"We'd have a funny story to tell people, at least." "Yeah, unless we DIE."

Thanksgiving was boring. Like usual. Moving on.

In my three holiday seasons of working retail, this was definitely the lamest post-Thanksgiving weekend I've worked. Black Friday was pretty tame, namely because we at the bookstore didn't have anything really interesting to sell and something something economy.

Not even a single customer trampled to death. Not much in the way of craziness, though I did get to utter the sentence, "Yes, sometimes books do have pictures in them, and yes, the price is clearly printed on the back" to some lady over the phone. And yes, I did get the guy who angrily snapped at me for answering his question with the phrase "pretty much". He had only asked if the price on the sticker was the same as the price printed on the jacket. Ask a stupid question.

But that's actually a disappointing turnout, because I know for a fact that the good people of Fox Point, Wisconsin can crank the crazy up to 11 when they want to.



OH HEY GUESS WHAT. I figured out how to make the Description line up at the top of the blog display random phrases! Go ahead, hit Refresh and try it! SHUT UP THIS IS AWESOME.

I think I'm-a gonna go make dinner.

People who are not us are generally terrible people

There is no better way to spend an evening than to be furiously and relentlessly judging every single awful person that walks into Five Guys Burgers. Especially when you and your roommate have already ordered and eaten half an hour ago and have naught to do but eat the free peanuts and watch people until House comes on.

(House was excellent, by the way.)

(Like it's ever not)

(Has anyone ever bought a Hot Dog from Five Guys anyway? Why would you?)

(Parentheses)

Things I hate: People who hold the door open for you when you're still like a mile away from the door. You're suddenly obligated to pick up the pace and get through the door so you can stop wasting their time. They thought they'd be nice to you, but they didn't realize that you were so far behind so pick up your fat butt and get over here already.

The Road is supposed to be out today, which is the 25th, despite what this entry's timestamp will tell you. But it's not. Neither of the theaters within walking distance are showing it, even though they totally had posters up for it for the last month. And if movietickets.com is to be believed, not a single theater within 40 goddamn miles is showing it. How long do I need to wait before seeing Cormac McCarthy's masterpiece on the big screen by way of Viggo Mortensen acting like a crazed hobo?

On the subject of books, Zadie Smith has a book of essays out and I kinda want it. Even though I'm not much of an essay reader. The author is way awesome, though, so maybe I'll borrow it from work.

Aaaand Josh just left with his parents for Thanksgiving festivities. Cody has already left for work and will be heading straight for home as well. This leaves me alone in my apartment with very little to do until tomorrow morning when I head home for my own family's Thanksgiving, something that is a fairly minor affair in the Butschli household.

I don't even like turkey.

I shall use it to recharge my powers in preparation for the impending Blackest of Fridays and the following Saturday of the Damned, which I'm sure will provide endless material for later postings.

I am just the worst

In class today, I was the only one in my small group, a small group otherwise made up entirely of young college girls mind you, who knew that the werewolf in Twilight is named Jacob and is supposed to be Native American. They're supposed to be the Twilight experts here, not me! Clearly Borders, pimp of all things vampire-related has poisoned me and all of my friends must stay away. The disease is already inside me.

So, Facebook. The wonders of technology. It's at the point where all you could conceivably need are a face and a place where they frequent (like, say, UWM) and bam. If you're willing to do a little digging, you can learn their name, birthday, dating status, and whether or not they think The Dark Knight is a pretty good movie. We are this close from having an iPhone app that allows you to take a picture and it will then automatically search the internet for data on any object or person that appears in the frame, turning your phone into what is basically Boba Fett's helmet. Or the Eden of the East system.

It strikes me as a good thing that apparently Facebook and iPhones do not exist in the Death Note world, because Kira could just as easily have Googled all of his opponents and not gone through with all the Xanatos Gambits to learn their names. I was able to do it with just a login onto Facebook. Fortunately, I do not have a Death Note, just a mildly creepy tendency towards e-stalking.

House was pretty great, and I can't say I'm terribly sad over Cameron leaving. I'm annoyed that they got her married only to write her out eight episodes later, but I'll get over that. Taub and Thirteen are back, who sort of cancel each other out, so we'll see where the new and improved team goes.

