And we're doing just fine, thank you.

Only a couple days left until The Freaking Suite II: The Wrath of Con! (with Christopher Walken) Our stop will be an Anime Central, one time only! If you're in the area, stop by. I may not be in, but we hope you'll have a good time while you're there. They'll probably have an idea of where I am, if you really want to meet me or say hello.

Regressing the cause of getting furry people and peoples with vampirism for a while (and possibly providing fodder for another CSI episode), there's a story of a self-claimed lycan accused of killing his girlfriend. Apparently, also a bit of vampirism tendencies. Really, though, I always find it aggravating when these things appear, because they make it look like those are the reasons why someone commits those kinds of acts. It's no different than accusing gothdom of being responsible (which they insinuate), or of music, or video games, or some other thing. These things are not responsible for someone doing that. Figure out what was wrong with the person, sure, but unless it's a true-to-$DEITY cult with malevolent intentions, don't go blaming that!

For the Americans today: Happy Loyalty Day. This was previously "Americanization Day" - now it makes a certain amount of sense as to why there would be protests about immigration today (although, it also being International Workers Day, I suppose that makes sense, too). It's also Mission Accomplished Day, for those keeping track of the body counts. It's also around or close to Beltane, another of the great feasts of the year.

Rush Limbaugh arrested for prescription fraud. And works out a deal, as well. Perhaps now he realizes firsthand why you don't want to put people in jail for minor drug charges, having managed to make a deal on a significantly stronger sort of drug charge. (Admittedly, he takes a fairly reasonable mug shot, don't you think?

Comparison's time, courtesy of yarha. On the right: the rabbi tries to understand the angry atheists. On the left, the athesits claim the believers are the angry ones, because of the atrocities that some of their number commit in the name of $DEITY, and have committed with regularity over time. Regardless as to whether one considers them hypocrites or not "true" followers, they do it in the name of their chosen faction. The good ones then wonder why they get tarred with the same brush, even though they've obviously done nothing of the sort. It's as I said above, though - unless everyone's being destructive and malicious, then it's not really fair to lump them all together, but as we see, it happens.

That's it from me tonight. Tomorrow, I'll hopefully be out and about making preparations for the Freaking Suite II.

Only a couple more days!

That's right, only in a couple more days, The Jackson Anime and Manga Society presents to you, live from Rosemont, Illinois, The Freaking Suite II: The Wrath of Con! (with Christopher Walken) This is a one-time event, unlikely to be replicated at any point in the near, far, or any future. Those who are privileged to see it will remember it for a lifetime. We're all set on that, basically - supplies are laid in, snacks are purchased, and so for sustenance, we're good. However, our expedition to go get suitable materials for signing was less than fruitful. In fact, it was basically a bust. Tomorrow, though, or Thursday before we go, I hope to find what I really need. If that doesn't work, I may have to brave paying convention prices to get what I need. That's a little on the scary side, but if that's what it takes. (And, admittedly, I do have the funds for it, so it's not that bad. I'd just rather get it beforehand.) If all fails out, oh well. There's always next year.

Tomorrow, I get oriented on one of my jobs for the summer. Need to remember to bring along all my important papers. The second one should be good, too, and I just need to make sure they all get their paperwork in for me to get my credit on time. I'll deal with that.

Something interesting for those on Myspace: The TOS that are there may or may not be interpretable to give Myspace, and its parent company FOX/Newscorp, a license for exploitation on, and maybe beyond, the Myspace service. Like most things, this will probably be settled by lawsuit if/when such a clause is exercised. Simply a "be aware" sort of warning, even if it is never exercised. I do wonder, though, what might happen if something good and attractive to Newscorp should appear.

Something that may help to explain the reasoning behind the idea of karma, and which may be helpful to the study of the cosmos and metaphysics in general - The cosmos likes symmetry. Symmetry, in the mathematical sense, may turn out to be one of the fundamental principles of the universe's operation. In many myriad forms, keeping things working.

Although the winner for the night may be this Improv Everywhere Scene - 80 people descending on a Best Buy wearing clothing very close to the Best Buy uniform, helping customers or "shopping", and seeing just how the employees react to things. The employees seemed to be pretty okay with it. The managers and security, not so much. But another mission accomplished, even though the cameras weren't necessarily able to capture everything. I very much like this idea and its execution, and I think those employees will have a story to tell to their descendants.

That's the stuff from my side. Tomorrow, you might get a low-power update, but it might be Sunday night before you see me again. Take care and have fun.