Aleatz Hates Packing

Packing is probably the worst part of a trip. You get frightened that you'll end up leaving something important behind, and it just takes up a huge chunk of your time. Well! The plane leaves tomorrow, so soon I shall be in the sunny goodness which is Europe. In other words, I'll be seeing much more of this:



And hopefully some of this:


Source: www.mairie-brest.fr

Yes, we can all hope. Updates have been slow, and I doubt they'll be getting any faster. FEA has kept me occupied, as well as my lack of contributing with the current project on there. During the European tour I shall use my blog to post some pictures and write some 'Reo's Euro Trip' blog entries (with 'Aleatz Pointers' as a bonus). I'll try to post as often as possible, but being in Europe I'll have to make the most of my time there.

Anyway, here's something I personally felt the urge to add before I went-

Things Reo Should Pack:

• Condoms
• The Pill
• Drugs (For a good show at the airport)
• A Swag Hat
• A Wallaby's Jersey
• Pepper Spray
• Candy Underwear
• Thicker Eyeliner (so she actually looks like a cheap prostitute)

That's all folks.

Aleatz Hates Science (Not)

Source: www.smbc-comics.com

You gotta love science. Right now I hate it, because I've been looking at (almost) nothing else for the last few days straight. Geology is kinda dull, but kinda not. It's really hard to explain. Some parts are amusing, others, which are usually relating to the chemical structure of rocks, aren't.

But, seriously, what's not cool about volcanoes? They explode! They melt people! Hollywood abuses their existence! Kids everywhere use them for their dumb science projects! Volcanoes are awesome. Science is full of fun stuff like that.

Hopefully these coming exams won't make me hate science. Because I find people who hate science stupid. It's a really fascinating subject, and it has so many different areas that it's hard to not find one that you like. Also, it isn't subjective (like stupid English literature). Everything is discussed, and evidence is used to determine if you're correct. Perfectly logical.

It is also more creative than people give it credit for. Often you find great scientists have to invent 'new' concepts in order to figure out how things work or in order to invent new things. But, clearly modern art is more creative... Ha. No it isn't. Painting a canvas purely black should lead to bankruptcy.

Kids, learn science. For real. It's important. Understanding how the world works is the first step away from ignorance. One day, when you know the properties of quartz, you'll look back on this blog entry and say 'Man, Aleatz was right. This really did help me in life'.

Aleatz Hates Subjectivity

This week has been a fun week in relation to games. Not because I've played a diverse range of interesting video games which have made me feel like I haven't been f***ed up the arse by the Australian gaming industry because I've spend a third of my weeks wages on something which is smaller than Lance Armstrong's right testicle, but because I've been playing 'The World Ends with You' which has started off some interesting discussion with various people and to broaden my 'gaming horizons'. Snort.

The reason why I'm typing like this is because I've just watched this video here:

The World Ends with You Review from Zero Punctuation

by Yahtzee Croshaw, and it just so happens that this is the way he talks (or at least that's how I'm attempting to mimic it). This review sadden me greatly, because although I agreed with many of his valid points I still felt the game was fantastic. He seems to critise every game he reviews, even if he ends with a 'this is not so bad' conclusion. After browsing his gallery I also wonder why he touches games like this in the first place.

Then I looked at the video again and thought I wouldn't even be able to take the comical approach to genres which I didn't like, especially the First Person Shooters he seems to favour. I'd be writing 'And here's another arsehole with a gun promoting violence by shooting pixels in the shape of enemies and small children... F MINUS!' Besides, FPSs equal RPGs in the 'originality' category which Yahtzee raved on about in his review. Only those dedicated to their genre will be able to pick the small alterations to the generic which prevent lawsuits from occurring. So in the end, maybe it's all best if us bias morons all stick to our genre of choice when talking about things.

