I'm watching the WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, and during the career retrospective for Ric Flair, someone (I thing it was a former Horseman) compared him to Babe Ruth and Mohammad Ali. Jim Ross said something along the lines of watching flair in that first year of his career was like watching Micheal Jordan's rookie season. You just knew that it was the start of something special.

All those comparisons are accurate. Every sport has that one player that even if you aren't a fan, you have heard of them. Boxing has Ali, Baseball has Ruth. Hockey has Wayne Gretzky, Football has...I'm a fan of Football, so I can't say who that one person is. All the proof you need is the fact that I don't even need to link to Wikipedia entries for these men, everyone has heard of them. Gretzky's name was even in Blogger's spell check.

Even though Pro Wrestling isn't considered by most to be a sport, for fans and competitors alike, we have Ric Flair. I think it was Triple H (because I can't remember who said it tonight) who said that there are many who have tried and some who have come close, but there will never be another Ric Flair. He has often said to be the man, you have to beat the man, but Flair will forever be the man.

Congrats Naitch. You've earned it.

On behalf of every wrestling fan in the world, all I have to say is

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

On Trevel Channel right now they are doing a show on privetly owned Islands.

I want my own Island.

It doesn't even need to be big enough for an evil lair or anything. Doesn't even need to have much room. Five acres or so would be just fine. Enough room for a cabin and a decent Mountain Bike trail system. More then that would be a bonus.

I just finished watching this weeks episode of Transformers: animated. It was a great episode, or at least it will be when Part 2 airs next week. This week was mostly set up, which is is something that needs to be done, but the set up episodes of any show are always judged on what they set up. A great season can be ruined by a bad season finale.

Fortunately this is Transformers, so of course it will be great, and it's not the season finale, so it can only get better. But I'm not here talking about the episode. I want to talk about one of my favorite Decepticons from the show; Blitzwing.

I always liked the triple-changers. Blitzwings is a great example why. He's a tank. He's a jet. He's a robot. He's three toys in one! The animated version is even better by making him have multiple personalities. Two of them are linked to his alt modes, and the other one is insane, making him a comic relief character, which are always fun.

Only real complaint is that they didn't go with a better character, Astrotrain.

Still not sure why exactly I like Astrotrain. He has a space shuttle and train for alt modes, and on the show he was mainly a troop transport. Yet when I won the G1 figure off Ebay, it was one of the most exciting wins yet (Super Mario World and Mario Kart have since surpassed it, but for a long time it was the best thing I got off there. The only Classics figure I was really excited about when they announced the line was Astrotrain, And when I heard Blitzwing was going to be in Animated, I( was disappointed that it wasn't Astrotrain.

on the bright side, there is at least one more season of toys, and where Blitzwing is, Astrotrain usually shows up. Maybe we will get an animated version of Astrotrain next year.

Useless trivia for the day

Three quarters fit perfectly into the bottle cap of an orange Crush bottle.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled websites, already in progress.

I saw this while reading the archives for Not From Concentrate. I always kind of wondered if that is where the red came from.

Bit of useless trivia. Apparently Spongebob is in Office's spellcheck (but not Blogger's since it is saying it is misspelt, but Starscream isn't.

Just as useless, the guy who does the voice of Spongebob (and at least one voice in pretty much everything else Cartoon Network has produced in the last five years or so) also voices Starscream in Transformers: Animated, which is how I learned the first useless fact.

Thomas

This is a story I came up with while sitting in church last Easter. As often happens, I kept reading after the pastor finished and I got to the part about Thomas. As I was reading about Jesus appearing before him, I started wondering what was going through his mind that caused him to doubt, as well as what he was thinking when he saw Jesus gain. Obviously there is no biblical evidence to say for sure, this is merely what I think might have been going through his head.

And in case you are wondering, the last line is from Luke 20:28 and is Thomas' reaction when he realizes that Jesus is alive.

Thomas

I can’t believe those guys. For the last week all I’ve been hearing about all week is how he is alive. He can’t be alive. He is dead! Everyone knows that. But they say that they got together last week and he appeared before them.

That’s not possible! I know that he died. People who were there told me. They saw them take him off the cross. They saw them drive a spear into his side. They watched as they laid him in a tomb. How could anyone, regardless of who it is, survive all that?

They were drunk. That had to be it. They were all drunk and seeing things. It was early, probably about nine when they said they saw him, but after what we had been through the week before, can you really blame them for starting early? Yep. That had to be it. They were all drunk.

