On My Way To Greener Pastures

 I've decided that I will be making yet another website which will focus mainly on comic criticism and finding new talent to entertain myself. Right now my list of comic reads is pretty short, and I want to change that.

What does that mean for GATM? It's going to the blog farm where the other blogs go when they're not wanted anymore. While I enjoy writing about geeky stuff, I'm sure I can incorporate it into the comic thing too (general interests, etc. etc.)

I want to thank everybody who has checked out the blog! You guys are swell. Remember to check in because I'll have the new blog up soon and the url will be posted here.

So, peace out geeks! If you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out because of I've got the cooties.

A Farewell to Robot Arms

You know, I haven't read much Hemingway but I think the title of this post is just too clever for its own good. I think it might need a less awesome title for balance, or you guys might expect the highest quality pun titles from here on out.

I should add a second title, like a Rocky and Bullwinkle episode.

So this is a goodbye post for And I'll Form the Head (or stop the giant fighting robot presses! Eh, I'll work on my subtitles at some later point, dollink.)

The reason why I'll be ending this segment is because I want to focus more on webcomic critique, and also I have been posting less frequently on that portion of the website (even though as of lately I haven't posted anything at all on either portions, but that'll change when finals are over). I'll be keeping And I'll Form the Heads online, but it will become inactive starting... now.

So stick around, I'm not done yet! If you want to get your giant fighting robot nerd on, though, this blog won't be able to help quell your appetite. Maybe from time to time, if I find a webcomic on giant fighting robots. Then come back!

The Brawl to End It All: Wii Link Round-Up

As another school semester comes to a close, I get faklempt when I think that some of the most enjoyable classes that I've taken will be finished, and that I won't see some of the classmates anymore afterward. There is one person though that I will be glad that I'm rid of. Mr. Justin Pilcher, blogger behind Breaking Back, had done the unthinkable and challenged me to a game of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The audacity! The nerve. Oh, it's on like Donkey Kong.

On And I'll Form the Head, he commented on my R.O.B. "I will pown you with toon link any day." I replied, in righteous, furious anger, "I will drag my pikmin across toon link's face as Captain Olimar." This little squabble ended there, but I don't like to be instigated. I got a short fuse. I'm a mushroom cloud laying mother fucker, mother fucker.

Now, I think we can settle this like gentlemen; in class, set up a Wii on the projection screen and let the video game fists fly. Not only will we see who the best Brawler is, but I'll also fulfill a dream of mine to play video games in a classroom. Come on, teach! I'll even play a round with you. I'll take on anybody, any day. I know I am the greatest.

So, to better publicize the event, here is some information on the game and the two characters which we'll each be using, besides the information posted above.

If you think that Super Smash Bros. didn't have a fanatic following, head here for a whole write up of each game in the franchise and a forum of like-minded Brawlers.

Toon Link, a deviation of the original Link notable by his younger and cartoony appearance, has appeared in three The Legend of Zelda games to date, omitting Super Smash Bros. Brawl; The Wind Waker, released on Gamecube, and Phantom Hourglass and the recently released Spirit Tracks, both appearing on the Gameboy Ds. 

Captain Olimar is the protagonist of Pikmin and its sequel, commanding a legion of plant-like creatures to scour the earth for treasure. Both were released on the Gamecube, with Super Smash Bros. Brawl being his first appearance on the Wii console until Nintendo ported the original game to use the Wii controller.

Keep checking in. Things are gonna get intense up in here.

Post T-Day; The Hiatus, A Presidential Pardon, and How Can I Crash Obama's Next Party?

I took a day off to gorge myself in food. I think we can all agree on the place where I'm going when the party that's called my life has ended. There will be a bonus punishment of being maimed by each turkey I have devoured. I will meet them with open arms.

There is one turkey this year that will not be sacrificed to my ravenous hunger; Courage, the bird chosen to be pardoned by President Obama. He thinks he got it off easy, but being a foodie with an insatiable appetite for the bizarre, I would give anything to have a pardoned turkey for a snack.

According to the ABC article, Obama feels the same way,

"The president, joined by daughters Sasha and Malia at his side, told a crowd of invited guests at the White House this morning that some presidents actually ate their turkeys.

"You can't fault them for that. It's a good lookin' bird," Obama said." 

He's got a point! He probably also understands that eating a bird that you previously lied to, telling it that it'll live the rest of its life in Disneyland, is also one of the biggest eating taboos,(starting now. I made the taboo up, but doesn't it sound like the cruelest and coolest thing ever? Let it go on the record that this taboo is now a real and serious issue.) but the bird's anguish will only make it more delicious.

Now I'm not saying I have it in for Courage, I'd eat any of the pardoned turkeys. I wonder if Clinton's turkeys are still kicking it. They're probably good for the libido.