You know what I like? Puzzle games. You know, the ones not unlike Tetris where you shoot bricks/columns/gems/orbs/small animals in order to match/remove them. In the end they, much like JRPGs, are as repetitive and unoriginal as hell. However, after playing the same god damn level where you shoot round orbs over a pyramid I decided 'f*** every other gaming genre! I just want to shoot gems'.

I've played Luxor 2 and Bejeweled to a point where most normal people would then go and rob a jeweller and throw $10 000 rings at a wall. But despite the fact that they're both clones of previous games with simply nicer graphics, I'll probably continue playing them for a long time into the future. Mostly because the Australian gaming industry didn't f*** me up the arse when I downloaded them for free (legally!).

In reality, jewel-based puzzle games don't differ all that much to FPS games, except that instead of shooting coloured people you're shooting coloured balls. Wait... maybe that happens in both... Anyway, I forgot the obvious point I was trying to make. Maybe that everything is subjective and bias and that you should just deal with it? No, that's TOO obvious. I don't like subjectivity. Unless it's my own, of course.

Oh, and apparently Kris knows Yahtzee (Ben). Small world.

Aleatz Hates Fillers (#1)

Yeah, no update. Boourns. Blame Reo. I know I do.

Finals are coming up, and everyone knows what that means... Reo studies about half as much as she should, and spends the other half of the time playing video games/browsing the net. Good going Reo. I hope you fail biology. It wouldn't be justice if you didn't.

Speaking of biology, why is it that about half of the practical class did a speech on marine life? Is that the only aspect of biology that's interesting? Last time I checked, starfish were as boring as hell. Yet at least 2 people did a speech on them. Wow. Amazing. They're shaped like 'stars' and cling to rocks whilst doing jack-shit. Remind me again why they're not extinct...

Yeah, there's also people building a shed at Reo's place. Fun fun. She's complaining about having to carefully place her car so they can fit their ute in. Do you want a house, Reo? Then shut the f*** up. Wait till you start paying board, THEN you'll be bitchin'. Although, you are paying for fuel and uni. You get one cupcake for that. No, wait... I forgot. You're going to Europe and dumping me in your luggage. I take back my cupcake.

Oh, and we're currently playing The World Ends With You on DS. Good game. Too many bitchy characters though. Neku and Josh both need to eat some rat poison. But Beat, Rhyme and basically all the Reapers are great. I'm tempted to write a good, long post on how much Neku and Joshua deserve to die, but that shall wait for a time when time is available. For now I shall bitch in short.

So, just a warning. Chances are fillers will be appearing regularly over the next several weeks. If Reo decides to take her laptop to Europe there'll probably be updates during that period. If not, sorry. Although you don't really need an apology. You should be thankful you won't be getting annoying emails saying 'REO HAS UPDATED HER BLOG OMG READ!!!' If you are getting said emails, and wish for them to stop, simply email Reo and bitch. She should take you off the mailing list. If not, continue to spam her inbox, since that's literally what she's doing to you.

[/filler]

Aleatz Hates Today FM

This one is probably for all those Sydney-siders out there. Because today I shall be discussing Today FM and why no one should listen to it. If you're not from Sydney (or Australia) never fear! Thanks to my writings you too shall hate Today FM, even though you've never listened to it... Which is the way it should be.

Firstly, I shall point out that Today FM was perhaps the first radio station I regularly listened to. Anyone who has listened to it will know that Today FM is a commercial station which plays pop music and shitty talk-shows in between advertisements. When I say 'pop', I'm not simply limiting to the stereotypical pop genre, but basically music which is recent and the majority of people like listening to.

I'm fine with that. As a radio station you're allowed to play ads in order to make money. You're also allowed to play the music you think will get you the highest ratings and appeal to your target audience. But the things I have the biggest problem with is the talk. That's right.

I've discovered, now that I drive to work, that peak hour radio consists of less songs, more ads and mostly talking. When you look over to Triple M (which is owned by the same people who own Today FM, ironically) you see funny, down to earth comedy. I believe Triple M is aiming for a difference audience to Today FM, so that might explain why I prefer it.

