Just posted entry #67 into "The Diary of Capt. Scott" [link]. Bad things are on the horizon. Will our intrepid astronaut be up to the challenge?

STAY TUNED!

Some of you may remember me posting something about the band In Tenebris breaking up several months ago. At the time, they were selling their old wares as the members of the group splintered into various other music factions. Well, there's something I discovered last night, and I've decided to share.

If you want to or have been wanting to check out the music of In Tenebris but don't want to spend a lot of (or any) money, you can! Hop on over to intenebris.com [link] where you can download every song they ever recorded. There are even some extra goodies, like the super limited edition EP that came out after the release of their second album, From Blood and Water, a recording of their last live performance at Reverence last year, and a whole bunch of re-mixes.

All the music there is free for your downloading pleasure. The folks behind the magic only ask that you download the tunes as opposed to streaming directly from the site.

Cheers!

Just posted entry #66 into "The Diary of Capt. Scott" [link]. A brief respite amongst the growing chaos, and a time for some reflection. But bad things are on the horizon. Bad, scary, deadly things.

Stay tuned!

Had a rough weekend that's only going to get rougher as the week progresses. Don't really want to talk about it right now, but here's one gem from the weekend: THE INSOMNIAC Part 16 [link]. Working on fresh material for GHOSTS OF STEEL, as well. Parts 1-5 can be found here: [link].

So I just got back a little bit ago from seeing Iron Man, and, well, IT WAS TOTALLY AWESOME. Seriously, it's probably the best comic book-to-movie yet, though I still have yet to see The Dark Knight. But still, it will undoubtedly give it a run for its money.

The movie also reminded me why I liked Iron Man so much as a kid. He's so unlike every other character in the Marvel universe and just about every other superhero out there. He's loud, he's boisterous, he has serious vices, and he doesn't give a damn whether you know he's Iron Man or not. He's like Batman without all the psychological baggage.

Regardless of whether or not you're an Iron Man fan or a Marvel comics fan, you should take the time to go see this movie. Movies this good don't come around all that often. Don't stick around for the "extra scene" at the end, though; it's not worth sitting through all the credits. Wait 'til the movie comes out on DVD, then watch it at home.

I can barely believe it myself, but I actually managed to take care of everything on the "To Do" list I made Monday morning. Well, almost everything. I still have two tasks left:
- see Iron Man
- get caught up on Battlestar Galactica

Most of the tasks I gave myself were wedding-related, and so Meghan and I are now set up on Bed, Bath & Beyond's wedding registry. All you need to do is go to the website and type in one of our names, and it should take you right to the registry list. There's not much on there right now, but the list shall grow. Oh, yes, it shall grow.

And now I'm only a week behind on BSG. The finality on the series is really coming out in each of the episodes. Some things are feeling...rushed, but not necessarily in a bad way. It's the last season, and they have a lot of ground left to cover. If nothing else, it whets my appetite for what's coming next.

Wow, this has been a busy week for me, and it's only Wednesday! Meghan left for Vegas early Monday morning for the big Choice Hotels convention that's going on prtty much all week. And while she's been away, I've been busying myself with a lovely little "To Do" list to keep myself on track and occupied.

Even though it's still early in May, we have a number of things left to do for the wedding. Yes, it's not for another 5 months, but those 5 months will wither and die, and it'll be October before we know it. So I've been taking care of business and doing what I can to get as many of the last few details out of the way as I can. I still have to pick the DJ for the reception, which I hope to do before the week's over (or at least narrow down my choices to 2 or 3), and I've taken it upon myself to start our wedding registry at Bed, Bath & Beyond, which will be taken care of either today or tomorrow.

I still want to go see Iron Man and get caught up on Battlestar Galactica, and I should be able to do both by tomorrow night. After work today, I'm taking Meghan's car to Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed. Once all that's done, that should take care of everything on the list.

And if I manage to get everything done in good time, I should be able to (finally) get some new writing done. My journals are practically crying for some attention.

Many of you probably know by now that Spring is one of my most favorite seasons. I love it because of the warm days and cool nights, the budding trees, the blooming flowers, that overwhelming feeling of rebirth, and just the general beauty of nature. I also hate it because off the mold that grows after long rains, the pollen that grows and spreads like a plague, and the never-ending onslaught of allergy attacks that follow. I'm often more tired than necessary, suffering from light coughs, a runny nose, dry eyes, and sporadic sneezing spells. I become so dependent on Claritin D than it's almost like I pop the damn things like candy. And thank you to whomever discovered you can turn allergy medicine into whatever horribly addictive drug you make. If we ever meet, I promise to gut you slowly and painfully and to sell your organs back to you at an in-exorbitantly high price. That's a promise.