Heroes? Matt trying to get himself killed in order to kill Sylar is probably one of the more badass and heroic things he's done, given his past moral ambiguity. And the trend of characters having IQs inversely proportional to the strength of the power they currently have or are pursuing is maintained.

It's rude, it's unprofessional, and worst of all, he's neglected to introduce me!

Borders? Not a decent substitute for a singles club. In case you were wondering.

Apparently hiring out family/friends/hobos off the street to assist with the dishes for you has become a matter of course in the Butschli-Zentner-Dhein household. Perhaps next I'll go out and get help when it comes time to do the laundry.

This time could be used to study for the impending Intercultural Communications exam, but there is slightly more appeal in complaining to the Internet (mostly Facebook, which is a territory of the Internet).

I really like my British Literature class, and I really like the instructor, but she changes her mind far too much. I was doing decently well with Jean Rhys's Good Morning, Midnight, but then she up and decides that we're going to read Evelyn Waugh's A Handful of Dust instead. I do not actually possess that novel, and my adventures between yesterday and today have failed to yield it.

Between the UWM Library, Boswell Books down the street, the Shorewood Public Library which I don't have a library card for, Downtown Books (which is otherwise an amazing place), and the East Milwaukee Public Library which I don't have a card for either, there is not a single copy of A Handful of Dust available. And there's no way I'm going down to work to buy it.

Please.

So I'm going into class armed with nothing but Wikipedia (and maybe Sparknotes, if I'm feeling dedicated enough). Wonderful.

On the Season DVD Box Set that is my life, you could probably safely skip this episode. Three stars, at best. Really just filler.

High Grade 00: GNZ-003 Gadessa

The Gadessa is an experimental mobile suit created for use of elite pilots in A-LAWS, the "peacekeeping" force that serves as the main antagonists for the second season of Gundam 00. Ribbons Almark intended for the Gadessa, along with the Garazzo, to serve as the personal mobile suits for his Innovator cronies, and the Gadessa is piloted by Revive Revival and later by Hilling Care. Its only armaments are a set of low-output beam sabers, two machine guns, and the oversized GN Mega Launcher.



The Gadessa is slightly larger than average but still is shorter than the towering Arche Gundam from the same series. Bandai has the kit designed so that they could easily recycle runners between it, the Garazzo and the Gadess, resulting in slightly more color stickers than I would have liked. Construction is a breeze, however.

Articulation is average but not anything to write home about. It won't be utilizing most of its joints because it never stands, only hovers, and has to hold the hulking GN Mega Launcher.

The design is one of my favorites however, because it feels like something out of Zone of the Enders, a severely underrated video game series. It's also a departure from traditional Gundam design with its spindly points for feet and rear-mounted escape pod.

Accessories include only the GN Mega Launcher and a stand. Fortunately, the gun is detailed and articulated, able to switch between firing modes as well as mount on the backside.

Bandai does a fairly good job with the Innovator mobile suits, despite some corner cutting. The Gadessa is well worth it if you like the design, like really big guns, or want a machine to antagonize one of your Gundams with.



As always, the top picture is a cell phone shot of my model, and the lower one is Bandai official photography.

Oh crap, I think I just ran him over.

The Men Who Stare at Goats is the (mostly) real-life story of the New Earth Army, the U.S. military's brief flirtation with new age techniques in order to create enhanced supersoldiers, psychic spies, and Jedi warriors.

The copious Star Wars references was worth the price of admission, but you could probably get away with just renting the DVD. Given the premise and cast, the film turned out somewhat underwhelming. It seems vaguely without direction and ends up with a sort of meandering pace. It also falls off towards the end, leaving me in surprise when it started leading up to the credits.

That said, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, George Clooney and Kevin Spacey more than make up for most of the flaws, adding hilarity to nearly every line and scene. Even the smallest things, like eating a Twizzler or holding a goat, has added levels of hilarity. The film derives most of the humor from its absurd-yet-true premise and a dark satire of the military, notably in a hilarious shoot-out outside an Iraqi gas station.

Basically, if you're a fan of any of those actors and/or Star Wars, you won't regret the time and money spent. Everyone else, wait for the DVD.

