AHHA!!!!!!

The snake I found a few days ago was a Black Rat Snake . They're constictors and grow up to be pretty big.They're also non-venomous,which is comforting.Pretty cool.

More Random Thoughts

Wow.This was a pretty hectic week for a vacation week.Here's some random stuff of no particular importance.

1)Since I got some money for my birthday, I was finally able to buy Guitar Hero(I & II).I never got it because with a choice of getting either comics or video games, comics win every time.Damn that's a fun game.I've been playing it constantly.I'm probably going to play when I'm done with this.I should not have gotten this.The last thing I need is MORE distractions in my life.Yet here I am.Hmph.

2)My legs are still sore from my hike 2 days ago.I usually don't get too tired hiking.I walk a lot to begin with so I've eased into it quite nicely.Wednesday though I was totally blown up at about 1/2 mile in.We did decide to not take the trail for the first half of the way up, which did make the first mile or so(not a reliable figure.Based upon no actual measurements.Not even the weird medieval ones based on the lengths of vegetables or body parts.)a steep, relentless hill that we even had to crawl up on all fours in a few parts.It was worth it though for the view alone.We were high enough up that the hawks that fly around there were only 10 feet or so above our heads and not really concerned that we were around.And the waterfalls are always a treat,even if this year they are quite a bit smaller this year.

3)Grabbed a few DC comics again today,just for shits and giggles.Wonder Woman Annual was fun enough and easy to jump into,but brought up one point that bothers me a little about DC.I find it really weird to have so many direct variations of the same characters interacting with each other.It almost seems as if rather than creating a new character,they'd rather just palette swap Superman to yellow and pass him off as a different character.Superman Yellow.

4)Speaking of Superman, I also picked up All-Star Superman 7 and 8.I mostly got it to check out the Bizarro storyline.(Bizarro.Basically just a mirror image of Superman,right down to his clothes.See what I mean?So many direct variations of just a few characters.)Bizarro speak can get really hard to read.This was a chore to read the first time around.I had to go back and re-read it to understand what was going on.The second gothrough went much better.And this book did offer an explanation for why the Bizarros,at least that version of them(him?), look how they do.I still prefer the Action Comics Bizarro story better,but I might still grab some other issues of this.I have a feeling I'd like it a hell of a lot more if I wasn't putting all of my reading energy into translating half of the dialogue.

5)Between this and trying to do 1000 other things at the same time my piano practice has been getting pushed to the side more than it should be.I sat down today for the first time in about 3 or 4 days to practice and sounded like total shit.I was fumbling over even the easy shit.I need to get back on track there.

6)I still don't know what kind of snake I stumbled onto at the Ice Cave.The sites I've looked at so far about snakes in New Jersey suck.They have no good pictures.This is the picture I took of the snake,not knowing it was there.I just stuck my camera in the dark cave and snapped a pic.:

7)Another highly recommended band for anyone interested in Death metal:Decapitated .The path they're taking kinda reminds me of early Sepultura,except I don't think they're ever going to tribal.I do prefer Covan to Sauron on vocals.Sauron's growl served its purpose,but Covan's more comprehensible vocals and range are helping to give them their own sound.That's not to imply that they sucked before.Anything but.I'm just saying I like the new guy better.

8)I'm tapped for ideas.Later.

Abandoned Housing Development

When I moved to the house I live in now in 2004,I always noticed that in the woods appeared to be a few houses.I could never tell if people lived there.Last year, I finally walked over there and found about 15 or so houses,totally abandoned.I peeked in a few windows and left it to be explored another day.

Today(or yesterday.It's 1:30 AM now) my friend Darrell came over so we could go hiking,but we decided to head over to Spookytown first.It turns out the place is even bigger than I had thought.Apparently it was a whole housing development,with a gazebo and a pool.And there are also about 30 houses, and not 15.And, as I said I would, here are some pictures.

First,there was a lot of graffiti.