So what am I doing here then? Why am I believing in their drunken hallucinations?
Maybe I want it to be true. Maybe I want him to be alive. Maybe I want someone to tell us that the last few years of out lives weren’t wasted following some mad man.
Maybe I just want to make sure. After all, we are all here. What better time for him to show up. But I refuse to believe utill I see him. Until I touch the wounds.
The door is locked from the inside. Only way anyone is getting is if they are a ghost.

There’s something going on in the other room. I better see what it is. Wait. There must be something in the air, because I haven’t had anything to drink, but I see him standing there, just like the do. But it can’t be him.

He…It is calling me forward. It’s holding out its hands. There are the wounds! I can feel them!

IT IS HIM!

HE IS ALIVE!

My Lord and My God!

I saw this and after reading it I had to comment on something. For those that don't want to fallow he link, it is about a guy who created a Facebook account using the name of Prince Moulay Rachid of Morooco. who apparently didn't like the fact that someone was using his name and had him arrested. from the sounds of things, this was completely legal in Morooco, and while it might seem kind of petty for a prince to arrest someone for doing something that he didn't like, there is more to this story.

Here is the part I had a problem with. the following is taken from the article

Mourtada's case drew the scrutiny of at least one major media freedom group abroad, and spurred an online campaign by supporters who had appealed to the prince for clemency.

I'm guessing most of these supporters were upset by what they felt was a prince hat was using his power to punish someone for something he didn't like, but what they fail to realize is that this guy committed a form of Identity theft. I'm guessing most countries have some sort of law against impersonating law officers, portraying yourself as someone you aren't, and basically any other sort of ID theft. this is no different then if someone made an account pretending to be President Bush. The guy said he did it out of admiration of the prince and the king of Morooco, no doubt giving into public opinion, pardoned the guy.

The thing that made me laugh though is this. all these supporters, the Media groups, and bloggers, all mad because the prince arrested someone who was posing a him online.

Wonder how they would have reacted if he had posed as one of them.

Supervillain plot #47

Duct tape the tectonic plates together, just to see what happens.

Writting Roundup--March 24, 2008

YAY! The first real edition of the Writing Roundup!

Now the kind of bad news. Not much got done last week. I did write a story I meant to post yesterday, but since I felt like crap and slept most of the day, I kind of forgot. I will post it later today. I did get a few things done though.

New Stories
I posted one new story on here, St Paddy's Day Hunt. Didn't plan on writing that one. I was on Helium and I saw that there was a section for posting different ways to celebrate St Patrick's Day. There were already 22 articles up, and I didn't want to write the same thing everyone else was writing, so I decided to go with something completely different and absurd :) I think Scott, one of the guys from work, is still laughing.

I also got some more stuff up on Superstar Pro Wrestling. I got a bit behind and am only up to Valentine's Day Massacre, which took place in early February. I have some stuff typed up, and will post more this week. started using a different style for episodes of Powersurge and am really liking how it is turning out.

Previews
SPW
The Chosen lost the Faction Wars title. Will they use their rematch Clause, or is the war between them and the Hardcore Revolution finally over.
With two wars at an end, another resumes as "The Ironman" Randy Stark became the #1 contender to the Continental championship. Considering what happened last time he and Fezik fought, one has to wonder what Stark has in store for the Big Man this time.
And finally it is a clash of titans as Austin Stevens prepares to face his former partner Triple X with the Heavyweight title on the line. With these two superstars facing each other, anything could happen.

Happy Third Birthday!

Yes ladies and gentlemen and Non-existent Readers everywhere, three years ago today I claimed this corner of the sphere and started this little experiment that is The Freak Show. And what a three years it has been. Several stories posted, lots of stuff written about, even a couple of conversations done entirely in the comments! It has been an interesting and fun ride so far.

A fair amount has happened in the last year

The site passed the 500 posts mark, a number I honestly thought I would never reach. the number of posts in the last year wasn't nearly as many as the second year, but still pretty good.

Got another new job, this time working at a home for the mentally handicapped. Still working at the deli, but hopefully I won't be there much longer. Either they will stop scheduling me (they have me down to one day a week for some reason) or I will quit.

Got a lot more stuff posted, and even took the first few steps into the world of professional writing. Nothing yet, but have to start somewhere.

Spent a few days having a conversation with a really cool person in the conversation. Much better then the "Conversations" i had with that troll last year.

I know I said last year that hopefully I will have a new job by now, but this time I know I will. I'm looking at a few different possibilities. One might be really good, the others will just be kind of good. Not as good as the one, but better then what I'm doing now.

I know I said that I should have a bunch of writing stuff done by now, but I didn't. Opps. I do have one novella almost done, and hope to be posting it by June, and I have a Fantasy one that I hope to have done by the end of the year. If nothing else, I hope to have a bunch more posted by this time next year. Hopefully even start Powerforce.

