A new companion blog

FYI:

I have a new companion blog to North Star Guide, the Psychotic Chef, where all my ramblings on food and alcohol will be kept in one place

http://psychochefcooking.wordpress.com/

Pandorum

So I just got back from the movies and I just saw one of my favorite movies of 2009. It snuck in the back door on us, it didn’t get a ton of ads, it’s not a super huge blockbuster, it’s simply a really good movie.

Any one remember the dead space review I did a long while back? Sci-fi horror? Well this is a lot like it and my god is it incredibly awesome.

The story sets up with the year 2154, earth’s population is over 24 billion people, the population of earth is in a state of constant warfare over the remains of earth’s precious resources. A last desperate attempt to save humanity is made, the Elysium a massive starship with 60,000 passengers is launched for the planet Tanis. The one earth like planet we’ve discovered in the galaxy. It’s a flight of close to two centuries subjective time, most of it spent deep in hyperstasis for most of the passengers and crew. Only three man flight crews are awake for two year shifts. Monitoring the ships flight and systems. Then something went wrong.

I refuse under all circumstances including torture to say anything more, this movie is that fucking awesome. The basics are general survival horror but fantastically executed in a wonderfully done setting. The final plot twist left me with my jaw on the deck not even knowing what to do with myself. This movie is freaking awesome. Don’t let this hidden gem pass you by.

Quote of the post:

Are you aware of the symptoms of pandorum sir? it starts with a shake…

-Corporal Callo, Pandorum

Trailers:

Spice of the East

So I’ve been exploring other cultures. I sense many of you are shocked by this statement, perhaps identifying me as some racist bastard with no tolerance for other peoples and cultures based on my stances on immigration and… well just about everything else. This is where you are wrong.  I am very tolerant and pro-immigration (just come legally!)

My explorations I have begun with india and… to be honest they might not be going much further cause India is fucking awesome. I have never had a religious experience with food until I tried curry vindaloo. I literally wept tears of joy. The spice, the sensation it was… amazing, jaw dropping, moving. Have you ever had food so good that you immediately wanted to eat two more helpings of it then ask to be taught how it’s made? This was not just curry but Indian food in general for me. Hell even the plainest of items the Naan flat bread was just awesome and it’s the Indian version of a freakin tortilla. Hell even yogurt which in their style of eating is a completely different concept to the yoplait you have in the fridge is…. epic.

Then there’s the music. I don’t care that I don’t speak Hindi and I only understand when some of the more modern music throws in occasional random bits of english. It’s great, the beats are fun, the vocals are fantastic and their music videos are really fucking cool too.

Same shit goes for their movies Bollywood owns Hollywood on so many levels it’s not even funny. I can’t remember the last mainstream movie I enjoyed as much as a bollywood musical such as Dostana and I don’t understand a third of the dialogue!

and of course there’s the girls. Desi (Dangerous, Educated, Sexy India) girls are by my accounting some of the hottest examples of feminine… anything any where on the planet and that’s not just because of all the spicy food. Skin tones of ranges from a light milky brown to a nice dark brown, exotic eyes that can literally incinerate you, that mane of dark black hair. I definently desire a Desi. (any one got the hook up? lol)

Music Videos and etc:

Evony Online Review

Alright I’ll come right out and admit it, the skin in the ads drew me in. It’s hard not to notice them when your cruising the internet. Intensely hot (would they be maidens? or wenches?) beckoning you, calling you “my lord” etc and so forth, it’s like crack-cocaine to the geek in his natural enviroment. Hell they only way they could make it more appealing ad wise is the strategic use of elves to judge by World of Warcraft’s success.

In the end I watched my buddy play a little so I saddled up, (donned my armor? strapped on my sword? swashed my buckle? proper phraseology guide to the editor’s booth please) and taking the plume de nom of Aligheri I entered the online realm of Evony (shout out to server 61) to rule my little nation state of “Paradise” (if you get the joke between the name of my city and the name of my lord you officially get to be awesome) and then I proceeded to wait.

Don’t get me wrong for the first two days this game requires some serious engagement on your part if you want to get off the starting line in a healthy manner. You have 7 days protection where people can’t crush you and it’s in your best interest to get tough and be ready to rock before that 7 day period ends. However there’s a limit to how much you can do, and not because of any level cap or anything crazy like that. There’s literally not enough time once you start getting higher in the tech tree and building levels.

