Category Archives: Uncategorized

$100+ Mugen from Samurai Champloo

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So this past Saturday I went to Wondercon, mostly on a whim and because I was bored. Among the many things competing for the Nerd/Otaku/Fanboy/Fangirl dollar were these high-end collectible figures depicting Mugen from the anime series Samurai Champloo.

(For those of you not aware of this series, it’s an oddly cool mix of samurai stories set way back when, combined with a really great hip hop soundtrack. The story is interesting and there’s not a lot of that wide eyes bullsh*t fanservice crap I can’t stand in most anime. Go watch some and you’ll see what I mean).

Anyway, so they had these pricey, very nicely crafted “collectible figures” with movable eyes, detailing that was to the extreme, and so on. They were selling for $125, I think, a discount off the normal price.

However, after talking to the guy at the booth, I realized that this could be an actual investment. He noted that the run of these “Mugen” figures were limited to 500, with no chance of them ever coming out again. I made some comment about how I should buy some and put ’em in a safe and he said “Hey – that’s no joke. Buy two and we’ll cut the price some more, put ’em in a safe, and in about 2-4 years you could ebay them for at LEAST $500 a piece, if not more.”

Now, that’s assuming a lot, but I’ve met some of these collector types and they can get pretty competitive over something they really want. With the fact that there are only $500 of these worldwide, it’s forseeable one could make 4x-6x their money back in a few years.

Figure it this way – anyone who got a crippling ARM mortgage and bought some big McMansion with a toy cave isn’t faring too well on that investment. But anyone buying a few collectible toys and keeping them in the box for a few years will probably do a lot better!

Spammers, WTF.
No seriously, WHAT THE F*CK?
For those of you just joining us, today I am taking note of the strangest kind of spam I’ve ever seen – spam comments. Now that’s nothing new – anyone who runs a blog runs into these bots or whatevers that can post phony comments that lead you to links on discount boner pills and weird get rich quick schemes. Fine, But what I don’t get is this: 80% of the phony comments land on this post I wrote in a hurry about my Italian cousin performing on Irving Street before his return to Italy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to “mark as spam” comments that come through the system.
I mean, what the f*ck makes this such a target of said spambots? I can’t figure it out. So, geniuses in Internetland, I ask – what’s up with this post and why does it attract so many spam postings? Anyone? Anyone?

gavinsheergenius2

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A friend of mine who is an avid fan of “Shear Genius” on Bravo told me about a recent episode where contestants had to find a way to use “hair extensions” on male models, and how one, in his “after” shots looked like our Mayor.

Curious, I searched on the Series of Tubes for the episode (as it was not on Hulu! Another NBCU Fail!) and found it and took some screenshots. Needless to say, the resemblance was rather startling. Perhaps this guy will fill in while Newsom is out of town running for Lt. Governor?

New iPad Packaging

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Flickr user Tubes posted this mockup of the iPad packaging.

Yes, I know the joke’s been on the Internet for at least a day, and done a million times. This one is one of the better iterations, I think.

ATT Fail Whale

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For all of us AT&T customers, whether we’re iPhone users, DSL subscribers, or using AT&T anywhere, and are tired of their constant failures. They make Muni look good!

we did not ban plastic bags

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One of the things that bothers me about my hometown is that thanks to mostly transplants from Elsewhere, we get lots of stupid ideas, and those stupid ideas refuse to die. Worse, because people want to Do The Right Thing, everyone buys into them, even though it’s all a fraud.

Today, we have a Grade-A example of one that drives me nuts every time I hear about it: San Francsico’s Alleged “Ban” on Plastic Shopping Bags.

“Mayor” Newsom and “Supervisor” Ross Mirkarimi can’t spend more than a few moments without bleating out that San Francsico “banned” plastic bags. The problem is both of them are spewing compostable waste out their mouths every time they say this.

That’s because we DID NOT BAN PLASTIC BAGS, people. Yes, San Francisco, despite all your pseudo-enviornmental chatter, plastic bags are a mainstay of SF shopping. And yet, despite this reality, there’s our City Hall, bragging about how frakking eco/green/whatever we all are, and now want to charge for paper bags. Oh, how frakking “green” of you, guys.

Here’s why San Francisco’s elected “leaders” suck. They did indeed ban plastic bags – but ONLY at “chain stores.” Everyone Else gets to keep using plastic bags (aka Satan’s Chalice). Since I often shop at local produce markets and small businesses, I’ve got a huge collection of them sitting in my storage drawer in the kitchen. You can see a picture of them right here. I guess saving the earth is only the work of “chain stores.” Everyone Else can continue to rape the Earth, then?

The fact that San Francisco does this is another example of how two-faced and hypocritical people are when it comes to environmental issues. Apparently it’s not kicking Mother Nature in the ass with a steel-toed boot when you use a plastic bag at the corner liquor store, but is when you shop at Safeway or Whole Paycheck.

I’m sorry, but that is bogus. Either plastic bags are indeed bad, or they are not. This kind of half-assed policymaking makes the assertion that bags are evil meaningless – if they are bad, then why, oh why, politicians, do you continue to allow them to be used?

Fun fact: Ireland did a true ban on bags by imposing a fee on them that was for everyone – not just chains. Within a year 90+% of folks were using some form of reusable bag, and today, the use of a plastic bag over there apparently is akin to not scooping up your dog’s poop.