Someone decided to go the creepy, insane route:

Look!I just took a picture of the last few words.Spooookkkkkyyyy!!!!!

The houses were all grown over with trees and plants.Most of them had a lot of damage to them.

We also found a few things,harmless in themselves, but kinda creepy in an abandoned neighborhood.

We managed to get into the basement of one of the buildings and got a few neat shots.

This was in the basement.It's just a work bench that got a bunch of shit dumped on it,but I think an animal lives in there.Just looks like a place an animal would go.

Let's not forget the open septic tank I almost fell into.It would have been about an eight foot drop before I landed in this.

The coolest thing was finding the pool.There was a frog or two living in it.

There were a couple of concrete tracks out by the pool as well.

Not to mention the lonely gazebo,or what's left of it.

Since most of the houses were boarded up or had floors that were so badly rotted/damaged most of the other shots involved us just sticking our cameras ina doorway or window and snapping a pic.Some interesting looking damage,but not nearly as cool as getting in the houses.

I took more pictures,but they're just more of the same.This was a fun little visit.We looked for some mail in the one house we could freely walk around in so we could get some sort of idea as to how old the place was.We only found some store circulars and an envelope postmarked 2000.I can't believe that kind of damage can happen in only seven years.The houses were pretty small too.In the town I live in all of the new housing,especially in a community like this one was, is of the McMansion variety.I think I'd rather have Spookytown.

Scaring The Crap Out Of Myself

So today I was hanging out with my friend Darrell.First we went to the creepy abandoned houses in the woods behind my house.I'll post some photos tommorrow.It turns out there is a whole abandoned development there.Some creepy shit,but that will wait until tommorrow.


Next we went hiking at the Delaware Water Gap.I took pictures,some from the top of the mountain and some of the waterfalls.Here's two(one of each):



This is one of the many waterfalls.This one is actually pretty small,but it fit in the frame and didn't come out blurry.

This is the Delaware River from about halfway up the mountain we were hiking.I have pictures from up top but this is the only one I have where you can see Route80

Anyway,on the way back we stopped at some place called "Ice Cave".It's just a cave(hence the name), but the big draw I guess is that it constantly has a super-cooled breeze coming from it.Well there I was snapping some pictures inside where it was pitch black.I slipped and grabbed a rock to catch my balance.I felt something under my hand SLITHER AWAY.I screamed like a grade school girl and ran out, not knowing what sort of mystery wildlife I just found.It might have been a wet stick,BUT IT MOVED.Anyway I get home and download my pictures and find this(taken maybe 30 seconds before my slip):

Take your eyes to the left side of this pic to see what I touched.I have no idea what kind of snake that is.If someone reading this knows,please tell me.It sure as hell doesn't look like a garden snake to me.I'm having trouble finding info online(though to be honest,I didn't put much effort into my search.)Looking at the picture and judging from the size of the cave,I'd guess it is between 3 and 4 feet long.We shined a flashlight into the cave after the incident and saw nothing,so this picture is all I have to go by.

First person to comment with the correct name for this snake wins a prize.(Author's disclaimer:Your prize will be the satisfaction of knowing you helped me out.Don't be so friggin greedy.)

After note:I noticed that these pics don't enlarge when I click on them.And I re-loaded them a few times.If you have this problem and are bored enough to actually look,I also posted the pic on my Myspace page.

Ending The SM/MJ Marriage Could Work

So I guess the rumor is that Peter is going to choose saving Aunt May over his marriage,which will be wiped out of existence.First,I don't want the marriage to end.The thought that there's any tales to tell that can't be told with Spider-Man married is absurd.You can show him dating.That's it.Between Cable & Deadpool being cancelled and this, I'm finding that some of the comic changes are hitting close to where I live now.I think I'm handling it with grace.I'm not flying off the hook and going on crazy rants where I make Joe Quesada out to be the devil for ruining my comics.(Even though that obviously makes me some sort of oddball in the comic fan community.)