Each tech and building has a preset “build” or “research” time as well as a built in cost of the four basic resources. Food, Lumber, Stone and Iron. Gold is collected from taxation of your citizens and by selling excess resources on the market and is used to pay your Heros and to fund research at the academy. The four primary resources are retrieved by your people at the fields, saw mills, quarrys and mines that you build for them to work at. Keep an eye on your worker needs not out striping your actual population though.

Then comes the fun stuff, combat. Combat’s a fairly simple game based on scouting and attack other players and NPC opponents. Send in some scouts to see what the enemy has defending his fortress and if you think you have the numbers of swordsmen, archers, cavalry and siege weapons to fuck his world all the way up you muster your men, place a hero in command and send them off to do battle. If you win you’ll either plunder resources and gold from your opponent or even take over his city, but if you lose you’ll find yourself open to a retaliatory attack.

On the defense in addition to your troops you have the ability to fortify your walls with archer’s towers, traps, roll logs, and of course defensive artillery in the form of trebuchets (remember the things the guys in Gondor hurled huge rocks at Sauron’s army with from the walls of Gondor in return of the king? yeah those are trebuchets*)

Over all the game is fairly quick to pick up and once your past a certain point is very easy to manage. The strategy is involved but with the waiting required to get things done I’d recommend selecting a good book to read with occasional checks on managing your little empire.

The nice thing about being king is that you have  people to do it for you. Your chosen hero can even act as mayor. So long as nothing new need to be built or researched, no new troops need to be trained, defenses constructed. Your populace is perfectly able to handle the status quo which is great in the event of little things like real life ducking in and messing with your vital internet centered schedule.

Social wise it’s a lot like World of Warcraft though your ability to speak in the general chat is limited by the number of “Speakers” you have, run out of speakers no more talking in general. I find that to be a wonderful way to sort out the retard population. Of course chat in the alliance (i.e. guild) channel is free however, so if you have morons there I’m afraid your stuck with them. In the end the user base is the usual mix of the intelligent, the moronic and those of us   who are sick to death of both ends of the spectrum. I’ve met some awesome friends on Evony as well as some colossal douches. So like all internet social activities take it with a grain of salt.

Bottom line:
4-5 stars. Free doesn’t get any better than this ladies and gentlemen and there’s plenty of games you’d have to pay for that do a whole lot worse than Evony. It’s simple but it’s simplicity is what makes it so much fun. At least give it a shot folks, it’s not like it costs you anything.

Last Word:
men (and similarly interested ladies) beware, those comely vixens in the ads? I still havent seen them in the game, blatant false advertising.

Quote of the Post:
Diplomacy is the art of saying “Nice doggie” until you can find a rock.
Will Rogers

A matter of history

This letter was written by a History professor from Rhode Island , formerly a registered Democrat now registered as an Independent.__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______
I am a student of history. Professionally , I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied it all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.
Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten – fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.
We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back? Why?
We learn just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has loaned two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the 700B we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of we the people, who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.
We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?
We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?
We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?). We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?
Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is medicare and our entire government, our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about) the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x ten. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.
And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palins pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)
Mr. Obamas winning platform can be boiled down to one word: change.
Why?
I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.
This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.
And that is only the beginning.
And I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his brown shirts would bully them into submission. And then, he was duly elected to office, a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think. How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe, and across the world.
He did it with a compliant media did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and . . . change. And the people surely got what they voted for.
(Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.)
Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though.
Don’t forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe. It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years ‚a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.
As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me.
Some people scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. Perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe and why I believe it.
I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am.
Best regards
tps

Quotes of the Post:
” I have sworn upon the altar of God,eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of mankind.” Thomas Jefferson

“As nightfall does not come at once ,neither does oppression. In both instances, there’s a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of “change” in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.” Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas

Obamahood and the First Amendment

, .

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/09/24/house-republicans-hearing-health-insurance-company-gag-order/

http://www.lonelyconservative.com/2009/09/23/mcconnell-blasts-obama-admin-for-insurance-company-gag-order-aarp-exempt/comment-page-1/

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?i

d=696188

http://www.stltoday.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=7630114

If you honestly need any more documentation go to google the sheer number of links annoy me and those of you who believe in the cause dont give a goddamn as it is. You will ignore these signs and warnings. You will ignore the fact of that matter. The big O doesnt give a flying fuck about the constitution, our rights, our beliefs, our traditions, and our freedom.

