouldn't we be able to be joyful regardless of what we are going through?

Isaiah 12:3 (NLT) ~ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

Isaiah 61:7 (NLT) ~ Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.