I'm actually willing to wait and see how they play the story out before I react.Maybe they know what they're doing.I hope so at least.One way I was thinking it might work is if this retcon isn't just about ending a marriage that apparently limiting writers(still can't see why).MJ will still be around as Jackpot.If she wasn't going to continue to play a part in Peter's life then why involve her in a way that will bring Peter in contact with her in such a way?Why not just make her some random chick on the street?Is this just some excuse for Slott to use his Jackpot character from the FCBD Spider-Man book?Or is it something more?

As fondly as people may remember the marriage,the time leading up to the marriage(the chase,if you will)was just as dramatic and even fun.You kinda knew Peter and MJ would end up together,but the other love interests in his life added just enough to make you question if that was the case.And who doesn't love a good love story?I feel comfortable enough inside my male ego to admit I'm a sucker for a good romantic plotline.I think a lot of other fans are too.The overwhelmingly positive reaction for the Sensational Spider-Man Annual showed that.The whole book was a declaration of Peter and MJ's love for each other,in the past through the mix tap scenes, and to now through the interrogation scenes.The capper, of course, was the shot of their first kiss.I haven't read a scene that happily emotional since Bigby Wolf and Snow White finally kissed in Fables.(When I read that one I actually had to put the book down for a second to collect myself as it totally took my breath away.Kudos to the creators.If they could get such a strong emotional reaction out of a cold,distant prick like me then they deserve every accolade they can get.)

Anyway,perhaps keeping MJ around as Jackpot is just a way to keep her in Peter's life just so he can find out about her and fall in love with her all over again.Maybe it's not just about ending the marriage,but rewriting the romance.Even if the characters don't know they were married and in love, we do.If they really are meant for each other, they will find love again.And we can cheer along.Who else could they really put him with?Anyone other than MJ just seems wrong.And their keeping her in his life tells me that they know it too.

If they can manage to hold back on all of the exciting"Peter downloads porn" stories and approached it like above,I could live with that.Here's to hoping....

On Having Too Much Free Time

I'm not going to link the post because I don't wish to bring the whole,ugly argument here,but someone who was linked on When Fangirls Attack actually spent her valuable free time to watch the whole season of Heroes just to catalogue all of the conversations to prove that the show is sexist.The amount of work and effort put into this was impressive.

Now,I'm not trying to discredit the purpose of the statistical analysis.This is the internet.Take your little piece of it and do whatever you want.I'm more dismayed at the fact that this was done at all..This is no different than those people who sit and watch network TV all day, waiting for some one to say "boob",so they can write to that show's sponsors and proclaim a boycott.It's not a step above or below.It's the SAME THING.Accept it.You've become a busybody.

Can't things just be fun?Does everything need to be broken apart to find problems with?Reading comics blogs, you see a lot of people finding fault with things.For most of them,whether you agree with them or not,if the problem is not blatant it isn't that hard to see where the person is coming from.Even if I think they're reading a little too deeply into things,I can follow the logic.Besides,some people are just a bit more fine-tuned to see those kinds of things.But if you have to break an entire TV series down into statistics just to find a problem then you are going out of your way to look for them.I'm not saying you can't not like the show.I don't even care about the point you're trying to make.But you REALLY spent the time to do this study of the conversations?Really?For what?To write in your blog for all of 30 people to read?Even if 100 people read it,or 300,was it worth your time? How long did that take?What other activities did you push aside to do what,I have to admit, is a very thorough statistical analysis?

People nowadays don't seem to have the time for anything.So much of our lives and the things in them have been designed to take advantage of that one-button,ten-second, intstant gratification mentality.When something doesn't come our way ten seconds ago, we get uncomfortable with the wait.But there's ALWAYS time to complain.Vote?Don't have the time.Write an angry letter/e-mail to some TV producers because you saw part of an aureola on Two and 1/2 Men?I'm sooo there.(sigh)

People fucking disgust me....Dammit.Now I'm complaining too.AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!See what I mean???!!!