Like I said, it's been a good year. Hopefully next year will be just as good.

I saw this on YouTube and had to post it.

And before anyone gets mad about it mocking Micheal Jackson, relax. I'm sure they have done other ones, with other celebrities. t his is just the one I happened to find.

The Battle Resumes

This story is part 3 of The Sacrifice, a 5 part series that is a sequel to The Siege and started in A New Day Dawns.

The Battle resumes

My men held strong as the army of darkness crashed into our defensive line. I doubt a single one of us fought with out remembering that horrible night, but our survival and the resolve to defend those that could not fight strengthened us. While we didn't know much, we remembered some of the ways these beasts could die, where to strike, there tactics, and we used that to our advantage. Several men fell in those first few moments, but unlike last time, just as many of our enemies fell.

I felt one's filthy blood hit my face as it sprayed from the stump where once his head sat. I struck again and again, driving them back, killing and wounding them. All around me my men did the same. And though we failed in driving them through the gates, at least we had halted their advance for the time being.

We would hold them. They would not pass us.

For if they did, Caer Flaunys would fall.

St Paddy's Day Hunt

I posted this on Helium, which is why it has that disclaimer at the top. if it was just for this place, I wouldn't have bothered. Surprisingly enough, with in a couple of minutes of me posting it it was ranked 14 out of 23 articles on the subject of celebrating St Patrick's day. I doubt it will get any higher, but that was a pleasant surprise indeed.

If you could, either before, after, or instead of reading it here, go to it on Helium (here is a link) and help me make some money with this. I might ask this for future articles I post there and another place as well. just thought I would warn all my Non-Existent Readers. I also posted it on Associated Content, but since it has to be reviewed, there isn't a link available yet. I will post one one it becomes available.


St Paddy's Day Hunt

Please note that is meant for comedy peruses. If you think this is serious, you need more help then I do.

Ah St Patrick’s Day. One of the greatest days of the year. In fact, in my opinion, the only days greater then St Paddy’s day are Christmas, Halloween, and of course Taco Tuesday. I know some people might disagree, putting it before Taco Tuesday, but I have to admit. Tacos rule.

In my family, St Patrick’s Day is a festive day indeed. The day starts out bright and early at the crack of noon. After a hearty breakfast of green eggs and Guinness, the men go out hunting while the women stay behind to start work on breakfast. This isn’t for sexist reason. It is simply because the women in the family don’t like going with when we go hunting. I’m not sure why. Something about how we don’t pay attention and spend so much time burping and breaking wind that it is a wonder we ever get anything. I wasn’t paying attention. I was too busy looking for looking for a can of air freshener after letting loose with a particularly stinking SBD.
Now you might be wondering what we go hunting for. Well some people might thing that bear or moose are some of the most dangerous and difficult prey to hunt, but we hunt something far more elusive; the wily Leprechaun.

Most people laugh when I tell them that. They say leprechauns don’t exist. That is because they have never seen one. Like Bigfoot, leprechauns exist, but thanks to their elfin magic they can remain hidden for all but one day a year; March 17. On that day the magic of the Green Isle radiates out, covering the whole planet and counteracting their magic, making them visible to everyone.


You might be wondering what type of weapon to use when hunting Leprechauns. Some people are purists, preferring a bow and arrows, but I find that arrows are too big and cause too much damage. Plus they aren’t as accurate nor do they have the killing power of a good rifle, and when you only have one opportunity a year, you have to get as many kills as you can. That is why I prefer using a rifle.

I use the Nerf Longshot CS-6. It has good range and stopping power, fires quickly, and has a six shot clip before you have to reload. The fact that clips and ammo are cheap and it is easy to reload quickly are bonuses. The scope also helps. Some people like to have the sniper barrel on it, but I find that while the increased accuracy and range is nice, it makes it difficult to use if you are close to your target, so I usually leave it at home. I also carry a Maverick Rev-6 with me. If you don’t kill it with your first shot, you need to take it out quick before it disappears and having a side arm is useful for this since the Longshot dart causes too much damage at short range.

Before I go into how to hunt Leprechauns, I would like to offer some advice on other weapons. With the exception of the Recon CS-6, I wouldn’t rely on the other Nerf weapons. Either they are too week or don’t have the range. I haven’t tried the Recon, so I can’t offer an opinion on that one at this time. Since it is suppose to be as powerful as the Long shot, I would probably work fine.

