No more dreaming; it’s time to get real! ;-)

I’m happy to report that I haven’t been having those stripper dreams lately, so if my past record is any indication, nothing should go wrong at the Crazy Horse or The Palace tonight (or tomorrow night if Ariel’s not in, but I’m sure she’ll turn up tonight). Indeed, I hope to have some good, real and sensual fun with baby Ariel at the Horse, then Ivy and Sienna at The Palace after that.

Though on the flip side, I wish the programming geniuses (sarcasm intended) at the Nine Network would read the title of this post and take its inherent advice. Because according to this, they’re chopping and changing their Tuesday schedule for what feels like the 1200th time this year. That said, I certainly hope their second channel – to be known as GO!, on Digital Channel 99 – doesn’t become as chaotic as this after its launch on August 9th, because one badly run channel is enough, thank you very much.

A hoax…. or an omen?

In recent days, I’ve noticed a lot of talk about this picture, which first appeared at 78dm.net a while ago:

Naturally, people on a number of Transformers-based message boards have been assuming that this is a prototype of an Encore reissue of Devastator, using the blue TakaraTomy logo in the bottom right hand corner, the Encore logo in the top left, and the altered set number (from 37 to 20) to back up such claims.

However, there has been no official announcement from TakaraTomy at this stage, and here is the clear, undoctored picture:

So while this has been revealed as a hoax, I also think it may actually be an omen. Since there is a new Devastator in Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen, and the Encore line takes movie characters into account, this would be a very logical choice for a reissue. And while I’m at it, and considering that I didn’t really explain my last Encore Wish List too well, I’ll do it now:

1. SOUNDBLASTER & REPLAY – Because Soundwave is in the movie, and the Soundwave/Soundblaster and Rumble/Frenzy moulds are back in use;

2. SIDESWIPE – A movie character and a firm fan favourite, having been reissued several times previously;

3. RED ALERT & INFERNO – Dreamwave artwork of these two characters is used on TakaraTomy’s Transformers Encore page, and considering that they have also been reissued more than once, it would be easy to do so again; and

4. ARTFIRE (with NIGHTSTICK) – With the Inferno mould being reused, his Targetmaster partner Stepper (with Nebulan) having appeared in the Transformers Collection reissue series, and the fact that TakaraTomy won’t be reissuing Transformers Generation One figures forever, this highly sought-after figure (which has been known to sell for figures as high as $US1500 on the secondary market) could send the Encore line out with a bang.

I did NOT speak too soon…. ;-)

In case you hadn’t guessed, this post will be a follow up to this earlier one.

To be perfectly honest, I’m a little disturbed that that particular post has become one of my most read posts on this blog to date, and as a consequence, I feel that I need to say this again: pay attention to the date at the top of the post. That way, viewers won’t get the idea that I’m still critical of someone now over something they did months ago.

Sure, I was concerned that little Kim Kardashian was being influenced by her African American friends in trying out the cornrow look at the time, but as it turned out, my worries that she would keep that hairstyle for an extended period were without foundation.

And it could’ve been worse; according to some rampantly gay hairstylists in Hollywood, the short/shaved look is well and truly in now, and I’m glad baby Kim hasn’t given in and got a pixie haircut or a half-shave. It goes to show that not all female celebrities (or women in general) are total slaves to fashion, and I respect, admire and love Kim even more as a person for that.

I really hope I get this one….

I refer to the job I was interviewed for earlier today, of course. The Parkwynd Private Hospital in the Adelaide CBD looks like a great place to work, and I can’t think of a better way to break the unemployment drought.

The interview went very well, so I’m taking that as a good sign, and perhaps my chance encounter with Crazy Horse manager Yvonne Britain at Westfield Marion yesterday will prove to be a good omen too. Hello to you if you’re reading this, Vonni, and depending on what baby Ariel’s up to, I expect to be back at the Horse this weekend.

Meanwhile, the prolonged power outage that ETSA promised us – on account of some maintenance work – occurred today, and power was out for 6 hours in total. If I hadn’t been up at 7am, and if I hadn’t backed my car out of the garage a short time after that (on account of the electric garage door), I may not have even made it to the interview.

A three-pronged, Transformers-based post! ;-)

San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Soundwave

With thanks to TFormers.com, here’s a picture for your enjoyment:

If you ask me, I still think the folks at Hasbro are shooting themselves in the foot by making this reissue of one of the most popular Transformers toys of all time so exclusive. Sure, any units not sold at SDCC will be sold through Hasbro Toy Shop and a number of online retailers, but not for a while yet, and I have a hunch they’ll be snapped up very quickly.