In his UN speech noted international scumbag Qadhafi of the “paradise” and center of human rights that is Libya said “he’d be satisfied if Obama as president forever” and other international slime has said similar thing endorsing O, applauding him and basically giving him the scumbag “two thumbs up” we as sensible human beings need to start asking ourselves is the course he’s proposing really a good idea? Obama has started at the top of the bill of rights, beating down our right to free speech, not exactly with a federal jack boot more a federal medical invoice but the results are the same. Whats next? a suspension of habeas corpus to help ensure public safety in these dark times? A suspension of the second amendment, perhaps by methods like a UN treaty? His new brownshirts the CNSF patrolling the streets in force “for our safety”?

Ladies and Gentlemen I implore you, vote this bastard out of office and bother the bejesus out of your elected representatives until this SOB can’t pass a fart in the hallowed halls of our government.

However be prepared if he decides not to go.

Quote(s) of the Post:

Good night and good luck

-Edward R Murrow, CBS news
“America is at that awkward stage. It’s too late to work within the system but too early to shoot the bastards. “

-C. Wolfe

maybe we’re getting out of that awkward stage?

It’s unsporting of me…

…to participate in a battle of wits when you are so clearly unarmed.

Unarmed both ways most likely.

I got in one of my usual dog fights with yet another libtard about my beloved second amendment and how horrible guns are. The powder for this particular barrel of dynamite was the fact that I own and cherish an AK-47 as well as another rifle and a revolver.

The lady went off at me about how irresponsible it is of me to own an AK-47 and how dangerous it is (oh yes, so dangerous sitting in my gun safe…) then went on to inform me about how a teen had just shot himself and a pre-teen had just killed his younger brother in her town she then proceeded to go off on me a little bit while I warmed up my usual rebuttal in my usual style (in your face for those new to the site)

I won’t recount the entire conversation for you all but let’s just say she started out mad and only got madder and stormed off madder still.

In short however my arguments go like this:

Teen who committed suicide:

This is utterly retarded to blame on firearms, yes this kid shot himself, but thinking about it logically it’s fucking stupid to blame the gun for the kid’s actions. This kid obviously wanted to die (obviously, he’s dead now) and the gun happened to be a quick and relatively painless solution. With out the gun there’s a whole sit ton of other options from jumping off a building, to hanging yourself, to drinking some draino. If you really want to kill yourself… not having a gun around isn’t going to stop you, hell if you really want to die we could put you in a plain white room with nothing in it and you’ll still find away with a little depressed macgyverism.

The kid who killed his brother: (she seemed to intone it was intentional)

Again why put it on the gun? Human beings have been killing each since the dawn of time with everything from our bare hands to bones, sticks, rocks and everything else our twisted minds could come up with (look at some of the torture devices used during the inquisition, that’s some twisted shit) Hell guns didn’t really even make killing easier, they just made it cleaner. So again just like case number one, if this kid really wanted to kill his brother, nothing was going to stop him if he had to beat him to death.

The power of life and death that can be projected with a gun or a knife, or a stick or whatever other weapon you have to hand does not reside in that weapon, yes that weapon channels that power but the power of life and death resides in each of us, in the will to use that weapon for a purpose, whether that purpose is in peaceful purposes, recreation, defending ourselves and others or for evil purposes such as taking innocent lives to our own benefit is in you. I can’t decide it for you, same as you can’t decide it for me. With out the will to use it a gun may as well be a paperweight, so the question comes down to, are you willing to take the lives of others in defense of you and yours? knowing full well those others will if given the chance, rob, kill and rape you?

Just something to think about.

Quote of the Post:

“For among other evils caused by being disarmed, it renders you contemptible”

- Machiavelli

Obamarama!

Holy shit and jesus h. tapdancing christ on a motherfucking crutch!

I tried to write that promised obamacare article, but I kept having to edit the motherfucker because shit kept happening and now it wont stop fucking happening which is ruining any and all attempts in my mind for me to keep my new series or articles even vaguely current. I mean jesus this administration is filling the sky with so many targets that I need a flak cannon or anti-aircraft battery not a shotgun. So I’m going to go full auto (see the clever tie in?) and attempt to hit as many psychotic things as possible with a paragraph or so + apiece

Obamacare:

Okay this rates alot more then one paragraph but seriously folks this is a failed plan, a horrible idea and one we can prove time and again as “fucking stupid” albeit the whole death panel thing may be going a wee bit too far but honestly it ain’t far from the truth. There’s a freakin reason that Canada has an entire service industry based around finding Canadian citizens health care in america! Hell I know a canadian citizen (one of 5 total*) and she’s got a debilitating and extremely painful disease, the socialized medicine up there isnt even handling the medicine and the docs dont have the slightest clue on new forms of treatment to attempt for her, final conclusion? she’s screwed unless she can get some help stateside.