Leprechauns usually hang out in circular clearing, especially if there is a circle of mushrooms or stones in the center, so that would be a good place to start the hunt. To lure them out you can use a warm bowl of Guinness. Not sure why they prefer warm Guinness, but they do. You can also use Peeps, but only the chick ones. They don’t like the other ones. Mini Marshmallows sometimes work too, but the sugary coating of a Peep is like a pixie stick to a small child; they can’t get enough. You can also use a leprechaun call. There are some available on the market, but it is easy enough to do. Just cup your hands over your mouth like you would for a duck call and yell, “I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts!” No need to sing the whole song, that first line is all you need since it I a almost exact replication of the leprechaun matting call.

A word of warning. Leprechauns are known for using various methods of luring away potential enemies. Their most common method is to leave a bowl of Lucky Charms out, but be warned. There are no clovers in the bowl, and they use the Blue Diamonds. While the diamonds are leftover from before they eliminated that marshmallow from the cereal back in 1994, there is no excuse for the clovers being missing, unless the cereal it’s self is from between 1994 and 2004, when they put clovers back in. Since it is at least four years old, it probably isn’t that good for you. Plus they use the Lucky Charms to distract you while they run away. Don’t give into the temptation. Unless you happen to have some milk. In which case it is up to you if you eat them or not.

Since they are so small, there isn’t much meat on a Leprechaun, so you will have to get a lot for a decent meal, plus more if you want to freeze some for later. I can’t go into details on how to butcher a leprechaun since it is a family secret, but I can say that leprechaun jerky is good. I prefer the teriyaki style. The most common way to serve leprechaun is leprechaun stew. To make it, take three-pound s of meet, brown it. Add a whole onion, four carrots, half a gallon of Guinness, a shot of whiskey (Jack Daniels or Jim Beam are what I usually use) and a box of Lucky Charms. Let that simmer for about three hours and serve with mini marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles on the side. Some people also like whipped cream, but I find it throws off the flavor.

And that is how you hunt and prepare leprechauns. Now if someone could tell me what the subject I was supposed to write about in the first place was, I would greatly appreciate it.

Writting Roundup--March 17, 2008

Welcome to the first edition of Writing Roundup, the columns that I mentioned while writing about my NaNoWriMo projects, way back in late October It only took my a little under six months to start it! That is pretty quick for me.

A quick description of this thing, Basically it will be a place to mention the stuff I've written in the past week. Since a fair amount of it is on other sites, I can use this one as kind of a central hub and just give people one address, and from there they can go to the other sites. It is also a place to keep all four of my fans up to date on new projects that I am working on.

Except for this intro and the New Stories section, the preview and thoughts sections might not appear every week. In fact, there is no reason for them to appear in this post, but I figured I probably should so I can introduce them and explain their purpose.

New Stories

Obviously this is an area for me to talk about the new stuff I've done this past week.

I didn't really do anything. Sorry.

That's not entirely true. I just didn't do anything that is ready to post. I did get some stuff proof read so that I can finally post it though. First is Sailors Take Warning, the last part of Battle at Sea. A New Day Dawns, the first part of The Sacrifice, which is the sequel to The Siege. Also posted is the second part, Darkness Descends. And finally is Mushroom Kingdom, the first part of Final Level, a sequel to Pine Creak Murders.

Now for the Previews!

Previews
This is a section for previews.

Big shock, huh.

Anyways, this is an area for posting previews for stuff I have typed up and plan on posting the following week. Since I don't have anything planned at the moment, there are no previews this week.

Thoughts
and this is the thoughts section. It is an area for me to post my thoughts on the stuff I posted in the past as well as on writing in general. Also any advice I might have learned, often the hard way, and want to pass on to other aspiring writers.

I just found out that Guy Ritchie created a comic book!

While reading the archives for The Rack (specifically this strip) Not only that, but apparently they are making a movie of it, with Richie producing and directing. if it is as good as Lock Stock or Snatch, I can't wait to see it, or read the comic.

I'm Dreaming Of A White St Paddy's Day

I have a meeting today, so imagine my surprise when I wake up and found a layer of snow on the ground. Not even light fluffy snow, but wet heavy snow. Not that I should have been surprised. it always seems to snow some when we have a meeting at the house. it could be the middle of summer and it would snow (latest measurable snow was recorded on June 10 if I remember right. not sure what year.)

so as I was walking to my truck, I started singing the first song that came to mind, with altered lyrics and a bad Irish accent, for no real reason.

I'm Dreaming Of A White St Paddy's Day

I'm dreaming of a white St Paddy's Day
Just like the ones I use to know.
Where the tree tops glisten
and children listen
to hear
Leprechauns in the snow.

I'm dreaming of a white St Paddy's Day
With every Guinness that I drink.
Hope your day is merry
and doesn't stink
and may none of your St Paddy's days
be pink.