While listening to Nova on a drive home a woman rang up and said how she used to listen to Triple M before her friends enlightened her as to how a majority of it wasn't live, etc. That woman is a moron. Sorry lady, but it's true. It's just like the people who started bitchin' when they discovered that some Chaser stunts were set up. You feel like calling those people up and saying 'Well DUH! Would you like a waffle with your dish of idiocy this morning?'

No one bitches about news on TV being pre-recorded. They only bitch when it's the people who take the piss out of things. Point is, you listen to this stuff to laugh and be entertained. Who cares if it's pre-recorded? If they spent more time editing it in order to make it funnier, who gives a crap? Cheers to them, I say. The point of all that was basically to say how I enjoy being entertained during the part of radio which isn't ads.

Which is why Today FM sucks. It's basically a giant ad for Ten nonstop. They also share their exclusive 'hot Hollywood gossip' if they run out of shit to advertise. Thanks. I really wanted to know about how much more of a whore Lindsay Lohan is. Not. Anyway, they talk about Big Brother constantly. I mean, if it wasn't already bad enough that the show airs on TV, they have the nerve to discuss it on peak hour radio.

What a way to corrupt a generation! It sickens me that people are more worried about the ratings on video games than this shit playing on radio. Kids watch those douches on Big Brother being dramatic and think that's normal. The people who end up on Big Brother are sad, bogan losers who's only achievement in life is their appearance on Big Brother, where they sleep with some other bogan on national television.

I'm going to save my bitching about Ten for another day... But the general idea behind Ten is that it wraps shit in metallic paper and hands it to teenagers and shallow women. Don't poison our airwaves with it, Ten. I know that radio is something you can avoid, but if you're a channel changer like me you're bound to hear it at some point. I honestly wouldn't hate Today FM if they weren't a billboard for Ten.

The other thing I do hate about them though, is their speeding up of music. The agenda behind it is still unclear to me (more time for Big Brother ads?), but it's pissing me off. Yeah, so if someone from Today FM ever reads this (which is VERY unlikely) tell all your people that some of us aren't morons, and we know you're speeding up the music you play.


Boourns Today FM. I'm going to Nova for my pop music fix!

Aleatz Hates Death Note

It was one night when Reo's parents happened to be out when she put on the first episode Death Note. Little did I know that utter stupidity would ensue as she described the series to me. 'Apparently it's about some guy who finds a notebook which can kill people and he uses it against criminals', she said. We both sat down and watched the first episode; an English dub off Veoh. I honestly was only there for the club soda. 'Beau recommended this to me, because he loves it. I bet it must be good.'

Thanks Beau. Remind me to send you a 'Thank You' bomb. Do you have any idea what you've done? You've made Reo fall in love with the dumbest series, that's what you've done! I'm thanking five different gods simultaneously because I managed to snatch some club soda as compensation for watching that dribble. I was clawing at my eyes as soon as it started, and now there's two holes in my face. Ah... At least club soda heals the pain...


Things which are stupid in Death Note:


Biblical Illusions- I think this was Reo's justification for the show being good. 'OMG THERE'S BIBLICAL ILLUSIONS! SO AMAZING!' If I wanted cliched Biblical references I'd read the Bible. Nothing is clever about some guy eating an apple. And don't tell me that the apple is symbolic of sin, because I've already heard it. It is very 'well duh'. Strangely enough it's in the first chapter of the Bible, and is perhaps the most known out of all chapters. I wonder if the people making Death Note knew this before they added it...

God, it's like someone making a reference to Moby Dick by shoving a whale into it. Get original you bastards.


Inanimate Object Kills People- Seen The Ring? One Missed Call? Notice a pattern? They're Japanese horrors which involve an object murdering people in some supernatural way. What a horrible plot device. Of course Death Note ignores this and makes a notebook which kills people. Slightly lamer than a tape or a mobile phone.