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Am I the only one who spends the semester composing his Instructor Evaluations in his head? Because I have choice words for basically all my professors so far. And of course, everyone knows that negative reviews are way more interesting and fun to write than glowing reviews. I don't have much of an idea of how well I'm doing in my classes, because none of them are terribly prompt graders and none of them really use the online gradebook, so I'm in the dark until they get on the ball.

I would rather not go to work tomorrow. It's Saturday, which means customers, who happen to be a serious impediment to my work. It doesn't help that the back room barely has enough room to walk around in. There are too many books to shelve and the "Truck to Floor in 24" maxim is a joke. The almighty Zone Vice President will visit on Tuesday, expecting everything to be spic and span, and heads will roll if they are not to his specifications. No matter what the reports say, if I happen to be fired during his visit, know that it was because I said something to an authority figure that was less than respectful.

Joe the Biden is going to be on The Daily Show next week! I hope Jon asks him how often he sees Obama's "Man, shut the fuck up" face.

Review of the HG Gadessa to come over the weekend I think.

Is this coffin empty, or did you just pull off an awesome magic trick?

Wonderful. Thanks a lot, PAWS. I can start choosing classes on December 8th. That's nearly a frigging month away. Spring 2010 sure is going to be a fun semester when all I can take are ENG 421: Intro to the Soap Opera, HIST 344: Southeastern Colorado History 1890 - 1895, or CHEM 283: Bismuth and You.

Have you ever been to Whole Foods? It's a nice place. But that place is way expensive, so I mostly just wander around looking at stuff and taking samples. Honestly, I'd love to help out the environment, support farmers, wear scarves during the summer time, and be a part of the green movement, but I just don't have the scratch.

I'm seeing The Men Who Stare at Goats tomorrow night and it should be quite the treat.

That is all.

This post brought to you by the magic of the INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY

Continuing in the grand tradition of entries written after 10 in the evening.

Both roommates are out of the house at this late hour. Josh to God-knows-where and Cody to some concert for a band I've never heard of (which speaks more to my music knowledge than to his taste) and here I am alone on my stupid computer in my stupid apartment, and I could probably be doing way cooler things right now.

It's almost time to register for Spring 2010 courses and, as it always happens with class registration, it's going to stress me out. I'm almost always given a late appointment so I don't get my first choices of classes and I freak out because what if this class isn't going to help me at all in becoming a real, functioning adult?! It doesn't help that my Letters and Arts adviser's catchphrase is "I don't know anything about that" or that the English chair thinks I might be slow and/or annoying. I haven't met my specialized English adviser yet because I am lazy and intimidated haven't had the time but he's into TV, Film, and Queer Theory which is all very exciting. Also he kinda looks like Zachary Quinto.

While browsing the English major page, it occurs to me that I've had far more classes with the preeminent English faculty members than I realized. Of course, one thinks I'm a good-for-nothing because I may have fallen asleep in his class once or twice (honestly, I do think John Donne was kind of cool, but boy do you like to hear yourself talk), one was pretty cool but probably doesn't remember me (even if her TA remembers me BY NAME), and one thinks I'm just quiet despite my good essays on early film criticism, so we'll see where this all goes.

Jon Stewart's impression of Glenn Beck made my entire week. Linked for your convenience. He's got the whole thing - right down to the cognitive dissonance and random taking on and off of glasses. Al Gore visiting both Stewart and Colbert was pretty hilarious too. I like how our nation basically has two choices as far as vice presidents go - you have either the freewheeling guy with a wacky sense of humor like Gore or Biden - or the evil, shapeshifting master of darkness like Cheney or Agnew.

High Grade 00: GN-006GNHW/R Cherudim Gundam GNHW/R

Neil Dylandy, the first Meister to hold the codename "Lockon Stratos" piloted the Dynames Gundam, a long-range support mobile suit noted for its sniping abilities. Neil was killed towards the end of the first season by the mercenary Ali Al-Saachez, resulting in Celestial Being's search for a replacement. Naturally, they went to his twin brother, Lyle Dylandy, and gave him the Cherudim Gundam, an upgrade to the Dynames. After sustaining damage in a battle with the Innovators, the engineers at Celestial Being repair the suit and equip it with new weapons and equipment, mostly in the form of six remote-controlled GN Rifle Bits.