I just realized that I didn't play Super Smash Bros Brawl yesterday. Granted I was at work or sleeping most of the day, but I didn't even start up the Wii with the intention of playing. Could my addition to this great game have been beaten before it truly started?



Doubt it. Just a bad day. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to working on Unlocking Snake and Sonic.

Found out about this earlier today. Seems that last Thursday, March 6, was World Book Day.

This is the first I've heard of this event. I have often said that I don't care if kids read harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings, just as long as they are reading, and that people who have problems with certain books should at least acknowledge that getting kids reading is a good thing. This seems to be a great way to do that.

So why isn't this day celebrated in the US? or, if it is, how come more coverage of it isn't given?

International Monopoly

Saw this on Peter David's blog. The Wild card voting is still going on, but personally the choice of what cities go where shouldn't be up to Monopoly fans. At least not for this first international edition.

For anyone who doesn't want to follow the link, there is an international version of Monopoly in the works, with people voting on the Internet what cities are on the board. the top vote getters are at Park Place and Boardwalk, and there are a couple of wild card spots open, which will take the place of Baltic and Mediterranean avenues.

As I said, it shouldn't be up to the people. It should be based on economy. that is how it was in the original. New York is the 5th richest city in the world, so it should be where Pacific Avenue is. Zurich is the richest city on the planet, so it should take the place of Boardwalk. If they want to have fans chose the cities, do that with the next edition.

It is 9:21 as I am writing this.

I should be asleep.

A very worthy alternative is talking to Rae, and while I was planning on being up for at least a bit so I could do just that, sleep is still something that is on my mind right now.

I have to work tonight, and while it is actually better for me to be awake now and sleep later so I am not up as long when I get to work, it is still to early for them to be making this kind of a racket.

First the deli called and asked if I could work tonight. I said now for a couple of reasons. First, they have seemingly been phasing me out, cutting me down to first two, and now one day a week, for no apparent reason. If they want to treat me like that, why should I help them out. Second, they are the idiots who foolishly scheduled only two people at night all week. Why should I cover for the incompetence of the manager when she doesn't see fit to schedule me. And third the moron didn't even have the decency to call and ask me to work. she had to have the idiot that no one likes and has been the main source of trouble in the feud between the night and day crews. that is more a point of annoyance then anything else, but I thought I would put it in anyways.

A few minutes after I hung up on the deli, they started working in the hall. I have had nothing but trouble with the people doing remodeling, and I will post about that in the next day or two, but for now I will just go with the fact that they are pounding away doing who knows what, talking loudly to be heard over the radio and their own hammering, and painting. Even listening in my bedroom I can tell they are using too much paint. The roller sounds like it is soaked, which is probably why they are tearing up the carpet. They are getting paint all over the place.

As I said, I have had nothing but problems with these guys and I am not alone. if you know me you might have heard me complaining about them, if not wait till I post about it later. in the mean time, I hope they quite down soon so I can get back to sleep.

Peter David commenting on a new Clinton Ad.

The one with the announcer intoning "Who do you want picking up the phone in the event of an emergency?" while children are shown sleeping.

It screams to have grafted on a clip of Adam West as Bruce Wayne picking up the phone and saying, "Yes, commissioner," and then he and Burt Ward run to the Batpoles.

Because...really. Wouldn't YOU really Batman be the one answering the call?

Because really, who better to answer the phone then Batman?

Well, I can think of one person, but I'll say who after they announce who will be running for president.

YAY!

Dari King is open!

For those of you who live or have lived in the area, you know what I mean. for the rest, trust me. this is a good thing.

A very good thing :)

Saw these in the Link Of The Day section of UserFriendly

Behold, the

End Of The Internet!

Or is this the end?

Either way they are both good.

I just found out something exciting.

While searching my favorite torrent site for some files and I saw Stargate: The Ark Of Truth, the first Stargate SG1 Movie!
Before the Anti-downloading league gets on my case, I would like to clarify that I was looking for Gundam SEED: C.E. 73 Stargazer and Gundam 00, neither of which is available in the US, and in the case of Gundam 00, isn't even on DVD in Japan yet.

The reason I was surprised is because The Ark Of Truth isn't due out until March 11. Turns out that an unfinished version was leaked onto the Internet back in December, and that in mid-February the DVD version was leaked onto the net.

All of which means I could have watched it (with out special effects or anything) back in DECEMBER!

Of course I'm going to wait. I've waited this long, I can wait another week. and with Super Smash Bros Brawl coming out a couple days before that (still not sure why they are releasing it on the 9th, but I'm not complaining) it will be an exciting week :)