Oh oh oh and even better! Obama wants the illegal immigrants (you know the ones stealing your jobs and sending all the money they make out of the country and benefiting off your tax money? those guys?) to get free healthcare too! and he plans to do it by the same type of stupid sweeping reform he’s becoming famous for. AMNESTY!!! YAY! Let’s give citizenship to people who need to go the hell home!

Alright that last sentenence deserves clarification so I don’t get a shit ton of hate mail calling me a racist, facist pig, imperialist swine, cousin fucking redneck sob, etc ad nauseum (the last is kinda close to the mark but I have never even hit on one of my cousins)

The illegals need to go the hell home, the argument “well they just want to improve their lives” is fucking bullshit, if they want to improve their lives they can improve mexico. These people have no respect for our nation, no interest in being part of our culture and being a true citizen of our nation. Fuckin A people the graffiti is literally on the wall, a gentleman I know in construction saw tags like “We are here for your jobs and money, white man go home” and this was on a freakin construction site, placed there by illegal construction workers, and it wasn’t even close the to border either. If you want to be american your welcome in this country that policy will (hopefully) never change, the rest of you (including the 12 million + we didn’t invite) can get out and take San Francisco with them.

The above counts for two topics for those of us following at home, using my trademark method of hitting two birds with one artillery shell.

Obama and the Internet:

In further psycho reporting from DC holy fuck can you read this shit!? http://www.newsmax.com/headlines/obama_internet_fcc/2009/09/20/262385.html?s=al&promo_code=8961-1

Yeah it starts as “Well we’re just assuming this control to help everyone, keep the information flowing freely” then it becomes “Well this kind of communication needs to be controlled or stopped for your own good” then it becomes a lock down, goverment regulation where none is needed is called “imposing on your rights and freedoms” folks and it always starts small and quiet.

In other news look for this blog to be shut down by FCC for subversive statements.

Ladies and gentlemen these are dark and troubled times and all I can do is say be prepared for the worst.

Quote of the Post:

Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken

Here we go!

So…. havent been writing in forever and a half but I’m back and I’m not exactly better then ever but I definitely have plenty to write about. It turns out my wife was cheating on me pretty much the whole time and my starry eyed idealism was just that, between the mess of a divorce and some serious pressure at work… yeah my life has just plain been hell on earth that said something’s making it worse.

Obama is apparently trying to bring back some extremely stupid ideas to cripple the United States even more. Socialized medicine is the biggest crock pot idea on earth, you don’t even have to go to a communist bloc nation to figure that one out! All you have to do is go to freakin canada!

In depth assault on obamacare to follow this week

Castle

I know I haven’t written anything in forever, I know I’m shiftless lazy and probably a terrible writer as well but turbulence was encountered far in excess of the normal limits and severe damage was incurred. Let’s just say lots of legal paperwork, a divorce court and some complete mental breakdowns were involved. That said that frame of mind is not the best for writing but as I’m pulling out of my funk the ability comes and goes, then something shows up and you want to write more.

In this case it’s a TV show called Castle. It’s on ABC and has just been renewed for a second season. It’s the story of a murder mystery writer by the name of Richard Castle (played by the fantastic Nathan Fillion) who through a series of events (trying not to spoil it for those of us who have not seen) ends up assisting Kate Beckett an NYPD homicide detective on several of her cases. The humor is quick, the one liners are sharp and the over all cast chemistry is fantastic. The murders and the plot behind them are creative, original and very well played out.

In short this show is one in a million. I’m not going to lie I started watching all ten season one episodes the day before yesterday and finished at about 2 am this morning and I’m already ravenous for the second season to begin. September 21st just can’t come quick enough.

I realize a review on a season of TV that’s already ended is definitely me coming in last for the “punctuality” bit I’m supposed to be working on but Castle is worth a look.

“Well the detectives on TV seem to have a strange fascination with their sunglasses”

-Richard Castle

http://www.hulu.com/castle