Also loving/hating my O.C.D. and my need to have everything in my life fit into my crazy little brainscheme. I've decided I don't want my digital music collection to be in .wma format anymore, so I've deleted my entire music library in order to re-rip all my music into .mp3 format. Don't ask why; I don't know. It was simply bugging me. I also bought a portable hard drive from Best Buy today 'cause it was on sale. I've been wanting to get one for a while, and my recent computer scare made me push that purchase a little higher on my "Things To Do" list. So now I'm going to back up all my pictures and music and everything else I want to keep in case my computer crashes, dies, and can't come back.

Because I like to be prepared.

Just finished entry #65 in "The Diary of Capt. Scott" [link]. Another long one, but the history of the situation Capt. Scott's landed himself into is revealed. More details unfold, and an astronaut get trained in the ways of an interstellar gladiator.

More to come. Much, much more.

This is a little poem I wrote yesterday about lentils. It's a response to my friend roomof0nesown's entry citing a Turkish poem about lentils.

"Lentils, lentils,
They're so gross.
And they're for dinner,
So adios!"

Got a call from Geek Squad shortly after 5:00. Headed over to Best Buy a little after 8:00, now I have my laptop back, and it's running like I just bought it. WOOT!

So I got a call from Geek Squad around lunchtime today letting me know my laptop was ready for pick-up. After I got home from work, I changed my clothes, grabbed the laptop pouch that fits inside my messenger bag, and drove to Best Buy. The Geek Squad agent I spoke to said they "re-optimized" my laptop and that everything was running fine. They just wanted me to turn it on, sign in, and double-check Firefox to make sure it was running right.

Well, I turn it on, it boots up, and then I notice I'm not getting any wireless signal. Nothing whatsoever. I then check the right side and notice the wireless internet had been switched off. I flip the switch, then I wait. And I wait. And I wait some more. No wireless internet. So I hand it back to the Geek Squad agent who gets another Geek Squad agent to figure out what's wrong. He fiddles with it. Then he fiddles with it some more. And then some more. And then he says, "We're going to have to run a diagnostic to figure out what's wrong with your wireless internet."

Great. They shut it off when they linked it to their network in order to fix whatever the hell was wrong with it in the first place, and then they break my wireless fucking internet. Fortunately, they're not going to charge me, which is how it should be. No way am I paying money to fix their fuck-up!

No idea when it'll be fixed and ready to come home.

On a lighter note, I came home not too long ago to find my parents watching Wedding Crashers. To those of you unfamiliar with their movie-watching habits, my folks are rather conservative, so I was a bit shocked to fidn them watching Wedding Crashers. And I was even more shocked when I found out they were enjoying it. Yes, these are the same parents who only liked Dogma because they actually "got it."

I just posted Journal Entry #64 in "The Diary of Capt. Scott" [link], and wow, it's major. Probably the most intense post to date. I'm getting more and more excited about this latest "story arc." I hope those faithful readers out there will like it, too (if you exist, that is).

I'm also still trying to figure out how to set up a LiveJournal Feed for the Blogger account so you guys can add it and get each new entry as it happens. If anyone actually knows how to do that, I'd really appreciate you helping me out. Seriously, it'd be wicked awesome.

A few months ago, you may remember me posting something about my homeboy reyyy's short comic piece on Zuda [link] called "Dead in the Now." You may also remember it didn't come in first place and was therefore "cancelled." Well, that may very well change.

The fine folk of Zuda [link] will be starting their "Summer Ivitational" soon where they allow all Zuda readers to vote on which comic(s) they want given a second chance. So please go now to the Zuda website, click on the "Feedback" link, and demand they put "Dead in the Now" in the running for their "Summer Invitational."

But don't do it for me. Do it for reyyy, and spread that zombie love!

