Shouting Grounds

I’ve been playing around with the choice application CSSEdit from macrabbit recently, and I have to say that I’m smitten. From a person that is only now getting into CSS and site design, I’ve learned so much from using this app in just a couple of days. I don’t know what I’d do without it to tell you the truth. I also don’t know what this site would look like without this program…oh yeah, like ass and chives.

Having the ability to peer into the template from which this site has been created is the best method of understanding how a site is constructed. It’s helped immensely when dealing with little visual issues and new features. I now have a much better grasp on how this template is arranged and the CSS objects within.

Just a couple of key features that I’d like to highlight, if I may:

X-Ray Mode
Yowsa!! You mean to tell me that I can load any page on the net and view it’s CSS object structure visually and interactively….yes.

Live Preview
Awesome!! So I can just fuck around with the CSS arguments and bang…I’ll see the result on a cached page?

Codesense
Nothing new, but very welcome when coding to avoid the cronic finger fuckitus.

Clean Layout
This is a more important feature than people usually give it credit for, but it makes using the program an absolute joy. Searching for objects, easy, previewing of an object in the sidepanel, easy, maintaining proper syntax while coding, easy.

Now I know that I’ve left a lot of features out, but that’s just because I’ve only started using CSSEdit, but I have to recommend this inexpensive and powerful app to all Mac users looking to bend their ugly ass website to their will. It will certainly help.

It seems that the whoretrain is picking up ludicrous speed as 2007 gradients into 2008! While this story was hilarious, it was mildly pedestrian until this lemon twist…read about it at the Kiwi Stuff.

Suddenly I can’t get enough of this shit. Screw the president, congress, and the bible-thumpers…I want to see the ‘under cover’ snaps and hear crackly voicemails of a Nickelodeon Executive Prodder taking the lesser Spears in hand…kneading the dough and rapidly bunning the oven…a microwave oven in her case.

Even more interesting, the Abernazi & Fitch poster-boy that the Spears Pub’s initially fingered found a ruined life in his stocking! Seasons greetings, asshole!

How can it get any better than this?!

Who am I kidding? Shit like this is why I hate.

Dlisted.com

The video’s pretty self explanatory…definitely worth the view. Pretty awesome potential.

By now, you’ve all heard about the astronaut who’s stuck in space after his mother was struck by a train. Redscape and I had just weeks ago talked about NASA’s policy of allowing astronauts to choose whether or not they are informed about bad news on terra-not-so-firma while they’re in orbit. Obviously this bloke chose to find out about these things, and why not? I’m sure that while talking to someone else, they’d let it slip at one point…might as well get it over with.

Now two things, and I’ll get to my favorite second. This guy Daniel Tani, 46, is a United States Astronaut. Trained not only to physically endure the rigors of spaceflight and extended periods in the vacuum, but to survive the mental beating of being in space, isolated from family, other people, pissing in a space diaper, and idle contemplation about the physics involved should he decide he wants sex bad enough to force his whip on a similarly trapped cosmonaut. So stories on CNN that attempt to invoke some kind of sympathy for the guy who’s “Trapped in Space!” while his mother’s going underground aren’t hitting their mark. Now, granted, I’m a true cynic…and hate is my game, but come the fuck on. The guy had to have geared a large portion of his life toward going into space for extended periods of time, and is doing something that many people would either kill or pay millions of dollars to do. Plus, he didn’t go up when his mom was 45 and healthy…she died at 90! Shouldn’t have been a surprise, right? I’ll move on.

Now for my favorite bit. This dear old granny didn’t die of natural causes. She didn’t choke on a bingo coin, fall on a knitting needle, slip in the tub, suffocate on powdered sugar, strangle herself with a doilie, or roll down many steps. No.

Police said Rose Tani stopped behind a school bus at a railroad crossing and then drove around the vehicle, bypassing the lowered crossing gate. The train struck Tani’s vehicle on the passenger side and pushed it down the tracks before stopping.

So she broke the law in passing a stopped school bus…and then broke a law by trying to drive through a train crossing gate that had been lowered. Okay…so she was 90. Maybe she forgot 74 years of driving experience at that moment. And maybe she wasn’t in control of her facilities…but instead of ramming the rear of the bus at high speed, she was in control enough to steer around the bus, with clear intent to get through the train crossing before the train.