So I think another production run of Soundwave, possibly as a Toys “R” Us exclusive (to go with the forthcoming Perceptor and Insecticons reissues), would be a very popular move, and in light of Toys “R” Us in Australia having sold most of the previous Hasbro reissues, an Australian release would be assured. So how about it, Hasbro?

A Possible Artfire Reissue

Due to the rarity and high price of this Autobot Targetmaster, and since his “partner” Stepper was reissued in Japan and released for the first time internationally as Ricochet several years ago, many Transformers fans have been hoping for a reissue of Artfire too. Taking into account the news that the 25th Anniversary Transformers releases by Hasbro and TakaraTomy will continue into next year, I think it’d be another great move if – in addition to a Japanese Encore release – Artfire is released internationally through Hasbro. And if he is to be renamed, I think Firebolt would be appropriate, with his weapon being renamed Fracas to go with Ricochet’s Nightstick. So once again; how about it, Hasbro?

(Ironically, Fracas and Nightstick were the respective Targetmaster partners of the Decepticons Scourge and Cyclonus way back in 1987. But the same moulds were used to make Nightstick and Nebulan for Artfire and Stepper respectively, and I hope you’re not confused by that little factoid! )

The Last Word On Replay

Yes, I know I’m harping on about this little fella again, but I know I’m not alone in wanting this guy to become an official Transformers character. Certain people at the old and new Transformers Wikis are all for it, as is a fellow Australian fan who goes by the name of Goktimus Prime. And partnering Replay with Soundblaster here -

- and selling the set through e-HOBBY before the end of this year would still be the best way to go.

Having said all that, I hope that a certain Doug Dlin – a highly respected Transformers fan noted for his fluency in Japanese and, in turn, for bridging the gap between English-speaking and Japanese fans – has read my Replay posts up to this point, as I believe he also knows young Hirofumi Ichikawa (even translating Hirofumi-san’s “Linkage” comic series a number of years ago) and could therefore be helpful if he likes my idea. Naturally, I invite anyone who likes the idea – especially anyone I’ve named here – to come forward and comment if they wish.

Brickbats & Bouquets ;-)

I know people usually do it the other way around, but I’d prefer to get the negative stuff out of the way first.

Brickbats go out to EzyDVD, since it took them a little over SEVEN WEEKS to finally get the copy of Nuns On The Run that I’d ordered into stock, yet just about every other retailer in this city had it already. As promised, I sternly reminded them of this fact when I was finally contacted about it last Thursday, and told them to keep the $5 deposit. So from this point forward, I will no longer be buying any DVDs from any EzyDVD store unless I have no other choice, and I strongly urge any fellow Australians to do the same. Hell, they’ve only got 20 stores left anyhow, and my hunch is that they’ll be out of business in a year or two if such shithouse service continues.

Bouquets, on the other hand, go out to the people who decided to reinstate the old WordPress smilies after the massive backlash against the new, more cutesy ones. And if they were the same people who made the original change, then they may consider themselves officially redeemed in my book, and they would be wise to not attempt it again. But since I still have 20 smilies that I’ve uploaded, you can expect to see any combination of smilies from this point onwards.

Long gone, but never forgotten….

I type today’s post with a heavy heart, for thirteen years ago today, a dear friend of mine lost his life due to a sudden and unexpected bout of meningitis. His name was Cassius Rorke-Wickins, and he was just 19 years of age.

I’d first met Cassius way back in 1983, as we were both at the same school at the time (Strathmont, later Wandana, Primary School in the Adelaide suburb of Gilles Plains). Although we weren’t particularly close at the time, he seemed like a very good person anyhow, but being moved to a new school in 1985 denied me the chance to get to know him better.

Five years later, though, I would end up at St Paul’s College, and when I heard that there was a Cassius in my year level, a lot of bells were rung in my mind. I therefore sought to acquaint myself with this Cassius, and sure enough, it was indeed Cassius Rorke-Wickins.

So from that point forward, we were firm friends, and despite the occasional disagreement or two (as all friends tend to have), we remained that way for the remainder of our time at high school. Though once more, further studies would lead to another loss of contact, and for most of 1995, I had no idea what was happening in his life.