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Kirk
2. Captain Kirk
3. "Hey, you"

THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. Parkas4Kids
2. Not-So-Nice-Guy
3. the_human_blanket

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Face
2. Legs
3. Butt

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON'T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. Gut/Stomach
2. Hair
3. Chest

THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. French
2. Canadian
3. Spanish

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. Becoming my father
2. Books like Brave New World and 1984 becoming reality
3. Reality TV

THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. Meghan
2. Comics
3. My Nintendo DS

THREE THINGS YOU ARE WEARING RIGHT NOW:
1. Grey t-shirt
2. Blue jeans
3. Navy & silver New Balance sneakers


THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTISTS:
1. New Order
2. Pixies
3. Echo & the Bunnymen

THREE THINGS YOU WANT IN A RELATIONSHIP:
1. Openmindedness
2. Communication
3. Independence

TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE (in no particular order):
1. I work for the federal government
2. I have a graphic novel coming out next year
3. My favorite drink is a whiskey sour

THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. Face
2. Butt
3. Boobs

THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. Writing
2. Reading
3. Videogaming

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. Take a nap
2. Go on vacation
3. Conquer the universe

THREE CAREERS YOU'RE CONSIDERING/YOU'VE CONSIDERED:
1. Novelist
2. High school teacher/college professor
3. Professional wrestler

THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Jamaica
2. France
3. Ireland

THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Titus
2. Alexander
3. Samuel

THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. Get published
2. Visit every country
3. Have something I wrote become a movie (preferably one that doesn't suck)

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL:
1. I can be indecisive
2. I appreciate good romantic comedies
3. I'm sensitive (so be nice to me!)

THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A BOY:
1. I love comics
2. I love horror movies
3. I've always wanted to own a motorcycle





*unapologetically stolen from tokyoghoststory

So my laptop has all but "taken the piss." The other day, I had Windows Media Player open, and all of a sudden, all my music files just...disappeared. And an error message popped up saying something in my music library had crashed. My music was still on file; WMP just had a sudden case of Alzheimer's.

Yesterday morning, I went to open Adobe Reader to print the approval letter I got from the mortgage company (more on that later), and Adobe Reader crashed. Then Firefox started crashing. Then AIM crashed. Then I couldn't save anything in Microsoft Word. And then I shut it down and took it to Geek Squad to see if they can figure out what the frak's wrong.

When I explained the problem, the poor guy looked completely bewildered. He'd never heard of something like that happening before (and neither have I). It should be about two days before my laptop gets "on the slab," so I'll be using my mom & dad's computer 'til then. Which means I most likely won't be online very much, and I won't be posting much new fiction aside from "The Diary of Capt. Scott" [link].

I just hope I don't have to get a new computer. But if I do, I think I'm getting a Mac.

Brain's in a complete fog today. Probably the weather; I always feel a bit off when it's cloudy and rainy for too long. Fortunately, I've found solace in lizgreenfield's Stuff Sucks comics. What better to do on a dreary day than read comics?!

Nothing, that's what.

Just finished Journal Entry #61 for "The Diary of Capt. Scott" [link]. Whether or not you've been a reader since entry #1, you should definitely check this one out. It's big, it's long, and it's major. Capt. Scott's about to find himself in quite the pickle, so you should all definitely be reading this new adventure. I doubt you'll be disappointed!

And speaking of "The Diary of Capt. Scott," I'm trying to get everything together to get Volume 1 off the ground. I still need a few things to be finished, and I need to go back and do some edits, but I hope to have it out before the series' first anniversary. Stay tuned!

---

EDITED 8:32am: And now that it's Friday (again), here's what new fiction you can expect from me this evening:
- GHOSTS OF STEEL Part 5 on deviantART [link]
- THE INSOMNIAC Part 8 in leftthemilkout and whispertoshout

---

EDITED 11:58am: Just posted entry #62 in "The Diary of Capt. Scott" [link]. The plot thickens!

I got an e-mail from Long & Foster last night informing me the house on Frederick Rd. that was selling for $154.9K has dropped in price. It's now selling for $149.9K. After making a few phone calls, I've come in contact with a realtor and a mortgage loan officer (via e-mail), and I can expect a call from the realtor by 6:00 tonight.

Meghan and I are going to try to go see the house this Saturday, and, if all goes well, we hope to make an offer. More news as things develop.

In case any of you out there in Livejournal Land were looking forward to seeing me at New York Comic Con this weekend, I wish to report I will not be attending. My deepest apologies to anyone whose day is ruined by this sad, sad news, but I simply won't be able to make it. I can't afford it, and there are a plethora of other things going on that weekend. One of which is my friend Carlos's birthday, and since he's one of my groomsmen, I really can't bail on him. That would be decidedly uncool.

To those of you going to NYCC this year, please have fun. If not for yourself, do it for me. Do it for all those unable to go for whatever myriad of reasons they might have.

And speaking of comics, I want to give a shout-out to my homies Becky, Vasilis, Brian, and Brandon for their Eisner nominations. The honor is most deserved.