It’s sad that the guy’s mum is dead…but don’t ask for my sympathy that he’s STUCK in space, and don’t goddamn ask me to be sorry that someone died pulling such a stupid stunt.

I defer to Darwin.

I’ve edited and posted the first podcast since the site was created.

Notice that there will be links to subscribe to the podcast after every 5 blog posts, to keep the pressure on. Enjoy.

This is an enhanced podcast, so in order to get the best experience please have your artwork window open and visible to follow the visual progress of the show as well as the audio portion.

Thanks

If you’ve got a few spare moments on this Thursday before xmas, czech out this Celebrity Blog entry. Certainly high comedy.

From Pajiba: After years (and years) of speculation, it looks like an A-Team feature is officially in the works. The crack commando unit will finally be hitting the big screen, and while casting speculation has been the only thing the prospect of the movie has been good for, no one has yet been attached. But, John Singleton, who officially has one good movie (Boyz N the Hood) and two Oscar noms to his name, but who hasn’t made anything decent in 16 years, is signed on to direct. And given the fact that The A-Team has someone who is now a second-rate director (did anyone see Four Brothers? Don’t you wish you hadn’t?), I suspect the ultimate cast will be similarly second-rate. Some are suggesting that Ice Cube may take the role of Mr. T (who is irreplaceable). But given the obviously limited budget, here’s my modest proposal to fill out the cast: Ryan Reynolds as Faceman; Sam Rockwell as Murdoch; Mos Def as Mr. T; and John Slattery as Hannibal. You can get all four for under $8 million, and leave plenty of money in the budget for the “modern twist” the movie is taking by incorporating oil tycoons and laser technology into the storyline.

Lasers?

Oh, and now they are Iraq War vets, rather than Vietnam vets

Now if Singleton can make A-Team like he did Shaft, then we’re right as rain. If it turns out like 2 Fast 2 Fucked, then…I don’t even wanna think about it. The A-Team is a hallmark of our 80’s childhood! They need to sit the hell down and make this movie for the people that will really appreciate it, the people that grew up with the damned show. Mos Def is not B.A., Mos Def won’t ever be B.A. Don’t get me wrong, he’s been good in other things, but you need a real physical presence to wear the chains…like Ving Rhames. Plus the characters need to be the right age to be not only ex-military, but battle hardened commandos. I love Ryan Reynolds, but I don’t know if he’s old enough to be Face…maybe? How bout Josh Lucas? I’d much rather it be him than Owen Wilson or someone else based on their goddamn marketability. Sam Rockwell would be a good Murdoch, but for Hannibal you need someone with true grit, like Tommy Lee Jones. Too old? How about Aaron Eckhart? Not enough of a presence? Thomas Jane? I don’t know.

I’d say best 4 (what I want):
Hannibal - Powers Boothe!
Faceman - Ryan Reynolds
Murdoch - Greg Kinnear
B.A. Baracus - Ving Rhames

Worst 4 (what we’ll get):
Hannibal - The actor formerly known as Bob DeNiro
Faceman - Ben Stiller
Murdoch - Will Farrell
B.A. Baracus - Martin Lawrence

Comment with your best/worst case scenarios.

http://www.legorobotcomics.com/

that’s all.

Seconds later, the group emerged from the low-rise onto Percy Street. Marcel’s heart rate settled more and more the further they got from his apartment, as he realized that this was just another case of the city exploiting his questionable talents. The street glistened in the pale yellow of streetlight, and wind pulled at his coat as he stepped from the doorway. It had stopped raining sometime after he arrived home from the bar.

Lieutenant Fatty started to slowly amble down the steep steps toward the sidewalk, and Marcel could now see that the City’s Finest had brought not one, not two, but three fuckin’ squad cars…so much for being discreet this time.

Marcel reached out to grab the rail, slightly worried that the stairs might be slick, when Mustache suddenly swept him back with his left arm and chopped Lt. Fatty on the nape of his neck with his right! Fattman rolled down the stairs like a 300-lb. snowball, collecting all of the other cops in a heap against a lightpole. Marcel started to turn toward Mustache, getting only a glance at his gleaming nameplate, “O’Toole”, before the officer put Marcel in a headlock and dragged him back through the doorway. He swung Marcel away from the door, which he slammed and bolted shut. Marcel reeled backward and suddenly found that there was no more floor as he tumbled backward down the short stairwell toward the basement. The cold, hard concrete floor greeted him with a dull thud.