But thanks to a chance encounter on a bus in early 1996, this contact was re-established once more. Cassius and another friend from high school – John Brown (hello if you’re reading this ) – were now renting a house in Gilles Plains, and I was invited to their housewarming party in April of that year. Many other people we knew from our high school days showed up, and a good time was had by all, and I was also relieved that no one thought less of me for choosing not to partake in the smoking of marijuana.

That, viewers, would be the last time I saw Cassius alive. For on July 26th of that same year, I happened to catch several other former high school classmates at a bus stop in town, and when I was informed that the meningitis death that was making the news headlines was that of Cassius Rorke-Wickins, I could barely believe it.

The wake and the subsequent cremation occurred on August 1, and at least half – maybe even two thirds – of the St Paul’s class of ‘94 was present, along with a number of teachers. I wish such a reunion could have happened under happier circumstances, but all the same, it showed me just how respected, admired and loved Cassius was.

So here’s to you, Cassius Nathan Rorke-Wickins. You may be long gone now, old friend, but you will never be forgotten.

Here comes another storm in a teacup….

…. courtesy of those nutty Chaser boys. This time, their sketch titled “Guide Dogs for the Really Blind and Munted” is the culprit, and for those who haven’t seen it, here it is:

Of course, the Guide Dog associations here in Australia are up in arms about it, but they need to remember that “blind” is being used to describe drunks, as opposed to visually impaired people. And as a person who appreciates the great work that Guide Dogs do for such people, I can safely say that I saw nothing that specifically targeted Australia’s blind community.

So let’s hope that Australia’s ABC doesn’t decide to strip The Chaser’s War On Everything of its final episode next week on the strength of this. Because if they do, it’ll be a win for the politically correct, pro-censorship, glass-jawed pussies who seem to get their way every single time, and an affront to freedom of expression to boot.

Meanwhile, the blood test results are in, and my cholesterol, blood sugar and other levels are still good. And I’m feeling much better than I was on the same day last year, when I pulled a large muscle in my lower back and couldn’t even roll over – let alone walk – for a couple of hours.

But I’d rather not think about something else that happened on this day three years ago….

I ♥ Sienna :-)

For a while, I didn’t think Sienna was going to be at The Palace last night, but when she arrived, my mood brightened right up. However, I still had to make it clear that after her extended absence, I wasn’t going to accept missing out on her.

Thankfully, I didn’t miss out, and when I pay The Palace another visit on July 31 or August 1 (depending on Ariel’s Crazy Horse presence, naturally), I won’t be missing out then either. After all, it may be my last chance to see her before her impending Canada trip, and since I’m due to have baby Ivy again, I’ll ensure that I have her for a dance too.

Also, when I had a dance with little Jagger last night, she gave another possible explanation of the disgusting stuff I saw at Interwork that morning; the lip-smacking bastard was most likely stoned. So I did a little research into what drugs could lead to this, and my hunch is that the schmuck is suffering from Tardive Dyskinesia, possibly brought on by overuse of a drug such as Reglan. All the same, no sympathy will come from me, since the silly prick brought it all on himself.

One of my oddest habits….

With all these ideas I’ve had about Adelaide’s road network – and how inadequate it is at the moment – lately, I’ve found myself engaging in one of my most unusual habits; using coloured pens to draw certain existing and proposed roads in a street directory. And as you might imagine, drawing in the M, A and B roads is rather time consuming, but considering that it’s another good way of getting the visions I have about such things out there, it’s also very cathartic.

In addition to that, it’s a far less harmful and irritating habit than the “Slurp Me Yummy” routine that some people I’ve encountered in the past tend to do. That’s right, viewers; I was on the rough end of that at my Interwork appointment today.

I was in the waiting room for my appointment, and an Asian client in his 50s or 60s was slurping and smacking his lips quite loudly every ten seconds, much like a sloppy eater – or someone not in their right mind – would. I strongly doubt that this had a medical cause, since I’ve seen and heard a lot of Asian people eat in the past (no racism intended), and quite frankly, it puts me off my own food. All the same, and in light of him possibly not having a great grasp of English, I became annoyed to the point where I wanted to pounce on the bastard, but instead, I just had to leave the room. Leaving me in a rather foul mood, but I eventually cooled down.

So if you’re one of those people who has an off-putting habit like that, and I happen to be near you when you’re doing it, I will have words with you about it.