Speaking of presidents, these bastards ruined my elaborate plot to crash a white house state dinner! I can't go into the details but it would put George Clooney to shame. Seriously though, I should be able to report one of these shindigs. I got a blog, I got a phone that can tweet, and I don't have political bias! Just a party bias (I eat for free and drink for free, and I get to crash in the oval office. These conditions are not negotiable.)

Junk Food: The Bacon Explosion

This is another post to a link where I just have to say "wow". Eating one of these beasts is likely to clog a few arteries. I actually just had the mental image of taking the above picture and shoving that into a blood vein. That would be exactly what it would do to your body, don't you think?

You would suffer multiple aneurysms like a firework finale. Would be a bad ass way to go out though!

More Christmas Stuff: T-Shirts For Your Geek

Looking for gift ideas for your geeky loved one? What do you mean you geeks don't feel love the same way normal people do? Now you're just being insensitive.

Buy some t-shirts for your nerd this season. Lord knows they aren't going to buy clothes for themselves. Here's some websites for quick and easy reference!

Sir Critter- They're animals in fancy get ups on your t-shirt. What else do you want? One of the best features of the website is that you can decide how many animals you can put on the t-shirt, so the combinations are endless (not really, I just don't want to do the math).

TopatoCo- Okay, so these t-shirts are mainly inside jokes of popular webcomics, but they have some general humor comics that will still tickle your geek's funny bone. You will want to check out Dinosaur Comic's and Hark! A Vagrant's sections specifically. Great stuff.

ThinkGeek- I'm making a bit of a stretch but this website has a ton of generic nerdy t-shirts, ranging from computer lingo to gaming innuendo. Get it? I'd Hit That? You might not, but if you did you'd be in stitches. I laughed so hard I pissed my pants.


Fashionably Geek- A listing and review of geek clothes and apparel online, with price ranges and a short critique. From what I've seen, its pretty earnest and reliable. My favorite shirt featured was this one. Layin' down the law!

J!NX- Basically this is the Walmart of geek clothes. It's the major provider of World of Warcraft clothing, and every geek you know has played that game once or twice in their life time, even if they deny it. These clothes aren't as funny as the other ones listed, but they have some cool looking graphics.

Well, enjoy!

The Albany Batman Tweets Again: Crawdaddies Procured, and Cat Saved: Can I Has Superhero Status?

Today's adventure was much more epic than I thought it would be.

The story starts from this first tweet:

albanybatman: Found a cat. probably someones pet. likes tuna! must find its owner if it has one

 What a crazy day it has been. Continue reading if you wanna see what I mean.

Liveblogging: Holy Crayfish Albany Batman!

Tomorrow, at 7:00PM, Albany Batman will be getting crayfish to boil for a Thanksgiving feast. It's going to be fucking tasty. Also, only the Albany Batman and ze Grif will probably be eating them. Rejoice!

This is a map of where he'll be heading, and along the way he'll be updating live from twitter.

Originally, the Great Detective of Albany was going to do a route around the Saint Rose campus, but this mission for crayfish, the tastiest of shellfish, surpasses anything else he had planned that day. If he's bored he'll probably hit up Saint Rose afterwords because he loves wearing his mask in public.

Stay tuned!

UPDATE: I'll probably leave a little bit earlier than 7:00PM, but I'll be updating live from my tweets to let the public know where I am if they want to high five me. 

Liveblog! The Albany Batman Tweets Begin

This week will start off the new segment The Albany Batman. Basically, the Batman is going to do some patrols of Albany's hot spots of crime (Muddy Cup, Bombers, Price Chopper, etc.) and see if he can thwart crime*. He'll also be doing signatures and kissing the babies.

Sunday, I'll be posting a map of Albany Batman's patrol, with Albany Batman's permission of course, so if you want to see the caped crusade-tweeter for yourself, try to find him in those designated areas! (This week the Albany Batman will probably just hang out around Muddy Cup and on the Saint Rose campus green, but if he's feeling ambitious, or hungry, he might hit another spot up! He'll update as he presses on through the day.)

After this first day, Albany Batman will probably only appear for parties, conventions, and special occasions. He's got other things to do, you know! Like drive around a bitching awesome batmotorcyclecarboat. 

So check out the tweets! Those are the equivalents to distress signals, you know. 

*hang out

Sure It Can Kill Everybody But It'll Cure Malaria!

Look, people need to stop fucking around with nature before EVERYBODY gets hurt.

Scientists want to cull the amount of adult mosquitoes? Well that's grand, but if you try to alter insects for the means of human progress, then something like this happens. Sure it's campy science fiction today, but one day the science involved might squash the fiction and we'll be begging our new mosquito overlords to grant mercy.

They'll probably not consider mercy an option at that point. They'll be too thirsty.