I realize that when people have eyes for higher office, having a long list of “feel good” policies to promote makes everyone happy. But here’s a news flash “Governor” Newsom and “Mayor” Mirkarimi: neither of you have the political courage to actually ban plastic bags, or impose true restrictions on disposables. Both of you are cowards who easily stick the costs of “saving the earth” to chains, but have no will to actually do something meaningful, like banning these alleged Bags of Evil entirely.

This is the typical San Francisco fuckup. We love to tell everyone what to do, but when we’re asked to live up to our alleged beliefs, we don’t. We will always tell everyone to be “green” and do lots of showboaty things, but we’ll be damned if we give up plastic bags and our right to free parking, damnit.

UPDATE: Mere moments after posting SF Weekly has a story on it too – and of course, the politicians don’t want to return their calls.

Laugh-Out-Loud Cats #1236

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How could you interrupt the Laugh Out Loud Cats, Kanye?

My birthday is this Saturday, the first time it’s been on a Saturday in ages. Past birthdays have ranged from elaborate events, to unplanned “happenings” that end up as big as elaborate events, without the expense and effort. In 2007, I suggested the Mayor spend his birthday the way I did that year, and last year, oh I went to the Blackthorn with friends (yay!), and had Critical Mass on that day too (boo!).
This year the Outside Lands music festival will be going on, which means tons of people in the neighborhood, and I was thinking of leaving town, but I’m most likely going to stick around here. Because Burning Man starts on Monday, I’m guessing that the exodus starts this weekend (in the past it’s been in full swing ON my birthday, which has its benefits.)
I really hadn’t planned too far ahead this year, as I’m more concerned with other things, but it occurred to me that perhaps this year might be the year to do all the free things one can do on their birthday. Now, a free Denny’s breakfast is nice and all, but I’ve gotta believe there’s more. So, I’m asking the Internet for advice ,and if I can find enough stuff to do, I’ll do a photo series/blog post here and cross post it at the More Popular Blog.
So, fire away your suggestions in the comments! (and if you’re feeling generous here’s my wish list at Amazon for fun.)
PS: For the curious, among the many people that share this birthday are: John McCain, Weezy from the Jeffersons, Elliot Gould, Michael Jackson, SF Public Defender Jeff Adachi, my friend Angelie who is one of the awesome Muni Manners Ladies, Carla Gugino (yay!), Rebecca DeMornay, Joel Schumacher, Charlie Parker, Mr. Blackwell, and the Real John Locke (not the guy on LOST).

If you’ve not already seen the Tonight Show’s “Twitter Tracker,” well, you’re missing out on a hilarious send-up of Twitter, particularly when used by celebrites. The exploding Twitterbirds and WWF style announcer just add to the fun.

I sent my mail ballot in a while back and voted a nice big “NO” on all these ridiculous propositions for this “special election” next week. Most people don’t know what they’re about, or that there’s even an election. Political nerds like me who actually tried to read this garbage found even more not to like, and voted no.
The whole concept of ballot measures at the state and local level has devolved into a joke. When the railroads ran the state and early 20th century reformers wanted to break their hold on government, the ballot measure idea was a good way to circumvent their hold on power. But today, it’s a cruel joke that’s making our state a laughingstock, and it may be time to pull the plug.
Today, the only people who can afford to put some crazy idea on the ballot are the wealthy special interests these things were supposed to fight. Worse, when someone gets one of these things passed, there’s no accountability. Want to make up some budget busting rules for the state? Put it on the ballot and who cares about unintended consequences? Want to make up some zany law declaring San Francisco a “sanctuary city?” Go for it, and when we have illegal alien felons having their “rights” protected from the long arm of the law, well whose ass do we kick for that? No one, that’s who….because it was a “vote of the people.”
Worse, whenever one of these bogus things get challenged, politicians and the courts are always fearful of “overturning a vote of the people.” Hey guess what? If “the people” vote for something truly stupid and unconstitutional, it should be tossed out with the garbage, because it’s unconstitutional. Who cares if “the people” voted on it? “The people” barely pay attention as-is, and their only information is from a slew of political ads. Not exactly a model of democracy, I’d say.
However, I think the best way to make a point about this is….to put a ballot measure up for a vote of the people. To paraphrase Sideshow Bob, I’m aware of the irony of using a ballot measure to point out its silliness so don’t bother pointing that out. Simply put, I think it’s time a group of Concerned Citizens put up the craziest “advisory” ballot measure ever to point how how useless it is. (Although in San Francisco, perhaps no one would get the joke).
Anyway, here’s a few ideas I’m spitballing here….feel free to come up with your own….remember we’re going to use the election system to take a poll about something completely ridiculous, so the zanier the better:
-An advisory measure asking the City to consider making Alcatraz Island into a facility for the cloning of dinosaur DNA and making a world-class dinosaur zoo in San Francisco.
-An advisory measure stating that San Francisco stands as a “sanctuary city” for unicorns, rainbows, and heart shaped stickers.
-An advisory measure asking the Mayor to wear a different colored tie than those blue ones he’s always wearing.
-An advisory measure declaring San Francisco’s support for JJ Abrams’ efforts to improve pop culture via Star Trek, Fringe, and LOST. Maybe make him an honorary mayor or something.
Anyway, you get the idea. Let’s get crazy!