Marcel shook off the cobwebs to find Officer O’Toole standing above him. He slowly drew his hand back to his coat pocket, but the cop held out his right hand, showing Marcel the gun that used to be there.

“I wouldn’t think you’d want to shoot me…Doc.” he growled.

Marcel gazed stupidly at the man for a moment…”Walt?” he managed to blurt.

The cop pulled off his hat, peeled off the brush-like mustache and was transformed into, “Walt Sparks, at yeh service!”

Marcel grinned and reached out to be helped up. He rubbed his lower back from the fall as he looked Walter over, dumbfounded. The moment ended when commotion could be heard outside the door at the top of the stairs. Apparently the mountain of cop had crumbled and reformed at the top of the steps.

“We’d better go, unless of course you want to head to the station again…” Walt turned toward the hallway to the service entrance when Marcel grabbed his shoulder.

“I can’t leave yet, there’s something I have to get from upstairs.”

(To be continued…)

Here’s the first part.

I wrote it in Word but for some reason the formatting (indents and such) would not carry over when I cut and pasted it here. I tried saving it as rich text, plain text, and even straight html but no matter how I input it here it wouldn’t retain the formatting. Thus the simple blocks of text you see below…

Filed under the “Story Project” label.

What the fuck were cops doing in his flat? More importantly, how much did they know?
After several panicked moments he allowed reason to douse the fire raging inside his mind and with an almost visible effort forced his fists to unclench.

He realized the men had stopped talking and were staring at him. Had one of them said something? Was the burden to the conversation now on him? Had they searched the small 1 bedroom apartment? Had those window shades been open or closed when he left and had…

Wait, what was that? Did the one with the moustache just wink at him? His mind raced as he fought for answers. Marcel knew he had to say something.

“…the fuck?” was all he got it. The cops seemed less than impressed.

“Cut the shit pal. You’re wanted downtown. There’s been another murder and they want you to come down and weigh in on it. We’re paying double this time if you can figure out the cocksucker who did it. You in or you out?” quipped the short fat one.

Even as the voice in the back of his mind screamed the opposite, Marcel willed his head to nod affirmative. Anything to get them out of this room! Had they searched it? Did they know? His eyes darted to the window shades…

“Good let’s move”, grumbled one of them.

They pushed their way past him, the fat one having to turn sideway to get through the doorframe. Once out in the hall they turned and waited impatiently for Marcel who hadn’t moved an inch.

“You coming doc?” asked fatty.

Reluctantly Marcel left the room and carefully closed the door as his escorts ambled down the cramped hallway. As he did so he allowed himself once quick and furtive glance to the floorboards in the west corner of the room. With a small measure of relief he noted they appeared to be untouched and intact. For time being at least.

Nevertheless, as he slowly trailed after the two officers, Marcel found his hand tightly gripping the gun in his coat pocket and his mind squarely centered on what was under that floor.

(To be continued…)

Sad news today for all you lovers of domestic violence out there. One of your greatest practitioners has died today. Ike Turner revolutionized the field of domestic violence and made great strides for all dickheads who practice this cowardly art. Many of the backhand slaps and choke moves used today were pioneered by Ike.

He also moonlighted as a rock and roll artist occasionally.

In any event, never one to speak ill of the dead (much), here’s one last shot for the road Ike.

Sitting in a hotel room in Appleton, Wisconsin, I came up for an idea for something to add to the website. While simple in idea, it may or may not be easy to implement, and by no means is it worth spending dosh on (this means you Beard). A few years ago, Redscape and I started a pass-around story, where one of us would write a few pages, then stop in mid-thought and email it to the other to continue. The story started out interesting and fresh, but quickly derailed when we got to a critical plot point (who knew?). Would something like this be simple to implement on the blog? We could make it as simple as just uploading the story to the file transfer page and continue it around. To speed things up, we’d have to limit the writing each person could do to 1/2 a page or so, and try to keep it so each person will have the story for a day, then pass it on. What do chall think? Dumb or not?

BTW - Beardo, the Desksite project animations are fuckin great.