Kellogg's Let Go Of The Eggo?

This is some of the saddest news I've ever read. What does the Kellogg company expect us to do, make our own waffles!? (heh, interrobangs.)

While I don't go out of my way to purchase Eggo waffles, normally I skip breakfast entirely because I hate mornings and everything involved with them, but I do enjoy the waffle enough that I'm shocked and surprised that their production will be cut down so drastically.

You know what I think it is? I have this curse that if I enjoy something enough, it is destroyed. It's true, if I vocally say that I like something, expect it to be demolished. It happened once to this Chinese food place I enjoyed (they were evicted so a small business school could use their building) and then a local deli (it burnt to the ground), and both happened within a matter of weeks!

Eggos had been inflicted with my curse. I hate you, Eggos! I hate you very much. Please make a speedy recovery.

Robots Need Love Too, With Proper Legal Representation

I want to thank Rich for finding this article, and I want to thank Hurray for Mollywood! for the perfect image.

Lets skip to the most interesting part of this article, when Anna Russel, author of the article "Blurring the love lines", warns that when robots are smart enough, they will want the same legal rights that humans have,

“While this humanoid is a giant leap forward technologically, if a self-aware, super-intelligent, thinking, feeling humanoid is developed, the legal system will be hard-pressed to distinguish this creature legally from human actors on grounds not stemming from a religious or moral prejudice.”

One of the biggest legal battles which might arise, according to Russel? Sexual rights. People can't decide what is morally correct now just between human beings, how much more complicated will the laws be when robots are thrown in the mix, especially when the robots will be able to voice their own opinions.

The article was thought provoking, but I'm not sure if we will be able to create a fully conscious robot. And if we can, will we be able to program it to feel emotions, such as love and animosity? If you want more information about this dilemma check out the science fiction soon to be turning documentary Bicentennial Man. 

I'm still giving kudos to Anna Russel for her foresight. She's just trying to avoid the Matrix becoming reality (because we all know the robots will win if we ever war with them).

Web Comics I've Been Reading

Anders Loves Maria: Read it from the start. It's one of the finest comic dramas on the internet today. The only bad part is that after you get through its archive (you will, it's that good) that you will have to put up with the irregular posting like every other eager fan of Rene Engström. Also, NSFW. 

The Abominable Charles Christopher: Another great read, Karl Kerschl creates a very elaborate and entertaining fable illustrated beautifully. It's funny, tense, and occasionally tear-jerking. This comic updates regularly on Wednesdays, but that isn't enough! Gank a big hooler, this comic is great. 

Ornery Boy: This comic, created by Michael Lalonde, is a bizarre and hilarious slice-of-life comic, if life was always surrounded by unfathomable horror. Even though some of the acts depicted are truly gruesome, I wouldn't say that  the comic ever becomes NSFW. It's a really twisted, fun read! I believe this comic updates every Monday. (I'll give Lalonde leeway because he illustrates his comic in flash and frequently adds animation to his work. Kudos.)   

Wakka Wakka: An Email Interview with Roomba Pacman Engineer Maciej Stachura

At And I'll Form the Head, I've been freaking out for the last couple of days over the the Roomba/Pac-Man project. The original article I read at cnet left many questions unanswered, such as "will the project ever make its way into the consumer marker", and "how cool would it be if I could play with their creation." I think everybody deserves to know that.

So, I emailed the team over at their homepage with some questions. In turn, the Email was passed on over to team member Maciej Stachura who quickly replied with thorough answers.

Maciej Stachura, aka "Clyde", is working at Colorado University and was in charge of different aspects of the project such as creating the interface to the Hagisonic Stargazer, creating an unscented Kalman fitler for navigation, and creating a joystick interface for controlling the Roombas. His input was invaluable, and he's just the person I needed to get in touch with (if I ever wanted to play with their magnificent technology).

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas... Brace Yourselves!

Recently Becca F. and I have been posting about Legos, and those posts have been making me feel quite warm and fuzzy with nostalgia. After the nostalgia ended, I feel a sick feeling coming on but I wasn't sure what was causing it. H1N1? One could only hope, after Legos, and toys in general, had reminded me of the impending holiday season. 

Maybe I've been lucky that I haven't heard any Christmas jingles yet, or I haven't seen that Steve Buscemi ginger bread commercial for the 15 millionth time, but I saw my first wreath outside of a grocery store and that's as good a sign to panic about the incoming holidays.

And the Transition Was Seamless!

From now on, this blog will be the main hub for everything geeky, and my first blog And I'll Form the Head will be a section to help categorize content. I'm up in the air about whether to keep my robot blog running, but right now it seems like a good idea.

Some other good ideas? Movie blog, and a zombie blog too! I've got blogs for days, son.