Light- Hmm, sounds like another egotistical bastard with the same personality as... Sasuke? No way! Actually, yes way. Apart from having brown hair and not being a ninja, Light is basically Sasuke. Both turn insane at some point. Both have serious issues. Both pure arseholes.


Source: thinklikepj.wordpress.com

Don't worry, folks. If he doesn't kill you with his notebook, he'll probably get you with that over-sized scythe. The arsehole probably thinks no one can see it, like that stupid death god.

I also find it very hard to believe it takes someone one episode to turn insane like that. Then again, Light seemed like a bit of a fruitcake from the very second he opened his mouth. Speaking English? You're Japanese, you madman! Furthermore... 'Light'? More dumb illusions? Who names their kid 'Light'? Oh. The next thing on the list does.


Light's Mum- She's a bitch. I hate her more than Simple Plan (ok, that might be a slight exaggeration). Point is she sucks. You know she's a bitch when you see her casual reaction to her son being a smartarse. If my kid was doing that well at school I'd actually give a proper reaction, and not try to turn him into a selfish bastard by offering him anything he wants. No wonder Light turned out to be such an arse.


Stupid-Looking God of Death- When he first showed up in Light's bedroom I thought 'Great, now something is finally is gonna get rid of that jerk'. What a fool I was. The death god doesn't do anything. It's a 'spectator' or some nonsense. So, it's only there to look stupid? Someone needs to give the creator a raise before shooting them.


Source: fantasticfest.bside.com

Yeah. Up yours too, redundant God of Death.


In other news, Death Note was banned in China after kids wrote down their classmates names in a 'death note'. Happened in other countries as well, but none were as strict as China. Shame really. Yeah, Death Note sucks. Oh great, Reo heard me... Yeah, this post certainly isn't Reo's opinion. She's just itching for Mondays now that Death Note is on (even though uni-wise Mondays are shit).

Aleatz Hates Facebook

I hate Facebook, yet I'm a member. The world doesn't always work the way you expect it, huh? I avoided touching MySpace for years because I thought it sounded stupid. One would ask why Facebook would be any different. I don't think it is, personally. I think both are pretty much as dumb as each other. They're both online fads which consist of pointless chatter between friends you already meet on a daily basis, and both give you millions of ways to waste time online.

Granted, being online on forums, blogs and whatnot wouldn't really be considered productive anyway. But it's not just the lack of productivity. Places like MySpace attract people and conversations which I wouldn't consider inspiring or interesting. They're full of teenagers typing with a literacy level of Dom, whilst uploading their skanky photos for all their friends (and the world) to see.

Also, why do people have so many friends in these places? I mean, look at Kevin Rudd's MySpace... DO THEY KNOW HIM PERSONALLY?! Although that's an exaggerated example, lots of people in these so called 'online communities' who have tons of friends don't actually know them as friends or think of them as friends. It's all bullshit, and people with shitloads of friends display it as some trophy for popularity. I know this, because I've seriously heard people ask 'how many friends do you have on MySpace?' as if it makes the person they're asking any less of an arse.

Figure 1: Graph regarding the relationship between the amount of friends you have on Facebook in relation to how much bullshit you're full of. Yeah, it doesn't actually make sense. Get over it.

Let us add to this the scandal regarding an application on Facebook which could record and show to your friends what website you'd viewed. Sure, most applications ask people for their permission before stuff like that, but absent-minded people like me can easily just click 'ok'. I mean, f***, I don't want anyone knowing what websites I view! Seriously, INVASION OF PRIVACY! I'm not the type of person who sings the male part of the 'Porn' song, but I still would rather people didn't see the crap I look at.

I ended up joining Facebook to see some of my friend's pictures (because clearly no one had ever told them about Photobucket), and now I use it more often than I'm proud of. Currently I'm getting emails from applications which make no sense, and friend requests from people I've never even heard of. It frustrates me. I could go in and change my email preferences but it's much easier to delete the emails.


If you haven't joined one of these places, please don't. Ignore any email I send you asking you to join. Facebook sent it, not me.