I’m back. You know, I really hate neglecting a blog, even when it’s beyond my control and not many people are reading it to begin with. I guess I have commitment issues, just the opposite kind you usually hear about. Crunch mode kicked in at work over the past few weeks, so not only did I lack the time to keep up my posting here, but I also really had no life worth posting about. You know how it is. Fortunately, I’m going to be returning to the land of the living again for the next little while, so I’ll be able to write a bit more.

What I’m planning to do is scale back this blog to a regular posting schedule I can handle. I’m finding that the longer mixed-topic posts are difficult to maintain, but after looking into the Tumblelog thing, it didn’t really appeal to me either. So rather than overload myself, I think will aim to write one longer post a week (probably on the weekend), with an occasional short post here and there during the week (plus my usual del.icio.us linkage updated daily in the sidebar). We’ll see how that works out. At least this way it will still be worth subscribing to the ol’ RSS feed and you loyal readers can know when to expect an update. I suppose this means the “Daily Drivel” has just become the “Weekly Drivel”, although that name kind of sucked anyway so I’ll have to think up something else.

Over at Film Junk we’ll be doing a special Top 100 Movies podcast in the near future, discussing at least some of the movies on our personal Top 100 lists that we recently tabulated for the Online Film Community Top 100 project. It was a difficult task, to say the least. Not only do you have to produce a list of 100 movies that you enjoy, but it also has to be a list that you can stand behind and feel personally satisfied with. How can you possibly rate movies from so many different genres and eras on an equal playing field? In the end it comes down to your gut feeling and personal preference I suppose. I know my list is completely flawed by my lack of knowledge of older films in particular, but what can I do? I’m sure it will result in some interesting discussion either way.

There should also be a new Muzak For Cybernetics Mixtape recorded very soon, and maybe… just maybe… a new “season” of Fishing With Tom. We’re not making any promises at this point. It all depends how long we have before Mr. Bajuk gets shipped out for his military training… and also how long his contract negotiations take.

I recently watched the first couple episodes of G4’s new animated series Code Monkeys. It certainly seemed promising, what with the blocky 8-bit sprite style of animation and the old school video game inside jokes. As it turns out, I thought it was just okay. I’ve read some reviews that completely slammed the show’s brainless, male-oriented sense of humour, but I mean… what do you expect from a TV network that is trying to steal Spike TV’s demographic? It reminded me a bit of South Park, which I’m not a huge fan of, but it has some moments of surreal humour too. The main problem, I think, is just that the style and the concept wear thin halfway through each episode. Code Monkeys would have been much more enjoyable in shorter segments (series creator Adam De La Pena previously did the show Adult Swim show Minoriteam). It’s still worth checking out though. You can watch the first three episodes on Google Video: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3.

Clive Thompson had an interesting piece on Wired recently about the idea of “b-video games”. He wonders why we can watch a bad movie and enjoy it from an ironic standpoint, while bad video games derive no such pleasure. The point is a valid one, although I’ve recently found myself discussing the game Earth Defense Force 2017 with people in exactly these terms. I think it might qualify as a “b-video game” as it is sorely lacking in production values but it still has an addictive element of gameplay that makes it fun on some level. Still, as Thompson points out, a game with frustrating controls is simply stressful, not laughable. And need I mention that, as it stands right now, even the best video games feature voice acting that is borderline b-movie material?

Metallica’s James Hetfield has apparently been exercising his rock star right to grow crazy long facial hair… unfortunately for him, his appearance recently got him mistaken for a terrorist at an airport in London. They described his beard as being “Taliban-like”, and briefly held him for questioning. Sad but true.

Believe it or not, this freakishly muscular whippet and the Michael Vick dogfighting indictment are not the most disturbing dog-related news I’ve heard this month. Over in Lockport, NY, a pitbull allegedly sodomized a two-year-old toddler. Yes, you read that right. When the mother scared the dog off, the kid was still… err… attached to the dog. If that’s not the most stomach-churning imagery ever, I don’t know what is.

Donald Trump is apparently planning a celebrity edition of The Apprentice. Boy that guy never gives up, does he? The question is, how many celebs actually have enough business experience to work for The Donald?

This fake letter to Optimus Prime from his GEICO insurance agent is kinda funny.

These Asian Harry Potter bootleg books are even funnier.