in an effort to knock Texas out of the top spot, Oklahoma held it's 13th execution of 2001 on Tuesday night.

ok, i don't like large vehicles, often for aesthetic reasons, usually for environmental type reasons, but, by george, i'd buy one of these in a heartbeat.

With its bulletproof glass, grenade launcher, laser gun and the ability to foil pursuers with oil slicks and smoke screens, the Army's new SmarTruck is a vehicle worthy of James Bond.

i should work on getting all my Buffy and Angel links into a single post.

Harmony news! "In Harmony's last appearance on Angel, she joined a vampire cult. "They ended up cutting the final scene of [the episode]--I was in Mexico, recruiting people for the cult."

i love Harmony. i know she's not often taken seriously, but i think she has real potential at being a major baddie or a force for good (Jean and i have had discussions about Harmony and redemption. i'd love to see Harmony on the path to redemption, faltering often along the way, but making the attempt nonetheless).

and here's some Kate news. i've been wondering about her. she hasn't been seen since that whole "I never invited you in" line to Angel, but now it looks like she has herself a more regular gig somewhere else.

why is it that everytime i read mention of IML, it takes me a few moments to untranspose ("distranspose"? how 'bout "unscramble"?) the letters in my head and realize that they're not talking about film special effects?

i'm pretty sure i blogged this already, but i think i screwed the link up, so i'm putting it here again (not the screwed up link. the overall target of the linkage).

mucho thanks go out to Max for giving me something Buffy related to blog.

dunno how old this is, but it cracks me up:

There was a great loss recently in the entertainment world. Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote the "Hokey Pokey", died last week at 83. The most traumatic part for the family was getting him in the coffin. They put his left leg in and then things just started to go downhill from there.

see Stan's Joke Emporium for more.

oh look. Rich is alive after all. i wish to say to him "Happy Birthday!" and "if you think 23 sucks, just remember that you'll be 30 in no time!" (there's nothing wrong with thirty. i'm looking forward to it).

while i was packing up the last of my stuff monday, i found a Celine Dion cassette. i haven't bought a cassette since 1993 (when i bought an Animaniacs cassette because the album hadn't been released on CD). back in 1993, i didn't know who Celine Dion was. i don't know where the cassette came from, but it's a little unnerving. i think it's some sort of omen. i'll need to find someone who can interpret it for me. maybe one of the kids at Sam Goody.

vicious rainstorms (yay!) last night caused me to be 90 minutes late for work (boo!). now i'm going to be alone here after everyone else leaves this afternoon (eek!). this place gets scary in the evenings.

ack. i moved over the weekend. the only thing i haven't moved to my new apartment is my computer. i'm holding on to that DSL as long as i can because i won't have internet access at home at all for a while (unless i get enough financial backing for my film. see post immediately below this one, and send in your CASH contributions today!) fortunately, i was able to download several Buffy episodes this weekend, and i'll still be able to get online at work.

the upstairs neighbor at the new place is, i believe, quite insane. i caught him staring in my big glass door three times. he yelled at me, "Turn down that goddamned music, you moron!" there was no music playing. he also talks about himself in the plural. i don't think he's doing it in the Queen 'Lizabeth Royal Personage kind of way. i think it's more in the Me-and-the-Other-Personalities kind of way.

i'm sure this is going to be a fun-filled adventure in Apartment Living.

i have decided that i'd like to move forward with the film idea that Jean and i kicked around during our time at OU. i've already begun work on the sequel (actually, i've gone no further than coming up with a title, which is also the extent reached for the first one). i am soliciting backers for both films, and also the planned third film to complete the trilogy (planned, insofar as i'm planning to have a third installment).

please send me money so i can play with video equipment and swords, and so i can quit my current ho-hum job. i promise to invite all backers to a free half-price first screening, and i'll even buy popcorn for everyone.

i used to be a convenience store clerk too (in fact, i used to complain that my life was a Kevin Smith movie), which is part of why i blogged the story about the clerk's murder. it was certainly one of the most interesting jobs i've had. graveyard shift, which usually left me with plenty of time to read, but with the occasional event to liven it up, like nearly being jumped for a carton of cigarettes. or having a can of beer thown into my chest. or twelve year old kids doing grab-and-runs with cases of beer (neighborhood kids that i saw frequently, and knew their parents. not terribly bright boys, i'd say). drunks passing out on the front sidewalk. hookers offering to "take care of me" in exchange for fountain sodas(!). inebriated women offering money if i'd take my shirt off for them (easy twenty dollars). inebriated men offering to "get with me" in the back room (i worked down the street from a club). a married man stalking me. and big scary guys with even scarier tattoos yelling at me about their jobs and/or girlfriend (i guess they just needed someone to talk to). *sigh* the memories...

i'd never do it again. retail sucks anyway, but to be a convenience store clerk sucks even harder.

everyone be nice to them. you never know when you'll be reading about them in the paper (not to make any clerks who may be reading this nervous).

Sunday night, the nightly news came on with the line "In Medical Breakthroughs tonight: If you drink coffee, you may want to see this report before you have that second cup."

as a beginner coffee drinker, i thought that i should see if my new addiction may be causing cancer or curing infertility or something. the story, of course, was buried deep in the newscast, between the weather and sports, so i had to watch nearly the whole program (i hate local newscasts. too many Human Interest Stories, too little real news). finally, they get to the Medical Breakthroughs section, and i shall now summarize the report for you:

drinking coffee may cause a need for urination

seriously. that's what it came down to. not even a 'may cause you to urinate more frequently'. just that it may make you go pee. 'Coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine is a diuretic. Diuretics make you urinate.' hard hitting stuff. believe it or not, this station actually wins Emmys.

next week's story will be summarized as "Not eating may make you hungry."

TVGuide Online talked with Joss yesterday about Buffy's death. nothing new in there really except that he says it may be October before Buffy premieres on UPN instead of August like i've been hearing.

something i don't need is another Conquer the World/Galaxy game, but this one will let you assimilate!

on the horizon: Star Trek: Borg Simulator. Although it's also set in the Next Generation universe, there are no characters from the series. Instead, players get to control the entire Borg Collective and control the queen and drones as they assimilate a planet. Borg Simulator will be available early 2002.

i'm the type of guy who enjoys nerve stapling drones in Alpha Centauri and using nukes in the various Civilization games. assimilation should be fun.

just because i'm a bitter ex-employee: U.S. sues Wal-Mart. yay!

Wednesday night, a convenience store clerk was found dead at work. as far as anyone can tell, no merchandise or cash was missing from the store. an on-scene report stated that the clerk may have died of natural causes, but police were investigating it as a 'suspicious death' because there was blood coming from the man's nose. apparently, they didn't notice the gunshot wound to his chest.

Beginning in the nineteenth century, all the way through 1932, an odd creature was often reported to have been seen in Australia. The "bunyip" was semi-aquatic, much larger than a retriever but with no tail, having long, black hair. It had a horse-like head and long ears, but was never captured, identified, or catalogued.

spooky!

my favorite of the Austrailian cryptozoological sightings are the Tasmanian Tiger, thought to be extinct since 1936. one of the more reliable sightings was only 6 years ago, made by a park ranger. one day soon, we may all be able to see a live Tasmanian Tiger, if this cloning project works out.

Fox has picked up a show and has it on it's schedule as a back-up. it's i show i'm sure Anya won't be watching (i'm allowed to make a Buffy connection here because Seth Green will be in the show).

here's one for you, Jean: Diesel Preps For Pitch 2