The kit itself is a fairly simple build, however the green plastic is particularly susceptible to nub marks after clipping them off the tree. I did my best to clean most of the parts, but you can still plainly see them in person. The whole thing was another 3 1/2 hour build between snap-together and painting.

In any case, the Cherudim Gundam is a compact mobile suit with loads of accessories. There's the GN Sniper Rifle, four GN Pistols, seven GN Shield Bits and six GN Rifle Bits. A transparent stand is included so that the bits can "hover" to the side of the kit.

Articulation is impressive, given the size of the kit, but it's coming to be something that the High Grade 00 line is known for. The only paint required is for the GN Pistols, though I painted the sensor on the V-crest because the sticker was rubbish.

There are some complaints however. The kit is incredibly back heavy thanks to the GN Rifle bits hanging off the backside, and the pieces don't even fit together very well, so they routinely fall off. The GN Rifle cannot switch between sniper mode or submachine gun mode on its own and requires part-swapping.

Overall, you could probably survive getting just the basic Cherudim Gundam, unless you really want the Rifle Bits or the second pair of pistols. The core kit is excellent.



Again, the top picture is a blurry cell phone picture of the one I built, the bottom picture is from some Japanese site.

Top-shelf failure by any measure

Why did nobody inform me that both Inara and Wash were going to be on ABC's V? I realize that I have to take some of the blame myself for not recognizing Morena Baccarin in short hair, but the rest of you have no excuse as far as Alan Tudyk's involvement goes!

In British Literature, we will be reading T.S. Eliot's The Wasteland, which you may know is one of the most important poems of the twentieth century (or so Wikipedia tells me). It's filled with all sorts of literary and cultural references and allusions. So the instructor thought it would be cool to have us pick a few of the references and report back to the class so that we can form a better view of just what the hell the poem is about. She listed as many as she could think of and allowed us to pick two to research.

I ended up with "Tristan and Isolde" and Oliver Goldsmith's "She Stoops to Conquer" because I wasn't quick enough on the draw. She called on people and eliminated choices as she went, resulting in all-out war to get desired topics. I could have gotten Shakespeare's The Tempest, which I really wanted, but she gave it to some jackhole who couldn't make up his mind. Because, let me tell you, I can write some effing essays on The Tempest. But I guess I'll have to do some actual research like a sucker.

I would like to go see A Serious Man. It's what the Coen Brothers (responsible for No Country for Old Men and the under-appreciated Burn After Reading) can make now that they have oodles of cash and cred, what with the Academy Awards and everything. I don't know how much it'll connect with me though, being that I (A.) am not Jewish, and (B.) did not grow up during the sixties. Also, I'm poor and shouldn't be blowing money on movies.

I will however, make an exception for the upcoming Men Who Stare at Goats. With a cast like Obi-Wan Kenobi, Lex Luthor, The Dude and George Clooney, it's kind of an instant sell.

I can't be cool

The following really happened.

Alex: (has just accidentally set off the smoke alarm)

Josh: (goes to open window to air out the house) I don't know why you guys keep closing the window anyway.

Cody: (mock anger) We close the window because IT'S FUCKING FALL AND IT'S FUCKING COLD OUTSIDE! ARE YOU CRAZY?

Guy walking by outside: YEAH!

Josh: (recovering from his surprise first) DON'T AGREE WITH HIM!

Cody: FUCK YEAH!

Guy walking by outside: YOU FUCKING TELL HIM!

Josh: I don't need my arguments undermined by someone who's not even in the house!

Alex: (is oblivious and missed the whole thing because he was getting the pizza out of the oven)

---

I am partly to blame for this whole consumerism thing and I accept that. For instance, I am now considering purchasing a kit of the Qubeley Mk. II Elpeo Puru colors solely because it has awesome-looking box art, even though I already have the kit in Haman Karn colors. This is not entirely without precedent. After all, I bought the entire First Law trilogy because one of the book covers looked pretty.

Welp, Castle is starting. Be right back. And here I am at the commercial break to relay to you my roommate's opinion that everyone involved with the episode's victim are, quote, "fags". Commercial break again. ABC really wants V to succeed. Back again, just to let you know that I'm fully aware that I'm typing this on a laptop and if I really wanted to, I could just take it into the living room with me and not have to get up at the breaks shut up.